Character Development

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Stuck In The 80s

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Are there any characters in which you notice change in their personalities in the later episodes?

Some examples I can think of:

Butters: He seems to become more defensive and actually able to stand up for himself in later episodes. In the episode "Super Fun Time", he's able to stand up to Cartman throughout the episode. And in "Hell on Earth 2006", at the end, he doesn't care about getting grounded since he knows he's going to anyway and sticks around at the party.

Bender: Even though he has shown his soft side throughout the series, later on, his concerns for his friends increase. In "The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings", he's actually remorseful about making Leeyla deaf. He's usually shown as laughing at misery. And in "Bender's Big Score", his sadness towards killing Fry breaks through his brainwashing and is the happiest of them all when he finds out Fry is alive (Jumping in his arms while the others just gasp).

And of course:

Stewie: He started out as the evil baby wanting to kill his mom, but later on, seems to drop the whole idea and ends up being more interested in his homosexuality life. At first, he was a bit "confused" about it saying gay things that he didn't mean to say (Like the Rupert daydreams when he says stuff like "Wanna go ride the teabags---teacups?"). He later ends up being more open about it, such as in "The Former Life of Brian" when he shows his gay feelings for Brian's son.
 
^ Yeah,but that's Family Guy.They'll sin themselves sick usually before showing in signs of compassion,regret or sorrow.
 
I believe that most shows have characters develop over multiple seasons, even if there is no continuity. It?s only natural for the writers to gradually learn more about the characters as they write their roles, and over time, such manifests itself in the series. I suppose everybody knew that, but I just wanted to say it because I believe character development goes beyond what we normally perceive it to be. Sure, a lot of it is rooted in continuity, where an episode has a character gain new powers or learn something that changes their behavior for the rest of the series, but a lot of it is far more subtle.
 
Some recent examples that come to mind.

Jazz Fenton (Danny Phantom)
She starts out as a caring but overprotecting sister who thinks she knows everything about the world and her parents are freaks for hunting ghosts, which don't exist in her mind. Later on she starts seeing ghosts, but writes them off as "the wind" and other excuses, until she eventually accepts there are ghosts when she finds out Danny is a half-ghost. She also gives Danny more space after this and lets him do his thing to fight villains, even going so far to cover for him without him knowing. She also starts fighting ghosts herself and learns she enjoys it, and when Danny finds out that she knows about him, she becomes a member of Team Phantom and helps fight ghosts from time to time.

Blunk (W.I.T.C.H.)
He starts out as a greedy, cowardly, non-caring creature who cares more about making a profit from trading junk he collects than the suffering of the people on Meridian. By the end of the series, though, he learns to care more about people and the greater good than his profit, even sacrificing money if it helps the greater good. He also learns he has a place in the war against Phobos/Nerissa and also develops the will to stand up for what's right and protect people even if it means he might die doing so.

Rose (American Dragon: Jake Long)
A girl who was taught to hunt and slay dragons because they're vile creatures, and she believes they're all scum, but starts questioning that motive when she encounters Jake who spares her during their fights. Her world is also shattered when she finds out Jake's the American Dragon and realizes she was misled by the Huntsman and starts working as a double agent to take down the Huntsclan from within and even sacrifices their relationship and tries to sacrifice her life for the cause.
 
"Gargoyles" was a prime example of character development. They all were allowed to change and grow over the course of the series, and it never felt forced. From "Awakening" to "Hunter's Moon" to the current comic books. To this day, I think Goliath and Elisa's relationship was developed better than any other romance in a cartoon.

The lead antagonist, Xanatos was allowed to fall in love, get married and have a kid without emasculating him of everything that made him such a great antagonist to begin with. Even after allowing the gargoyles to move back into the castle, he is still a ruthless, scheming, amoral mastermind... also being seen in the current comic book.

Not to mention Brooklyn's maturation from teen to a capable leader.
 
Rose was already mentioned, but I think Jake Long himself is worthy of noting, as well. When the show started out, he was cocky, egotistical, childish, slang-ridden, and more interested in socializing than his dragon duties. As the show went on, he became less and less sure of himself, cut back on the playing around and gangsta talk, and was started to put more interest into his duties, like how he chose to battle the Krylock instead of meeting up with Rose in "Half-Baked", for example.

One piece of Gargoyles development that I really enjoyed was in "The Reckoning" when Demona showed that she really cared for Angela, her daughter, when Thailog forced Demona to kill her but instead she betrayed him and teamed up with Goliath and his crew to stop Thailog and the rest of his crew. I never would of thought that Demona would of actually cared about Angela at this point, and I'm glad to see that she did.
 
The cast of Gargoyles, as mentioned. I just wish my favorite character, Matt Bluestone, had gotten more screen time.

Others I think need to be mentioned:

J'onn j'onz from JL/JLU. He went from loner alien widower to married human man, with so much excellent character development in between.

