5 Best Anime Heroes Who Have Only Gotten Better With Time

In the world of anime, where transformations often involve glowing auras and epic fight scenes, some of the most powerful changes happen quietly, through self-reflection, healing, and personal growth. Some characters don’t just power up in battle. They level up emotionally, shedding old selves and learning what it truly means to live, connect, and forgive.

Whether it’s a reformed bully, a detached immortal who learnt empathy, or a child assassin turned guardian, these anime heroes didn’t just survive their stories — they evolved. And in doing so, they reminded us that becoming better isn’t always loud or perfect, but it is always worth it. Without more ado, let’s revisit five anime characters who only got better with time:

1) Shoya Ishida (A Silent Voice)

When we first meet Shoya in A Silent Voice, he is a rowdy young sixth grader who is constantly up to some mischief or the other in what he calls his battle against boredom. When Shoko Nishimiya, a hearing-impaired girl, transfers to his class, he becomes her main bully. While Shoya initially comes off as someone without empathy, he goes on an entire self-reflexive journey in the years that follow. Alienated and full of self-hatred, he even decides to end his life, but somehow ends up befriending Shoko. He continues revisiting his past actions, questioning his own intentions in befriending Shoko.

By the end of the film, with the help of his friends, old and new, Shoya is able to acknowledge and deal with his own insecurities and finally starts to believe that he, too, deserves happiness. Over the course of the movie, he thus goes from a cruel bully to a self-loathing loner to finally someone who finds an endless capacity to be kind within himself.  

2) Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)

The protagonist of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Frieren is not like her peers. She is an elf who is at least a millennium old. Frieren looks at time not in terms of days and decades, but in centuries. She is a stranger in a strange land and is understandably aloof and detached in the beginning, not paying much heed to human emotions and relationships. But when she loses her comrade, Himmel, something in her shifts.

Even after spending a decade by his side, Frieren felt she had no idea who he was. On his passing, she begins regretting not knowing him better. It is her memories with Himmel that lead to her revisiting her past and acknowledging her present. She starts to see the human existence — however fleeting — in a new light. By the end of the show, in her quest to understand Himmel, she begins to understand what it means to be truly, ephemerally human. 

3) Shigeo Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100)

The main protagonist of Mob Psycho 100, Shigeo Kageyama, often referred to simply as “Mob”, undergoes some of the greatest character development ever seen in a shonen anime. Mob is initially shown as a very insecure and self-deprecating character. Since he realises his astounding psychic powers are tied to his emotions, he severely represses his feelings to avoid outbursts, especially after he accidentally hurts his brother with his powers. Kageyama, thus, struggles to socialise and befriend his peers.

Through the course of the series, though, Mob meets characters with whom he forms genuine connections. As he fights ghosts and interacts with other espers, he shows an incredible capacity for kindness and forgiveness. He learns with every mistake he makes, striving to become a better version of himself every time. By the end of the series, Mob emerges as someone who doesn’t hate his powers anymore but instead sees them as a tool to help people. He is finally able to accept himself as an ordinary human who just happens to have powers. This allows him to finally find the simple happiness he always thought was beyond of his reach.

4) Thorfinn Thorsson (Vinland Saga)

Thorfinn Thorsson, nicknamed Karlsefni, is the protagonist of Vinland Saga. When we first meet him, he is an innocent, passionate boy devoted to his father. When his father is killed, he goes on an entire journey fueled by feelings of vengeance. In order to kill Askeladd, he joins his band and spends years killing innocents and plundering villages. Nothing moves him other than thoughts of revenge. Thorfinn is reckless, bullheaded, and a loner with a fiery temper.

It is only after Askeladd’s death and Thorfinn’s subsequent enslavement that he starts introspecting on his actions and processing his grief with the help of his new friends. By the end of the series, he is a pacifist, a leader, and someone who only resorts to force when necessary. While he still needed to keep working on his social skills, he had come far from his days as a murderous misanthrope. Slowly but surely, he learned how to atone for his sins and find solace in the connections he develops with his allies.

5) Killua (Hunter x Hunter)

While Gon may be the unofficial main protagonist of Hunter x Hunter, it is Killua who undergoes true transformation and character development by the end of the series while the former remains pretty much the same. The Killua we encounter at the beginning of the series is just a ruthless killer. His entire personality is focused around being a professional mercenary. It’s who he was trained and expected to be since birth. He is controlled by his family’s expectations metaphorically and literally through Illumi’s needle. His friendship with Gon is what starts to change him, but even then his protectiveness emerges in the form of violence. He has no regard for his own life and makes light of his pain.

But, as the series progresses, we see Killua question the instincts his family had drilled into him. While his transformation begins when he looks to Gon to save him, the removal of the needle brings forth his true personality. By the end of the series, he is a protector and a savior rather than a killer. He is no longer dependent on Gon to save him from his own darkness. In fact, he matures enough to choose a path different from Gon’s, one where he is expected not to kill but to nurture and guard.  

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