Who are your “redeemed” anime characters?

Good character development is one element we love to see in anime. If done well, it can take a seemingly unlikable or uninteresting character and pleasantly surprise us by turning them into something special. Today I decided to think back on some of my favorite “redeemed” characters – characters I wasn’t thrilled with at first only to be utterly amazed by them once their character development kicked in…

I don’t have a ton of redeemed characters; I tend to at least be neutral to most characters at first, always expecting some redeeming qualities as long as they’re not a total villain. So the five characters I’m discussing on this post are ones where I wasn’t expecting to be as impressed with them as I ended up being.

Inuyasha is one of my most memorable redeemed characters because I definitely did not like him in the early episodes, only to have him, and the Inuyasha series in general, become my biggest obsession for many years.

In the beginning of the series, he was just arrogant, hot-tempered, and uncaring, concerning himself only with his own desires. I was still a pretty new anime fan when I first watched Inuyasha – up to that point, I was used to male protagonists who were “nice guys” like Tenchi (Tenchi Muyo!), Vash (Trigun), and Gourry (Slayers). Seeing such an antagonistic character as the main protagonist was a bit confusing to me at the time. We did get a few hints early on that there might be good in him, but episode 13 is the one that changed my opinion of him. That’s the first episode where his human side really starts to come out (literally) as does his early feelings for Kagome. Since then, his good side continues to grow more and more – his hot-tempered personality doesn’t completely change, but by the middle or latter part of the series, he’s a completely different character from the selfish punk he was at the beginning. In the later episodes, he fights to protect others and is always thinking of them before himself. Unfortunately, his long and well construed development can only be fully appreciated by watching or reading all of the Inuyasha series.

Like Inuyasha, my first impression of Ami from Toradora! was rather negative, too. As soon as she dropped the pleasant facade and started showing her true personality, I couldn’t get over how distasteful she seemed, especially in her bitchy treatment of Taiga. But, since Toradora! is a much shorter series, it only took a few episodes to see that she’s not as bad as she appears to be. In her own subtle, mischievous way, I could see that she understood each of the characters’ feelings more than they did and was trying to lead them on the right path. She went from being an unlikeable romance interruption to an observant guide for the other characters, a rather unique role really.

Actually, the main five Toradora! characters ended up amazing me and should be on my list, but I just picked Ami because she’s the only one I didn’t like at the beginning.

Ken from Digimon Adventure 02 is perhaps my very first redeemed character. Unlike the others, he was clearly defined as a villain at the beginning of the series. When I first saw him, he seemed like just a generic evil villain who acts like a snobby genius in the real world and a tyrant in the digital world. Being an even newer anime fan at the time than when I first watched Inuyasha, I didn’t pick up on the foreshadowed character development that the series provided (his loyal digimon, his parents, etc.) But finally, after one of his major plans fails and his digimon displays sincere selflessness for him, we’re then treated to an entire episode devoted to revealing his past and how he’s developed up to that point. I remember how utterly wowed I was when I first saw this episode many years ago. After that, he becomes one of the kinder and gentler characters (and one of my anime crushes). I know character development like this in anime isn’t unique, but at the time I hadn’t seen anything like it before, so Ken will always be memorable to me.

Unlike the others, I didn’t particularly dislike Haruhi at the beginning – I just didn’t think that much of her really. After I heard about all the hype for her, and that fans were calling the Haruhi series the next Evangelion, I simply had to check it out. After my first viewing of the 14-episode 2006 series, my initial impression of her was “She’s interesting I guess, but what’s so great about her?”

It wasn’t until a year later in 2007 when I decided to give the series another watch (this time in chronological order) that I finally started to see what a special character she is. She’s just such an unusual character that one can get a false impression of her if you don’t read between the lines of what she does, so to speak. Then, when I read all the novels, her amazing development became clear as day. She’s now one of my favorite characters and the Haruhi series is also my favorite. Unfortunately, the anime still hasn’t reached the more explicit character development stories that the novels cover. But if you want to hear more about her brilliant character, I’ll leave that up to Ultimatemegax.

And lastly we have Gaara from Naruto, whose unexpected character development amazed me more than any other. When he first appeared at the beginning of the Chuunin exams, I thought he was just a creepy, enigmatic villainous character put there to be uber powerful and create more drama for the other characters. But after seeing the episodes that reveal his past in major detail, my opinion of him did a total u-turn.

It’s not only his background that’s well written, but what becomes of him because of it – he has his own unique world view and ideology for the things he does, twisted as they are, that strangely make sense considering what he’s been through. Thanks to a memorable clash with Naruto, he goes from creepy, mysterious, and deadly antagonist to respectable and honorable protagonist. If you need more reasons for why Gaara is such an incredible character, I wrote a post all about it here.

