Manga and anime character

A manga character or anime character is term to describe a character that first hailed from a manga or anime before appearing in a video game. All manga/anime characters so far that have appeared in the Super Smash Flash series have not made an appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series and most likely will be exclusive to the Super Smash Flash series.

In the Super Smash Flash series
The first game in the series, Super Smash Flash, only had two manga/anime representatives, and, whom were both unlockable characters.

More manga/anime characters appear in Super Smash Flash 2. SSF2's original planned roster had seven manga/anime characters, but the only characters from that list who are currently present are, , and. During the Day 4 stream at Super Smash Con 2016, was revealed to be a playable character after so many fan request. However, unlike the other manga characters, Luffy's sprites were custom made. Unlike in Super Smash Flash, all the manga/anime characters that have been revealed so far were starter characters.

Controversy
The appearance of manga/anime characters in the Super Smash Flash series has been met with mixed reception. While some fans enjoy their presence on the roster, others have expressed their disapproval, saying that they go against the spirit of the game because they are not video game characters in a traditional sense. Some players find the manga/anime character's movesets to be unique and fresh when compared to other characters. Other players believe that the manga/anime characters do not add anything to the roster or actively harm the chances of other, more legitimate characters from getting in.

Due to a combination of factors, including protests from players, a lack of support from the external Smash community, and a shift in the developers' own opinions, several anime characters were cut from the roster. The most infamous example is Rock Lee, who was removed from the game due to a large anti-Rock Lee campaign orchestrated on the McLeodGaming Forums. Other characters who have been confirmed to be cut include Sasuke Uchiha and Vegeta, who are now background characters, and Renji Abarai, who is now an Assist Trophy. After Luffy was revealed, it was explicitly confirmed in the Super Smash Con 2016 stream that there would be no more added after him.

Trivia

 * Naruto is the only manga/anime character that appeared in both Super Smash Flash games.
 * Cleod9 stated that the main reasons the devs wanted to cut back on manga/anime characters is because there would be far too many if they doubled up for each anime. In some cases the devs originally planned 3 from the same anime, but considered that would be too much.