There are 3 things that determine your favorite character.

[SusanooKyuubi]

I often like characters that are both sides of the power spectrum, there are those who can roflstomp most people you put them up against (an unorthodox character would be...Chiffon from Freezing) then there are those who lack power in general but I like for other reasons (Someone like say Batou from Ghost in the Shell) so power is never really a concern for me.

My reasons for liking characters:

1. Does this character seems interesting, or cool in general? Are they relatable?

Characters that fall into that category for me are Shikamaru, Naruto, or Edward Elric.

2. Does this character's actions seem understandable or righteous? If not, does the character admit that?

Characters like that are Itachi, Scar, or even Greed.

3. Does the character's design make them stand out in a positive matter? If so, does their design even matter?

Characters like would be Jiraya or Madara.

 

[Naruto99Uzumaki]

1. design
2. power
3. history of charachter
4. personality

 

[chopstickchakra]

For me it's personality/power level/design.

I can look past a weird design if the character is entertaining and exciting to watch, a low power level usually means not entertaining fights. There are exceptions, I liked Kenichi and he was weak early on.

I agree with your 3 criteria when I read the title I thought, personality, look and abilities.

 

[iFlowMotion]

Design
Personality
Power

 

[ByakuganUser]

1. boobs
And that's about it!

 

[KingHashirama]

For me its Ideals, reason i like most of the characters i like especially as my fav is because of their ideals. For example, Hashirama.. dude has the best ideals that i can relate to and agree with.

I don't llike Madara, Danzo, Itachi, Minato, Hiruzen, Orochimaru, Sasuke, and so on as my favs, because they don't have the ideals that i am looking for in a character. Their beliefs are not what i stand for.

 

[HiddenSound]

1. Personality, it's what makes or breaks a character
2. Design, it's the icing on the personality cake
3. Power, it's always a good thing, but not required. The Major from Hellsing Ultimate, for example.

 

[paratise]

Between things in op this is my list:

Personality
Design
Power

Overall, design and power are near non factor for my liking, i started manga/anime at the age of 18 and before that things i read/watch were not based on fighting (still do not care much even fighting based fiction), and reading materials defintions of designs can be varying on everyone's mind.
Hence before that i almost never had favorite characters from anything :[

 

[AlphaScythian]

Obito has the top mark in all 3
War Obito desing is probably most BA in manga.
Power? Hell yeah he got it.
Personality ambition? An underdog a hero a villain a god a savior a no one etc.

But then again i also like other characters who are not so great in all 3 fields

 

[ultraChalk]

1. boobs
And that's about it!

So you like Neji for his boobs?

They're so abstract though.

 

[ByakuganUser]

So you like Neji for his boobs?

They're so abstract though.

My favorite character is actually Hinata. I only put Neji cause I'm a guy...

 

[UltimateDeadpool]

1. Personality
2. Design
3. Power

I particularly like characters more if I see qualities in them that I share; such as Jiraiya, Obito, Trollage, Kakuzu, etc.

Design is an semi-important. Afterall, how popular would Itachi be if he looked like Gato? lol. I personally like more subtle designs, I don't care for flash and flare.

Power doesn't matter as much to me as it does other people. I do think that one's abilities help add to their uniqueness, though.

 

[XxLapizxLazulixX]

Character design, and Powers, I could careless about personality in a manga character

 

[Anbu Black ops]

1- character development
2- power
3- personality and Design

so that about sums up my favourite characters itachi and kakashi

 

[shelke]

1: Literary Merits

- How well is a character written. How well does it tangle itself with the plot. How realistic is it. Does it offer something relatable. Does it add to the overall plot value. Is it complex. Is is multifaceted. Does it posses depth. Is it unpredictable. Does all this add to the overall characterization. (All rhetorical questions, though I have avoided the question mark)

2: Design

- A good, balanced design joins all the previous point together and presents the character in a coherent format. It should reflect the personality and the merits. The design should speak something else. The Design is basically the visualization of what any writer conceives and is thus pivotal to the character and story in general.

3: Power

- It's the least of my worries, but is the powers are balanced and add something to the plot, or its context, then it's always a better deal.

Sasuke and then, after a certain margin, Sasori are the only two characters out of this manga that don't belong in Naruto. They are far too complex and multifaceted to be appreciated and understood by the general puerile base. I like other characters as well, but these are head and shoulders above others.

 

[Tennis Robot]

What an abstract thread. I agree

I tend to favor personality, but design is pretty important too

 

[Uchihajin Sasuke]

Skill set and character decisions/actions, to me background isn't really important, but I love a good back story, Sasuke takes my vote

This, Lord Sasuke for me.

 

[Xlad]

1. How powerful his nipple squeezer is.
2. The worst design, the better.
3. History in regards to trolling.

 

[Xāvî1]

Personality , background/story ~ For me!

 

[awesomeseimei]

For me, it always starts with a character's looks, and I tend to notice hair first. They don't actually have to be good-looking though - usually it's something that makes their appearance stand out.

And then, well... I have certain kinds of characters personality-wise that I tend to like. Most of the time it's those who stay true to themselves and are dedicated to something, good or bad. They may not actually be developed - just the definition is enough, and the rest I will develop myself, in fanfics

Powers don't really matter but I prefer it when characters don't have too many. It's simply hard to me to keep a long power list in my mind, always trying to not forget that they have Obscure Ability #1 and Obscure Ability #2 that could be used in Hypothetical Situation #435. Now I can like both weak and strong characters but as long as their powers aren't too diverse it's fine by me.