In anime series of any genre, it’s essential for the main characters to get major development so they can keep growing as cool, compelling, and heartfelt characters. Plenty of prominent anime characters get rich and meaningful development as the story continues, but others fall well short of that goal. Unfortunately, some notable anime characters had iffy growth arcs and weak development that made them less interesting in the long run.
Bad character development can take a few forms, such as a character changing their mind or viewpoint for unclear reasons, their development being slow or meaningless, or the character becoming less pleasant and likable over time. Bad development will rob a character of their potential and make their growth stall out, which is a real shame for anime fans who liked them and wanted them to become someone amazing.
10
Yamcha Got Redeemed, Then Did Nothing Important
Yamcha Was Better Off as a Funny Villain
Character development in the Dragon Ball universe usually involves getting stronger, fighting for the power of friendship, and having hard work pay off over time. Such was the case for Goku and his sons, but the meme-worthy Yamcha missed out. He was actually more interesting as a minor villain enamored with Bulma, which made for some fine comedy in the original Dragon Ball.
Later, Yamcha was redeemed as a member of Goku’s circle of friends, only for that redemption to make him less interesting. That development simply turned Yamcha into a worse Goku, often getting clobbered in fights or being asked to sit out the most intense battles altogether. Pound for pound, Yamcha would have been better off as a villain who got written out so he could have left the story while he was still entertaining.
9
Mello Never Felt Like He Truly Belonged in Death Note’s Story
Mello Simply Got in Everyone’s Way
The last two major villains in the Death Note anime had rather weak development, those being Mello and Near, the successors of the original L. Neither of them had a worthwhile backstory or motivations, merely being kids in an orphanage who adored L and later wanted to avenge him. Mello might have been more interesting as an aggressive wild card, but his development didn’t handle it well.
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In the end, Mello was just a troublemaker who couldn’t decide on a single course of action, merely making things up as he went and annoying viewers in the process. Death Note fans did get to see multiple sides to Mello, but it didn’t add up to a strong character arc. Mello’s final phase still showed him as an impulsive third party, mucking up the battle between Light and Near just because he could.
Death Note
- Release Date
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October 4, 2006
Cast
8
Momo Hinamori Took Too Long to Get Over Aizen
When Momo Did Get Over Him, Her Arc Stalled Out
Back in Bleach‘s Soul Society story arc, Lieutenant Momo Hinamori of Squad 5 was a worthwhile character since she showed what happens when a charismatic villain like Sosuke Aizen worms his way into someone’s heart. After Aizen outed himself as a villain, Momo saw the truth of the Captain she adored, but Momo took too long to do anything about it.
Momo still clung to Aizen in some ways, even calling him “Captain” after his defection to the Hollows, and she didn’t have a meaningful interaction with him in the fake Karakura Town, either. Momo’s post-Aizen growth was slow and had little payoff, wasting the potential for Momo to grow up and truly become her own person. In the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, Momo was at peace with everyone and everything, which is good news for her, but it wasn’t shown in much detail.
Death Note
- Release Date
-
October 4, 2006
Cast
7
Karin’s Redemption Was Too Mild to Be Interesting
Karin Felt Like a Fluff Character the Entire Time
Some villains in Naruto had some fantastic development and plot twists, from Zabuza Momochi to the Six Paths of Pain and Obito Uchiha, but the same was not true for Karin, a kunoichi in Sasuke Uchiha’s antihero squad. Karin effectively became another Sakura Haruno, a hotheaded tsundere who adored Sasuke while receiving no affection in return.
For too long, that was the status quo in Karin’s weak personal arc, and she didn’t improve much after Sasuke turned on her in Naruto Shippuden, either. Karin ended up becoming a loose ally of Naruto’s side, including her valuable intel, but she hardly felt any different at the time. Only very slowly and gradually did Karin ever evolve as a person in the huge Naruto franchise, but the story could have done much more with what should have been Sakura 2.0.
6
Nami Went From a Cat Burglar to an Irritable Tsundere
Nami Just Pays Lip Service to Her Burglar Ways
Many cast members in One Piece had their development slowed way down simply because there was no room. With so many characters to juggle and develop, One Piece can’t even finish fleshing out major heroes like Nami the navigator, whose development hasn’t budged much since the Alabasta saga. Her backstory in that tragic flashback sequence was good development, as was Nami’s decision to start fighting, but there hasn’t been much since.
