Which anime character got the most development during their time?

[Legacy]

Which one of Ash's main friends has had the most character development from when they debuted?

Misty - A gym leader in Cerulean, we met her when she fished Ash and Pika out of the river. She was Ash's tag-a-long for a long time, and apparently was striving to become a great water Pokemon trainer. She left to return to her gym, and returned a few times. We've seen her sisters, but no parents.

Brock - Began as a gym leader as well. Joined Ash where he quickly became a paternal figure to Ash and his friends. Has wanted to a top breeder for a long time and still travels with Ash. We've met his father in depth sort of, and seen the rest of his family too, on multiple occasions.

Tracey - Replaced Brock briefly and took over his 'third-wheel' role during the Orange Islands, where Misty probably wanted to be alone with Ash XD
Now he is Oak's assistant.

May - Hated Pokemon at first, tried training briefly, then switched to contests.

Max - Loved Pokemon and is very smart for his age regarding them. Over time learned from watching Ash, Brock, and May.

Dawn - Thought she was better than she was to start off, but faced early defeats. Now is incredibly optimistic and have turned into almost a co-main character.

Gary - Once a snotty, arrogant SOB but mellowed with time, perhaps from seeing that Ash was indeed right about his approach. Now is striving to become a researcher.

Other - TR? Pika? Or someone else I'm not thinking of.


I say May just because she went from knowing nothing about Pokemon and hating them to being a great coordinator.

Misty is a close second because, while her goals aren't as clearly defined, her romantic feelings for Ash made up for it. Misty's emotions were explored far more than the other two IMO, although there are examples for all three.

 

[Musashi]

The Rocket-Dan. I know their backstory is a little muddled, but the episodes they do get really show how much they care for their pokemon and each other. DP117 being a recent example of just how close their bond is. (It's hard to beat wanting to meet each other again after you die.) There's also Musashi's love of Contests and having her finally win ribbons.

 

[Sleet]

Brock, Misty and Gary all changed a lot, but I wouldn't call much of that "development" so much as various degrees and combinations of "decay" and "distillation." My vote goes to May for actual development.

 

[SerenaKetchum]

Brock, Misty and Gary all changed a lot, but I wouldn't call much of that "development" so much as various degrees and combinations of "decay" and "distillation." My vote goes to May for actual development.

good point. I was between the fence between May and Dawn. I picked Dawn just because she has more focus on her than any of the other two girls. In the last two episodes with Cyrus, Dawn stood right there with Ash as they defended the Orb and battled TG.

I think by the end of Sinnoh, especially Dawn will be it slightly over May.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

The Rocket-Dan.

AMEN to that.

 

[Piplup]

Ash should be in this poll... he didn't get the best character development than everyone else...
Gary shouldn't be there... and Jessie/James should
It's just strange for me to see a list of all main character without Ash/TRio and with Gary

I think May got the best character development (better than Ash or anyone else)
At first she didn't like Pokémon and used them as an excuse to travel... then we got to see how she slowly began to love Pokémon as she learned about them until eventually falling in love with Contests and deciding to be a Coordinator
And then we have her progress as a Coordinator - from her first Contest where she fall at the performance and barely passed it only to then get crushed by Drew - to eventually defeat Drew and become one of the best 4 in the Kanto GF
Not to mention how the whole Kanto journey showcased her as a more experienced now similar to the change of Ash since AG began
Then at the end of AG she made the decision to travel alone since she understood it's better for her this way
Her starter Pokémon also mirrored her development - started as a little Torchic who can't battle at all and eventually became that amazing Blaziken who can tie with Ash's Sceptile (which is also kind of showing May "caught up" with Ash in a way)
After that she continued to Johto to compete with her rivals again and in her visit in Sinnoh she helped Dawn overcome her confidence problem which May herself experienced before (not in as high level but still)

After May we have Ash
Started as a stupid beginner that don't know anything... in his first league couldn't deal with having to battle his friend (Richie) and then in Johto showed some improvement when he eventually defeated his rival Gary and began a fresh new journey in Hoenn now as an experienced trainer and played the "big brother" role to May and Max like previously Misty/Brock/Tracey were for him
In the Hoenn league this time Ash was able to accept having to battle his friend (Morrison) but now his friend couldn't accept it
After getting the same result in the Hoenn League as the Johto League while this time only using his new team Ash proved he can do with his new Poké about as good as with the old ones which showed how much better he got as a trainer
The whole BF journey continued to show how better Ash became and eventually when he refused to be a Frontier Brain it emphasized how much Ash wants to continue travel and not to stay at one place even if that place give hm such important role...
Now in DP the main thing for Ash's development is his relationship with Paul which I don't think I need to explain... I also find Ash's friendship with Dawn to be something since they're like best friends which Ash didn't act before with any of the others (Misty/Brock/Tracel all played the "big brother" role, May and Max were Ash's "students" like Ash was to Brock, and only now he gets someone seems about equal to him in power/role and their relationship is really that of best friends... the current OP even talk about their constant high fives)

Dawn also got some development with her constant loses, losing her confident and then regain it thanks to Pip and her friends
I'm sure we'll see more development for Dawn until the end of DP and hopefully after that too...

