Hey Everyone longtime stalker of the forums first time poster. 

I thought i would share with everyone the so far only thing i really dont like about the game.  Thats one character, now just before i reveal that character i know the majority of people out there find Vanille to be the most annoying character in the game but i actually really like her so far, im about 5 hours into the game and i find her a wonderful change from the brooding, sulky party members of other JRPG's i really think Vanille is utterly adoreable. 

The one character i must say i really cant stand though is Hope i can't stand his sulky constant whining i just find his dialog, his cut scenes so far and just him to be so Blergh.  As i said im only about 5 hours in does he continue to be such a whiny little tool or without spoiling the game or plot for me, just a yes or no answer guys does he eventually man up and stop being such a whiny tool? 

I like Vanille as well. People just think she's too bubbly.

" @LiquidPrince:I personally love her bubblyness i find her easily the most adorable character in an RPG i have played in a while  "

I like all the characters. I think Hope's sulkiness is a reminder of what Snow did (well, there's nothing Snow can do about his Mother). 

Welcome to the forums part dude ^_^
 
Yeah, i dislike Lightning believe it or not. She's sort of cocky and she thinks she's the shit or something.
 
Hope also looks and sounds like a whiny little girl. He's surely gay.

Hope I don't like.  At all. 
 
I do hear a lot of folks complaining about Vanille.  I don't find her character at all annoying, but it's a bit awkward once you notice that her voice seems to shift between a generic anime girl style, and a sort of Aussie accent.

" Welcome to the forums part dude ^_^  Yeah, i dislike Lightning believe it or not. She's sort of cocky and she thinks she's the shit or something. Hope also looks and sounds like a whiny little girl. He's surely gay. "

Thanks in my stalking of the forums i have found it to be quite a nice place, less arguments than most forums.

@CornontheCobbe: 

I find Lightning OK but i agree she does seem very cocky.  I also see what your saying about the Hope Snow thing and thats fine i dont mind him being a total sulk till he eventually grows a set and talks it out with Snow but really could he not just shut up,  I wouldn't find him half as annoying if he wasn't constantly trying to speak then just bottling it and then going in a huff 

" Hope I don't like.  At all.  I do hear a lot of folks complaining about Vanille.  I don't find her character at all annoying, but it's a bit awkward once you notice that her voice seems to shift between a generic anime girl style, and a sort of Aussie accent. "

well, it all have alot to do with the voice actor.
 
Like in vanillas case, the japanese VA was good, but ireally dont like the english one.
In Hopes case its the opposite, his japanase VA sucks or well, im sure he's gay so...
 
I like Lightning for the first 30 hours of the game, but she becomes boring later on...

only played around 4 or 5 hours of it so can i really judge? but i have to say Hope. complete pain in the arse!

 Vanille is almost ruining the game for me. She is generic TERRIBLE anime girl, it's like they made her with cosplay conventions and weeaboos in mind. 

" @CornontheCobbe said:

" Welcome to the forums part dude ^_^  Yeah, i dislike Lightning believe it or not. She's sort of cocky and she thinks she's the shit or something. Hope also looks and sounds like a whiny little girl. He's surely gay. "

When Nomura created Lightning, he was told to invent a female version of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII.  I'm guessing she'll soften up a bit throughout the game, kind of like he did before regressing in Advent Children. "

" only played around 4 or 5 hours of it so can i really judge? but i have to say Hope. complete pain in the arse! "

Im in the same boat just approaching my 5th Hour but i am loosing the will with Hope i can see him as a character who i shall never use once you get party control i just really REALLY dont like him.  

Again back to my OP does something change with him to make him more bearable? 

" @Kombat said:

" Hope I don't like.  At all.  I do hear a lot of folks complaining about Vanille.  I don't find her character at all annoying, but it's a bit awkward once you notice that her voice seems to shift between a generic anime girl style, and a sort of Aussie accent. "

I think it's the Aussie accent that adds to her cuteness but that's just me. "

I hate Hope.

I'm sorry I really don't like Vanille, she's everything that's wrong about japanese RPG characters

Something to keep in mind about Hope is he is only 14, which I believe is the youngest character in a FF game since like FF9. I think given the situation he is in and given how stupid most 14 year old kids are his character is quite fitting. Though I will say there is some great progression with his character so I have found his personal stuff quite entertaining. 

Most annoying is Hope, and sometimes i am really frustrated with Lightning's inability to listen. 
 
