wat does character development mean to you?

[deviln3]

i hear it a lot that some people didn't like a series cus well there was lil or no character development

so tell me wat it is to u.. and give an example or 2 if you can...

for me i think its naruto in naruto cus i'm sick of seeing him multiply over and over.. learn somthin new >.>
i stoped watching it around that ghost filler episode..

hmm good character development..
fma perhaps? cus of wat edward and al go through and the kind of experiences they have.. they end up learning a lot and change o.o
sorry if i spelled the names wrong..


k so your turn.. :

[xenocrisis0153]

To me, character development doesn't necessarily mean the characters need to make any major life changes or anything, but rather, we need to see the multiple facets of the character's natural personality. Usually it involves seeing how the character responds to a myriad of different situations.

Some examples:
- the cast of Neon Genesis Evangelion (especially Asuka, Shinji, and Misato)
- the cast of Mai-Hime
- Ichika Tachibana from Uta~Kata
- Suisei Seki from Rozen Maiden
- Renton Thurston from Eureka Seven
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[kaykay]

character development is extremely important to me when i judge how good an anime is. i think good character development is the key element to seperating an average series to a unique one.

good character development:

even though many ppl dislike her, relena peacecraft in GW had great character development. she went from a snotty, rich brat.....to a selfless speaker of peace and motivation for the ppl. u can't possibly make a bigger change. th same i guess could be said w/ Heero Yuy...even though to the untrained or unattentative eye, he doesn't appear to change a great deal...but quite the contrary. He turns from the cold blooded assassin into a person who regains his humanity...and this is also due to Relena's influence which goes to show u everything is intertwined w/ character development and that's wat makes an excellent series.

bad character development:

even though it's a popular series, evangelian lacks excellent character development. Take the main character, shinji. In the beginning of the series he was a shy, saddened boy who always felt sorry for himself...and as it comes to the end of the series.....he changes.......slighty....but still remains as a sorrowful child who barks to every command and expectation that is expected of him(low self esteem). he has no real goal or motivation of his own and ultimately loses himself for not attempting to forge his own identity.
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[ToPocHi]

Like what many of you have said, character development is an absolute must and there really isn't any need for justification here. If there's no character development, there can be no plot, no strong storyline, nothing that would move the anime toward the winning end of the fellow anime-viewere's interest. As for what deviln3 has mentioned regarding Naruto's character development, I have to say that I partially agree with him, but not completely however. Naruto has some character improvement, as in he's not so much a brat as he was from the 1st episode, he's a lot stronger emotionally and mentally as well. He's got people to protect instead of wanting to destroy. There is development, but at this point, that series is really slow in terms of the aforementioned subject. I'll leave other aspects and series for other's to comment on.

[quosimos]

I think discovery is important element of character development. Whether discovery prompts change depends on the anime. Im not sure if an anime like NGE is about a transformative journey.

Most of the main characters are bound to damaged pasts. Control is fleeting and power is often meaningless. Shinji faces sublime forces. They are unknown, vast and awful, as in both awe inspiring and terrible. In the face of such insurmountable horror Shinji chooses to run away again. Hell, i couldnt blame him. He reminds me of Yossarian from Catch-22, except that Joseph Heller twists Yossarian's dissertion into an act of courage, not the only paradox in the novel.

This may sound a little rambly and confused but I think im going somewhere. Honest.

But NGE sticks to its guns, right to the end (In fact, its too goddamn bleak! Stupid depressing anime!). And thank God that it does because i think it would be a much lesser anime if Shinji did anything other than flee. Evangelion's bleak vision of humanity as damaged, disconnected and helpless fits in with the choice that Shinji makes. Besides, Shinji doesnt run away because he is afraid but because the end of the line leaves him utterly dejected.

The last time i watched NGE was about 3 years ago. I may have gnashed my teeth during some unweldy dialogue and Asuka's "Mommy! Mommy!" thing but at the time, i found its characters completely absorbing and believable in a strange unbelievable anime way (cant explain). Shinji has to be the ultimate incarnation of angsty adolescence ever!

other favourite characters:
Tetsuo - Akira
Princess Nausicaa - Nausicaa Valley of the Wind Manga (read the tent scene at the end of the Ohmu stampede from the first Volume)
Chihiro - Spirited Away

[Bowser]

Yeah, I totaly agree with quosimos, this is why NGE is one of my fav animes out there....

Character development, to me, is very important. It of course does not make up the entiity of a good anime/manga (Many different factors play a roll in a good story, such as plot, initial character design, the art, etc, etc)...But if we're going to watch/read an anime/manga, that can go up to several hundred chapters or many episodes...you dont want to be stuck watching the character do the same thing or act the same way over and over again...

Characters have to have some sort of realism to them. Like real ppl, they have multiple ways of thinking/feeling/acting...and like real ppl, shit happens, and they must be able to cope/deal with it.

