Hey, guys. I remember when you guys called out how shitty Carol's redemption was (well, on /m/, anyway, when I was lurking /sgg/ during GX). Tonight, I was re-watching Ippo's fight against Sawamura and kept going up to Umezawa leaving the Fishing Co. so he can pursue his dream full-time. When he was about to confess to Ms. Makunochi that he was the leader of bullies who harassed Ippo before he went pro, I had an idea of what would happen. Despite what he did in the past, Umezawa became Ippo's first and #1 fan, and even went as far as to help out with the family business so Ippo could focus on up until this point. Hell, he even called Itagaki to take his place so Ippo can keep focusing on boxing without worrying about his mother being overworked again. His redemption took time, and it felt really satisfying that a character who started out to be antagonistic gradually underwent a paradigm shift and became a genuinely likeable character. Ms. Makunochi telling Umezawa to keep his chin up and eyes forward before he could ask for forgiveness for his past wrongdoings, and Ippo shouting from the boat that he'll be Umezawa's #1 fan not only sealed the deal of his redemption feeling good, but was also a callback to Umezawa saying he'd be Ippo's fan back in high school. It went full circle.

Meanwhile, Carol did everything in her power to be reviled--crossed about every single boundary to end up being hated. Despite her past about her father being burnt at the stake by the very people he saved from the plague, two wrongs don't make a right. Even then, attempted genocide was shrugged off as a little girl crying out for help or some other bullshit, and the main characters tried to save her.

I'll cut to the chase: do you think Carol would've had a decent redemption if there was more time to develop her character? Many chapters and episodes elapsed when Umezawa got his redemption, but Carol had one season and it was handled poorly. The differences are night and day.