So, are there any anime characters you thought were unlikable or mediocre at first, only to end up liking them very much later on?

No Comments… read them or add your own.

  1. Sheryl, from Macross Frontier.

    At first, she’s just this idol bimbo with a too-overbearing personality, but halfway through the series she goes through A LOT, and begins to shine in a completely different light.

  2. Yumeka says:

    @ Anatole_serial

    You know, I was almost going to have Sheryl on my list too, but then I realized that I should probably watch Macross Frontier again to refresh my memory of exactly how she changes. I remember a little of what happens, but not enough detail. But yeah, if I wanted to add a sixth character, she would be it =)

  3. Scamp says:

    I can think of two but neither of them would really be classed as ‘redeemed’ because I don’t tend to care whether characters have redeeming qualities so long as they’re complex and interesting to watch.

    Anywho, the two are Johan Liebert from Monster and Griffith from Berserk. They both felt rather like stock characters at the start but as both shows delved further into what made them tic, the more fascinating and horrifying the two became

  4. Yumeka says:

    @ Scamp

    Yeah, by “redeemed” I mean they redeemed themselves as a likable character in your opinion, not necessarily that they became a “good guy” so to speak.

    Haven’t seen those two series though I do plan to check out Monster one of these days.

  5. Time to dredge up Monster and cite Detective Runge as being one of my favorites. Started as someone who was so strong in his belief that Tenma was the correct suspect that he hounded Tenma relentlessly, but the moment when he realized there were other actors taking part within this whole scheme, he was able to change his views for the better and realized the mistakes he made.

    And wow, did he redeem himself. That shootout/brawl towards the end was masterfully done, and pretty much made him one of my most favorite characters ever.

  6. Yumeka says:

    @ zzeroparticle

    As I told Scamp above, I do want to watch Monster one of these days. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it =D

  7. Myna says:

    too lazy to type my reasoning so I’ll just list them
    Sheryl Nome – Macross Frontier
    Himawari – xxxHOLiC
    Fay Valentine – Cowboy Bebop
    Asuka – Evangelion

  8. Yumeka says:

    @ Myna

    Good choices. I remember back in 2002 when I watched the episode of Cowboy Bebop that revealed Faye’s past and thought it was great. And Asuka has always been a favorite of mine. As I discussed in my Eva 2.2 post, her redeeming qualities are more apparent in the movies than the series. But I didn’t put Faye and Asuka on my list because I liked them right away =)

  9. Hogart says:

    Haruhi never won me over; she’s not really done much to “redeem” herself, though she’s slowly lost her jerkass edge. Kyon redeemed himself, though, when he stood up to her BS in season two and during Disappearance.

    Also, Tentai Senshi Sunred. After a while you realize that he really does care about Vamp and Florsheim, and is just a tsundere for Kayoko. But he’s also one of the few characters who’s ever legitimately pissed me off, in the episode with Vamp’s bike.

    There’s also Lawrence in Spice and Wolf, who is totally braindead around Horo but somehow manages to redeem himself from time to time. Especially episode 6 and his epic rickroll at the end of season two.

    Jinto in Banner of the Stars season 2. It’s not that I ever hated the kid, but he really manned the hell up and earned his Abriel in that series.

    Masa in Five Leaves, oddly. I never really liked him much, but he really did go from being a uselessly timid ronin to someone that the Five Leaves could depend on.

    I’d better stop before I remember more.

  10. Yumeka says:

    @ Hogart

    Like I said, Haruhi gets noticeably better and less tyrannical in the later novels post-Disappearance. But yeah, her personality is definitely not for everyone’s taste.

    Unfortunately, of the series you mentioned, I’ve only seen Spice and Wolf. Both Lawrence and Horo show good character development, but I suspected as much from them in the beginning as well.

  11. f0calizer says:

    I’m sure I can think of more redeemed characters if I spend more time, but your post made me think of one entire series that I’ve found “redeemed” now that I’m following it – Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. I’m reading the manga & watching the anime simultaneously, and I do prefer the manga a bit more over the anime, partly because the anime only covers part of the storyline.

    At first I was turned off by the series because I thought it was just CLAMP’s excuse to do a “Hey let’s crossover & recycle all our previous characters” kind of gimmick. But after following the first few volumes & episodes, I’ve grown to love the 2 characters I initially disliked – the ninja Kurogane (whom I thought was a grumpy badass wannabe) & the wizard Fai (whom I dismissed as a typically nice guy bishounen).

