One of the most emotional and impactful ways an anime character can go out is through an act of self-sacrifice. Many series have masterfully used this tragic trope to create significant moments and round out character arcs which have stuck with anime fans for ages. Naruto’s Itachi Uchiha and Code Geass’ Lelouch are two great examples of characters who have given a great deal at an even greater cost and have affected their respective series significantly.

Other times, an anime character’s sacrifice can fall short of what it’s meant to do. While they can still succeed in pulling tears from the audience, the reasoning and result of the sacrifice itself can leave a viewer scratching their heads in confusion. Once the tears have all been shed, a fan may realize hardly anything was gained or changed. Truthfully, some anime sacrifices were just completely unnecessary, useless, or worse: nothing but shock value.

10

Himeno’s Deal With the Ghost Devil in Chainsaw Man Didn’t do Anything Significant

Chainsaw Man Season 1, Episode 8: “Gunfire”

Every fan liked Himeno from Chainsaw Man until she started displaying some morally questionable behavior. Her death had anime fans split 50/50 between feeling bad or feeling relieved, but many can agree her sacrifice served little to no purpose. It was a tough fight against Katana Man in Episode 8 of Chainsaw Man. So, to defeat him as well as save Aki, Himeno gave her body to the Ghost Devil.

Unfortunately, Himeno didn’t succeed in killing Katana Man, practically making her deal with the Ghost Devil pointless. She, however, was able to restart Denji. Denji was then able to take over the fight, but many viewers believed pulling the main character back into the fray was a feat anyone could have accomplished. It’s only made worse given the fact that the situation was practically orchestrated by Makima, so Himeno played right into her hands.

9

Zelest’s Death in The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep Did Absolutely Nothing for the Story

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep (2025)

The Witcher franchise released an animated film based on “A Little Sacrifice,” a short story written by the franchise’s creator, Andrzej Sapkowski. It was inspired by the classic fairytale “The Little Mermaid” and, of course, had a recurring theme of sacrificing for love. However, the most meaningless sacrifice didn’t come in the form of a mermaid princess giving up her entire livelihood for a prince. It came in the form of a character’s death that left little to no impact.

Zelest, brother to one of Sirens of the Deep‘s main characters, was a character with decent development and good potential. While it wasn’t a sacrifice that the character had personally chosen to make, it was a narrative sacrifice which didn’t really affect the story or the other characters at all. Zelest wasn’t honored or even mentioned beyond being a loss to King Usveldt, which the latter hardly showed any remorse for. The message of paying the price for pride was lost because of how little Zelest seemed to matter to everyone in the cast.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episode 63: “The Other Side of the Gateway”

Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood embodied his namesake in every way. He wanted all the pleasures in the world and then some, and he was completely selfish. Greed did have one redeeming quality — the genuine care he had for his comrades, which carried well into his new life. He especially grew close with Ling Yao and came to understand the human heart through their bond.

When Greed selflessly gave his life to weaken Father in Fullmetal Alchemist’s final battle, it perfectly concluded his character arc, proving beings like him could have a more sincere and humane side. On the other hand, other fans would say his sacrifice only contributed something another character could have easily accomplished. Fans also argue that Greed’s death was something which could have been avoided, but no one bothered to try to stop it.

7

Lady Chiyo Was Nothing But Gaara’s Reset Button in Naruto

Naruto Shippuden Episode 31: “The Legacy!”

Akatsuki’s kidnapping of Gaara was one of the first major events of Naruto Shippuden. With Gaara in their grasp, they were able to extract Shukaku, an act which ultimately killed him in the process. Fortunately, Lady Chiyo had a solution — she had a means of successfully reviving Gaara, but it would come at the cost of her own life.

Chiyo’s sacrifice was not in vain, as it did work to bring him back. Gaara was young, in an important position of power, and meant a lot to other characters. What made the sacrifice feel almost empty is that Chiyo was never really honored or even mentioned again beyond the episode of her death. Chiyo’s memory held little weight, despite the fact that she saved the life of a major character as well as a major political figure.

6

Hannes Was Only Used to Drive Attack on Titan’s Protagonist Forward

Attack on Titan Season 2, Episode 37: “Scream”

Any anime fan can tell that Attack on Titan is not a series made for happy endings. It is as brutal as HBO’s Game of Thrones when it comes to killing off characters; no one is the exception. Hannes became the first of many victims who proved that. Numerous Attack on Titan characters had the potential to be more, and he was one of them. Hannes was a drunkard who many would have considered barely worthy of wearing a military uniform, but he changed the day he failed to save Eren’s mother.

Carla Yeager’s death weighed as heavy in his heart as it did in Eren’s, which is why anime fans thought he would succeed in killing the Titan that ate her. Sadly, that wasn’t the case — he was eaten by the very same Titan. Not only was this not a willing sacrifice, but Hannes’ death only served to motivate Eren enough to help him access his Titan ability. For some reason, simply wanting to save the man who rescued him wasn’t enough to help him do that.