So the 3 best characters by development are our three stars... in this order: May > Ash > Dawn

 

[Snake Bandage]

Ash and Team Rocket!!! Buuuuut they're not part of this poll.

May got a lot of character development, seeing her arc unfold was a lot like seeing someone grow up and mature. From a clueless kid who doesn't even like Pokemon and only picked one up for the sake of adventuring, to a talented Pokemon Coordinator who participated in two Grand Festivals and got pretty far for a newbie. That's a huge change and I think the way the writers went through it was very good. For Pokemon.

Gary also changed a lot, but we didn't really see the development...

 

[SerenaKetchum]

The anime has been about Ash for 10 years, of course Ash would have the most character development!

I agree that TR should be on here in their own catagory, but whatev.

I still think May and Dawn.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

All mentioned characters received some development,but its hard to say who got the most.
-May received big character development starting from girl not being interested in pokemon in more strong and mature person,ending liking them and becoming great pokemon coordinator.In her recent cameo during Wallace Cup its noticeable how much she has improved and became stronger.
-Misty also received big character development.From personality wise she turned out from short tempered girl exploding over every little thing in more mature and responsible person,keeping her temper under better control along with being more self confident in herself.As for her becoming gym leader and development in chronicles,while it was cool and everything,this was more a sign of her strenght and independance as a character,than anything else.Especially when we take into consideration how she became one only out of obligation,with no choice of leaving it because of her incompetent sisters.Her current position is more like somekind of job.Afterall her goal is to become water pokemon master,but sadly she cant make much more progress toward it with her current position being stuck at the gym.
-Brock received some character development aswell,improving himself in breeder aspect and everything but in my opinion not so much like its the case with above mentioned characters.
-Max,not so much aswell.
-Traceys case is in the least hand interesting.While he didnt received much development,it could be said that he is the only character so far who achieved his goal in this show by becoming prof.Oaks assistant.
-Dawn also received good amount of development so far,by gaining her confidence back by winning against May,along with improving her coordinator skills,looking at things with bigger dose of reality.
-Not sure why is Gary on the list considering how he was never part of the main cast,but anyway while he has changed being less arogant i cant give fair judgement from my side about his character development,considering how anything that even happened was of the screen.

In the end it all came down between May and Misty from my side,but after taking into account all facts and things,my vote goes for May.She received huge character development and improvement,while in Mistys case writers didnt do enough leaving lot of potential unused.

Brock, Misty and Gary all changed a lot, but I wouldn't call much of that "development" so much as various degrees and combinations of "decay" and "distillation." My vote goes to May for actual development.

It seems that you arent satisfied much with way in which this characters developed."Decay and distillation"?Could you elaborate little more on it,explaining what do you exactly mean with this?

 

[SerenaKetchum]

Yea Gary didn't travel WITH Ash, but his character did change alot as time went on. Perhaps that's what the OP had in mind when he added Gary.

 

[Cybersai]

They went development in this order of focus:

Team Rocket, then May, then Misty, then I suppose Dawn.

Max and Tracey only changed slightly due to their new surroundings, and Brock is largely the same.

 

[anonymous920314]

Team Rocket. I guess I never really thought May went through huge development. She was always the plain, boring girl who needed a confidence boost a lot. With Dawn, we saw her optimism and then her downfall and just when she thought she was picking up speed, it never really happened until the Fashion Contest. I was going to pick her if I hadn't chosen "other."

 

[Trainer'sInsomnia]

Gary, in his short air time, has had more character development than almost, if not, any other character on the show.

He started as a stuck up, cocky, know-it-all type of trainer. He was full of himself, he was overly-confident, and he thought nothing of Ash. In his mind, he was set to be the greatest Pokemon trainer there was.

Somewhere along the way, he signed up to flush out the Diglets who were blocking the construction work from being done there. It was here that he not only showcased his very keen knowledge on Pokemon, but may have had his first real experience as a researcher (which he would some day become).

