Summary

• Redemption arcs in anime make once-hated characters loveable and valuable to the hero's party.
• Not all redemption arcs end in heroic sacrifices; some involve living, rebuilding, and striving to be better.
• Characters like Endeavor prove themselves over time to repair relationships and become aspirational heroes.

Character development is what anime narratives thrive on. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Long-running shows are most interesting when a weak character gets stronger, a loner character begins to let people in, or when a villain sees the error of their ways. This is especially true of characters in the midst of redemption: their self-reflection, eagerness to prove 💯their newfound goodness, and changing dynamics with other chara♉cters keep the anime from getting stale.

There's nothing quite like a redemption arc to make a once-ꦐhated character loveable. These characters tend to be powerful to begin with, so they're valuable to the hero's party. Here are some of our favouri🌠tes.

8 Scar

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Scar tried to walk the line between justice and revenge, and fell off. Haunted by the persecution his people faced, Scar seems irredeemable when it's revealed he killed Winry's parents. It could be argued that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:his hatred of State꧑ Alchemists is justif🔯ied; his disregard for civilian ꩲlife, however, is not.

While Scar decides to make amends, there is no heroic sacrifice. He doesn't get to go out in a b🎶la♒ze of glory; he is not absolved of his sins. All he can do is live, rebuild, and strive to be a better person than before.

7 Viral

Gurren Lagann

An early villain for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:one of the best space anime ever made, Viral is the yin to Kamina's yang. Just like the protagonist's big brother, he nurtures a dream for his people to live free, but he's a Beastman and has no qua🅷lms killing humans to achieve that.

After learning that Beastmen are artificially manufac🐟tured cannon fodder, Viral's dream is crushed and he faces defeat. Years later, he reappears protecting humans, having groജwn to respect them. Viral joins Simon in the final battle, claiming the seat of his martyred rival Kamina.

6 Endeavor

My Hero Academia

Mos♍t fathers in shounen anime are loving, long-dead figures of inspiration. Endeavor is the exact opposite of that. He's cold despite his flame quirk, and he's bitter from being constantly outshone by All Might and his better quirk. These feelings manifest as a living hell for his family: his wife is in a borderline arranged marriage, and his only goal is to produce the perfect child with a quirk to surpass everyone else's. Even when he gets his wish, he doesn't show his children any warmth. His son Shoto, the 'perfect child' he wanted, hates him so much he refuses to use his flame quirk.

When Endeavor takes over from All Might as the number one hero, he doesn't command the love and respect his predecessor had. 𒐪He finally proves himself to be an aspirational hero during the series' second-best battle. As for💖 repairing relations with his family, that'll take time, but at least he's trying.

5 Kei Tsukishima ℱ

Haikyuu

Haikyuu is one of the most thrilling, realistic and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:memorable sports animes ever made. One of the anime's darkꦕ horses is Kei Tsukishima, a naturally gifted athlete who lacks the drive and passion of his teammates. Tsukishima's apathy towards volleyball comes from a childhood experience, when he discovered that his older brother was lying about being a star volleyball player.

Crushed by his hero turning out to be a fraud, Tsukishꦰima refuses to take volleyball seriously. But during a crucial match with Shiratorizawa, he finally rises to the occasion, blocking a spike by the seemingly unbeatable Ushijima. Cherry on top, he lets out a roar of passion after that, showing that volleyball has finally got to him. Maybe if he'd watched Haikyuu like we did, he'd have learned to love the sport sooner.

4 💝 💜 Margery Daw

Shakugan no Shana

Just like Shakugan no Shana itself, the anime's best redemption arc is woefully underappreciated. Margery Daw is one of many 🎐Flame Hazes in the show, killing otherworldly denizens to keep th🦋e balance between worlds. Margery is cold, standoff-ish and known for her ruthlessness even by Flame Haze standards.

Initially a rival driven by vengeance, Margery eventually warms up to 💫the protagonists and becomes one of their best allies. Her constant drinking habit also lessens once she falls in love with a human. When Shana and the other Flame Hazes depart from Earth, she chooses to stay behind.

3 Piccolo

Dragon Ball Z

Many of us started watching anime with Dragon Ball Z, but it's hard to appreciate how well-realized Piccolo's redemption arc is unless you 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:watch the original Dragon Ball, where he is despicable beyond belief. Piccolo is eventually defeat🎐ed and humbled by Goku in a losing effort at the World Martial Arts Tournament. Still nurturing his dreams of world domination, he trains in the wasteland for five years, which is where we find him in Dragon Ball Z.

Something changed in those five years. Though Piccolo could never bring himself to express it, he has come to see Goku as less of a mortal enemy and more of an aspirational rival. During the fight with Raditz, his cooperation is begrudging at best. But after Goku's death, he becomes a surrogate father to his 𝔍rival's son Gohan. He trains him, takes care of him in secret, and even sacrifices himself to save him - after everything, Piccolo did have a heart.

2 🅠 Shoya I🍰shida

A Silent Voice

Animated films don't often explore bullying and its aftereffects to the extent that A Silent Voice does. The entire movie centers on redemption: once the classroom bully and ringleader, Ishida becomes isolated and depres♈sed ♎after his group turns on him. In high school, he decides to make amends with Nishimiya, the deaf girl he bullied.

A Silent Voice is heartrending and beautifully crafted. Ishida can make things right, but he can't keep them as they were, even if it means having his old clique drift apart. The f♔ilm's most beautiful moments come in its understated scenes, like the one where Nishimiya tries to speak and Ishida stops her. Since she can't articulate clearly, he's willing to use sign language to make it easier for her. Who wo꧃uld have thought a bully would grow to that point?

1 Thorfinn

Vinland Saga

In the first season of Vinland Saga, Thor🍸finn was a shounen protagonist with a chip on his shoulder. If you hadn't read the manga, you probably thought the anime would end with him getting his revenge on Askeladd, his mentor and the man who killed his father. The only question was how he'd get there.

That goal is shattered when Askeladd is abruptly killed at the end of the first season, and not by Thorfinn's hand. Robbed of his revenge, Thorfinn is꧟ left empty and becomes a farmhand. This sets him off on the path to pacifism, refusing to be a killer once more. This doesn't mean Thorfinn is no longer a warrior; his is a different kind of war.