    Kurogane & Fai have a wonderful odd-couple, love-hate relationship. They’ve turned out to have really distinctive personalities & backstories, & they provide comic relief as well as dramatic insight into the relationship about Syaoran and Sakura. And they’ve got their own private demons & mysteries too – I’m at volume 10 / episode 19 and Fai the wizard *has not used any magical power*…why?! As the story unfolds they really begin to care more about Syaoran and Sakura – and about each other too. In fact, I’m beginning to care more about Kurogane & Fai than Syaoran and Sakura!

  12. Yumeka says:

    @ f0calizer

    That’s funny because Tsubasa is one series I started reading up to the first two or three volumes and it didn’t grow on me that much. But hearing what you said about it and seeing how popular it is, maybe I should give it another try one day. Only problem is I don’t want to watch the anime because I’ve heard bad things about it, and I’d probably only get the motivation to read the manga if someone lent me the actual volumes (I don’t enjoy reading manga online).

  13. ~xxx says:

    I don’t really think Haruhi did win redeem herself… I think it’s Kyon who had died several hundred times in order to control haruhi…

    Hitagi Senjougahara from bakemonogatari was a bit better…

    well, that’s my viewpoint.

  14. Yumeka says:

    @ ~xxx

    Kyon has also showed redeeming qualities later in the series. But I always loved his cynical, snarky narration from the get go XD

    Yeah, I didn’t think much of Hitagi at first but I got to like her better later on, especially after episode 12.

  15. akani says:

    My biggest one would be Accelerator from To Aru Majutsu no Index. Initially I didn’t like him. Then episodes 19 and 20 came along and then I looked more into the light novels, and now he’s my absolute favorite anime character of all time. Second season, come faster! ><

    Initially I hated Ami and Sheryl too. Ami seemed really mean at first but then I gradually accepted her as being part of the main Toradora group. At the beginning, I thought Sheryl was just some stuck up idol, but then she was actually given some proper backstory and depth to her. She's not my favorite character in the series, but she's okay for me now.

    As for Senjougahara, I never hated her. From the beginning I was amazed at such a dynamic character (and her use of staples too).

  16. Yumeka says:

    @ akani

    Haven’t seen Index, but I’ll keep Accelerator in mind if I do watch it eventually =)

    Like I said to Anatole_serial in the first comment, I almost put Sheryl on the list but decided that I should watch Macross Frontier again because I can’t remember exactly how my thoughts about her changed. But nice to see that others find her redeemed as well.

    I also liked Hitagi/Senjougahara from the beginning. I never became as into her as other fans, but she’s cool.

  17. Dragonliger says:

    you missed a really important redeemed character! XD I’m talking about impmon/belzeemon, i think that’s the redemption of a character that has touched me the most. He started as a cheeky brat. but then when they get to the digital world he gets the digivolution and with that uncanny power. That power corrupts him and makes he kill Leomon which unchains a lot of reactions. but after that he starts feeling guilty and there goes his character development chapter. when they show his past. but the thing i liked the most was when he tries to rescue Jeri and fails. that’s the place i felt his character developed the most. He will definitely be one of my favorite characters all time.

    Att’n Dliger

  18. Yumeka says:

    @ Dragonliger

    I agree, Impmon was a surprisingly great character. I just didn’t put him on the list because I kinda liked him (thought he was funny) at the beginning so feelings didn’t totally change after the end of the series. But yeah, his eventual character development was great. I gotta watch Digimon Tamers again (in Japanese this time!)

  19. kluxorious says:

    I don’t understand why there is so much hate for Haruhi. The first time I laid my eyes on her, I was smitten.
    I don’t think I have a redeemed character list, or rather I can’t think of any character at the moment. First impression is important and it will determined whether or not I like the character.
    Hmm, I feel like I should give this one a try and see if I can come up with anyone.

  20. Yumeka says:

    @ kluxorious

    Whenever you have an extremely popular character like Haruhi, there’s always going to be a lot of noticeable haters as well. But luckily, from what I’ve seen among fans in general, she gets more love than hate =)

    Let me know if you come up with some characters for your list~

  21. Valence says:

    Accelerator , for the win. Even if it did take a loli to make him seem like a nice guy, it was worth it. And yeah, who could forget Beezlemon? I remember watching him in my childhood, commenting on how dastardly evil he was, until he just became good and helped them all.

  22. Yumeka says:

    @ Valence

    Like I said to akani above, I haven’t seen Index, but if I do, I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Accelerator’s good development =)

    And hooray for another vote for Impmon/Beezlemon! Glad I’m not the only one who thinks even characters in a “kids” show like Digimon can be greatly developed.

