There’s a lot of Asian characters in the movies, TV, comic books, manga, video games, and other fictional mediums that we absolutely love. Here are Amped Asia’s picks for the top 10.

10) Aang

Aang is the star of Avatar: The Last Airbender. After surviving in suspended animation of 100 year, the 12 year old Aang is reawakened to a world where he must stop an impending world war as the “Avatar” of the generation. An “Avatar” is one who is able to learn the four bending disciplines (firebending, earthbending, waterbending, and airbending) and bring peace to the world. An Avatar: The Last Airbender movie is set to come out soon and to be directed by M. Night Shymalan.

9) Harold Lee & Kumar Patel

These guys are quite notorious in the United States as the pot-smoking duo who set out on a journey to White Castle. Very few Asian Americans receive lead roles in American movies, but Harold and Kumar showed how funny two Asians could be in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Due to the success of the movie, the duo received a sequel, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

8) Liu Kang

Mortal Kombat reinvented the fighting game genre to be more brutal and bloody. The video game series, which also spawned two movies, a cartoon, and a TV show, has legions of fans worldwide. If you’re talking about Mortal Kombat then you must talk about Liu Kang, the main protagonist of the series. Besides being able to hook up with a hottie like Princess Kitana, Liu Kang has also saved the Earthrealm many times. He is currently one of the most popular characters of the Mortal Kombat universe.

Written by Editorial Staff

7) Monkey King (Sun Wu Kong)

If you were a Chinese kid, chances are that you know about the legend of the Monkey King. He’s an extraordinary monkey with supernatural powers. Since he has so many powers, he is the Chinese equivalent to Superman. Although he is primarily known for being in the Chinese novel “Journey to the West” he has most recently been featured in the movie The Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

6) Hiro Nakamura

Where would the show Heroes be without Hiro Nakamura? Masi Oka plays Hiro Nakamura, a time altering super human on the NBC show Heroes. He is one of the favorite heroes on the show and his goofy and loveable personality has a lot to do with it. His power is also super amazing, the ability to travel back and forth through time. Although Heroes is on the decline due to the writer’s strike, at the time of the show’s first season, Heroes was one of the top shows of primetime television. Hiro definitely had a lot to do with that.

5) Ryu

Street Fighter is one of the earliest fighting games and probably one of the games that truly popularized the fighting game genre. Ryu plays the main protagonist, a mysterious fighter set off to be the strongest in the world. He is definitely one of the most popular characters of the series. Ryu has caused many young children to go around the streets yelling “hadouken!”

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4) Goku

Despite being played by a white guy in the latest movie, Dragonball: Evolution, clearly Goku is intended to be of Asian descent. This fun-loving character has been featured in all Dragonball TV shows as well as on manga, video games, and action figures. Dragonball has become one of the most well-known Animes worldwide. For Asian kids like me, Goku was the only superhero we could root for while we were growing up.

3) Mulan

Disney is known for their blonde and brunette beauties, but when Mulan popped onto the scene she became an influence for little Asian girls everywhere. Although she isn’t a typical Disney princess, she became quite a popular figure in the Disney universe. She also happened to make an appearance in the game, Kingdom Hearts 2.

2) Mr. Miyagi

Ah! Mr. Miyagi. I completely loved The Karate Kid when I first watched it. Mr. Miyagi was a great sensei. The character was played by Noriyuki “Pat” Morita. For his portrayal, the actor earned an academy award nomination. His character was so popular that he helped the Karate Kid franchise to create three successful movies. Now in popular media, Mr. Miyagi is referenced constantly.

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1) Chun Li

She’s the second Street Fighter character to appear on this list. Chun Li is the definition of sexy. Although primarily known for her trademark beautiful legs, Chun Li is the total package: beauty AND brawns. Otakus worldwide drool when the mere thought of her pops into their head. The result of her popularity is that she is the most fan-drawn character of the Street Fighter universe. She was so popular that she’s been featured in both Street Fighter movies. She has been played by the likes of Ming-Na and Kristin Kreuk. True, the Street Fighter movies kinda sucked, but Chun Li still kicks major ass.

Written by Editorial Staff