Anime is full of popular lead characters, but there are countless amazing supporting characters that deserve recognition as well. In this year's last anime month post, I'll be taking a look at my favorite secondary or supporting characters that rival, if not surpass the lead character of the show.

#5 Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z)

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Yeah, this is an easy one. An obvious choice, but how can you deny a spot to the Prince of all Saiyans™? Dragon Ball Z has a great cast of supporting characters, from Krillin to Trunks, but Vegeta is definitely the best. Starting out as the first true villain of the show (if you exclude Radditz, who was basically just there to set up Vegeta's arrival), Vegeta transformed over the shows 300 episodes from a threatening villain to a selfless hero. I actually shed a tear when he sacrificed himself late in the series in a hail mary attempt to destroy Majin Boo.

He was a surprisingly deep character, with a tragic backstory and a constant chip on his shoulder. Seeing his rival achieve the status of Super Saiyan was a huge blow to his fragile ego and you could sense his conflict of envy and pride when he discovered his son Trunks power surpassed his own.

#4 Nicholas Wolfwood (Trigun)

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Wolfwood shows up a few episodes into Trigun as a seemingly harmless wandering preacher lugging a massive cloth-draped cross on his back. He sported a cool attitude paired with a strong sense of compassion.

However, looks can be deceiving. His cross is a massive arsenal of weapons, turning this cool and collected preacher into a total badass. The cross is not only a massive gun, but a rocket launcher and the arms of the cross open up to reveal a slew of handguns. Absolutely cool.

#3 Zelgadis (Slayers)

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Zelgadis is a cursed sorcerer, who was transformed into a rock golem/human hybrid. His skin is basically impenetrable and his hair is like wire, which makes him feel like an outcast. He begins the story as an anagonist, but eventually joins Lina Inverse's party in search of a cure for his curse so he can return to normal.

He brings an interesting array of sorcery into Slayers, pulling magic from the astral plane which adds some very cool spells to the party's bag of tricks.

His cursed existence and drive to just be human again make him a tragic and relatable character you can't help but love.

#2 Asuka Langley Soryu (Evangelion)

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Askua is the third EVA pilot we're introduced to in Neon Genesis Evangelion and is initially a cocky, unlikable character. She's extremely competitive and a great EVA pilot, but the more time you spend with her, the more she softens up and becomes a more interesting character.

As the story unfolds, you realize that she's a tragic, broken person who experienced a terrible childhood and unquenchable thirst for attention and approval. Seeing her evolve from this strong, cocky pilot to a vulnerable and damaged person makes her an extremely interesting character.

#1 Ryoga Hibiki (Ranma 1/2)

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Ryoga Hibiki is easily one of my favorite anime characters across the board. He's introduced early in the series and is hopelessly in love with Akane, who is engaged to is rival Ranma. Ryoga is incredibly powerful, but always manages to lose to Ranma when they do engage in fights. However, he won't hesitate to team up with Ranma when a common enemy emerges.

He's a hilariously clueless character who has a famous lack of a sense of direction. When he first challenged Ranma to a fight, he ended up in China instead of the vacant lot near his house. When in China, he fell into one of the pools in Jusenkyo, cursing him to turn into a tiny black piglet when doused with cold water. In an interesting twist, his love interest Akane has adopted his piglet form as a pet (which she named P-chan) so he lives out a tortured so-close-but-so-far-away relationship with the girl he loves. She might not love Ryoga, but she loves P-chan. He also lives in constant fear of being exposed if Akane sees P-chan splashed with warm water, ruining the relationship she does have with him.