At the time however, he was all about Pokemon training. He went into the Pokemon League full of confidence, like he did any other occassion involving Pokemon. Then he was knocked out of the Pokemon League in the fourth round, completely stunning him, and flipping his world upside down.

Afterwards, his long-time rival went to confront him on what just happened, and he had nothing to say. He wouldn't even really look at Ash. It was clear that the loss affected him badly. Even towards his rival, whom he once loved to take shots at or embarrass on any occassion, he could hardly say anything to, other than keeping up a half-hearted, hallow shell.

Then comes Johto, in which Gary had time to remodel his behavior and outlook. Suddenly, Gary is no longer the cocky character he once was. He'd become very respectful towards people, and much more expressive with his Pokemon. We knew Gary'd always loved his Pokemon, but he was quicker to show it there. In the same way that he showed Ash such great respect after defeating him. He changed from the arrogant, snotty kid he was throughout Kanto.

From there on, this development continued, throughout Johto. It was then, at the end of his journies there, that he realized his true calling as a researcher. We, as the audience, got to see his fascination with Pokemon and their different quirks or specifications. And at this time, he changed not only his personality, but profession/ambition as well.

Now he's the helpful, knowledgeable, rival.

=] Poorly written, but I'm sure some of you can fill in the blanks. I've gtg for now.

I'd say it's between he and May.

Brock's also had pretty big development too. In terms of the shift from the responsible, serious gym leader he was introduced as, to now this loose, girl-addicted guy.

 

[Cybersai]

Gary did go through lots of development, the problem is most of it was off-screen and we didn't really see him deal with it.

Gary had that cloak over himself in the last ep of Orange Islands, as if he traveled somewhere else while Ash was in Orange, and they never explained where he went in that time. I suppose he was just reflecting on himself, but as said, it was off-screen.

And in Johto, we only see him for 3 episodes, which again means very little time for him and Ash to interact, and very little focus onto what he was doing.

However I do love that he's become a researcher and I like what his character is in DP, even though yet again...we hardly see him.

 

[Sleet]

It seems that you arent satisfied much with way in which this characters developed."Decay and distillation"?Could you elaborate little more on it,explaining what do you exactly mean with this?

Decay being the elimination of various key traits without realistically showing any reason why (telling is not showing), such as Gary's cockiness, and distillation being the character being more focused on certain traits while other traits fall away, such as pretty much anything about Brock.

 

[Insanish Danish]

I think May has had the most development, going from this ditzy girl who hated Pokemon to an amazing coordinator. I know that's what everyone says, but it's true. No other character has come so far during their run the way she did.

 

[ii kanji]

I'm finding it a bit strange as to how neither Satoshi nor TR are options, since they're my choices, but oh well.

Of the list, it's gotta be Haruka, who's character was really well developed from newbie to quite good. I think she had some of the most interesting character interactions as well, with Masato, Shuu and Harley all just helping make her character more interesting.

 

[Trainer'sInsomnia]

Gary did go through lots of development, the problem is most of it was off-screen and we didn't really see him deal with it.

Gary had that cloak over himself in the last ep of Orange Islands, as if he traveled somewhere else while Ash was in Orange, and they never explained where he went in that time. I suppose he was just reflecting on himself, but as said, it was off-screen.

And in Johto, we only see him for 3 episodes, which again means very little time for him and Ash to interact, and very little focus onto what he was doing.

However I do love that he's become a researcher and I like what his character is in DP, even though yet again...we hardly see him.

Okay? None of that takes away from the fact that he actually did undergo development. It's a shame we didn't get to see it, but it still happened. So I don't see where that really has it's place here.

 

[ShinyAeon]

We got to see "Battle of the Badge," the first significant blow to Gary's cockiness. That ep alone developed him immensely.

Of the list, May, Gary, and to a lesser extent, Tracey (yes, I consider his new confidence development). Off the list, Ash, TR, and Professor Oak. Oak hasn't changed much, but seeing his younger self in Movie 4 sure gave him a depth we hadn't realized before.

 

[Trainer'sInsomnia]

We got to see "Battle of the Badge," the first significant blow to Gary's cockiness. That ep alone developed him immensely.

Right? Yeah, that's why I suggested that even in his short time, he's had more character development than almost any other.

So many episodes he was featured in became part of this map to the personality and profession he has today.

It's actually pretty incredible.

And I wouldn't necessarily call it decay in his case either.. Just a change in the way he was, and what he decided to do.