Vanille is actually an awesome character, and she gets really interesting later.  It's just her english VA holds her back from the Japanese VA, which is really a shame.  All the other characters are amazing though.

Hope is obviously gay, Vanille is all up in his face giving him hugs and kisses and shit and he tells her too fuck off? GAY.

I hate both Hope and Vanille.

I dislike Hope.

Vanille is annoying because of the way she talks. 
& 
Hope is annoying because of how emo he is and how annoying he can get in general with his issues. He's a real momma's boy :P 

All of them because the voice actors are fucking terrible. Besides maybe the black guy, don't remember his name. I've put 2 hours into the game yesterday and spent a majority of the time laughing at the terrible voice acting and hitting x.

Sazh is my favorite character but gah damn... i want to cut his Fro off...

 Vanille's voice is fucking annoying. The game's voice acting is horrible. This is a post-Uncharted 2 gaming world, and these big budget releases still have cheesy dialogue, and horrible voice-acting. It is pathetic.

Vanille was alright.

Vanille would be adorable if her voice wasn't grating.  And hope...well, maybe if he didn't take a dozen hours to tell Snow he got his mom killed, his mopiness would be a bit less frustrating.
 
Also "you must not lose Hope" has become the most hilarious line in the game for me.

Vanille and Snow are getting on my nerves, but it's really because they both embody Japanese archetypes which are very, very steeped in the culture, and thus don't really work in English. Contrast with Hope, who has a really good English VA but his actual character is annoying. He does bring out the dere side of Lightning's personality, but if the best thing you can say about a character is that he makes another character look better, that is not a good sign.
 
Fang is hot. She's the kind of woman who doesn't shave and is hotter because of that fact. And Sazh is cool so far. He's mah boy. It's pretty weird that he's always telling everybody to slow down and stuff. He's, like, in his thirties, but the rest of the cast treats him like he's on the precipice of death. It's another anime archetype, sure, but I always found Japan's fixation on youth a little morbid, especially in light of the aging population and such.

The only thing about Sazh that gets on my nerves is the fact that they play that stupid ass  "blues" style song every time he talks.  Yes, I get it, he's fucking black.

" I'm sorry I really don't like Vanille, she's everything that's wrong about japanese RPG characters "

I have to say I like Vanille, even though if I would have made her she would have been SO MUCH better.  She is CLEARLY a generic anime-character insert, which I find a little surprising of a move for Sq.... I mean they held off making a char like that in an FF for this long.. why add one now?  Just because Star Ocean 4 had like 50 of them???  Sarah, Welch, Meracle....  I did enjoy  briefly  running around as Vanille in Ch 1... if *I* was in a dungeon I would certainly skip about flailing!!!!  I like her overly-positive attitude about things, it's just like how I am!!  But unlike Vanille, I'm not super naive.  I hope she's hiding something that will actually make her character worth my emotional involvement.  [But that hasn't happened to me since FFT.......]
 
So far I really want to punch Hope in the face.  I can only pray that he's the secret Shinji Ikari of the story which will mean that I love him by the end of the game.  I won't hold out for Evangelion-epicness in an FF though..... it won't happen. 
 
I'm going to vote for Snow.  He really comes off as an idiot to me.  I'm on Lightning's side with this!  I'm only a little bit into Lake Bresha but I'm SO TIRED of hearing Snow refer to himself or anyone else as a hero.  The word hero should be removed from FFs.  I love Lightning punching Snow in the face!!!  I'm always wishing someone would do that when he opens his mouth.... & then she does it X3

" Hope I don't like.  At all.  I do hear a lot of folks complaining about Vanille.  I don't find her character at all annoying, but it's a bit awkward once you notice that her voice seems to shift between a generic anime girl style, and a sort of Aussie accent. "

I don't find the voice actors to be that bad at all. They're actually pretty good. However, I don't think you can ever take these dubs seriously. My problem is the alien mannerisms I see emoted from these thoroughly Japanese characters. Watching the result of the localization team trying their best to match up an English voice to what ever foreign body language the character is performing, turns out to be quite a comical sight. It's unintentional, and turns out to be awkward far more often than it produces chuckles.
 
I'll take the generic blue box with the white text and outline, over the voices. Please and thank you. 

I like Hope. Vanille is good, her Voice work is a bit finny and corny but nothing too bad. What i expect from a JRPG