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Hidden talents in anime can be very surprising. Anime characters, especially shonen, tend to have everything one needs to know about them presented within the first few minutes of their introduction.
While character development can be gradual, the audience gets almost a complete picture of a character within their introduction. It can be almost impossible to hide traits or surprise the audience.
So, it's fun when characters have hidden talents that aren't first established but instead unveiled throughout the story. Because not every detail needs to be established straight away.
Note: This article reflects the author's opinions and contains major character spoilers for popular animes.
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10 anime characters like Vegeta and Jotaro who have hidden talents
1) Cooking (Vegeta)
Is the Prince of All Saiyans, and generally narcissistic Vegeta, a decent cook?
When push comes to shove, yes. He struggles to crack an egg without crushing it while making breakfast, but can make takoyaki as seen in Dragon Ball Super and Battle of Gods.
He does this by grabbing the octopus out of the water, shooting it with a Galick Gun and then frying the tentacle. This counts as a hidden talent considering Vegeta displayed no aptitude or interest in cooking before this.
Granted, it was to appease Beerus so the world didn't get vaporized, but it counts.
2) Musical talent (Bakugo)
Katsuki Bakugo of My Hero Academia had his parents force him to take musical classes when he was younger. This resulted in him having drumming abilities, which is unexpected given Bakugo's explosive temper. But it was the perfect hidden talent to help Class 1-A with their school festival.
With Jiro on vocals, Bakugo on drums, Momo on keyboard, and Denki and Tokoyami on guitars, Class 1-A's performance rocked the festival. Not bad for "murdering them with music," as Bakugo said. It also led to greater teamwork from him down the road.
3) A really good poker face (Jotaro)
Being calm under pressure and fooling an opponent for as long as possible is a skill that requires years to hone and master. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders' own Jotaro Kujo did this at least three times throughout that part of the series, proving to be a hidden talent of his.
He caused the older D'Arby brother, Daniel, to suffer an anxiety attack during a poker game where everyone's souls were on the line (after saying D'Arby had cheated to win Polnaraff and Joseph's souls).
He bluffed out the younger one, Terence, by keeping his expressions and thoughts neutral as to not be caught cheating (having Joesph help him) at video games, and even managed to trick DIO more than a few times.
4) Sewing (Kanji Tatsumi)
Rough and Tumble Kanji Tatsumi of Persona 4: The Animation is quick to anger over simple altercations. Whether it's beating a biker gang up or chasing after the Investigation Team whilst using a steel chair as a weapon, Kanji is one of the standout characters from the Persona 4 adaption.
His hidden talent? Sewing! Sewing, crocheting, knitting, all kinds of arts and crafts style things that would normally be considered feminine. This conflict, the crossroads between trying to uphold societal expectations of masculinity whilst enjoying feminine things, is at the heart of Kanji's character as he fears the harsh judgment and ridicule that comes with it.
He's also a decent cook, and has come to overcome that fear and try to make people understand him.
5) Gardening (Sailor Jupiter/Makoto Kino)
Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter of Sailor Moon was always into physical activities, most notably karate. People were very intimidated to approach her owing to her physical stature and combat ability as she tossed people around without transforming. As Usagi and the rest of the Senshi learned, there was more to Makoto than just the rough exterior.
Her hidden talents, in particular, are mostly related to cooking (she's much better than Vegeta) and gardening. Her dream is to run her own bakery and flowery. Her living room even has several plants, which she regularly cares for.
6) Woodwork/small construction (Light Yagami)
Nobody suspects Light to be dangerous with anything except the titular Death Note. He's able to hide the Death Note in multiple places and even place traps to do so. He does this using wood, screws, glue, and other common materials.
Granted, he had to buy these things, but the fact that he was able to jerryrig it so quickly is pretty impressive.
7) Cleanliness (Levi Ackerman)
Cleaning everything is something Attack on Titan's Levi Ackerman believes in wholeheartedly. Because this sharp, ultra serious man is a cleaning machine. He believes in keeping everything near spotless at all times, up to and including an entire safehouse manor.
He made Eren clean his entire room twice, cleaned a knife of blood until it was spotless, and slammed another person because he was touched with filthy hands.
8) Flower arranging/Ikebana (Sora Takenouchi)
In another case of the tomboy character loving flowers like Sailor Jupiter, Sora Takenouchi of the Digidestined in Digimon would normally be found on the soccer field. This doesn't change, nor does her mother's constant pressure to do flower arranging throughout the original Digimon Adventure. Come Digimon Adventure Tri and she has taken up flower arranging as a side hobby.
The problem is she gets fed up with that too, though it's clear she doesn't hate it.
9) Strong work ethic/compassion (Sadao Mao/Satan)
Satan, the demon lord otherwise known as Sadao Mao, from The Devil is a Part-Timer, constantly talks about scheming to take over the world. The fact that he was the lord of demons in his fantasy realm before retreating to the modern world doesn't lend itself to a picturesque idea of compassion or a strong work ethic.
That changes when he starts working for a fast food chain. Not only does he rise through the ranks, but he begins to develop compassion and empathy for humanity and his fellow workers. By the end of season 1, he's nearly a hero, or at least really cares about his small corner of the world.
These two things are definitely hidden talents for a devil/demon lord.
10) Dancing (Jaune Arc)
Jaune Arc in early RWBY, volume 1 to be precise, was unprepared for Hunstman's life. He barely had any aura control (couldn't even define what it was), could hardly fight, and was flunking classes. After a long harassment arc involving school bully Cardin Winchester, Jaune began improving thanks to teammate Pyrrha Nikos.
His hidden talents are his dancing skills. He grew up with seven sisters and learned several skills, one of which was dancing. This came in handy when Pyrrha had no date to the school dance, with Jaune sarcastically remarking that he'd wear a dress if she didn't get a date.
She didn't. He wore the dress and showed off his dance skills with Pyrrha and his team. It marked a turning point for his character, as he began showing other hidden depths like being a good strategist and, later, a healer.
Conclusion
There they are, the 10 hidden talents and characters who have them in anime. These talents may seem mundane, but it's the unexpected characters having them that really makes the difference!
