10 Hated Anime Characters That Fans Ended Up Loving (According To Reddit)

Anime is full of much-loved characters from badass heroes and quirky side characters to charming villains, no matter the show. Balancing this, there are always characters that the fans never manage to take to, the ones that no matter their allegiances, fans love to hate or just downright hate.

Character development is an integral part of a good story and characters can change a surprising amount as a show progresses. From the reveal of emotional backstories to growing fond of what once used to annoy fans about their least favorite characters, once-hated characters don’t always stay that way.

10 Dio Brando – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Lacking empathy, this villain’s manipulative and unrelentingly violent nature is what made some initially dislike this character. Quickly though many fans grew to love his charming personality, attractive design, and numerous meme-able moments. This combination eventually earned him a huge fanbase, making him one of the most loved characters in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

One Redditor, Dalek_Kolt summed up their feelings about Dio saying “the reasons why I hated him are the exact same reasons why I love him.”. Other fans echoed this, saying how they grew to love to hate him.

9 Armin Arlett – Attack On Titan

As the shy-but-intelligent best friend of an uber-popular anime protagonist, it’s not surprising that Armin is often overlooked. However, some fans found his character hard to take to when first watching the show. His initial timidness seems to be a large contributor to this, fans expressing that they were often underwhelmed by his character and arcs.

Redditor, karim0345, stated “I have seen AOT 6 times and absolutely hated Armin through most of it for the first 3 times, but later on really liking him”, continuing to say “Armin is now my favorite AOT character”. They expressed that this change especially came from paying more attention to his character and his development throughout the show.

8 Korosensei – Assassination Classroom

As the main protagonist and anti-hero of the series, this bright yellow alien initially divided some fans when this popular anime first aired. His bubbly and chaotic personality rubbed some fans the wrong way and they found it hard to like the enigmatic teacher.

One Redditor, cereal3friend, explained their feelings saying that they “absolutely hated how he looked and acted, legit one of my favorite characters of all time now.”. They weren’t alone in this opinion, others agreeing that the character had become an iconic Assassination Classroom fan-favorite among many.

7 Nico Robin – One Piece

Member of the Straw Hat Pirates, Robin is one of the main female protagonists that appear throughout this long-running anime series. While her character is considered a One Piece fan-favorite among many, others fans initially expressed their dislike for the character, feeling she didn’t seem to fit into the main crew. Redditor, Mart-n, supported this saying “She just didn’t feel like a Straw Hat to me.”.

However, they went on to describe how after the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc, their perspective on her character got completely flipped. “She became far and away my favourite Straw Hat and one of my all time favourite characters over the course of that arc.” following it up with how they felt “Every moment with her during and after that arc are just an absolute pleasure to experience. Now I just wish she had more focus.”.

6 Laxus Dreyar – Fairy Tail

An S-Class Mage of the Fairy Tail Guild, when Laxus first made an appearance in the show he came across as arrogant and selfish, looking down on others’ weaknesses. This attitude softens as the show progresses, his character becoming more light-hearted, but some fans really disliked the arrogant personality of Laxus up until then.

One Redditor, Sgt_Castle commented on his dislike of the character saying “He was a right prick how really only thought about himself. But after he got his ass handed to him and changed his ways, I started to understand the guy.”.  There’s a lot that character development can do to change the opinion of an audience.

5 Suzaku Kururugi – Code Geass

Best friend to main character Lelouch, Suzaku is a character who seems to have split the opinion of its fanbase. While Suzaku has a small following among fans, they often go unheard and the majority of more vocal fans seem to hold a strong dislike for the character. However, some fans grew to learn to like his character more as the series progressed.

Redditor, AxtheCool, expressed their feelings saying “He was a moron…but at least he grew, so he is a little less of a moron.” following this with “I am alright with him and like him and preciate him because without him the series would never work.”.

4 Elizabeth Midford – Black Butler

Strong-willed and cheerful, Elizabeth is a teenage girl whose obsession with all things fashion and cute things drives her. This is one thing that initially put some fans off her character, along with her typically airheaded nature that usually ended up with her being put in the damsel in distress/comic relief role.

One Redditor whose account has since been deleted, summed up their feelings about the character saying “I used to dislike her in the beginning, but I’ve come to really like her. I like the fact that she’s a complex and flawed person with her own personality”. Others agreed, saying how once she was given more depth to her character, they warmed up to her a lot more.

3 Zenitsu – Demon Slayer

This seems to be another character that has seriously divided its fanbase. While many fans consider Zenitsu, the loud and chaotic demon slayer, to be one of their favorite characters in the show, others disliked his never-ending noise to the point of giving up on watching the show. This is down to finding his near-constant screaming and cowardice annoying as opposed to endearing and entertaining like the opinion of many other fans.

However, some fans experienced both sides of this, as they eventually grew fond of his full-on personality. Redditor, Dekusdisciple shared their thoughts saying “Zenitsu is one of my favs but for it’s hard to have a definitive one, but I feel having hated Zenitsu at first it’s almost because I saw so much of myself in him.”. Going on to say they found “being his strongest when he’s in his most vulnerable state is admirable”.

2 Katsuki Bakugo – My Hero Academia

Rival of main character Midoriya, Bakugo’s explosive personality perfectly matches his quirk. Throughout the show, Bakugo is arrogant and aggressive, frequently acting hostile and bullying his classmates or anyone he encounters. His constant attitude proved too much for some fans who greatly disliked his character from his first appearance, despite the numerous fans who love his character.

One Redditor, PreciousCinammonRoll, described their negative feelings about the character in the first series saying “His personality wasn’t something I could stand.”. They then went on to say that “S2-3 made me like him a lot.”. They felt that this was down to his characterization being better and the show overall improving as a whole.

1 Arataka Reigen – Mob Pyscho 100

As main character Mob’s mentor and boss, Reigen is often manipulative and sleazy, taking advantage of others for his own gain, a typical conman. Many fans went through a similar journey when watching the show, at first hating his character before growing to like him and for many becoming one of their favorite characters.

Redditor, r4wrFox, summed it up saying “At first he highkey looks like an exploitative ***hole but then its like “aww, he’s an exploitative ***hole that likes mob”. This feeling was mirrored by many fans, who went from hating to loving his character.