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For hundreds of episodes, Nami has stalled out and even felt like a token female character at times, but Straw Hats deserve more development beyond that. By now, Nami has ended up being just an archetype with a climate baton, having left behind her entertaining days of being a roguish cat burglar with a personal mission to fulfill.
5
Mirai Kakehashi Decided to Live After All — for Boring Reasons
Mirai’s New Purpose for Living Doesn’t Say Anything Profound
Few characters in the Platinum End anime ended up with solid development or arcs, which was no doubt disappointing for fans of Death Note, another series by the same creators. Protagonist Mirai Kakehashi didn’t just fall short of Light Yagami — he fell short of any worthwhile anime lead and had little development. His only growth was when his attempt to end his own life was interrupted by an angel, which prompted Mirai to decide to value his life after all.
Mirai made a rather simple vow: to live a normal, obscure life of happiness that won’t bother anyone. Such a modest life decision feels like the mere starting point for something greater after Mirai got a second chance at life, but the development stopped there. All throughout Platinum End, Mirai kept talking about his simple desire for a simple life, because he had nothing else better to think about aside from the angel-based death games.
Platinum End
- Release Date
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2021 – 2021
- Network
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TBS
- Directors
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Jang Hee-kyu, Son Seung-hui, Oh Eun-soo
4
Najimi Osana Devolved Into Generic Comic Relief
Najimi’s Ultra-Social Ways Called for Some Backstory
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At first, the ultra-extroverted Najimi Osana promised to be a major ally of Shoko Komi in Komi Can’t Communicate. After all, Komi wanted to break out of her timid shell to make 100 friends, and aside from Tadano, Najimi was Komi’s best ally in that mission. However, Najimi’s development didn’t allow that, with their arc reducing them to a cartoony comic relief character.
Najimi made a strong impression as the ultimate social butterfly who knows everyone and can organize groups with ease, but that potential was soon wasted. Najimi’s development almost felt like anti-development, shifting the focus away from their strong social skills and toward cheap comedy routines that anyone in the anime could have done.
3
Ren Sohma’s Development Was Never Even Finished
Ren Is Just a Plot Device After All
Most characters in the 2019 Fruits Basket anime enjoyed robust character arcs and meaningful development, such as Kyo taking command of his life, and even Akito got a bit of development at the end. The same is not true for Akito’s verbally abusive mother Ren, who helped perpetuate the Sohma family’s abuse and twisted her daughter into a monster.
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It was bad enough to see Ren act so cruel and selfish in those flashbacks, but worst of all, her arc didn’t go anywhere from there. Ren’s motivations were shallow and simple, and she had no chance to even attempt redemption or change her ways. She just vanished from the story, making Ren a mere plot device to shape Akito into the kind of villain the overall story needed.
Fruits Basket
- Release Date
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April 6, 2019
- Directors
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Yoshihide Ibata
2
Akane Kurokawa Foolishly Decided to Become Aqua’s Accomplice in Crime
Akane Must Focus on Her More Constructive Pursuits
The actress Akane Kurokawa did get some worthwhile development in the Oshi no Ko anime, such as fueling her rivalry with Kana Arima. That brought out the best in both girls, but the rest of Akane’s arc didn’t measure up. After Aqua Hoshino saved Akane in her darkest moment, Akane wasn’t just grateful — she became downright obsessed with Aqua, to the point she had the Hoshino-style eye stars.
Akane didn’t do anyone any favors as she became Aqua’s willing tool and ally; Akane gladly volunteered to become Aqua’s accomplice in a planned murder. Akane didn’t even know all the details of the intended crime, but she was determined to support Aqua anyway, a dark and questionable development for her character. Even if Oshi no Ko is a subversive seinen anime, that development still made Akane look pretty bad in the eyes of fans.
1
Nino Nakano Changed Her Mind About Futaro Too Easily
A Chunk of Nino’s Arc Seems Missing
Overall, the five Nakano sisters had charming and inspirational development in The Quintessential Quintuplets, but Nino still had a strange development that hurt the immersion somewhat. At first, Nino was by far the most hostile to Futaro Uesugi, even taking the questionable step of drugging him twice. Then, between Seasons 1 and 2, Nino did a hard reversal and decided she was totally in love with him.
Neither character did enough to make that development make sense, so it ended up feeling like a forced plot point to make sure Nino got her place in the sisterly harem. The lack of significant character development didn’t stop Nino from gaining a strong fan base, but even so, that was one of the strangest and clunkiest instances of character developments in any romance anime.
