I getcha. It's not so sudden for me since this happened months ago and was a whole debate with the community xD But this is Hazel's 4th sprite change, and honestly, it fits with the rest of the cast.
This was the scene when we knew we needed to fix many of the sprites, including Hazel's. Hazel was fine on his own, but as the game went on, Kokman got better and better, and Hazel looked more and more outdated by comparison.
I know it might suck now, but I feel like everyone will adjust and grow to love it like I have.