These demises inspired more rage than tears. Join Ashley as we look over the anime deaths that fans were not pleased with
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00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the anime deaths that we're
00:15 still mad about.
00:25 20. Shion That time I got reincarnated as a slime.
00:30 When Falmuth's forces mounted an attack on Tempest, there were bound to be a few casualties.
00:36 Unfortunately, one of them happened to be Rimuru's number one secretary, Shion. Given
00:42 her larger role in the series, her haphazard death feels incredibly anticlimactic, especially
00:51 since fans only got to mourn her for a handful of episodes. Shion's corpse was barely cold
00:57 before Rimuru channeled the power of a demon lord to bring her back. Shock value aside,
01:07 we have to admit we just couldn't forgive Falmuth after killing off Best Girl, whether
01:12 she came back or not. You just don't do that to a fan favourite.
01:22 19. Kana Kimishima – Parasite the Maxim Introduced as a Bully who develops a crush
01:28 on the main character, this teenager was a far more interesting potential love interest
01:34 than Satomi. Sadly, Kana's life is abruptly cut short and with little closure. Possessing
01:44 the ability to send out signals to other parasites, Kana mistook this skill for a personal link
01:50 to Shinichi, despite the protagonist's repeated attempts to convince the girl to stop using
01:56 it. This misunderstanding directly causes the character's demise, as Kana's gift
02:01 attracts the wrong parasite. Her death has a huge impact on Shinichi, but Parasite never
02:12 really gives any explanation as to why Kana owned this ability.
02:21 18. Piccolo – Dragon Ball Super There's no way to sugarcoat it, this death
02:30 is lame. It's bad enough Super kills off Piccolo, but they just couldn't think of
02:35 an original way to do it. He dies, shielding Gohan from a lethal blast, just like he did
02:41 back in Z. There's not even a point to it. This scene doesn't happen in the movie
02:52 version of the events, and Piccolo would later be resurrected like nothing happened anyway.
03:00 His death holds absolutely no weight, and instead comes across as an eye-rolling attempt
03:06 to cash in on Z's iconic moments. If Super really wanted to tug at the heartstrings,
03:11 they could have at least brought something new to the table.
03:17 17. 9Alpha – Darling in the FranXX A cross-promotion between A-1 Pictures and
03:26 Trigger, Darling in the FranXX concluded on a somewhat controversial final arc, and Alpha's
03:32 death was only one of many missteps. Introduced as the smug leader of the Nines, Alpha accepted
03:50 every opportunity to mock Zero-Two and Squad 13, although the Parasite's most villainous
03:57 acts were largely a result of manipulation. After realising that Papa had betrayed them,
04:03 Alpha joins Squad 13 in fighting off the alien menace, before quickly and pointlessly sacrificing
04:10 himself to save Hiro. Besides coming across as rushed, Alpha's character arc felt like
04:21 Darling in the FranXX was just ticking boxes off a checklist.
04:29 16. Ponzu – Hunter x Hunter If you look up "missed potential" in the
04:37 dictionary, you'll see a picture of Ponzu. She played a memorable role in the Hunter
04:42 exams, then randomly vanished for half the series. The Hunteress finally reappeared during
04:48 the Chimera Ant arc, only to promptly die an episode later. For what it's worth, Ponzu
04:59 spends her final moments sending invaluable info about the Chimera Ant to the outside
05:05 world. That's nice in a vacuum, but for a character of her calibre, it still feels
05:10 like a pretty pitiful last act. If this is what Hunter x Hunter was going to do with
05:22 Ponzu, they shouldn't have bothered bringing her back at all.
05:29 15. Ulquiorra – Cipher – Bleach Among the most powerful Arranca in Aizen's
05:38 army, Ulquiorra handed Ichigo a sound beating early on in the anime's run. More than
05:48 a hundred episodes later, Bleach finally staged the highly anticipated rematch between the
05:53 two, but the conclusion was anticlimactic, at least for Ichigo himself. Initially, Ulquiorra
06:00 demolishes Ichigo, but the human's inner hollow takes charge and returns the favour,
06:06 leaving the fourth Espada without a couple of limbs and knocking on heaven's door.
06:17 Ulquiorra manages to revert Ichigo back to normal, but the villain was already defeated
06:22 by this point, so the two never truly got to have a fair fight they both wanted.
06:32 14. Prince Zanuck – Overlord – Aizen's Urgon isn't one for mercy. In layman's
06:40 terms, that means Prince Zanuck of the Riestai's kingdom had to die. But surely Overlord could've
06:54 given him a better send-off than this. After Zanuck's attempts at surrendering fall on
06:59 deaf ears, his own subjects murder him and use his severed head as leverage. It's brutal,
07:05 unbecoming and completely unwarranted. Even worse, their plan doesn't even work. As
07:14 it turns out, all Zanuck's head is worth is a slow, agonising death in the torture
07:20 chamber. So much for leniency. In the end, this gambit robbed Zanuck of a dignified goodbye,
07:27 and Overlord of a great character.
