What do you like/dislike in an animê main character?

Well...

Dislike: When the character is too cliché or generic (in their personality/actions or abilities/powers), then I find it a lot harder to enjoy them, not to mention I'll probably be cringing a hell of a lot.

Like: Characters that are not right in the head, have link or struggle with their sanity are generally my favourite type of character. I rarely dislike characters like that.

To be honest if the (main) character suits their story, then I don't mind too much what they're like.

Well, it's not a hard and fast rule for me. What I like and dislike depends upon the character and how well they're portrayed. However, I will try to go with overarching facets I find annoying or riveting.

Dislike: I really hate seeing the all-around good guys in the main role. What I mean por this is someone who is absolutely selfless, pushing him/herself to extremes to save the lives of anyone, regardless of anterior affiliation. This is a trope, and one far too often followed. Ichigo and naruto are good examples of this - both of them are so overtly heroic that they lack any other real personality traits worth mentioning.

Like: I'll actually put two things here because I have two separate subsets of favorito characters.

One is the subset that thinks outside the boundaries set por other characters. Oftentimes, we get locked into a mindset that only certain things can happen and certain groups will always be treated a certain way. I like characters that break stereotypes, making what used to be stable into chaos.

The segundo is that I amor characters that are fluid on the borders of good and evil. I like someone who I'm not quite certain on where to place them, even after fully understanding their motives and goals. It makes me constantly uncertain of what they're going to do next, and that fuels me to keep watching.

My Likes: When they are intelligent and able to fend for themselves(When they don't start off in the beginning being a weak character and end up being the strongest in the whole animê like three episodes later). I like it when they already have at least SOME semblance of mastery over whatever it is that they do and when they share a trait with me, like a sad event in their past or a personality trait like introvertedness. I like when they are mysterious, because that leaves major room for character development.

My dislikes: When they are short-tempered and easily angered, when they often let their actions speak for them, etc. I also hate when they have that generic "I'm gonna protect my friends no matter what" personality. I would like it better if the character was forced to make a decision instead of trying to save everybody and being the hero all the time, but that is often not the case.

They've got to be both a kind and interesting person to keep me watching (well, watching and thoroughly enjoying). I, along with many others, really dislike Korra, for example, because she is an annoying brat. I don't like Harry Potter, either, because he's so boring and miserable. I know neither of these are anime, but the same things apply to all main characters.

Making a character kindhearted is pretty basic, but making them interesting can be done in a variety of different ways.

My favourite main character has got to be Naruto. :)

Dislike: Those who have this unexplained inner potential to become extraordinarily powerful in a short amount of time, such as learning an extremely hard technique that should take years to master in the span of a week or so. The problem isn't the fact that they did that, but the fact that there is no logic behind the fact that they could. When you add on a superficial personality where they are the epitome of good, everyone relies on him, and gets through everything with sheer force of will, I just start moaning every time I see the character. So basically, I dislike the archetypal shonen main character.

Like: I, too, have two standards; one for slices of life, and one for everything else.

Slice of life: Bitter, exasperated, introverted, and monologues throughout the story. I amor it when the main character has a tsukomi for everything that happens and spouts philisophical BS to get out of situations and has a fairly messed up personality and just wants to be left alone. Examples: Kyon from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Hikigaya Hachiman from Oregairu. The monologuing, especially, makes the story easy for me to get into, for some reason.

Everything else: this really varies, but I basically like characters who are eccentric and/or unpredictably unreadible, such as Hououin Kyouma from Stein's; Gate and Ichinose Hajime from Gatchaman Crowds. They're people who made the animê fun to watch, despite the generic characters surrounding them.

Like: I like for a primary protagonist whose morals are in the right to be hidden, to make for something that symbolizes something about our world and make us reflect on human nature as we watch them work to their goals on the sidelines. I also am always impressed por a protagonist when their development is executed so finely that it catches me off guard. (I had Code Geass' Lelouch Lamperouge, Madoka Magica's Madoka Kaname, and Serial Experiments Lain's Lain Iwakura in mind here.)

Dislike: An underdeveloped protagonist who not only goes into things blindly, but doesn't learn anything from their oppressors in the end and remains in the stance of a fool "fighting for justice".

I'm not fond of short-tempered / strong-headed protagonists, either, depending on how said protagonist goes about things.

ABOVE ALL ELSE, I can't stand a protagonist who is generic, which is unfortunate, since most of them are. Though, this kind of goes back to the first 'dislike' that I mentioned.