Major and minor deaths alike need to serve a purpose in an anime, and while some deaths are important and impactful, others feel cheap. Certain character deaths in anime might feel like rage bait on the author’s part, meaning even if the story tries to justify that character’s death, it still feels forced. Fans suspect that many character deaths in anime are there just to provoke consumers as a blunt way to keep them emotionally invested.

Some anime fans may forgive these particular deaths as an example of the original author having the right to do what they wish with the material, and that is fine. No one knows the story better than the creator, but even so, some creators might take advantage of that fact and test fans’ patience with some character deaths. Looking back, anime fans can say these rage bait deaths were handled awkwardly and either should have happened for better reasons, or not happened at all.

10

Sasha’s Death Robbed Attack on Titan Fans of Their Second-Favorite Girl

Cause of Death: Gunshot

Attack on Titan is a brutal and bloody shonen anime where characters die, especially background extras who die at the hands of Titans to keep the tension at the max. Anime fans could also forgive major characters getting killed off or written out when the story called for it. Then, after Attack on Titan‘s multi-year time skip, there was a death no fan could forgive.

Just when the Scouts completed their raid on Liberio and started retreating aboard their stolen airship, Gabi Braun the Warrior candidate snuck aboard the ship, rifle in hand. She took aim, shooting and killing Sasha Braus with one shot. Fans were shocked and horrified, even longtime Attack on Titan fans, and Sasha’s death felt like it was forced just so the heroes’ victory would have a dark edge. Mikasa may be the fandom’s favorite girl, but they loved Sasha, too — and now she’s gone.

9

Avdol’s Death Was Sudden and Brutal in DIO’s Mansion

Cause of Death: Cream Stand

Fully half of the Stardust Crusaders crew died in the third story arc of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, with all three deaths happening in the last few episodes. It was tragic enough to lose Iggy the dog and Noriaki Kakyoin, but the anime seemed to overdo things when it killed Muhammad Avdol, too. All of a sudden, the vampire Vanilla Ice attacked, and evidently, Avdol needed to immediately die as a result.

The anime did flatter Avdol when he made a heroic sacrifice in a split second to protect Polnareff, but it still felt forced. On one hand, Avdol’s death ensured Polnareff had to face Vanilla Ice’s Cream Stand alone to boost the tension. Then again, Avdol’s death was a terrible way to treat a character who spent a chunk of the story off-screen, and Avdol didn’t even get a chance to fight back, but he should have.

8

Himeno’s Death Was an Emotional Gut Punch When Fighting Akane

Cause of Death: Sacrifice to the Ghost Devil

Chainsaw Man is willing to injure or kill off anyone, and fans are already used to that. But even with that in mind, Himeno’s death in that devilish street battle felt a tad forced. Himeno could have stuck around at least a little longer as one of Denji’s genuinely good-natured and supportive friends in this twisted devil world.

Fans may commend Himeno for going all out when using her Ghost Devil to fight Katana Man and Akane Sawatari, but that meant losing her life in the process. Surely, the anime could have just rendered Himeno unable to fight as the cost of those devil powers, then write her out later, when her arc had more time to grow.

7

Yamcha’s Death is Equally Frustrating and Meme-Worthy

Cause of Death: Saibaman’s Self-Destruction

Dragon Ball Z does give its heroes plot armor with the usage of the namesake Dragon Balls to revive them, but some deaths still feel ridiculous. One of them is the memorable demise of Yamcha, a former villain who redeemed himself to join the heroes as a friend. Yamcha always lagged far behind the heroes, but he deserved a chance to catch up and make something of himself.

The Namek Saga had other ideas, using Yamcha as a foolish jobber to show the power of Frieza’s wicked minions. Yamcha acted so recklessly, it felt totally forced, just an excuse to kill him off and reinforce the danger. By then, Dragon Ball fans had gotten used to Yamcha being the weakling of the group, but he still deserved better than to throw away his life like that.

6

Kamina’s Death Felt Terrible Even With Death Flags in Place

Cause of Death: Stabbed and Hit by Energy Beam

Of all rage-bait anime deaths, the demise of Kamina in Gurren Lagann is the easiest to justify as a tragic moment that pushed the hero’s arc along. True, Simon was forced to grow up and fight harder after the loss of Kamina, but it still felt like rage bait to kill of someone like him. And that’s including the presence of a few death flags that hinted at his impending doom.

