Top 7 Anime Characters That Need to Return

While many anime franchises have stuck around for decades, there have been perhaps just as many anime characters that have been lost to limbo. Characters from series like One Piece, Dragon Ball, and many other franchises have been absent from the entertainment world for quite some time. With so many anime figures to keep track of, we here at ComicBook.com figured that now was the perfect time to revisit some of these characters and highlight the fact that some of these fictional characters desperately need a comeback. Rest assured, there were plenty of characters to choose from.

7.) Dragon Ball’s Future Trunks

When we last saw Future Trunks, he was helping the modern era Z-Fighters like Goku and Vegeta fight against the dark Kai known as Zamasu. Even though the heroes defeated Goku Black and his doppelganger, Trunks could barely call it a victory, thanks to losing his timeline. When the storyline ended, Trunks and Mai returned to a future they were never a part of, with the Z-Fighters even noting that they will, more than likely, run into the iterations of themselves in this unknown time. Ever since, the Trunks of the future has been missing in action, playing no role in storylines such as the Tournament of Power, Granolah Arc, Moro Arc, and the Super Hero storyline. We would love to learn what had happened to this iteration of Trunks and how he lives his life in a timeline that isn’t his own.

6.) Hunter x Hunter’s Gon

While it’s been years since we last saw Gon on the screen, the protagonist of Hunter x Hunter has been missing for almost as long in the manga. Along with Killua, Yoshihiro Togashi has not shown the hard-hitting hunter in the panels of his shonen series. At present, the manga is still releasing new chapters, but said installments have mostly focused on Kurapika and the part he plays in the Succession Contest Arc. Fans are hoping that this shonen franchise will one day make a comeback to the screen, but we are crossing our fingers that Gon will return long before then in Shonen Jump.

5.) One Piece’s Bonclay

As One Piece’s final arc plays out in both its manga and anime adaptation, Eiichiro Oda’s beloved series only has so much more time to bring back old heroes and villains. One major figure, who was first a part of Baroqueworks, has been missing in action for some time. Like many shonen villains, Bonclay was a threat to the heroes but eventually found redemption thanks to the protagonists’ influence. The last episode that Bonclay appeared in for One Piece was in the 451st episode, taking on the role of Queen of Newkama Land, and it would be great to see him, if only to see his current status before the final chapter lands. Luckily, the live-action Netflix series has already cast this character, who is sure to be a part of season three.

4.) Outlaw Star’s Gene Starwind

This is something of a cheat because we’d love nothing more than the entire cast of Outlaw Star to return. The series is often thought of with high acclaim by many anime fans, and in a world where revivals have become more common in the medium, never seeing Gene Starwind or his world make a comeback is a shame. The original anime series ended quite conclusively, but it has been decades since the franchise presented its finale, and there is sure to be plenty of territory left to explore. Outlaw Star originally got a major boost thanks to its airing on Cartoon Network’s Toonami, so there are plenty of fans in the West who would love a comeback.

3.) Gundam Wing’s Heero Yuy

Much like Outlaw Star, this is something of a cheat, as the Gundam Wing story is an arc that simply needs to be explored more. To date, Toonami helped this part of the anime franchise become one of the biggest entries of the mech universe. Heero Yuy was one of the more interesting pilots in the history of Gundam and there is a perfect story that has yet to be brought to the anime world. New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop was a novel series that saw Heero return to a world quite different from the one he left, and it is begging to be made into an anime series. The Gundam world has been more than happy to revisit past universes so fingers crossed that it one day does the same with Gundam Wing.

2.) Tokyo Ghoul’s Ken Kaneki

It’s been far too long since we’ve seen Tokyo Ghoul and its star, Ken Kaneki arrive in the anime world. The last time we saw the supernatural series hit any screen was in 2019 with its live-action adaptation, Tokyo Ghoul S. While the anime protagonist recently returned thanks to becoming a killer in the video game Dead By Daylight, many fans have been chomping at the bit for Kaneki to return in an anime format. The original anime adaptation, according to many fans, failed to live up to its source material in terms of how it ended, leaving many hoping that we will one day see Ken receive a full anime series that can do justice to Sui Ishida’s efforts.

1.) Dragon Ball’s Cell

This choice definitely is not a cheat, as some might consider this a controversial pick, considering Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The film that saw the introduction of Orange Piccolo and Gohan Beast gave us a new creature that held the name “Cell Max,” but this behemoth was not the same character as Perfect Cell. Dragon Ball has not been shy about bringing back villains, with Frieza and Majin Buu being two prime examples and it’s long past time that Cell gets the same treatment. While Dragon Ball Super’s manga has a mysterious future, we have to cross our fingers that we might see the shonen villain resurrected properly down the line.

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