Character development

Character development is how a character develops. It is the opposite of mh:loathsomecharacters:character derailment

Notable characters who went through character development

 * 22 (Soul): She started off as a cynical jackass who hated Earth and life, but after actually experiencing life, she realizes that it does have meaning after all.
 * 'Abu (Aladdin'') (The TV series has him serve as a voice of reason towards Iago and becomes less sneaky.)
 * Adora (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power): She started off always blaming herself for things beyond her control and that were the fault of others. Her time in an emotionally healthy environment with non-toxic people helped erode this. As such, when a corrupted Catra tries to blame her for reality falling apart in the Season 3 finale, Adora promptly calls her out, saying it was Catra's fault. As well as her going from always being willing to sacrifice herself, to eventually realizes that she doesn't want to sacrifice herself and decides to live her own life and be happy rather than senselessly sacrifice herself as She-Ra.
 * Aigis (Persona 3): Became devastated after losing Makoto, went back to being a machine, then at the end of the game, she develops into a strong-hearted girl with a talent of leadership, and regained her will to live, becoming more human than a machine. Yukari even admits that out of all the members of S.E.E.S., Aigis cared about Makoto the most, which is why out of all of them, she was the one who inherited his power.
 * Atsuko "Akko" Kagari (Little Witch Academia): Started off as short tempered, lazy, rude, childish, entitled and selfish at times and is frequently seen as a childish and irresponsible troublemaker by several characters early on. BUT By "The Fountain", she's realized that there are no magical shortcuts to accomplish her goals and she has to put the work in and earn it. The following episode shows that she's taken it to heart and starts dedicating herself to her studies, though she continues to struggle to catch up to her classmates. By "Bee Affection", she's able to perform the Metamorphosis spell well enough to make a kaiju squirrel, as well as not screw up her part in the Cinderella-kit ritual. And by the end of the series, Akko can not only perform the Metamorphosis spell near flawlessly and shapeshfit into various animals on a dime, but she can also fly.
 * Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles): He began the film as a workaholic who thought more about his job than his family. But after he and his family are captured by Syndrome, he realizes just how important his family is.
 * Chihiro Ogino (Spirited Away): Went from a a spoiled, whiny child with no experience in work. The craziness she went through in the Spirit World made her more selfless, brave, and generally more well-mannered.
 * Connie Maheswaran (Steven Universe): Starting out shy and nervous around others at the beginning of the series, Connie slowly grows to become more independent and self-confident, standing up to others and participating in Steven's Gem life when she can. She learns to manage her anxiety better, significantly improves her relationship with her parents, and actively takes part in battles.
 * Coraline Jones (Coraline) (Stared off as whiny and somewhat spoiled due to feeling ignored with all the changes going on in her and her family's lives. After getting trapped in the other world however, she grows to become more selfless and less bratty.)
 * Dani Phantom (Danny Phantom): Started off evil, before becoming a friend to Danny.
 * Dendy (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes): At the beginning of her friendship with K.O. and the other Bodega heroes, she tended to treat other people more like experiments due to her lack of social skills, seen in episodes such as "I am Dendy", "We've Got Fleas", and "Mystery Science Fair 201X". She realizes this in the latter episode and gives K.O. a heartfelt apology, and becomes a better friend to him from then on. She also began to emote more often as the series went on.
 * Diana Cavendish (Little Witch Academia): She isn't the nicest to Akko at first, but ends up being very good friends by "Intellect and Sensibility". Their friendship gets quite a bit bigger throughout "Yesterday" and "Changing at the Edge of the World" to the point where in "Changing at the Edge of the World", Diana cries at the thought of Akko dying.
 * Edd (Ed, Edd, and Eddy) (In spite of his Flanderization, he still received his fair share of development in seasons 5-6.)
 * Enid (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes): She was, at first, snarky, cynical, and uncomfortable with her witch heritage since she wanted to be a ninja. Later, she grows out of the latter two traits and realized that accepting and embracing the witch side of herself doesn't make her any less of a ninja, and she attends witch college.
