History Main / VisualDevelopment

** [[Characters/TheOwlHouseAmityBlight Amity Blight]] [[ImportantHaircut dyes her hair from green to purple and changes the style]], switches out her necklace, and wears a different dress as she begins moving away from her mother's control and bonding with Luz and Willow. In particular, her mother had dictated her hairstyle so that she would match her siblings, and the necklace was actually a gem her mother used to telepathically communicate with her.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': For both Zuko and Azula, the state of their hair tends to demonstrate their state of mind. For Zuko, the messier it is the better he's doing, as he steps out of his [[ArchnemesisDad father's shadow]]. For Azula, it gets messier as she becomes more stressed, more alone, and less stable, culminating in [[spoiler:her messily chopping her own hair soon before she has a complete breakdown]].

* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'': As part of the TimeSkip, Korra wears her hair short for most of the fourth season. The other characters wear different clothes as well, while the younger characters are visibly three years older.

** Amity [[ImportantHaircut dyes her hair from green to purple and changes the style]], switches out her necklace, and wears a different dress as she begins moving away from her mother's control and bonding with Luz and Willow. In particular, her mother had dictated her hairstyle so that she would match her siblings, and the necklace was actually a gem her mother used to telepathically communicate with her.

** The Golden Guard loses his mask and Emperor's Coven trappings as he transitions into identifying more as confused teen Hunter than as the Emperor's right-hand man. After learning [[spoiler:he's a ReplacementGoldfish clone of someone Emperor Belos had killed and that the Emperor feels no particular attachment to him]], he completely ditches what he had left of the uniform and takes to wearing the only other outfit he has (the Flyer Derby uniform from his undercover assignment at Hexside).
** Emperor Belos himself, particularly in "Hollow Mind," which chronicles his transition from [[spoiler:human Phillip Whittebane]] to the most powerful and feared witch in the Boiling Isles. He takes up wearing the deer-like mask and body-concealing cloak to add to his mystique and also hide the ravages his body is undergoing thanks to his dark magic. He publicly reveals his face as the Day of Unity draws near, to indicate the (faked) transparency of his intentions. On the Day of Unity itself, when his plans are about to come to fruition, he sheds all his magical attire and reverts back to his original outfit and appearance, as he no longer needs to hide his goals and wants to experience them as himself.

You've missed a few episodes of a show you are watching. Shouldn't be a big deal...wait, when did Alice grow her hair out? And why did Bob shave his beard? And did they just kiss!? When did they [[WillTheyOrWontThey get together]]? And why does Charley look so different? And suddenly so much better at sports? Looks like you missed the WhamEpisode and some CharacterDevelopment.

->'''Elan''': You know, I had just assumed that your short hair was somehow symbolic of your character growth.\\
'''Haley''': Me too! Guess it was just a crappy haircut.

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* In ''The Melancholy of LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', Kyon notes that Haruhi has stopped changing her hairstyle everyday, and takes this as a sign she's interested in someone. Sure enough, she chooses Kyon to be the first member of her new student group, the "SOS Brigade".

* At the beginning of ''Series/JoyOfLife'', Fan Xian has loose hair, side swept bangs, and a nice but unobtrusive outfit. As time goes on, he parts his bangs, wears progressively fancier clothing, and wears his hair up. This all coincides with Fan Xian's progressive involvement in [[spoiler:poltics, schemes, and the struggle for power.]]

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* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Merrill's armor changes from black-and-green to white-and-red upon completion of her RomanceSidequest.

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* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' has Deku steadily gotten more muscular and gained scars over the course of the series as he settles into his roles as TheHero and heir to the legendary All Might.

* Throughout ''VideoGame/YsVIIILacrimosaOfDana'' Sister Nia, a traveling nun who becomes one of the castaways, becomes noticeably more tan after an ActionDressRip and she spends more time outside actively helping the village as part of her CharacterDevelopment.

** Haley gets a TraumaticHaircut from her nemesis when she's forced to face the ThievesGuild she left behind. The story arc provokes a lot of CharacterDevelopment in her, but the trope is {{subverted|Trope}} when she takes the first opportunity to have her hair magically regrown.

* With the exceptions of Superman himself, the Flash, Aquaman, Lex Luthor, and Darkseid, most of the character from ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' who appeared in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' more or less looked the same as they did in ''S: TAS'' at least initially. This can't be said for General Hardcastle, who did look visably older in his brief appearance during ''Unlimited''.

* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'': In the first season, Amelia dons a dark cloak, a messy braid and looks quite slim. [[spoiler:When she returns in Season 3, she now wears a gray jacket, which she removed to reveal a clear gray tank top, has a neat braid, and has buffed up a little, this seems to relate to the fact that she is no longer trapped in permanent grief (getting past the dark moment in her life), and has since been exploring the trains, finding the bugs she inflicted on the train's code.]]

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Naruto stops wearing his village headband for a while after vowing to bring peace to the world. As fate would have it, [[spoiler:a shinobi alliance ss formed and creates its own new headbands]].
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' has Deku steadily get more muscular and gain scars over the course of the series as he settles into his roles as TheHero and heir to the legendary All Might.

* [[IaijutsuPractitioner Setsuka]] from the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' (making her debut in ''[=SoulCalibur=] III'') is a woman of European descent who was adopted by a Japanese master and taught to live like any normal Japanese girl from the 16th century. Shunned for being a foreigner, Setsuka dyed her blond hair black to fit in better (this could be discerned only if the player chose Setsuka's 2P costume in ''III''). However, in ''IV'', Setsuka completely ditches the hair dye in both outfits and reverts to her natural hair color.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' series changes the Hero's appearance based on game developments. A [[KarmaMeter good]] Hero gains a HolyHalo and healthy complexion, while an evil one gets HornsOfVillainy and GlowingEyesOfDoom. They become more muscular as they invest in physical skills and gain {{Power Tattoo}}s from magical ones. Some plot developments change the Hero directly, like growing a TimePassageBeard on a difficult sea voyage in ''VideoGame/FableI''.

* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'': In the first season, Amelia dons a dark cloak, a messy braid and looks quite slim. [[spoiler:When she returns in season 3, she now wears a gray jacket, which she removed to reveal a clear gray tank top, has a neat braid, and has buffed up a little, this seems to relate to the fact that she is no longer trapped in permanent grief (getting past the dark moment in her life), and has since been exploring the trains, finding the bugs she inflicted on the train's code.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'': As part of the TimeSkip, Korra wears her hair short for most of the fourth season. The other characters wear different clothes as well, while the younger characters are visibly three years older.