Top 15 Best Anime Glow Ups [2024]

Time for some anime characters to henshin! But wait, it’s not that kind of transformation.

For this anime article, we’ll be focusing on anime glow-ups related to a character’s story arc development and plot.

A lot of these transformations are inspiring, some amusing, while others are heart-wrenching (we’re looking at you, Gon). But bottom line – these are some of the best glow-ups that have left their mark in the anime world.

Let’s glow it up!

Best Anime Glow Ups

Masamune (Masamune-kun no Revenge)

Heartbreak can really change people, and for Masamune, it became the catalyst for his transformation.

Masamune was a chubby kid who sadly got bullied for his body. His only solace was his friendship with Aki, who even helped him fight off his bullies.

Unfortunately, due to someone wanting to sabotage his friendship with her, Masamune thought Aki hated his guts.

This heartbreak and betrayal pushed Masamune to get in shape and improve his looks. Now a teen, his plan is to make Aki fall for him and break her heart.

Kae (Kiss Him, Not Me)

Kae is a fujoshi and a BL otaku, meaning she is completely obsessed with male manga and anime characters falling in love with each other.

So when her favorite character dies, she goes into a depression for a week and refuses to eat or go to school. But after her solitary confinement, she miraculously loses a lot of weight!

From her overweight self, she transformed into a bombshell, and a lot of boys in her school are now clamoring for her attention. The problem is, as a die-hard fujoshi, she would rather have them date each other than her!

Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul)

Ken Kaneki’s transformation started due to a date night gone wrong. He was an ordinary literature student who went out on a date with a peer but ended up getting bitten by said date!

One accident led to another, and he ended up being transplanted with his date’s organ. It turns out his date was a ghoul, and it turned him into a human-ghoul hybrid.

But his transformation doesn’t end there. He later gets tortured so much that his hair turns completely white!

Raphtalia (Shield Hero)

Raphtalia started out as a traumatized slave.

She witnessed her parents die while protecting her, saw her village being raided and destroyed, and watched as her friends got sold into slavery and tortured like her.

Luckily, Naofumi Iwatani, the mighty shield hero, bought her. Instead of using her like a slave, she was treated well and became a close companion to the hero.

Eventually, she became a hero herself. Raphtalia might not be the main protagonist, but her story is a hero’s journey as well!

Tachibana (Life With An Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated Into a Total Fantasy Knockout)

Tachibana was an ordinary office worker who lamented about how he’s not charming enough to get a girlfriend.

So one night, while drunk with his best friend, he jokingly wishes he could transform into a beautiful lady to charm the socks off of everyone.

Whaddya know, a goddess heard his wish and granted it! Tachibana and his friend got teleported into a magical realm where he is now a she!

But Tachibana’s no ordinary gal in this world. In this new form, Tachibana is a total babe who can charm anyone.

Prompto (Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV)

Before becoming Prince’s Noctis companion and one of his closest and lifelong friends, Prompto had a tough childhood.

Aside from not properly knowing his past, he barely saw his parents. He was always alone and even had a tough time making friends.

The only thing that gave him comfort was his hobby of taking photos and eating junk food.

After an awkward meeting with Noctis, Prompto decided to lose weight and to build up his confidence.

In his new appearance, he approached Noctis, acting like they hadn’t met before. But Noctis did remember him and greeted him casually. Little did they know, this was the start of a great friendship.

Nel (Bleach)

Nel was a strong and high-ranking Espada under Aizen. She had a rivalry with one of her fellow Espadas, Nnoitra that resulted in a terrible fight.

During that fight, Nnoitra hit her head pretty badly, which made her mask crack. This left Nel unconscious, with her Reiatsu leaking out of her, which altered her spiritual form, and she reverted back into a child.

Upon meeting Ichigo, she immediately bonded with the bleach-haired Shinigami. During Ichigo’s fight with Nnoitra, her will to protect Ichigo was so strong that it triggered her transformation back to her original form.