 * Eren Yeager (Attack on Titan): A brash, and simple-minded young man who is keen on eliminating every Titans in the world, until he saw the past about them, realizing that they were never the monsters he thought they would be. Later changed his view on humanity, and chooses Eldia's honor and safety by commiting genocide against Marley.
 * Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair): Started off as short-tempered, arrogant, and violent. But after losing his bodyguard and only friend Peko Pekoyama, partially due to his own actions, he decides to start taking genuine steps to become a batter person so that her sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. He cooperates with the other students more, and even accepts their criticisms of him in order to improve himself. He also learns that depending on other people doesn't make you weak, and that you can still be strong even if you have to have others help you.
 * Fuuka Yamagishi (Persona 3) (After Natsuki's transferal, she decides to overcome her shyness and is more outgoing. She also initially doesn't get along with her parents because they are the reason why Fuuka became as shy as she is and she believes that living at home is difficult. Later on, however, she goes home to see her parents frequently and having an implication that the relationship between Fuuka and her parents had improved.)
 * Glimmer (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Following Queen Angella's sacrifice, she matures significantly upon becoming the new Queen of Bright Moon.
 * Gru (Despicable Me) (Starts off as a villain with goals to become the greatest criminal of all time. However, after he adopts 3 orphan girls in order to execute a plan, he grows to genuinely care about the girls and reforms in the end.)
 * Hime Shirayuki (Happiness Charge Pretty Cure!): At the beginning of the series, she could barely hold her own against a Saiark, with other cures (namely Lovely and Fortune) bailing her out every time. She could also barely speak to other people without fainting from the anxiety it caused her. But as the series went on, she became a stronger fighter and comes out of her shell.
 * Himiko Yumeno (Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony): started off as lazy and whiny about how "tiresome" everything was. But after the deaths of Angie Yonaga and Tenko Chabashira, Himiko decideds to take the latter's final words to her to heart and starts expressing herself more, taking part more during the Class Trials, and using the word "nyeh" less.
 * Kai (mh:besttvshows:LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu): Started off cocky, became more devious, sharp, and a lot less cocky.
 * Leonardo (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)): At first, Leonardo is portrayed as a Laid Back character who would sometimes slack off, however, when being given Character Development and at the end of the series, he is the leader of the show.
 * Kairi (Kingdom Hearts): In Kingdom Hearts II, she becomes more mature and is saddened by Sora's absence, but obtains wisdom beyond her age.
 * Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul): Starts his tragedy by living his life upside-down, learn how ghouls live in a society, embraces his ghoul side, have many different kinds of split personalities, becomes a king to seek peace, reflects on his life, finds his own redemption, as he recognizes that everyone is their own protagonist, and that his tragedy doesn't make him anymore special than anyone else. He knows that the world is a harsh and unforgiving place, but despite it all, people will still strive to be loved and chosen by those around them. As a result, he'll carry on and choose and be chosen, nothing more, nothing less.
 * Kazuichi Souda (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair) (While his overall personality does not drastically change, over the course of the game he learns to let go of his old trust issues and believe in his friends, allowing him to work together with the survivors and survive the Killing Game.)
 * Kratos (God of War): Became very viscous and vengeful by the end, realized his mistakes and tries to control his anger more and teach his son to be a good person.
 * Kyoko Kirigiri (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc): Starts off as distant and aloof, but warms up to Makoto and the other students as the game goes on.
 * Jessie Prescott (JESSIE) (She starts off as a struggling, new nanny, but then learns more about taking care of the Ross family, and became a strong, loyal woman who considers the Ross family as her own.)
 * Joy (Inside Out): Learns that endless happiness isn't always the solution, and that feeling sad isn't always bad and can be an important part of emotionally processing a problem in order to be able to fix it.
