10 Anime Characters Whose Goals Take A Dramatic Turn

Most heroes are fixated on their one goal from start to finish, but there have been instances of characters doing a complete 180, like Sasuke Uchiha.

Often, the one thing that pushes anime characters to move forward – be it the power of friendship, the idea of revenge, or simply one’s infallible ideals – often takes a backseat in the grander scheme of things. Even though this isn’t something that is very common in anime, seeing how most heroes are fixated on their one goal from start to finish, there have been instances of characters doing a complete 180.

They then begin to pursue goals that are heavily deviated from their original goals. The reasons for this may be varied, right from an important incident that happened to them, to mere plot convenience that helps move the anime forward.

10. Sasuke: He Killed His Own Brother, Only To Avenge His Death Later On In Varying Ways (Naruto)

Sasuke’s goals changed in perhaps the most extreme ways. First, he wanted to kill his elder brother and avenge the Uchiha Clan's massacre. When he found out the "Truth about Itachi" after killing him, he pledged to destroy the Leaf Village and avenge his brother's death.

However, his goal changed again when a reanimated Itachi made him question his decision to destroy the Leaf Village. He then decided that he would become the Hokage and bring peace to the Shinobi world instead. This goal came with another twist when it was revealed that his definition of bringing peace meant that he would put the world under infinite Tsukuyomi. After his final fight with Naruto, he was "transformed" and left the Leaf Village, vowing to protect it from the outside.

9. Edamura: Went From Being A Small Time Con Artist To Becoming Part Of A Child Trafficking Ring (Great Pretender)

Edamura wanted to become the best con artist in Japan, and after he met Laurent, the duo traveled to the US in order to pull off big-time cons. However, after Edamura witnessed his own father shoot his two best friends, something inside him snapped.

He killed his father and eventually found shelter in the arms of a motherly figure, Akame Suzaku, who also happened to run a child trafficking business, eventually becoming her right-hand man.

8. Leonardo: His Goal Of Finding His Sister Became Secondary To His Libra Missions (Blood Blockade Battlefront)

After Leonardo was in exchange for information on his sister, his sister disappeared, so he decided to join the Libra organization and help them with their cases, in exchange for information on his sister.

However, his worries about his sister kept on taking a backseat with every mission he went on for Libra, seeing how practically every mission put him in a life-and-death situation, which did not leave much room to worry about anything else in his life.

7. Galo: Went From Idolizing Kray To Defeating Him In Order To Save Humanity (Promare)

Galo was shocked when he realized that his childhood hero, Kray Foresight, had never intended to save his life from a burning house, and had always wanted to “get rid” of Galo permanently.

To make matters worse, he learned of Krey’s plans to abandon humanity, so he joined forces with Krey’s #1 enemy, the Burnish terrorist Lio Fotia, and helped bring him down, as well as expose his true intentions to his minions and the people of Promepolis.

6. Satan: This Conqueror Of Lands Was Forced To Become A Part-Timer To Make Ends Meet (The Devil Is A Part-Timer)

Satan initially wanted control over all non-demon territory but was forced to retreat when the Hero Emilia pushed back his armies with all her might. He escaped to earth, where he found that his magic barely worked.

As a result, he was forced to find work as a part-timer at MgRonald’s, where he started taking great pride in his work. Eventually, he lost interest in going back to the demon world.

5. Hiyori: She Forgot Her Goal Of Binding Her Soul To Her Body After Meeting Yato (Noragami)

Initially, Hiyori’s one and only concern was the separation of her soul from her body, an embarrassing phenomenon that she was unable to control.

She kept pestering Yato to fix her problem, but the more involved she became with him and his world of Gods and shinki, the more she started enjoying the privilege of spending time with them, eventually putting her initial goal on the back burner.

4. Baileu: Her Dreams Of Being A Regular College Girl Were Dashed When She Was Forced To Face Her Grandmother’s Legacy (Phantom Of The Twilight)

Baileu and her best friend, Shinyao, dreamed of nothing but their college lives in London. However, their lives took a drastic turn when Shinyao was kidnapped by unknown assailants.

Baileu eventually found her way to Café Forbidden, where she was greeted by supernatural creatures, who offered their assistance to her. She then became fixated with one goal – to bring back Shinyao, no matter what the cost. Eventually, her grandmother's connection with those at Café Forbidden was also revealed.

3. Ciel: Forgot About His Revenge & Instead Focused On Solving Small Time Mysteries (Black Butler)

The sole reason Ciel made a contract with Sebastian was to take revenge on those who tore his family apart, but apart from this goal being mentioned via flashbacks, it’s never mentioned again in the anime.

In fact, in both the anime and the manga, Ciel spends all of his time solving mystery after mystery, be it at the behest of the Queen, or because his personal stakes are involved, almost as if the murder of his entire family had never happened in the first place.

2. Tanjiro: Was Forced To Give Up His Regular Life To Become A Demon Slayer (Demon Slayer)

Tanjiro lived his life as a normal boy, who only wanted to help his family earn money by selling charcoal. However, after his family was slaughtered by an unknown demon and his sister had turned into a demon herself, his goals shifted considerably.

He trained hard to become a demon slayer in order to not only kill the demon responsible for his family’s death but to also turn Nezuko back into a human girl.

1. Yuuji: Gave Up His School Life As Soon As Megumi Entered His Life (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Yuji was a carefree teenage boy who balanced his school and personal life well, with his one and only aim being to keep his hospitalized grandfather happy by visiting him regularly at the hospital.

After his grandfather's death, however, Yuji had a chance encounter with Megumi. He was then instantly dragged into the world of cursed spirits and eventually, he ended up becoming the vessel to the King of Curses, Sukuna. He then opted to become a Jujutsu sorcerer, in exchange for his death being delayed by the jujutsu sorcerers.