  23. I’ll surprise a lot of people and go with Koizumi Itsuki as someone who I changed my mind on. Originally when I watched Haruhi I loved Kyon and his snark. I didn’t really care for any of the other characters besides him. It took reading through the novels, re-watching the series a couple of times, and a few long discussions about the show with a close friend for me to realize just how amazing of a character Koizumi is. He plays such a very important role and yet one that requires him to sacrifice so much for the safety of the world. I know he thinks of himself as a hero, but he’s slowly becoming one in my opinion.

    I’ll also toss in Taiga from Toradora!, but I’ve told you about that. I couldn’t stand her character, especially the character design at first, but she’s jumped to one of my favorite characters over the show. I didn’t hate Ami at first, but that’s because I accidentally skipped episode 5 and moved straight to her better episode first.

  24. Yumeka says:

    @ ultimatemegax

    Oh, I never knew that Koizumi wasn’t originally your favorite. Very interesting.

    And I’m glad you changed your opinion about Taiga ^^ I didn’t really like her or dislike her in episode 1, but in episode 2 I started to like her. By the end of the series, she became one of my favorites too. Heh, too bad you skipped Ami’s premiere episode. I wonder if your initial opinion of her would have been different.

  25. kashim40 says:

    Takasu Ryuji

    A delinquent looking guy but so nice and very skillful too. nice and kind hearted person but mistaken for a bad personality because of his devilish eyes :D

  26. Yumeka says:

    @ kashim40

    Ryuuji’s a great character, but I thought he was good right away. Despite what he looked like, I already had an idea what his personality was like from reading synopses before I even started watching Toradora! =)

  27. Myna says:

    @Yumeka thanks ^^ I didn’t like Asuka or Faye at first. I thought Faye would be just a conniving and somewhat weak, but as soon as her past came up I was just like, I love you Faye <3

    On the topic of the Tsubasa anime, yes it sucked.
    The OVAs however were rather fantastic.

    The manga gets really convoluted at times and you're going 'wtf' a lot of times, but it's definitely worth the read.

  28. Robert Weizer says:

    Renton Thurston, but it’s an interesting subject. I was really annoyed by Renton and the kids way back when Eureka Seven first aired on Adult Swim so I quit. This year I decided to watch it again, and I love the hell out of it and think Renton is a lot more interesting.

  29. Yumeka says:

    @ Robert

    Yeah, Renton was kind of annoying at first, but one thing I did like about him right away was that he remained true in his feelings for Eureka from beginning to end =)

  30. Mikoto says:

    Zelos Wilder from the Tales of Symphonia Japanese RPG game comes to mind (which was adapted into an OVA) when it comes to characters that “redeemed” themselves in my eyes.

    (Spoilers for those who haven’t played the game.)

    Zelos comes across as an unlikable and flirtatious douche initially. His high status, happy-go-lucky attitude, and air-headed demeanor can put people off at first.

    As the game progresses, it’s clear that Zelos isn’t exactly the arrogant idiot he seems to be and is actually quite sharp and intelligent, figuring things out before the party members do. He’s actually a self-hating man with a tragic past and a death wish, and his outward personality is just a facade to fool people into letting their guard down. He used this fake personality ever since his mom was killed from shielding him from an assassination attempt and told him that he shouldn’t have been born (probably to keep his sanity).

    He later “betrays” you, and two paths can either let him live or die. The path which lets him stay alive reveals that what he did was to benefit the other characters and he faked the betrayal; he still genuinely cares for his friends. The path that lets him die reveals that he betrayed the party so they could kill him, in turn helping his sister have a better life, and he ends up helping the party with his last words anyway.

    So yeah, at first he seemed like a typical “horny” male that flirts with everyone a la Takeshi from Pokemon, but then all of a sudden his character started to have some unique twists to it that were slowly revealed to me. My impression of him went from “asshole” to “likable and sympathetic fellow”, and he became one of my favorite characters. That’s a very steep change.

  31. Liz says:

    I’m currently watching Turn-A Gundam (just reached Gym) and that has many “redeemed” characters for me (will avoid spoilers). I thought Sochie Heim was kind of a jerk at first. In the beginning, she is arrogant and becomes blinded by rage. She becomes more thoughtful towards people and more strategic in combat, after she loses a second person close to her. Kihel Heim seemed dull and uninteresting, but turns out to be very strong and a great leader. I disliked Harry Ord the first time I saw him. He seemed like a generic villain with large helpings of arrogance and red glasses. Of course, he’s become my big crush of the series now. He ends up in a position where he must juggle political and personal relationships, and his actions and reactions show what he feels.

    @ Yumeka
    I never disliked Inuyasha, but he does gain a lot more depth during the course of the series.

    @ Anatole_serial
    I also thought of Sheryl Nome. The diva persona was very annoying at first, but I later felt that the best episodes of Frontier were the silly filler ones mostly focused on her.

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