Kamina suffered mortal injuries in the heat of battle, and nothing and no one in his team could save him. It felt odd to kill off Kamina at that particular moment, with him dying in a battle of only middling importance. Gurren Lagann fans may have made peace with Kamina’s death if he had died fighting the likes of Lordgenome instead, allowing him to go out with more of a bang.

5

Shion’s Death Pushed Rimuru Over the Edge

Cause of Death: Physical Trauma

A few times in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Rimuru Tempest actually faced a proper challenge, and one particular challenge broke his heart. The Church and the Falmuth nation teamed up to wage war on Rimuru’s city, and among many other casualties was Shion the ogre. She had always been a delightful and impressive character, but then she was killed off, just like that.

It felt like such a cheap way to provoke Tensura fans and even Rimuru himself, and fans didn’t even see how hard Shion fought to defend herself. Fans simply saw her dead body once Rimuru did, and it felt wrong on many levels. Rimuru did revive Shion and other characters when he awakened as a demon lord, but that just made Shion’s death feel even more like cheap rage bait.

4

Neji’s Death Was Written Terribly in Naruto Shippuden

Cause of Death: Wooden Spike

Few anime deaths are more disliked and notorious than the demise of Neji Hyuga late in Naruto Shippuden. Until then, the Naruto anime had built up Neji as a talented hard worker who had glowed up with new skills and redemption, making him quite compelling to watch. Then, for whatever reason, Naruto saw fit to give Neji a quick, savage, and ultimately needless death during the final war.

Neji intercepted the wooden spikes of the Ten Tails, shielding Naruto and Hinata from harm at the cost of his own life. That feels like rage bait because Neji was written to be much better than that, so his death felt silly and forced, not heroic or brave. It’s one thing for a shonen anime’s final arc to kill off some heroes to boost the emotional stakes, but Neji’s death is not the way to do it.

3

Kuina’s Death Wasted the Character’s Potential With a Silly Accident

Cause of Death: Falling Down Stairs

The One Piece anime is reluctant to kill off anyone, friend or foe, so it’s a major event when someone dies on-screen. Some deaths felt like tragic necessities for the sake of the plot, such as the murder of Nami’s and Nojiko’s foster mother, or the heroic death of Kozuki Oden in Wano. Then there’s the matter of Kuina, who died the most nonsensical death ever seen in a shonen anime flashback.

Kuina was Roronoa Zoro’s rival student, who managed to die by falling down a flight of stairs. Such a death almost felt like mean-spirited parody, writing out Kuina just to double Zoro’s motivation and provoke viewers about Kuina’s wasted potential. Fans might also criticize that death as an example of fridging, swiftly killing off a character to benefit someone else’s arc.

2

Midnight’s Death Served as a Simple Way to Sadden Viewers and UA’s Students

Cause of Death: Physical Trauma

My Hero Academia is another action anime that knows these kinds of stories need to kill off some heroes to raise the emotional stakes and tension alike. However, killing off the hero Midnight felt liek the wrong way to do it, particularly since Midnight didn’t feel that heroic in the end. She did fight hard, but otherwise, Midnight’s death didn’t flatter her much or reveal anything new about her.

UA’s students and My Hero Academia anime fans alike felt terrible about Midnight’s fate, but it felt forced for the sake of drama. Midnight ought to have died a little later after glowing up, or she might have been injured to the point of retiring, like some other heroes. Fans could even argue how the anime had too few great female heroes at the time, so writing out Midnight was a bad call in that regard.

1

Captain Unohana’s Death Wrote Her Out Once She Finally Became Cool

Cause of Death: Stabbed by Kenpachi

Bleach is yet another anime that knows how to kill off or write out heroes to crank up the tension and stakes. The Thousand-Year Blood War did that correctly with the death of Captain Yamamoto, but it fumbled with Captain Unohana’s own demise. For one thing, this is another case of a shonen action anime callously writing out one of its few female powerhouses, with Unohana being one of only two women among the Gotei 13 Captains at the time.

Bleach fans could say Unohana’s death made sense, because she was the first Kenpachi fighting the current Kenpachi, and such brutal warriors are always ready for death. Then again, fans might wonder if Yachiru Unohana really needed to die to awaken Kenpachi Zaraki’s own powers, or whether Unohana could have done the same with a non-lethal defeat. Also, it’s a serious shame Unohana died so soon after revealing her super-cool hidden side as the first Kenpachi.