 * Legoshi (Beastars): Over time, he stops trying to hide in the shadows and embraces being a wolf.
 * Lightning McQueen (Cars): He's initially a vain and selfish celebrity. But as the film go on, he becomes more caring and selfless throughout the story.
 * Lloyd Garmadon (LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu) Used to long to be like his father, before realizing he was the green ninja.
 * Lola and Lori Loud (The Loud House): Had their spitefulness toned down and became friendlier and caring towards Lincoln.
 * Maka Albarn (Soul Eater) (From a girl with temper problems to her temper issues are replaced with being more responsible and courageous.)
 * Makoto Naegi (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc): He starts of as a self-proclaimed "average high school student". But with the help of Kyoko, he's able to become a leader for the other students so they can all stand up to Junko Enoshima together and end the Killing Game.
 * Makoto Yūki/Minato Arisato/The Protagonist (Persona 3): Aloof and depressed teenager, uncaring about the dangers around him, until he was destined to stop the world's end, accepting that death was a natural way of life, saved the world by sealing Nyx, but at the cost of his life, this making the sacrifice by becoming a door. And afterwards, Makoto spends his remaining days until March 5th as a regular highschool student, then lies on Aigis' lap while having their last talk together, and sleeps for eternity.
 * Marlin (Finding Nemo): Starts off as an overprotective father due to losing his wife Coral in his past. But over the course of the film, he learns to let go of his past and not let it control him.
 * Megamind (Megamind) (His past of being raised at a prison and mistreated at school caused him to grow into a tyrannical supervillain. However, after finally getting the chance to take over Metro City and finding himself to have no purpose in life, he forms a close relationship with Roxanne Ritchie. This is what causes him to give up villainy and become Metroman's successor.)
 * Miyuki Hoshizora (Smile Pretty Cure!): Went from a coward who would rather run from a fight and had a difficult time adjusting to her new powers, Miyuki eventually develops into a brave, strong, and more rounded leader. She also became more confident in her abilities over time, to the point where she was the first Cure to use her special attack more than once without being tired from using it.
 * Nakoruru (Samurai Shodown (Samurai Shodown) (In the development on Samurai Shodown 2019, Nakoruru disposition had gradually changed in the years which leads her from a sad and stoic girl to become a bit cheery.)
 * Noelle Silva (Black Clover): She was described as a failure and an embarrassment to the Silva family, due to her lack of controlling her Water Magic, until she utilize her new wand to gain more control and create new water-based spells.
 * Orihime Inoue (Bleach) (She went from being cheerful into a very solemn character since the Arrancar arc first began. Then she returns straight back to being cheerful, but with a pluckier disposition.)
 * Phosphophyllite (Houseki no Kuni): Started off as an arrogant, useless child, but grew into a to a mature warrior who starts showing signs of PTSD and distrust about the surrounding world.
 * Radicles X (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes): Thanks to K.O.'s influence. he began feeling a lot more comfortable with himself and able to be more open about his true thoughts and feelings. He becomes less of a jerk and a better mentor to K.O. as a result.
 * Rigby (Regular Show): He makes a conscious effort to turn his life around, even making it a point to go back to high school and complete his remaining classes.
 * Orel Puppington (Moral Orel): In the Beginning of the Series, Orel was known for making a lot of mistakes throughout life and would always be scared when he his father would hit him with a belt, but after Season 2, Orel shows Maturity by never being scared of his father's beatings.
 * Ratchet (Ratchet & Clank) (He becomes more humble and compassionate throughout the course of the series.)
 * Ronnie Anne Santiago (The Loud House): She was known for being the toughest girl in Royal Woods Elementary who would bully Lincoln then became his other best friend/love interest and she would later become the main protagonist of the spin-off The Casagrandes.
 * Riku (Kingdom Hearts: He goes through the most development of the Destiny Islands trio, going from an antagonist to a protagonist over the course of the overarching story. Kairi points it out in their scenes in A Fragmentary Passage.