Simon (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

At the start of the story, Simon is a withdrawn and timid boy. He preferred to dig alone and had a fear of earthquakes.

Thanks to Kamina, Simon started slowly coming out of his shell. He had a knack for fighting and operating the Lagann, although he still relied on others a lot.

It wasn’t until Kamina’s death that Simon had to undergo a huge change. It was a difficult time that left him depressed and feeling lost.

But his desire to help Nia and his crew snapped him out of his funk. He emerged as a new person – someone the crew could call their new leader. Kamina would’ve been so proud!

Serena (Pokemon the Series: XY)

Cutting one’s hair can mean a lot of things. For Serena, it meant that she was willing to work harder for her dreams.

Unlike Ash, who was dead set on becoming a Pokemon champion, Serena didn’t really have a solid plan in mind at the start.

Her mother wanted her to try Rhyhorn racing, and she didn’t really feel like she wanted to battle Pokemon a lot, like Ash.

It wasn’t until she talked to Shauna that she realized she wanted to be a Pokemon Performer. But in one performance, her Fennekin tripped, and she lost the contest.

Serena tried to take the loss well but ended up crying her heart out to her Pokemon. After reflecting on her journey, she cut her hair and decided to chase her dream harder.

King (Seven Deadly Sins)

Even though he looks young, King is literally the king of fairies and the protector of the Fairy King’s Forest. But even though he’s a king, he doesn’t have a pair of wings at the start.

Throughout his journey with Meliodas and the crew, he develops his powers and abilities. After he passes the trial given by Gloxinia, the first Fairy King, he starts to grow tiny wings.

Eventually, during an intense battle, King sprouts huge butterfly-like wings. This transformation slightly alters his appearance as well, such as having a new hairstyle and looking older. Now that’s a glow-up!

Eren (Attack on Titan)

For reasons yet unknown to anime fans, Eren saw a vision that changed his goals and attitude. Even his looks changed!

What once was a bright and hopeful protagonist became a brooding and withdrawn character. Even his closest friends, Mikasa and Armin, are confused at what Eren is going through.

To be fair, he’s rocking the long hairstyle really well!

Yuuri (Yuri on Ice)

With his thick square glasses and droopy hair, people might not immediately think of Yuuri as a figure skater.

But behind his timid personality and nerdy look is a very talented figure skater. Once he steps into the ice, he transforms into an amazing skater – even Victor is immediately impressed!

Once he’s dressed up for skating, he brushes up his hair and removes his glasses. He looks like a whole new person!

Palm (Hunter x Hunter)

Preparing to fight the Chimera Ant King and his army isn’t an easy thing to do. It’s even more difficult when there’s a scary, crazy, and raging psycho setting a deadline for you!

Palm is an assistant to one of the members of the Chimera Ant Extermination Team. In order to let Gon and Killua assist in the mission, she asked them to train and power up.

She can get really creepy! Her hair is always a mess, she’s pale as a ghost, and she has violent tendencies that she’s not afraid to show.

But Gon’s resolve impressed her. To forgive him for missing his deadline, she asked him to go out on a date with her. Palm actually transformed herself for the date!

Gon (Hunter x Hunter)

Speaking of glow-ups and Hunter x Hunter, we definitely can’t skip Gon’s power glow-up. His transformation shook the anime world!

After seeing what happened to Kite and feeling guilty for his friend’s fate, Gon released all his rage, grief, and sorrow. Every fiber in his being wanted to defeat Neferpitou.

So he gathered all the power he had and could have from his Nen. All the current and future Nen converged to transform him into an older and muscular Gon. Terrifying!

Tsukimi (Princess Jellyfish)

And for the best anime glow-up ever? We give the crown to Tsukimi from Princess Jellyfish!

Tsukimi is a jellyfish otaku who lives in an apartment with another fellow otaku. She can be quite awkward with her social interactions and dressing up herself.

Kuranosuke showed her that there is power in dressing up well. He gave Tsukimi and the rest of the Amars residents a makeover to help them with their plight over their apartment.