14. Shiva - Final Fantasy

Shiva the Ice Queen, a recurring staple in the Final Fantasy series. She’s had many incarnations throughout the series, mostly as summons.

The Ice Queen, an elemental who most often serves as a summon or boss of some sort. She’s been a staple since Final Fantasy III, and one of the most popular recurring characters in the series. Shiva is, unsurprisingly, skilled with ice magic. Her iconic move is Diamond Dust, though she casts a lot of ice spells like Blizzard, Blizzara, and Blizzaga as well. In almost every incarnation of her, Shiva is a beautiful, wistful-looking woman with blue skin.

I debated on putting Ifrit or Bahamut here instead, but I think the lovely Shiva deserves the spot. Everyone else can just chill. (That was terrible, and I am ashamed.)
Shiva is most known for:

• Her regular appearance in the Final Fantasy franchise as a summon, or boss.
• Her signature move: Diamond Dust. Its damage varies slightly by title, but generally it keeps to the theme of being an ice AoE, or multi-target spell.
• Her role in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, where she is a somewhat major plot point in the Heavensward expansion.

13. White Walkers - Game of Thrones

Led by the Night King, the White Walkers are an ancient race of ice creatures who were once humans. Their goal is the same as their king: to bring about the Long Night and an eternal winter, wiping out all life as they do.

When the Children of the Forest created the first White Walker- the Night King- this would lead to the creation of an entire race. White Walkers are the bringers of winter. Cold killers whose only mission is to exterminate all the living. Their glowing blue eyes stand out against their almost mummy-looking pale skin.

White Walkers are physically very strong, wielding weapons made of crystallized ice. If that weren’t enough, they can raise the dead to fight under their command. Any dead- humans, dragons, animals. Their greatest weaknesses are dragonglass and valyrian steel, both of which can kill a White Walker with even the smallest wound.

These things are like ice zombies, and I absolutely love it. Not only can they throw fully grown men in armor like they’re yesterday’s trash, but they can raise the dead to fight alongside them. Every loss is a gain for them, though their greatest strength is also their weakness. Kill the White Walker, and their undead buddies drop like flies.
White Walkers are most known for:

• Their service to the Night King, who is the most ancient and powerful of their kind. The first ever created.
• Necromancy. White Walkers can raise the dead, seen many times throughout the show. They even managed to raise a dragon.
• Resilience. Valyrian steel and dragonglass are the only things that can reliably kill a White Walker.

12. No-Face - Spirited Away

A curious being who became obsessed with Chihiro, No-Face is a masked spirit whose speech and personality vary based on who it eats. It doesn’t really seem to have an agenda, outside of being with Chihiro.

Not a ton is known about No-Face, save for its abilities and its complete fascination with Chihiro. Despite its lack of lore, No-Face is one of the most popular creatures from Studio Ghibli. It can mimic anyone it absorbs, speaking with their voice and taking on their personality. It also can also summon things- like gold- seemingly from thin air. It may not have the most exciting powers, but it’s too cute to care.
No-Face is most known for:

• It’s mimicry abilities. It can absorb another spirit to gain its speech and personality, usually displaying its negative traits.
• Its obsession with Chihiro, which is born of her good nature and sincerity. It revels in her approval and seems to take her scorn hard.
• That iconic mask, which has been the center of many cosplays.

11. Dragons - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Dragons. Iconic, and central to the story of Skyrim. The servants of Alduin will hunt the Dragonborn relentlessly in an effort to reclaim their former glory.

We know them, we love them. The Dragons are the main plot of Skyrim, and as enemies, they might be a bit underwhelming. Unless you play on Legendary difficulty, Dragons lose a lot of their fear factor quickly. Still, they are iconic enemies.

They breathe fire or frost, and they can show up at any time. Their bites are lethal at lower levels, or if you’re undergeared. Legendary difficulty makes them a bit more fearsome, increasing their health and damage.

Dragons in Skyrim are famous for many reasons. Their importance to the story being one of them, and another being just how annoying they are. It’s infuriating when you’re off doing the fun quests, and a dragon shows up and stops you from being able to fast-travel. They always show up at the absolute worst times, and I definitely think it’s planned.
Dragons are most known for:

• Loyalty to Alduin. At least most of them are, hence why they’re sent to hunt the Dragonborn.
• Being the central plot of the story.
• Their penchant for showing up at the absolute worst time and being a total inconvenience.
• Being rideable, with the Dragonborn DLC.

10. The Sorting Hat - Harry Potter

The baddest hat at Hogwarts! The Sorting Hat is an enchanted wizard’s hat that can speak. When it’s placed upon a first year student’s head, the Sorting Hat looks inside of them and sorts them into one of the four houses.

Alright, so it might walk the line of “monster,” but it’s definitely not human. While it lacks any real significance in the films, everyone knows the Sorting Hat. It sorts the students of Hogwarts into one of the four houses.

There are several factors in the sorting process. First and most obviously, what traits a student has. Second being what traits a student admires or aspires to have. And finally, what may challenge a student, such as sorting cowardly Neville into Gryffindor to help him become more confident and brave. Outside of its intended purpose, the Sorting Hat doesn’t do much, though it is sentient with its own personality.

Alright, this one is a stretch. I know. It has a stronger presence in the books than the films, with its songs being removed from the films altogether. But c’mon. A monster that sits on your head, judges you, and puts you into a social group? Iconic.
The Sorting Hat is most known for:

• Sorting the students of Hogwarts into one of four houses: Gyffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. (Where my Hufflepuffs at?)
• Being something of a songbird in the books, singing songs at the beginning of each year that it wrote. In the books, it’s said that its songs inspire unity and inspire them to come together to face danger.
• It’s sentience. Despite not having a strong presence, the Sorting Hat has its own personality, with a sense of humor even.