by The protagonists who changed dramatically during the play
I’ve heard that in many anime works, to make the characters memorable, they try not to make significant changes to their appearance, hairstyle, clothing, etc. Also, even if you make a small change, you must create designs from various angles every time, which would be very time-consuming.
In anime production, where production speed is also critical, the production side wants to reduce such trouble as much as possible. However, some characters’ appearances have changed dramatically as the story progresses. This time, we will focus on the “protagonist characters” and introduce three people whose visuals have changed drastically.
“SAKAMOTO DAYS” is a TV anime currently airing. It is based on the manga of the same name by Yuto Suzuki, which has been serialized in “Weekly Shonen Jump” (Shueisha) since 2020. The story unfolds as the former legendary assassin “Taro Sakamoto” fights approaching assassins with his friends to protect his peaceful daily life with his beloved family.
After falling in love with a convenience store clerk, Sakamoto Aoi, Sakamoto retired from assassin work. He got married, had a child, and was running the Sakamoto Shoten business, leading a peaceful life. His appearance is completely different from when he was active. He has transformed into a plump figure, reminiscent of the director of a certain basketball manga.
However, by consuming many calories in battles with assassins, he suddenly transformed into the slim figure he had when he was active! However, when he gets hungry after a struggle and goes back to eating less, he goes back to being plump. “NO.6” The main character of “NO.6”, which was recently announced to be starting a new series for the first time in 14 years, “Shion,” surprised viewers by changing his appearance drastically at the very beginning of the story. “NO.6”, a TV anime adaptation of the near-future best-selling sci-fi novel by Asano Atsuko, which has sold over 1.5 million copies, begins with a fateful encounter between the naive super-elite “Shion” and the terrorist “Nezumi.”
The story is popular for depicting the battle between boys to destroy the false ideal city “NO.6”. Shion is accused of a particular crime and taken to the police. Still, Nezumi saves him, and they escape together to the “West Block” of NO.6. Immediately after the move, Shion feels a sharp pain in his neck and begins to suffer. Shion has been parasitized by a “killer bee.” Nezumi quickly treats him, and he survives, but due to the aftereffects, Shion’s hair loses its pigment, and he is left with red snake-like marks all over his body from his left ankle to his neck.
HUNTER×HUNTER The dramatic transformation of Gon Freecss, the protagonist of HUNTER×HUNTER, is so well-known that it needs no further explanation. When Gon was attacked by Neferpitou, a powerful enemy of the Chimera Ants, he was devastated to learn of the death of Kite, who sacrificed himself to allow them to escape. Filled with hatred and anger, Gon grew rapidly to the age where he could defeat Pitou.
The transformation was so dramatic that his muscles swelled to the point of bursting out of the tank top and shorts he was wearing, and he became ripped. Furthermore, his hair, growing longer than his height, stood straight up towards the sky due to the overflowing aura. His face also became more manly, but no light in his eyes expressed his despair. Seeing his strange appearance, fans could not bring themselves to call him by his first name, so they started calling him “Gon-san.”