07:34 13. Miki Makimura – Devilman Crybaby – In a world overrun by devils, murder and paranoia,
07:45 Akira only has one thing keeping him going. Actually, it's one person, Miki Makimura.
07:54 She never loses faith in the good of mankind, and as a reward, a belligerent mob tracks
07:59 her down and executes her with no remorse. The scene is almost too horrifying to look
08:05 at. Then, to rub salt in the wound, her killers have the gall to parade her body parts around
08:15 like some kind of twisted bloodsport. Akira's trust in humans dies with Miki, and we can't
08:21 blame him. Devilman or not, this mob is what really turned him into a devil.
08:32 12. Pip – Hellsing Ultimate – When Starcrossed lovers Pip and Seras finally lock lips, it
08:42 should be grounds for celebration. The issue? Pip has a giant, gaping scythe wound in his
08:48 back, courtesy of the bloodthirsty maniac, Zorin. As a result, Pip and Seras' first
09:00 kiss is also their last. In the show's defence, having Pip become part of Seras' soul is
09:07 the closest thing to a happily ever after, as you could expect from Hellsing. But that's
09:12 still a meagre consolation prize compared to what this couple could have been. At the
09:24 very least, Seras drinks Pip's blood and gets enough strength to royally curve-stomp
09:30 Zorin in retaliation. It basically doubles as Pip's funeral.
09:38 11. Nicholas D. Wolfwood – Trigun No good deed goes unpunished, especially in
09:47 Trigun. For starters, the Gung-Ho Guns clan follows one very simple philosophy – violence
09:56 is the quickest way to get results. And yet, after meeting Vash, Wolfwood isn't so sure
10:03 anymore. So, when he gets into an altercation with his former boss, he does the unthinkable
10:09 – Wolfwood gives mercy. Unfortunately, his possessed overlord isn't as friendly. After
10:21 being shot, Wolfwood is left practically crawling to a church to say his final words. It's
10:27 not fair in the slightest. But that's the cost of mercy in a kill-or-be-killed world.
10:33 It's just a shame Wolfwood had to die to prove it.
10:40 10. Jotaro Kujo – JoJo's Bizarre Adventure – Stone Ocean
10:48 There's no medal for "Father of the Year" in JoJo's, and even if there were, Jotaro
10:53 wouldn't be around to get it. He does get points for helping his daughter Jolyne stop
11:00 the mad Poochie, but his execution leaves a lot to be desired. During his stand's
11:06 time stop, Jotaro has a choice – save his child, or finish off Poochie. His parental
11:12 instincts kick in, and he takes the lethal blow for his daughter. Keep in mind, Poochie
11:21 can reset the universe, taking out Jolyne and rendering Jotaro's sacrifice moot. This
11:27 death is certainly worth a few gasps, but since reality gets rebooted anyway, it's
11:34 more rage-inducing than anything else.
11:38 9. Ai Hoshino – Oshinoko This might be the first time that killing
11:46 them with kindness ends up actually killing somebody. You heard that right – Ai's
11:55 only crime was being too nice. She devoted everything to her idol career, her fans, and
12:01 most notably, her newborn twins. And it still wasn't enough. One day, Ai simply opened
12:08 the front door and came face-to-face with her bloodthirsty stalker. Afterwards, even
12:19 when she was bleeding out in front of her infant twins, Ai still has it in her heart
12:24 to choose kindness. As such, her final words to her children are downright soul-crushing.
12:31 Ai would have made a great mother, and taking that away from her is a truly unforgivable
12:36 act.
12:39 8. Neji – Naruto Shippuden Naruto's "Tunin exams" fight against
12:48 Neji is one of the show's defining moments. While the marginalised protagonist refused
12:59 to be constrained by social status or fate, Neji was a prodigy who believed destiny could
13:05 not be altered. Although, the ninja's ideology weakens thanks to Naruto's infectious attitude.
13:12 Largely ignored throughout the majority of Shippuden, Neji was the most significant casualty
13:17 of the Fourth Shinobi World War, and Kishimoto confirmed this death was done to help strengthen
13:23 Hinata and Naruto's relationship. One could say it was his destiny to be used as a stepping
13:38 stone by other characters.
