There are several reasons why an individual may want to take on a new identity: a dark past, a need to hide their true identity for their own safety, or just wanting a change of pace. Depending on the circumstances and the individual themselves, this new identity can be a radical change or a slight alter.
Such changes can range from altering a certain aspect of their personality, or a disguise to lead a revolution, and sometimes at first glance, it's an unexpected shift for the given character. Taking on a new identity is a pretty common trope across varying genres in anime, from slice-of-life to supernatural shonen.
10 The Devil Is A Part-Timer! At A Fast Food Chain
The reverse isekai series The Devil is a Part-Timer! starts with a war on Ente Isla. Here, Demon Lord Satan is attempting to conquer humanity. He almost succeeds, but then mankind's savior Emilia the Hero comes into the picture. The hero weakens Satan enough that he and his faithful servant, Alciel, are forced to retreat into a portal.
After entering the portal, Satan and Alciel are now inhabitants of Earth, and they realize that their powers are depleted since there's no magic on Earth. The two have to change their identities and live as humans until they figure out how to restore their powers. Satan, now known as Sadao Mao, decides to become a part-time fast food worker.
9 Light Yagami Takes On The Title Of Kira In Death Note
Death Note is the interesting and quite complicated story of a high school prodigy, Light Yagami, who finds a Death Note on the ground. A Death Note is a notebook that can be used to kill any person, as long as its user knows the person's name and face.
A Shinigami named Ryuk, bored of his typical lifestyle, decided to drop his book in the human realm, the same one Light finds. After Light tests the capabilities of the notebook, he's greatly satisfied and decides to take on the identity of Kira, an individual who will use the Death Note to disrupt the state of the world he hates.
8 Lelouch Has Three Identities In Code Geass
The Holy Empire of Britannia inaugurating itself as a dominant military nation is one of the focal points for the plot of Code Geass. The empire first succeeds by dominating Japan and renaming it Area 11, but to regain its independence, Japan rebels.
A Britannian student, Lelouch Lamperouge, gets caught up in a crossfire between the military and the rebels but luckily escapes after the appearance of a mysterious girl named C.C., who grants him Geass. Throughout the series, he's known as Lelouch Lamperouge at school and as Zero to the Black Knights, a rebel faction. It's also later revealed that the name Lelouch Lamperouge is an alias.
7 Ken Kaneki Lives A Double Life After A Horrible Incident In Tokyo Ghoul
The story of Ken Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul is a normal one at first. Kaneki is a shy college student who loves books and goes on a date with another avid reader, Rize Kamishiro. But Rize isn't who she portrayed herself to be.
After the date, Rize convinces Kaneki to take her home and leads him through a deserted construction area. There, Rize reveals herself to be a ghoul and that Kaneki is her meal. While all this is happening, construction beams fall, crushing her in the process and leaving Kaneki near death. Both are rushed to the hospital, where an immediate transplant takes place. Kaneki, now with Rize's ghoul organs inside him, has to live as a half-human half-ghoul hybrid.
6 In ReLIFE, Arata Kaizaki Finds His Future In The Past
ReLIFE first introduces 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki as a hopeless loser who can't seem to keep a job. On his way home, a random person named Ryo Yoake appears in front of him. Yoake is a member of the ReLIFE Research Institute and offers Arata the opportunity to change his life.
After hearing the perks, Arata is immediately intrigued; all he has to do is take a mysterious pill. The next morning, Arata is ten years younger and a high school student again. Thus begins Arata's new life as a teenager in ReLIFE.
5 Rin Was Given A New Identity To Conceal His Parentage In Blue Exorcist
In Blue Exorcist, Rin is a typical ordinary teenager who causes trouble here and there. He lives with his brother Yukio and the priest who raised them, Shiro Fujimoto, but one day, since trouble always finds him, Rin is ambushed by demons.
The life he once knew is turned upside down when he finds out that he is the son of Satan, and his adoptive father is killed during the reveal. His identity before was a cover-up, and now he seeks revenge on his father for the death of the man who raised him. Rin decides to become an exorcist and has to keep his true identity hidden while training.
4 Yato Of Noragami Rebranded Himself With A New Persona
Yato acknowledges himself as a "Delivery God" who performs odd jobs in exchange for offerings. He does this hoping to eventually gain a following of worshipers so he can become as well-known as the gods above him. Aside from a few incidents, the beginning of Noragami promises a happy show starring a goofy deity trying to climb the social ladder.
However, this is an identity he's chosen to rebrand himself with to stray away from his past. In his former life, Yato was a god who bought about havoc and death. Now he's turning over a new leaf.
3 The Students In Classroom of the Elite Present Different Selves To Different People
The characters for the series Classroom of the Elite certainly live up to the title. Kodo Ikusei Senior High School is a utopia, and its classrooms are full of elite students. But once students realize the reality of their placement in this utopia, things drastically change.
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, a student at the school, seems like an average joe and narrates the majority of the story for the audience. He's the first to realize that some students have taken on new identities to show a certain face to those around them. And ironically, the Ayanokoji that viewers get accustomed to is also a new identity.
2 The Protagonists Of Terror In Resonance Have Interchangeable Identities
Terror in Resonance is the story of two teenage boys who pose as members of the terrorist group "Sphinx" that constantly threatened to bring destruction and mayhem across Tokyo. The two boys also pose as high school students, Arata Kokonoe and Toji Hisami, and mostly to each other, they're known as Nine and Twelve.
The series is quite interesting, featuring the two extremely intelligent main characters with motives that are at first are unknown. Along with the multiple identities already included throughout the series, it's later revealed that Nine and Twelve have a hidden truth to their real identities.
1 The Octopus Teacher Of Assassination Classroom Is More Than He Seems
Assassination Classroom focuses on the students of class 3-E, who are tasked with assassinating their teacher. The targeted teacher is an octopus-like creature capable of traveling at Mach 20 and responsible for obliterating a majority of the moon. If the students can't kill the monster by the end of the school year, the Earth will suffer a worse fate.
One student gives him the name Korosensei since he is "unkillable," and that name obviously isn't his true identity. This strange creature didn't appear from nowhere; instead, he was formerly a well-known assassin known as "the Reaper."
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