Plot twists are meant to enrich anime and surprise audiences with their brilliance. Usually, they accomplish their intended goal by significantly enhancing the story and changing its dynamics before they become stale. In some instances, the twist defines an entire story’s outcome for better or worse.
Despite aiming for a fantastic reveal, some anime plot twist proved so ridiculous or nonsensical that it ruined everything the universe had been building up until that point. These mishaps illustrated that a change of pace is only successful with proper setup and that shock value by itself is never worth sacrificing a strong narrative.
Updated April 18th, 2023 by Casey Coates: This list has been updated to match CBR’s current publication style and to include additional information regarding anime’s most undermining plot twists.
10 All For One Trying To Take Over Shigaraki (My Hero Academia)
When All For One gave Shigaraki his Quirk in My Hero Academia, he also infused him with a piece of his consciousness. This boiled to the surface when Deku appeared on the battlefield, giving Shigaraki a single-minded fixation with stealing One For All.
Unfortunately, All For One’s goal to take over Shigaraki defies everything that the series stands for. It diminishes the villains’ passing of the torch narrative and reduces Shigaraki’s potential to grow as his own person.
9 Kaguya’s Presence (Naruto)
The Naruto universe had been building up to Team Seven’s confrontation with Madara ever since the original series. A villain capable of devastating entire armies, he served as a worthy benchmark for the series’ heroes to meet and surpass.
Unfortunately, neither Naruto nor anyone else would receive the opportunity to defeat Madara themselves. Instead, Zetsu replaced him with Kaguya, a villain whose existence was completely unknown until the Fourth Shinobi War arc. Kaguya’s presence may have been sound for establishing Boruto, but she was an ill-suited final antagonist for Shippuden.
8 Luffy’s Gum-Gum Reveal (One Piece)
One Piece‘s original appeal was the idea that an ordinary person could become King of the Pirates. Granted, Luffy’s Gum-Gum powers gave him a unique advantage, but there was no shortage of worthy opponents for him to defeat.
During the Wano arc, the true nature of Luffy’s power was revealed, which made him strong enough to toy with Kaido once they were unlocked. This effectively transformed the character from a lovable Everyman to a “child of destiny,” which he’d already been accused of given his relationship with high-profile characters such as Dragon, Garp, and Shanks.
7 The Scope Of Ragyo’s Plans (Kill La Kill)
Ragyo Kiryuin was the main antagonist of Kill La Kill and a woman whose grand plans didn’t make much sense. The plot twist was that she wanted to use her clothing empire in order to engulf the entire world, destroy it, and feed her life fibers the energies released from its core.
However, the popularity of her clothing brand was completely unrealistic. It also didn’t make sense that the humans wearing it somehow survived despite falling hundreds of feet from the air. In the end, Kiryuin’s plan was a clumsy and incoherent plot device meant to raise the stakes.
6 Bakura Recovering The Millennium Ring (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Shortly after being introduced to Yu-Gi-Oh!, Bakura deceived the heroes into indulging in a cursed role-playing game. Before long, they were transformed into their avatars and risked losing their physical bodies forever.
Although the heroes managed to defeat Bakura and remove the Millennium Ring that corrupted him, it eventually found its way back to him in a stunning plot twist. It made the heroes’ first triumph completely shallow since nothing had effectively changed.
5 Kurapika Doesn’t Destroy The Phantom Troupe (Hunter X Hunter)
Since being introduced, Kurapika’s goal in Hunter X Hunter was to eradicate the terrifying Phantom Troupe. He earned his Hunter License and mastered Nen toward this end, perfecting his ability so that none among them could defeat him.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Gon and Killua prevented Kurapika from killing Chrollo by justifying that they’d just replace him with a new leader. Such sentiments didn’t make sense because Kurapika was more than capable of wiping out the troupe’s remaining members in a short amount of time. With the villains still around, Kurapika’s arc never actually received closure.
4 Dabi’s Relationship With Endeavor (My Hero Academia)
In perhaps the least surprising twist of the series, Dabi was revealed as Endeavor’s biological son. He spent his entire life trying to destroy his father’s legacy, whether by recruiting Ending to attack him or attempting to defame him before a national audience.
Dabi’s twist cheapened the plot since the series already dealt with the Number One Hero’s family drama. Endeavor being paralyzed by Dabi’s announcement felt much akin to All Might’s shock about Tomura Shigaraki’s real origins.
3 Esdeath’s Burial With Tatsumi (Akame Ga Kill!)
At the conclusion of Akame Ga Kill!, Esdeath realized that she had finally been beaten. With the last of her strength, she buried herself alongside Tatsumi in an impregnable icy tomb.
This plot twist may not have significantly impacted Night Raid‘s surviving members, but it was incredibly eerie and disturbing. In the end, Esdeath’s obsession with Tatsumi was acknowledged and rewarded by being buried alongside him. It disrespected the hero’s death given his own relationship with Mine.
2 The Aincrad Arc Conclusion (Sword Art Online)
Sword Art Online went out of its way to establish the rules. Characters who died in the game passed away in real life with no exceptions. Therefore, when Asuna’s health reached zero and she vanished from Aincrad, her NerveGear should have killed her instantly.
In a later twist, it was revealed that Asuna had actually survived and been transferred to Alfheim instead. This made what should have been an impactful moment of growth for Kirito much cheaper and meant that Asuna’s initial death served no other purpose than to emotionally manipulate the audience.
1 Aang Learns Energy Bending (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
The conclusion of the Avatar series left Aang with a difficult moral question. Ozai was perhaps the most physically and politically powerful person on the planet, meaning that the only way to safely rid the world of his tyranny was to kill him.
However, Aang learned energy bending at the last minute in order to provide a cheap deus ex machina where he could spare Ozai’s life without fear of reprisal. It was an expedient way to avoid Aang’s moral dilemma in a kid-friendly manner.
