There are several common tropes in anime that fans either love or hate. Some include the villain with the tragic backstory meant to humanize them and the hero with seemingly limitless power who, with each battle, breaks their proverbial glass ceiling to achieve greater power. Each of these tropes serve the characters and their story in unique and varying ways.
One such trope is when the character finds themselves in the right place at the right time. Without fail, major plot points can be launched or uncovered by these chance coincidences; they set the stage for their respective shows, getting the ball rolling for the plot, premise, or major conflicts their characters are forced to face and endure.
10 Emma & Norman Learned Gracefield’s Secret At The Gate (The Promised Neverland)
The genius orphans in The Promised Neverland lived an idyllic childhood in Gracefield House, filled with good food, green fields, and Mom’s affection. Emma and Norman were two of Gracefield’s brightest children. On the day of Connie’s departure, they traveled to the gate to deliver a stuffed rabbit to her.
What they discovered instead was a crucial, yet horrifying, secret: their home was a farm and Mom raised them to be eaten. The pair formulated a plan, culminating in the escape of Gracefield’s 15 children. Without their discovery, Emma and Norman might’ve lived completely unaware that they and their siblings would soon become food.
9 Tanjiro Avoided Slaughter By Sleeping In Town Instead Of Journeying Home (Demon Slayer)
The Demon Slayer world was relatively peaceful for Tanjiro Kamado; he worked as a charcoal seller to support his mother and five beloved siblings. After selling his stock and assisting villagers in a town nearby, Tanjiro was forced to sleep at a customer’s house because the road home was too dangerous to traverse in the dark.
But darkness wasn’t the only danger the Kamados faced; while Tanjiro slept, his entire family was slaughtered by a demon. He began his journey as a demon slayer to avenge his family, while also aiming to restore his demonized sister, Nezuko, back to life. Had he returned that night as originally intended, Tanjiro’s would’ve been just another body for wild demons to feast on.
8 Light Found The Death Note While Daydreaming In Class (Death Note)
Before encountering the Death Note, Light Yagami was simply one of Japan’s top students. An attendant of Daikoku Private Academy, Light’s genius-level intelligence caused him to become bored easily; while daydreaming in class, he witnessed a notebook inexplicably fall from the sky.
After picking it up, Light gained the power of the Death Note, which killed any person whose name was written within. Light used it to rid the world of criminals, assuming the moniker “Kira” in his attempt to become a god. Had he done his academic duty and focused on school, Earth’s people would’ve been spared near-extinction from Kira, god of death.
7 Deku Walked Right Into Eri & Overhaul While On Patrol (My Hero Academia)
U.A. Class 1-A’s students participated in work studies in My Hero Academia. While assisting the Big 3, Deku learned about the Shie Hassaikai, a Yakuza group, and their leader, Kai; Kai planned to eliminate heroes with his mass-produced, quirk-erasing drug. While out on patrol, Deku located the source of the drug’s power, a girl named Eri, before meeting Kai himself.
The World Hero organization was able to formulate an effective strategy due to Deku’s intel. After learning Eri’s role in Kai’s plan, the heroes launched a preemptive attack against the Shie Hassaikai and managed to defeat Kai before rescuing Eri. Without Deku’s chance encounter, Eri’s quirk-erasure power might’ve prevented anyone from ever coming to save her.
6 Minato’s Flying Raijin Saved The Allied Shinobi Forces From Destruction (Naruto Shippuden)
In Naruto Shippuden, the Five Kage were responsible for launching three Great Ninja Wars. Minato Namikaze, Konohagakure’s fourth Hokage, gained notoriety for his victories during the third World War. Following his reanimation, Minato battled Madara Uchiha alongside his son during the Fourth Great Shinobi War.
The Allied Shinobi Forces faced certain death when the Ten-Tails launched its beast bomb; as the cataclysmic blast barreled upon them, Minato teleported in front of it using Flying Raijin and transported it safely into the sea. As the blast’s shockwave swept across the battlefield, it became clear that, without Minato, Madara would’ve ended the war in one fell swoop.
5 Goku Arrived Just In Time To Divert Frieza’s Killing Blow (Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection “F”)
To retaliate against Goku, Frieza attempted to destroy Earth during Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection “F”. While Goku trained with Whis light years away, Gohan faced down Frieza’s army while defending the Z-fighters; however, because he chose studies over strength, Gohan was quickly overpowered by Frieza’s Death Beam.
Just as Frieza delivered the killing blow, Goku used Instant Transmission to teleport directly in the beam’s path. He batted the attack away with a flick of his wrist, soundly defeating Frieza to save the Earth yet again. Without Goku’s timely arrival, the Earth wouldn’t have survived as Gohan, its strongest inhabitant, was no match for the Frieza Force.
4 Team Kazekage Rescued Konoha’s Genin During Sasuke’s Retrieval (Naruto)
During Naruto’s Sasuke Retrieval Arc, Otogakure’s “Sound Four” ninja abducted Sasuke from Konohagakure; Tsunade tasked Shikamaru and four genin to return Sasuke to Konoha. As each member broke off from the group to face Otogakure’s ninja, they soon found themselves completely overpowered.
Just as the end seemed certain for them, Sunagakure’s rescue team arrived in the nick of time. Kankuro stopped Sakon from killing Kiba, Temari took out Tayuya to save Shikamaru, and Gaara rescued Rock Lee by defeating Kimimaro. Without Team Kazekage’s perfect timing, nearly all of the rescue team would’ve died.
3 Kite Saved Gon’s Life Twice (Hunter X Hunter)
Gon wasn’t the only person in Hunter x Hunter searching for Ging. Kite, Ging’s former student, was tasked with finding him after becoming a Hunter himself. For years, he searched in vain until arriving at Whale Island, where he stumbled upon Gon being attacked in the woods by a Foxbear.
In an instant, Kite saved Ging’s son before leaving the island. The two met again after Gon became a Hunter years later; the two formed a master-student relationship which ended after Kite sacrificed himself to protect Gon from Neferpitou, a Chimera Ant. Without his chance encounter with Kite, Gon’s life would’ve ended long before his adventures began.
2 Kyo & Yuki Retrieved Tohru Just As She Decided She Wanted To Live With Them (Fruits Basket)
Fruits Basket focused on the Sohmas, a family cursed by the spirits of the Zodiac. Upon being discovered living in a tent in the Sohma’s backyard, Tohru Honda joined the family and learned their secret; however, she was summoned to live with her grandfather after the renovations were completed on his house.
Despite their reunion, Tohru never wanted to live with her grandfather; she had grown to cherish her time with the Sohma family, particularly the rat and cat spirits, Yuki and Kyo. Just as she began to tearfully confess this, Yuki appeared from out of nowhere and offered to take her home. Without this gesture, Tohru would’ve lived unhappily in her grandfather’s house and the Sohma’s curse would’ve never been broken.
1 Rimuru Destroyed Falmuth’s Army In Time To Revive His Friends (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)
Rimuru Tempest was the strongest monster in That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime. After being isekai-ed, Rimuru build the nation of Tempest as a haven for the world’s monsters; in doing so, he gained many enemies. The most notable of them was Falmuth, a nation that launched an attack against Tempest, killing hundreds of its defenseless inhabitants.
Arriving just after the massacre occurred, Rimuru learned of Falmuth’s wrongdoings and sought retribution; he journeyed to their camp, killing all 5,000 soldiers resting there. As a result, he gained Demon Lord status and amassed enough power to restore the souls of his departed friends back to life. Had he arrived after Falmuth’s army had dispersed, the souls of his friends would’ve moved onto a place where even Rimuru’s magic couldn’t reach them.
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