5

Naruto’s Neji Hyuga Became Nothing But a Sob Story

Naruto Shippuden Episode 364: “The Ties That Bind”

Neji Hyuga didn’t start out on the best foot in Naruto. He was arrogant, self-absorbed, and cruel all because he believed he was destined for greater things than others. However, after battling Naruto, he was inspired to start looking at life and the concept of destiny differently. Neji had some of the best and strongest character development in the whole anime series.

Countless Naruto fans believed all that development went to waste when Neji ultimately sacrificed himself to save Naruto and Hinata in Naruto Shippuuden Episode 364. They claim it was an anticlimactic death, and he perished in servitude to the Hyuga clan’s main branch family, something which had caused conflict earlier in his life. Although he was honored greatly after the Fourth Great Ninja War, fans disliked how Neji’s death was only a tragedy to cry over.

4

Solo Leveling Uses Its Side Characters to Build Jinwoo’s Pedestal

Solo Leveling Season 2, Episode 23: “It’s Going to Get Even More Intense”

Solo Leveling is all about the thrill of watching the main character, Sung Jinwoo, grow stronger with every enemy he conquers. Fans have yet to grow tired of seeing him develop into this wildly powerful figure who can annihilate monsters with the flick of his wrist, and they won’t any time soon. Because Jinwoo is such a good protagonist, people hardly see any flaws with the series. But Solo Leveling does have a weakness: its side characters.

Solo Leveling is so dedicated to building Jinwoo up that it sacrifices potentially good characters in the process, like in the Jeju Island Arc. While none of the characters conciously sacrifice themselves, it feels as though they were killed off simply to demonstrate how powerful Jinwoo’s become. The Korean S-rank hunters were hyped up in Episode 22 only to perish like flies at the hands of the Ant King. Then Jinwoo arrived and easily defeated the creature when none of the other hunters could even land a proper hit.

3

Deidara’s Explosive Art Completely Failed Him in Naruto

Naruto Shippuden Episode 124: “Art”

Deidara was one of the first Akatsuki members introduced early in Naruto Shippuden. After successfully kidnapping Gaara, the kage of the Sand Village as well as a Jinchuriki, he became one of the most infamous. The most notable aspects of his character were his unique technique and his devotion to his art form. Deidara believed art should be as spontaneous and disruptive as an explosion — literally.

It’s difficult to tell where and when Deidara’s obsession with explosives began, but it’s easy to see just how much beef he had with the Uchiha brothers. Deidara actually wanted to kill Sasuke so badly that he pulled a Vegeta and turned himself into an explosive with the hopes of catching Sasuke in the blast. Unfortunately, Sasuke survived, and Deidara’s final act of artistic terrorism was all for naught. At the very least, he went out in a manner that he loved.

2

The Death of InuYasha’s Most Powerful Character Made Absolutely No Sense

InuYasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler (2003)

Toga, or Inu no Taisho, haunts nearly every moment of Rumiko Takahashi’s InuYasha. He was the father of the titular character as well as a great demon that left everyone quaking with fear, awe, and envy. With his great power and legacy in mind, it comes off as strange when, out of all of Toga’s demonic enemies, he loses to a mere human samurai in InuYasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler.

After a grueling battle with Ryukotsusei, Toga went on to save his lover, Izayoi, and their son from the clutches of Takemaru. After reviving them both with the Tenseiga, he urged Izayoi to leave while he fended off the jealous samurai. This was apparently the battle that killed him, but many fans found it difficult to believe Toga would lose to a simple human even if gravely injured. At the very least, he could have easily outrun Takemaru and left with Izayoi rather than stay behind to die.

1

Vegeta’s Sacrifice in Dragon Ball Z Was Meaningful Yet did Nothing to Help

Dragon Ball Z Episode 237: “Final Atonement”

Majin Buu is a Dragon Ball Z villain who was reawakened from the sheer power that Goku and Vegeta’s fight emanated after Vegeta used Babidi to boost his strength. When Vegeta saw that Majin Buu was too strong to be defeated by ordinary means, he decided to make things right. In an attempt to kill the villain once and for all, Vegeta decided to use Final Explosion. It’s a powerful and devastating last-resort move that, unfortunately, also results in the user’s demise.

The severity of Final Explosion hardly mattered, however. Despite Vegeta dying epically to take out Majin Buu, the latter ended up regenerating anyway and continued to wreak havoc. Death also barely holds any weight in Dragon Ball Z, so fans were hardly worried about Vegeta. After his noble, albeit useless, sacrifice, Vegeta was eventually revived using a wish from the Dragon Balls.