One of the best parts of a great anime series is getting to watch characters grow and develop into better versions of themselves. Sometimes, this growth can be pretty dramatic, to the point that the chracter is a totally different person by the series’s conclusion.
Ken Kaneki — Tokyo Ghoul
At the start of Tokyo Ghoul, Ken Kaneki is a shy college student who loves literature and lives in denial of his familial issues. When he’s attacked by a ravenous ghoul named Rize, the two of them get into an accident that destroys his organs, requiring them to be replaced with ghoul parts.
Suddenly, he craves human flesh, and finds himself embroiled in the underground world of ghouls. At first, he simply wants to ease into his new life with minimal trouble, but after being taken and put through misery, his personality does a complete 180; in light of the incident, he’s willing to fight for what he wants
Izuku Midoriya — My Hero Academia
At the beginning of My Hero Academia, Izuku Midoriya has no special abilities to speak of; he’s just a regular middle school kid. This is a problem, considering he wants to be a superhero and the vast majority of his classmates have superpowers, which they call quirks. When Izuku does get a quirk of his own, he has to endure a merciless training program and multiple encounters with villains before he’s able to harness a fraction of its full potential.
While he still has a long way to go, he makes incredible progress in a short time, and can soon hold his own against villains.
Shinichi Izumi — Parasyte
After Shinichi Izumi of Parasyte becomes infected with an alien parasite, he’s understandably horrified. He has no idea how to handle Migi, who has taken over his right hand, and all he can do is panic.
Eventually, he learns to work with Migi (rather than against him) to achieve his goals of defending humanity and keeping his deformity a secret. By utilizing teamwork, Shinichi is able to protect Earth from a parasitical onslaught, which would have been impossible at the start
Asta - Black Clover
In Black Clover, Asta lives in a world of magic despite having no magic powers himself. And while everyone around him doubted his abilities, he still made it his goal to become a Magic Emperor and worked hard to become a strong Magic Knight. He found a way to turn his minuses into pluses by wielding Anti Magic. He goes from a weak non-magic user to a 3rd Class Junior Magic Knight who’s a part of the elite Royal Knights squad.
Nagisa Shiota — Assassination Classroom
The primary focus of this great anime is class 3-E, all of whom initially seem weak and unmotivated, but achieve their full potential with the help of their teacher, Koro-sensei. As such, most of the characters experience polar attitude shifts, but the series protagonist Nagisa Shiota’s is perhaps the most notable.
Nagisa starts the series off with no real direction. Due to a turbulent home life, he’s depressed, and is performing poorly in school. However, when Koro-sensei — a tentacle monster with a smiley face for a head — becomes his middle school teacher, he and his classmates are challenged to eliminate the creature if they want to save the planet. The process of becoming powerful enough to actually eliminate their teacher sharpens him physically and mentally, and also helps him learn to work with others.
Simon — Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
At the start of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Simon is a nervous, traumatized young boy with no real ambition or drive. While he doesn’t enjoy being forced to live underground, he has no plans to alter his situation. This changes when he starts getting to know Kamina, an older boy who wants to break through to the surface. He ends up joining Team Gurren, so that he too might one day escape confinement.
At first, Simon is content drifting along, but when an accident occurs, he has to step up and save his teammates. While Kamina can offer him verbal encouragement, Simon is the one who has to actually get the job done. He succeeds, and from then on, he’s a heck of a lot more powerful.
Atsushi Nakajima — Bungo Stray Dogs
When Bungo Stray Dogs begins, Atsushi Nakajima is close to dying of starvation after being kicked out of an orphanage. He ends up joining the Armed Detective Agency at the behest of one of its members, Dazai. At first, he has no discernable abilities, and when it becomes clear that he’s accidentally transforming into a dangerous tiger, he becomes more of a liability than anything else.
As time passes, however, Atsushi learns to control his transformations. On top of that, his mystery solving prowess increases, and he becomes a crucial voice of reason and morality in the agency.
Armin Arlert — Attack On Titan
At the start of Attack on Titan, it’s nigh impossible for most of the characters to feel anything but terror in the face of the man-eating Titans. Though he’s determined to escape them, Armin Arlert starts off the series unable to protect himself or anyone else. Through rigorous training and hands-on experiences, Armin learns how to actually fight the Titans, and becomes a formidable opponent with incredible strategic abilities.
Shu Ouma — Guilty Crown
Guilty Crown’s Shu Ouma is at first completely unwilling to participate in the conflict he finds himself dragged into. He barely wants to take part in his own life, and prefers to keep to himself. Despite his protest, he’s suddenly given an incredible ability called the Power of Kings, which allows him to extract weapons from his friends. This forces him to join a fight he wants no part of, and to learn to make friends so he can use his ability.
As the series progresses, he becomes less reluctant to participate in battles, and starts making significant sacrifices to save the people he cares about, including absorbing a form of magical cancer to spare others from experiencing its horrid effects.
Ippo Makunouchi — Hajime No Ippo
Hajime no Ippo features a protagonist who makes some serious changes in his life. Ippo Makunouchi starts out as a boy who is constantly bullied by his classmates. When he first gets involved on boxing, he’s not particularly motivated, and has a reputation for being lazy.
After his girlfriend threatens to break up with him, he starts dedicating himself to training. It’s a long, hard road, but he manages to become strong enough to win an incredible 23 out of his 25 matches.
Ren Mihashi — Big Windup!
When Ren Mihashi of Big Windup! was in middle school, he was terrible at baseball, and was particularly bad at pitching. His team lost nearly every match, and out of frustration, they started bullying him. As a result, Ren enters high school with anxiety, low self esteem, and no intention of ever playing baseball again.
He gets dragged into it anyway, and slowly begins to improve when his new team is actually nice to him. By the end of the series, he’s a whole lot more confident, and actually a pretty good player.