The cast of Beast Wars / Beast Machines. Almost every single character on this show had well-developed character arcs, most notably Dinobot, Blackarachnia and Cheetor. By the end of Beast Machines, Cheetor had gone from irritating kid to the new Maximal leader. But unlike the G1 character Hot Rod (Rodimus Prime), Cheetor's evolution was slow, spanning from the first episode of Beast Wars to the last episode of Beast Machines. I also like how Silverbolt had trouble adjusting to the atrocities he had committed as Jetstorm. Usually in animation, when a good guy is forcibly made bad, he becomes good again without any lingering problems (like when Superman was controlled by Darkseid). But Silverbolt's whole personality was changed by his ordeal.
 
I thought of another.

Raimundo from Xiaolin Showdown: In the beginning, he's like this rebellious, hard-headed kid who just wants to attack first and ask questions later. Later, he becomes more responsible and planned-out and not as rebelious.
 
Pizazz (JEM) - In the first two seasons, she's an immoral, greedy, do anything for fame witch, but in the third season you realize WHY and start feeling sorry for her when you get a glimpse into her family life.
 
Not to mention he becomes the leader of the Xiaolin Dragons. I was so glad it wasn't Omi, he went from experienced warrior to some annoying Chase Young wannabe.
 
Originally Posted by Infusions
I thought of another.

Raimundo from Xiaolin Showdown: In the beginning, he's like this rebellious, hard-headed kid who just wants to attack first and ask questions later. Later, he becomes more responsible and planned-out and not as rebelious.



I suppose that does qualify as character development, though that came completely out of left field for me. Why would Raimundo be chosen to lead the Dragons when from episode 1 it was implied that Omi was the main character of the series?
 
I think one of the best parts about DP is the character development (Vlad's villainous role and his sympathetic side, Valerie turning from shallow rich girl to a poor, but a more open-minded character, etc). I'd also like to add in Danny Fenton/Phantom himself who started off the show incredibly naive, unsure, and low in self-esteem; he was on a quest to find out who he was and his general purpose in life (popularity being one of the major reasons in his earlier days). By the end, he has become a confident, smarter, capable, and especially mature in his given role and his personality, if not a tad bit cynical on his view of fame, which I like and thinks add a more realistic tone to.

I'd also like to mention Tai from Digimon, particular the second series whom by then has grown up from his younger self to be far more intelligent in judgment and actions. Granted, nearly all the kids from that anime had excellent character development; I chose Tai for that one single scene when he ultimately accepted Sora was in love with Matt. That was an incredibly brave and mature decision of being the better man. Also worthy of mentioning is just about everyone except Ryo in Digimon Tamers.



Actually, I always saw that as a subversion; instead of main guy Omi being the leader, they chose Raimundo instead, completely unexpected. Though it's evident that the series built this up throughout--it's actually one of the few character developments in XS.
 
That was something I put under the "Plot Twist" folder. Though I kind of knew Omi wasn't going to be the leader due to him being a self-center most of the time and thinking that he is right in every situation, even when Rai was right about things being a set-up.
 
Because Omi was incredibly full of himself and was always bragging. Raymundo had his faults, but he also made up for them and even came up with various plans to save them all from time to time, and he's shown the most growth in the series. He was the only one who was left behind when they were first promoted, and that sort of drove him to work even harder (after his fall with siding with Wuya) and it payed off. Basically, out of all four of them, he grew and matured the most, so it makes sense he became the leader of them since he did the most growing.
 
Daffy Duck started as a wacky duck who was bouncing off the walls, he then turned into a cocky wise-guy then just a plain jerk in his later years in the 60s.

Homer Simpson also went for a clumsy father to a plain old bone-headed moron in the latest episode, although they kind of brought him back to the original Homer for most parts.

Cartman from South Park was kind of a bully in the earlier episodes, and beat kids up for not getting him a certain toy for his birthday, now he's just a big wuss with a big mouth.

Woody Woodpecker, Popeye and Tweety all got more wimpy in their later years too.
 
Harvey Dent. In Batman: The Animated Series, he started off as just the district attorney who had the habit of flipping a coin (seen in one of the episodes, I just forget which). He dated (and was one of the first victims of) Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy), and this was later referenced in Almost Got 'Im, alluding to his continual disdain for her.

His rage issues were explored in Two-Face Part 1, and he made the complete transformation to Two-Face in Part 2.

Throughout the rest of B:TAS, he committed crimes under the control of a somewhat split personality and the flip of a coin.

In The New Batman Adventures, if I recall correctly, it was revealed that he was behind (or played a part in) the disappearance of Tim Drake's father, which inadvertently caused Drake to become the new Robin.

Towards the end of the show, in the episode Judgment Day, he developed a third personality, which took it upon himself to be the Judge; a hard-boiled vigilante, bound by no societal boundaries, enforcing his idea of justice and the law. He even went so far as to seek justice on Harvey/Two-Face, and while physically failing to do so, Two-Face continued to show traces that the Judge was still mentally seeking justice on him.

Harvey Dent? Guilty.
 
Omi was just the most skillful one at the time, even back then Master Fung instructed Omi that they weren't there as his students. I believe he said something along the lines of: "They are not here to learn from you, young monk. They are here to teach you."
 
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