Hey, I haven't been on in a while and want to know what the best character arc/development you've seen was. Either that or your favorite arc. OR your favorite type of character arc. Can be backward character development, too. I've been at a loss for how to develop my characters and want to see some of your favorite examples!
I honestly have a LOT of character arcs that I love, but the first that came to mind actually pertains to two characters: Steve Rogers from Marvel, and Gon Freecs from the anime HunterxHunter. It is:
When a character's good traits/good development turns dangerous. Quote from Civil War: "You're wrong. You think you're right. And that makes you dangerous." Essentially, the traits that made Steve Rogers such a paragon for other characters –his morality, his stubbornness, his uprightness– actually turn out to have negative consequences. People follow Cap because he's such a paragon of morality. He always has the moral high ground, and he always strives to do what is right. However, what if he decides something is definitely right that may not actually be right? What if he's willing to do bad things for the sake of his morals? The people around him, who relied on him as this pillar of morality, suffer. He's made up his mind about something, something that isn't as cut and dry as he's used to, and it turns out that the very same trait that made him a hero suddenly makes him not so perfect.
A similar thing happens in HunterxHunter. Gon is an optimistic kid with a happy-go-lucky attitude that rubs off on everyone he meets. Everyone feels inclined to follow him and trust him, just because of his good heart and stubbornness. However, when his motivation becomes vengeance, it ends up tearing apart his best friend because the person he followed suddenly seemed to change drastically. His stubbornness and unwillingness to give up a fight suddenly become a horrible weakness.
What I'm getting at is: Say you give your character a flaw, and then some positive traits to counteract that flaw. Those positive traits develop over the course of the story to do just that. However, as the story continues, that trait continues to develop until it is the cornerstone of their personality. Then they are faced with an obstacle or a challenge where that trait becomes a major weakness. A selfless character forced to realize that being selfish is actually good in this scenario. A optimistic character being seen as naive or foolish for refusing to give up their optimism. A character who is fearless being forced to acknowledge fear as an asset. Basically, subverting their positive traits into a problem.
Sorry, this is long, thanks for reading my rants!