10 Iconic Anime with Side Characters That Deserve More Development

Anime with side characters that deserve more development are frustrating—especially when the main cast gets multiple arcs while everyone else fades into the background. We’re not here to take shots at beloved series just for clout. These are iconic anime. They helped define genres, break streaming records, and shape fandoms worldwide. But even the best of the best drop the ball sometimes. From forgotten backstories to wasted power sets, these shows introduced brilliant side characters and then did absolutely nothing with them. Let’s get into the list of anime with side characters that deserve more development.

1. Naruto

Naruto is a gold mine of dope aura farmers with absolutely no narrative investment. Between the Rookie Nine, the Sand Siblings, and the Jonin, this show had so many characters with potential. But unless your last name was Uchiha, you were mostly background noise. Ten Ten is a walking meme at this point. Neji? Tossed aside. Kurenai? She challenges Itachi of all people to an illusion contest and gets banished to the shadow realm, only to turn back up pregnant by Asuma (spoiler alert: RIP). And real talk—who are Naruto’s grandparents? The show gave us more information about the history of summoning scrolls than the protagonist’s own family tree.

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2. My Hero Academia

MHA has 20 students in Class 1-A, and we know about five of them. Seriously. With so many strong designs and powers, it should be a playground for character development. Instead, most students are reduced to one-note gimmicks. And don’t get us started on Class 1-B. This is one of the more recent anime with side characters that deserve more development—and it’s still ongoing, so there’s hope. Barely. With the final season dropping in July, we’ll see if they finally let someone other than Bakugo or Todoroki shine.

3. Bleach

Kubo has the drip on lock (the character designs were high tier, but most of the characters were either there just to match up with other cool looking characters with no depth or be fodder until Ichigo or one of the captains showed up). Bleach introduces the entire Soul Society, the Visoreds, the Fullbringers, and the Quincy army—and most of them get zero closure. Chad and Orihime were supposed to be Ichigo’s day-ones. Instead, they got demoted to moral support while the captains took over. Bleach is like a fashion show where half the models vanish mid-runway. A prime example of an iconic anime with side characters that deserve more development.

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4. Dragon Ball Z / Super

We love the Saiyans, but the rest of the cast? Irrelevant. Piccolo was a menace in Dragon Ball and a father in Z. Now he’s Gohan’s coach and comic relief. Tien, Yamcha, Launch—don’t even show up half the time. Even Android 17 was randomly thrown into Super with a backstory we never saw. DBZ is basically a power-scaling pyramid scheme. A classic case of anime with side characters that deserve more development.

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5. The Promised Neverland

Season 1? A masterclass in tension and character setup. Season 2? A speedrun to the ending that skipped half the emotional payoffs. They skipped several arcs from the manga to fast-track the plot and left out crucial development—especially for Norman, who was supposed to be a genius tactician and moral foil, not just “smart guy with a cool lab coat.” One of the most iconic anime with side characters that deserve more development, sabotaged by its own production team.

6. Akame ga Kill

Night Raid had the potential to be legendary. Instead, the show sped-ran through their backstories and killed them off before we could get attached. It’s hard to care about a death when the emotional buildup is a single flashback and a sad smile. Akame ga Kill basically said, “Here’s a tragic past… and now they’re dead.” This is a textbook anime with side characters that deserve more development.

7. Demon Slayer

Demon Slayer is beautiful and emotionally heavy. But its Hashira and demons often feel like missed opportunities. Rengoku, Shinobu, and Tengen had massive potential, but their screen time was too short to hit hard. The show treats death as emotional payoff, but without deep character arcs, it feels more like wasted potential. Like, give us more than a monologue and a cool OST before they die.

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8. One Punch Man

S-Class heroes are cool, but they’re barely more than gag characters. Genos gets some love, but everyone else? Cameos. This world is full of quirky, layered individuals—we just never get to see it. It’s like the show said, “Here are 50 fascinating people you’ll never learn about.” An iconic modern anime with side characters that deserve more development for sure.

9. Tokyo Ghoul

Tokyo Ghoul had a strong start, but it forgot its own characters halfway through. Hinami, Tsukiyama, and the Quinx Squad were introduced with promise and then forgotten or crammed into rushed arcs. Especially in :re, it felt like the writers were trying to juggle too many threads and dropped most of them. But that’s what happens when you leave several arcs out from the manga. Tokyo Ghoul is the definition of doing too much and developing too little.

10. Fire Force

Cool uniforms, strong aesthetic, deep world-building. But when it comes to character arcs? Hit or miss. Side characters like Tamaki and Juggernaut get moments, but nothing substantial. The different squads have rich backgrounds, but we rarely explore them. Fire Force is flashy, but underdeveloped where it counts. It’s like they spent all the energy on the fire effects and forgot about the people burning.

Final Thoughts:

Iconic or not, anime with side characters that deserve more development are everywhere. These series left us wanting more—not because the characters were bad, but because they were too good to be ignored. Here’s hoping future seasons, spin-offs, or reboots do them justice. Because we’re tired of seeing greatness get benched.

Update Corner: What’s Coming to Blerd

While some series lagged on side character development, others are doing things right—or at least interesting. Take the upcoming Gachiakuta anime adaptation: details on the release and what to expect are already live over on Blerd. 🎬 Check out the full breakdown and mark your calendars: Gachiakuta Anime Adaptation Release Date.