We all have our dreams, whether they’re big or small, and we work to make them come true. But it’s hard sometimes, especially when our dreams seem out of reach or if they won’t guarantee a secure future. It feels hopeless sometimes. That’s why it’s so inspiring to see characters work hard and achieve their dreams; it makes us feel like we can do it, too, if we work a little harder, just like the characters below.
Warning: there will be spoilers for the mentioned manga.
Uzumaki Naruto from Naruto
From a hated orphan with the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of him to the hero of the Leaf Village after Pain’s assault, Naruto sure came far in life! He’s said since he was a kid that he wanted to be the Hokage since everyone respects the Hokage. He wanted to be respected and acknowledged by the other villagers instead of scorned and shunned. The odds were stacked against him, but with the help of his friends and his unwavering determination, he went from zero to hero!
Naruto became the Hokage years after he finally won the village’s respect. He was around 30 years old and already had two children, so he wasn’t around them as much as before. However, he worked to make life better for them and the other villagers, giving his all to protect and give them a better future.
Hinata Shōyo from Haikyu!!
In high school, Hinata is about 5’4.6″ — a bit short for a volleyball player. He was inspired by seeing the Little Giant, a volleyball player about as tall as him, play in a match despite his height putting him at a disadvantage. He worked his hardest to get better at volleyball, but when he started high school, the only skill he had was his ability to jump high. But through practices, matches, training camps, and teammates and rivals pushing him to try harder, he improves by leaps and bounds before his first year is over.
After the time skip — which hasn’t yet been animated — Hinata becomes a professional volleyball player with the MSBY Black Jackal team. Some of his teammates are ones he played against in high school, like Atsumu, and one of the featured matches shows him playing against Kageyama, his former high school volleyball partner. His volleyball career takes off after this, and it’s safe to say that he’s living the dream.
Edward and Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist
After a failed attempt at the Human Transmutation to resurrect their dead mother, Edward and Alphonse had a heavy price to pay. Alphonse lost his entire body, and Edward lost his left leg. To save him, Edward sacrificed his right arm to bind his brother’s soul to a suit of armor. He received automail prosthetics crafted by his mechanic friend, Winry, and her grandmother. The brothers then travel around to find a way to restore their bodies.
At the very end of the series, they finally get their bodies back. Edward gave up the ability to use alchemy to get Alphonse’s body back, though he still retains the knowledge of how it’s used. They went back home and started learning alternative forms of alchemy to ensure that tragedies caused by alchemy — such as what happened to them, Izumi, and Nina, among others — would never be repeated.
Armin Arlert from Attack on Titan
Despite knowing that it’s dangerous outside of the large walls, Armin dreams of venturing out and seeing the world. He wanted to see deserts, volcanoes, but most of all, the ocean. After much sacrifice, fighting, and struggling, the Survey Corps made it to the edge of their island. Then, for the first time, the main characters finally see the ocean.
Of course, it was kind of ruined by Eren being a downer, talking about how Titans were actually humans and they’d been killing humans the whole time. But still! The ocean! Armin got to see more of the world later that season and, at the end, saw what was left after the rumbling. So, his dream did come true, at least for the most part.
Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail
Lucy has two big dreams: join Fairy Tail and collect all 12 Gold Zodiac Keys. She achieved her first dream in the beginning after running away from her neglectful father and leaving her rich and luxurious lifestyle behind. Not only that, but despite having no previous battle experience, she quickly rose to one of the stronger mages in the guild in a short time.
Regarding her second dream, that may be one she never achieves. She has nine of the 12 keys, a friend has two of them — and she refuses to take them — and the other one is out in the world somewhere, and that key opens the gate of a dear friend. But she is content with living with her spirits as her close friends, which becomes part of her new dream.
Katarina Claes from My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
After getting isekai’d into the world of the otome world Fortune Lover as the villainess, Katarina Claes has one thing on her mind: survival. As the villainess, she ends up either exiled or killed at the end of every route, and to avoid that fate, she uses her knowledge of the game’s events to change the plot and avoid doom flags. Her plan work,s and she survives in the end, though she’s so dense she doesn’t realize the consequences of her actions.
Bakarina, as she’s often called in the fandom, charms not only the four romanceable bachelors but also the heroine, the fianceé of one of the bachelors, and another bachelor’s sister. She develops her own little harem, and with not only two princes but three high-ranking nobles and the heroine on her side, she can overcome any doom flag that stands in her way!
Mizutani Shizuku from My Little Monster
Shizuku dreamed of following in her mother’s footsteps as a successful lawyer. Her mother was rarely home, as she was always working long hours to make up for her husband’s inability to keep a job. Shizuku was inspired by her and worked hard to become like her by constantly studying and focusing on her future. It was harder for her when she fell in love, but with her determination, she managed to make both succeed.
At the end of the manga series, Shizuku achieves her dream. By age 22, she started her own law firm called Mizutani Legal Services. The manga stops there, so we don’t get to see her as a lawyer, but just knowing that she achieved what she wanted and didn’t have to sacrifice her love life — she ends up marrying her high school sweetheart — makes up for it.
Honda Tōru from Fruits Basket
Tōru’s first dream was to always be with her mother, but since she passed shortly before the series started, that dream could never come true. Her dreams change instead. After meeting and getting to know the Sōma family and learning of their curse, she is determined to break it. She wants to end their suffering and, in doing so, inadvertently works on her own.
By working to support the Sōmas and helping them break free, she builds a support system that helps her overcome her mother’s death and the end of her previous dream. But by healing and helping others heal, she was able to move forward and complete one last dream: live with her loved ones and have a happy family.
Shirayuki from Snow White with the Red Hair
Shirayuki fled to a neighboring kingdom to escape becoming the prince’s concubine, but nothing could stop her desire to become an herbalist. She had owned her own shop back in her old kingdom, but she had to leave it and most of her belongings behind, save for what she could carry. After meeting and befriending the prince of her new home country, she set out to work hard and become a Court Herbalist.
She becomes a Court Herbalist early in the series, and she works hard to improve and do what she can for others. She became a renowned herbalist, and she has traveled all over to help with events such as breakouts and had many adventures. She’s living her best life, working toward getting better at her goals, and she keeps setting her sights higher and higher.
Kuronuma Sawako from From Me to You
Due to having a name similar to and appearance similar to that of a famous horror character, Sawako is often left out and feared by her classmates. Her painful shyness and social awkwardness worsen matters, as she never corrects these rumors, so everyone believes them. She often dreamed of having friends one day, and she was inspired after helping her friendly and popular classmate, Kazehaya Shōta, who treated her like he treated everyone else.
It was hard because many classmates were still scared of her, and she struggled to overcome these barriers. However, thanks to her determination and the help from Kazehaya and a few other friends she makes along the way, she gets closer to her classmates and finally has the kind of social life she has always dreamed of.
It’s refreshing to see characters achieve their dreams instead of endlessly working toward them but never quite reaching them. Let’s all work on our dreams, too!
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