 * Roxas (Kingdom Hearts: A central component of Days is that Roxas has to learn to emote on his own since he has no memories of his life to tell him how to, and he begins the game as a lifeless dullard.
 * Schwi Dola (mh:greatestmovies:No Game No Life: Zero): Was introduced as a machine built to fight during the war, then became much more human after learning the human heart and emotions from Riku, and deciding to marry him.
 * Shoto Todoroki (My Hero Academia): He leans to never use his power on his father despite hating him for ruining his and his mothers live.
 * Shuichi Saihara (Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony) (Over the course of the game, he grows more confident in himself and his abilities, but according to the Tsumugi, his journey as was decided from the start and was the reason he was selected for the Killing Game. But he later becomes the first Danganronpa participant to reject both Hope and Despair. His experiences within the game have caused him to deny Danganronpa in all its entirety, and not just Despair as per series tradition, which causes the other participants, as well as the audience watching to side with him and the Killing Games end once and for all.
 * Stella (Winx Club; Seasons 1-4; Started off as selfish and arrogant, but as the series goes on, she learns to be more selfless to her friends and grows in maturity. But Season 5 unfortunately undid this development.
 * Steven Universe (Steven Universe): As the episodes progress, he becomes more emotionally mature, independent and rebellious towards the other Crystal Gems and their authority over what he is supposed to know, and the "Change Your Mind" special has him decide to stop trying to be what others want just to please them.
 * Tadashi Yamaguchi (Haikyuu!!: As a pinch server and the only freshman non-regular player of Karasuno, he was initially a coward who failed to do his jump float serve (taught by Makoto Shimada) during the first match against Aoba Johsai in Season 1; in Season 2, however, he gained successful development of his pinch serve and confidence after spending his time practicing with his mentor and his teammates.
 * Taiga Aisaka (Toradora!): Started out as a fierce, mostly quick to anger, but a socially awkward loner, and an accident prone in a messy apartment who mostly relies on Ryuuji has now changed to responsible and a much kinder person who now has friends to look after, and interact.
 * Tecna (Winx Club; Seasons 1-4): She's initially stoic and by-the numbers, but learns to warm up to those around her. Unfortunately, like Stella, her character development was undone in Season 5.
 * Tohka Yatogami (Date A Live): Was originally very cold and hostile to everyone, assuming that everyone was out to kill her and refusing any of Shido's attempts to communicate with her. However after their second meeting, Shido gives her a name, and gains her trust, and the following day she sees the world from Shido's eyes which leads to her becoming the person she is now.
 * Toko Fukawa (Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls): Starts off as pessimistic and cynical as she was in the previous game, but grows to care for Komaru Naegi as the game goes on. To the point where she's willing to break the promise she made with Byakuya Togami, who she's obsessed with, of never letting Genocide Jack take over again in order to save Komaru.
 * Tsubomi Hanasaki (HeartCatch Pretty Cure!): She starts off as introverted then becomes more outgoing as the series continues. Eventually, she discovers that can find her own balance between being introverted and outgoing and accepts her flaws along with her own good points.
 * Weiss Schnee (RWBY): She went from haughty and bigoted to a kind friend and ally to Ruby. After getting to know Blake better, she also undergoes a shift in her treatment of Faunus.
 * Woody (Toy Story): Starts off as selfish and envious towards Buzz. But after they get stuck at Sid's house, he realizes the error of his ways and works with Buzz to get them home.
 * Yang Xiao Long (RWBY): Started off as thrill-seeking and reckless, but eventually realized that being a Huntress is much more serious than she thought, and lets go of her selfish motives for attending Beacon and prioritizes protecting innocent people.
 * Buddy Thunderstruck (Buddy Thunderstruck): Started as a dimwitted, egotistic and toughest country ace truck racer, later became mature and likable to other people in some episodes (though there are a few episodes that showed at his worst such as Cannonballistic and the infamous Get the Hock Out.