Basicly, characters have to act real. They jhave to "develop" like we do...

Some of my fav characters include Toujo Aya (a typical example), coz of how she was in the biggining (shy and always worried) and now has grown up o be more adventurous and outgoing (tho she still keeps thoughts to herself and still hasnt gotten over Manaka)...

Others (wont go into detail):
NGE characters (especialy Asuka and Shinji)
that couple in Salad Days (fprget their names)
Inoue in Bleach
Believ it or not...but Ussop from One piece
and many many more....

Edit: Also important...character development dosnt always mean to go forwards.....many characters have done back tracks in personalitties and decisions. Such as Kei-kun in Onegai Teacher, Sasuke in Naruto, Shinji in NGE (on many occasions, but thats all up for debate)..

[Wingzero899]

To me character development means that a character needs to go though many different facets of life and under change as a person. Because mabye it's just me but no matter who you are every thing you go through big or small change you a little and slowly builds who are or what you will become.

[deviln3]

hehe how can i forget the gundam wing.. i really liked that example..

i guess i should really go watch NGE

it seems as though it wouldn't really even be a story without character development.. i mean ur just a rock sitting in the middle of the battle field if u don't learn and change for better or for worse from your experiences..

now i must go study for my calc test

[leoxjm]

Character vevelopment doesn't necessarily involve change either. The aspect of development=change has already been exhausted, so I'll leave it there. The other type of character development I think of is that in which the psyche of a static character is explored and that explains WHY that character is static. To use the analogy above: why is that character just like a rock, sitting there? why haven't the circumstances changed him? there is always a certain part of a character that doesn't change, but seeing why or how he/she doesn't change is just as important as seeing changes.

An example, in my opinion is Shinji, as had been mentioned before. Lack of character development? I don't think so. He may be always gloomy shy and depressed, but I thnk that he is so inherently gloomy, shy and depressed that it was impossible to change from that in the first place. The cricumstances that he faces don't make changes possible either. He probably makes the point that not everybody can become a knight in shining armor and that is an important point to make. Character development? yep, that's it.
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[Edvin]

My kind of character development usually reflects more like the change in characters.. I guess I'm sticking too close with english vocab here (I'm sitting behind a poetry book, doing my lit analysis paper), but what you're talking about seems more like characterization. I guess that they fall in similar categories, but not quite.
Like most people, I prefer a deep character with some real personality, not just...someone who's bad for the sake of being bad. My favorite in character dev would be the casts from Oh My Goddess. Mainly, how K1 reacts around Belldandy, and how he is portrayed (from a nervous boy to someone who seems very cool and reliable, almost to a point that he has transcended humanity and becomes equal to the goddesses themselves). Still, it's a very heartwarming transformation.

[katsushiro]

My point of view in character development is that the character has experience changes in personality and outlook in life.

Perfect examples is Heero Yuy and Relena Peacecraft of Gundam Wing. Many hated Relena but she is instrumental in Gundam Wing. She may a brat at first but she became an spokesperson for peace before the end of the series. She is the only person who knew Heero that gave him back his humanity. Heero is a cold-hearted assassin in the start but when he met Relena, he started to regain his humanity.

Another examples is Recca Hanabishi, Kurei and Tokiya Mikagami of Flame of Recca. Let's start with Recca and Mikagami. They are strong fighters but they argue on a lot of things especially when about Domon. Their conflict became worst when Domon was fighting Aki. Tokiya wanted to stop the fight but Recca objects. Recca has faith in Domon while Tokiya has none. So when the two fighters fought in a tag team. They are disorganized and almost got killed but Domon intervened in their behalf. Domon slapped them and told them that stop arguing about and concentrate on the fight. After waking up to their senses. Recca and Tokiya stopped arguing and both of them has respected each other. Kurei also portrayed good character development. At first, he is just following Kouran's orders but as the series progress he began to threat Kouran of not interfere. When he and Recca fought for the second time. He attacked Recca but Recca manages to get up. Kurei began reflecting on himself. He is powerful but he failed to protect his loved ones. Kurei then has a change of heart and helped Recca defeat the clone that Kouran created to help him kidnap Yanagi. Kurei told Recca that he will choose his own destiny.

Other series with very good character developments.

Great Teacher Onizuka - Teachers and Students of Seirin Private High. Onizuka Himself.

Hajime no Ippo - The boxers and people close to them.

Yu Yu Hakusho - All the main characters especially the four of them. (Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama)

[nave]

character development is the growth of the character as an individual. Its needed because people are constantly changing to the sistuitions that are presented to them and anime needs to reflect this. A good example of this is Sausake in full metal panic second raid. sausake grows and matures thinking about his actions and showing emotion.
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[bolt1146hole]

to me character development is what brings a charchter to life showing it can grow and learn thats what makes a good story dont u think
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[Magneto]

I disagree with some of the ones mentioned.