Every mangaka tries to build a great roster of characters as it is beneficial to the overall success of the series. This is especially true for long-running series that have hundreds of chapters. But, having too many characters does have its downsides.
Certain characters that are introduced at a specific point in the series tend to be written off for one reason or another. Sometimes it is because the story does not require them anymore or sometimes the mangaka forget about them. So, with that in mind, here are some anime characters who disappeared as the story went on.
8 Kurapika (Hunter x Hunter)
Kurapika made his appearance very early on in the series. He was befriended by Gon and the two were joined by Leorio and Killua. Kurapika's reason behind becoming a hunter was to gain information about the Phantom Troupe as they were responsible for the killing of his fellow clan members.
In the beginning, Kurapika was heavily involved in the story, but once the story moved away from the Troupe, Kurapika received little to no screentime. The focus of the story completely changed and Kurpika was sidelined.
7 Smoker (One Piece)
Smoker used to be a Marine captain, who oversaw the operations in Loguetown, the place where the Pirate King was executed. His Moku Moku no Mi granted him a big advantage against the pirates of the East Blue, who had no idea about Haki. At that point, Smoker seemed invincible but as the story progressed he became less and less impressive.
When Smoker saw Luffy, he immediately knew that he had to capture him. Smoker chased Luffy almost everywhere, but he could never send him to prison. Smoker's last appearance was during the Punk Hazard arc, where he was badly wounded by Doflamingo and since then, he has received no screentime at all. With the series entering the final saga, the readers will be hoping that he finally makes his appearance
6 Orochimaru (Naruto)
The decline and disappearance of Orochimaru are truly saddening. Orochimaru's character suffered badly after playing an impressive role in Part I. Before the second part began, Orochimaru was considered to be one of the evilest anime characters, but for some reason, Kishimoto rendered him completely useless.
Orochimaru was "killed" very early on in Part II, and he did not make a meaningful appearance until the Fourth Great Ninja War. Even then he just appeared to be a mere shadow of his former self.
5 Pannacotta Fugo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
Pannacotta Fugo used to be a member of Bruno Bucciarati's gang. Fugo's intelligence made him a very important member of the gang. Fugo's Stand, Purple Haze, is armed with a lethal virus, which is capable of killing a human within seconds. With his help, the gang achieved a lot of success.
However, after Bruno decided to rebel against Diavolo, Fugo left the gang. This was the turning point in the story as the group was left without one of their key members. Once Fugo left the group, he was never seen in the story again.
4 Mirei Kudo (Inou Battle)
Mirei Kudo is the president of the student council at Senko Private School. She is blessed with an amazing superpower, which allows her to steal the abilities of other people, but she can only do it if she sees the other person activating their power. Mirei can also return the powers to their original users if she wants.
Due to her disappearance from the story, Mirei was completely forgotten by the viewers. Her disappearance was very eerie considering that she was a rather sensible character.
3 Launch (Dragon Ball)
Launch is a unique character created by Akira Toriyama. What makes her unique is her strange disorder which causes her to change personalities. The change in her personality takes place whenever she sneezes. Launch has two personalities—good and bad.
Whenever her good side is on, she becomes extremely kind and in the anime, she was even able to ride Goku's Flying Nimbus. When she switches to her bad personality, Launch becomes mean, and she does not hesitate to open fire at other people. Unfortunately, Launch was forgotten by Toriyama, and she became non-existent in the other parts.
2 Tadakuni (Daily Lives Of High School Boys)
Tadakuni is among the main characters of the series. Due to his two best friends being impractical, Tadakuni is a straightforward man. His character helps to balance out things quite nicely.
Initially, Tadakuni gave off the impression that he is the main character, however, his screentime kept on decreasing until it reached the point where Tadakuni did not even appear in the final episodes of the series.
1 Nel (Bleach)
Nel is a member of the Arrancar race. She was heavily involved in the Hueco Mundo arc, which allowed the fans to understand her character and find out more about her abilities.
Due to her involvement in the Hueco Mundo arc, Nel became a fan favorite, and a lot of fans were hoping to see her in the other arcs, but she was barely given any screentime. Nel did reappear in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, but it wasn't for an extended period of time.