13:46 7. Lancer – Fate/Zero There is no honour in war, but that doesn't
13:55 mean Kiritsugu's cowardly strategy shouldn't be scrutinised. Summoned as Kena's servant
14:05 in the Holy Grail War, Lancer is a noble knight who would never even contemplate using underhanded
14:11 tactics to win a battle. Spread across multiple episodes, Saber and Lancer engage in various
14:17 duels throughout Fate/Zero, but fans were deprived of a decisive match. While the warriors
14:22 prepared for their final fight, Kiritsugu captures Kena's fiancée and forces Lancer
14:28 to take his own life in exchange for the woman's life. Lancer goes out cursing everyone involved,
14:37 and the servant's anger is completely justified.
14:46 6. Tenza Yamada – Asaimon – Hell's Paradise If you turned on Hell's Paradise expecting
14:55 Tenza to be a main character, you'd be very, very wrong. Although, we can't blame you
15:01 for thinking so. Tenza is introduced as an enthusiastic warrior determined to rise above
15:07 his poor upbringing. There's even some hint of romance between him and Nurugai. But then,
15:18 almost as soon as he's properly joined the team, Tenza just dies. It's supposed to
15:23 be a heroic self-sacrifice, but it comes so abruptly, the whole thing feels pointless
15:29 and manipulative instead. Then, they replace Tenza with his mentor, who's just a less
15:36 charming version of a character we already loved. Remind us why they killed off Tenza
15:41 again?
15:42 5. Kid, Zorthy, Irak, Maken, Jorgen and Balinbo – Gurren Lagann – Gainax's anime never
15:54 shied away from axing off characters, but was there really any need to kill six characters
15:59 in the same episode? Gearing up for the final conflict against the Anti-Spirals, Team Dai
16:10 Gurren knew casualties had to be expected. In order to stress the finality of the situation,
16:23 Tengen Topper Gurren Lagann's minor characters began dropping off like flies, which would
16:28 have been fine if the deaths were spread out. Due to these six falling during the opening
16:40 space battle against the Anti-Spirals, the last three episodes had to make do with a
16:45 fairly thin cast.
16:51 4. Laughter Franklin – Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans – Death is always a
17:01 mecha battle away in Sunrise anime. While most are hard to sit through but effective,
17:16 Laughter's passing felt manipulative and trivial. A fantastic pilot with an optimistic
17:22 nature and an endearing personality, Laughter shows signs of maturity throughout the series,
17:28 and this character development seems set to continue. Then, out of nowhere, Laughter is
17:33 randomly shot while shopping, wasting any hope tied to the character. To add insult
17:47 to injury, the villain behind the cheap hit barely lasts another episode, making Laughter's
17:52 death practically pointless.
17:57 3. Sasha – Attack on Titan – When you're in the Scouts, death is a common work hazard.
18:06 Mostly they go out with glory battling Titans. Sasha, on the other hand, dies from a stray
18:12 bullet. No warning, no fanfare. The real kicker is that she isn't even killed in combat.
18:24 After the assault on Marley, Sasha's retreating in the airship when Gabi rolls out of hiding
18:29 and shoots her point-blank. It's an ungracious, almost disrespectful way to kill off a character,
18:42 especially one as beloved as Sasha. If she had to die, Attack on Titan could have at
18:47 least let her go out fighting. Or with some more inspiring last words, anything would
18:52 have been better than this.
19:01 2. Tatsumi – Akame ga Kill – Despite what might have been implied in the title,
19:10 Akame is not the main protagonist for 99% of this show. After catching up to the manga,
19:20 Akame ga Kill decided to do its own thing for the last handful of episodes, and things
19:25 quickly spiralled out of control. Just one of many characters to die in quick succession,
19:37 Tatsumi, the anime's real protagonist, defeats the enemy's strongest Tegu, but dies moments
19:43 later trying to protect some civilians. With an episode to go, and various villains left
19:53 to slay, Tatsumi's premature death seemed like it was done purely for shock value. Do
19:59 yourself a favour and read the manga.
20:25 1. Nanami – Jujutsu Kaisen – Not even a grade-one jujutsu sorcerer is safe from
20:30 the threat of a heart-wrenching death. That means you, Nanami. It's hard to say goodbye,
20:36 because he was at the very top of his game. Just a few episodes earlier, Nanami broke
20:42 the whole internet by pummeling Haruta into oblivion. It's not like the Shibuya Incident
20:53 arc needed any more casualties, either. Yet, for some reason, Jujutsu Kaisen spent all
20:59 that time making Nanami a fan favourite, just so it would hurt more when Mahito killed him.
21:08 It's a cruel and unusual waste of a character, one that inspires more hair-pulling than tears.
21:13 Hey, we'll always have Haruta's beatdown, right?
21:20 Did we miss any anger-inducing death scenes? Let us know in the comments below.
21:38 Thanks for watching!
21:45 (dramatic music)
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