Miraculous Ladybug has won the hearts of fans, both those in its target demographic and older audiences, for its world and the many characters who inhabit it. In the beginning, the series feels like it capitalizes on the ‘monster-of-the-week’ format, allowing fans to jump at any time and still follow what’s going on.
This simple format works great for new or younger viewers, but older fans soon get if their favorites don’t show lasting development. Thankfully, as time goes on, Miraculous Ladybug establishes a feeling of long-lasting growth. Events feel more meaningful, and negative situations have consequences for characters going forward, at times affecting their personalities as a whole.
9 Marinette Becomes More Confident And Starts Believing In Herself
At the start of Miraculous Ladybug, Marinette doesn’t have the self-confidence to stand up to others. This leads to her becoming a frequent target of bullying, and keeps her from being direct about her crush on Adrien, despite wanting to be with him more than anything else.
Over time, Marinette grows more confident and self-assured, standing up to bullies like Chloe and Lila. She even makes progress on the romantic front with Adrien. Despite freezing up when trying to use words around Adrien, Marinette is able to give him a kiss on the cheek.
8 Juleka Discovers Her Own Sense Of Self-Confidence
Juleka is Luka’s younger twin sister, and she’s the more reserved and self-conscious of the two. She has a desire to model, but at the same time, doesn’t have enough belief in herself to take steps towards her dream.
As the series goes on, Juleka gains more confidence through her relationships with her friends, allowing her to explore her dream. This confidence is amplified after she obtains a Miraculous and becomes Purple Tigress. As she grows in confidence as a hero, Juleka’s outlook carries over to her civilian life, as well.
7 Chloe Shows Development Before It’s Backtracked By The Writers
Although Chloe’s development isn’t permanent, it still happens and is worth recognizing. Chloe begins as a bully who enjoys tormenting Marinette, as well as her “best friend” Sabrina. In the second season, Chloe becomes the temporary holder of the Bee Miraculous and her family life is revealed.
This revelation painted Chloe as a more sympathetic character, and many fans hoped she would receive a fully-realized redemption arc. Sadly, the writers decided to revert Chloe all the way back to her bullying tendencies from the start of the first season.
6 Zoe Stops Seeking Her Family’s Approval And Becomes Her Own Person
When Zoe, Chloe’s half-sister, is first introduced, she seems to have the same personality as Chloe. However, it isn’t long before Zoe demonstrates she has the sweetest personality out of the cast.
Zoe’s desire to be liked by her family, especially Chloe keeps her from displaying this side of her at first. Since Zoe is a talented actress, it’s not hard for her to adapt to the role. After her akumatization and subsequent rescue, Zoe realizes it’s not good to hide her true self, and begins living honestly.
5 Alya Learns To Control Her Overly Nosy Reporter’s Instinct
At the start, Alya is a fierce reporter who’ll do anything to obtain her next scoop involving Ladybug. She’s even willing to sacrifice her personal safety to do so. This drive is portrayed when Alya gets kidnapped by an akumatized villain and is more worried about reporting on the event than everything else.
After spending time as Rena Rogue, her superhero alter-ego, Alya learns not all secrets have to be uncovered. She instead learns that trust can exist even without uncovering everything. As a result, her nosy reporter’s instinct begins to calm down.
4 Luka Matures Enough To Understand Why His Relationship With Marinette Fails
It’s well-known to fans that Luka and Marinette attempt to enter into a romantic relationship with one another. It’s a great turning point for the series, showing that main characters can actually get paired up, after several seasons of no progress. After Marinette continuously leaves Luka in the middle of dates, and lies to him about her whereabouts, he’s akumatized and becomes obsessed with revealing the truth.
Later, Luka discovers Marinette’s actions are due to her secret identity as Ladybug. Not only does he come to terms with this, Luka decides to keep their secrets and respect Marinette’s need to be alone —recognizing Paris needs them more than he needs her.
3 Adrien Gains More Of A Spine And Starts Standing Up For Himself
Adrien is a good-natured, sheltered boy who’s been raised to feel as if the only worth he has comes from what he can do for his father. Because of this, Adrien gains a “people-pleasing” attitude, and has a hard time standing up to others. This not only includes his father, but others like Chloe, whose actions Adrien doesn’t always agree with.
As time goes on, Adrien begins to be able to stand up for himself. He can be seen lashing out at his father when he feels he’s being treated unfairly, and he even musters the courage to ask Nathalie if he can bring his friends with him on a trip to the wax museum, rather than stay silent out of fear.
2 Alix Is Shown To Grow Into Someone Who Can Admit When They Need Help
Initially, Alix is seen as confident, a positive trait for her to possess. When this confidence is combined with Alix’s stubborn and reckless personality, however, she can get into trouble by thinking she can handle more than she actually can.
Alix later becomes the holder of the Bunny Miraculous, and gains the ability to traverse through time. As Bunnyx, she retains her self-confidence, but displays humility. Rather than continue handling everything on her own, Alix is willing to admit she needs help.
1 Kagami Becomes More Playful, And Learns That Sometimes, Disobedience Is Necessary
Similar to Adrien, Kagami has a stern upbringing and must follow her mother’s strict set of rules. Kagami is also shown to have a ruthlessly competitive side, and she can get a bit intense.
Kagami develops into a playful person over time, who treasures the friends she makes, and doesn’t want to lose them. Kagami understands that she’ll hurt Marinette if she pursues Adrien, but would rather be able to remain friends with Marinette, showing that her competitive drive mellowed out a bit.