When it comes to anime, some of the most dynamic, thought-provoking, and emotionally affecting storylines have come as a result of the hero being forced to endure severe hardship in order to overcome their plight and achieve their objectives. It’s a treat to watch this all unfold, as it makes for enthralling entertainment that is both captivating and deeply investing.
That said, there is no denying that some of the anime fan’s most beloved characters have gotten themselves into some rather sticky yet avoidable situations. It’s fair to say that some heroes might very well have been better off not having embarked on their journey in the first place.
10 Inosuke’s Hazardous Behavior Puts His Fellow Demon Slayers In Jeopardy (Demon Slayer)
Inosuke is a formidable swordsman. He proved himself at Final Selection and has shown that he can capably dispatch demons. However, Inosuke has often landed himself or his companions in trouble due to his erratic and unpredictable behavior.
In his first meeting with Tanjiro and Zenitsu, he sought to take Zenitsu’s life for protecting Nezuko, he put Tanjiro in harm’s way when they battled demons on Mount Natagumo, and he has frightened the people he’s been sent to assist with his aberrant conduct. Ultimately, the Demon Slayer Corps would have benefited from having a more disciplined Demon Slayer fight their cause.
9 Mirio Loses His Powers (My Hero Academia)
Mirio is the perfect candidate for One For All, so it’s no surprise when it is revealed that he was originally selected to be its inheritor. Despite All Might choosing Deku instead, Mirio uses his own abilities to become one of UA’s top students.
When the UA students come up against Overhaul, it is Mirio who proves willing to sacrifice everything in order to save Eri. During their battle, Overhaul instructs Shin to shoot Mirio with a Quirk-erasing bullet. Shin, realizing Mirio will avoid it, shoots it at Eri instead. Mirio takes the bullet for her and loses his powers. Perhaps if Lemillion waited for support, he might have avoided the crushing defeat.
8 All Might Should Have Found A Successor Sooner (My Hero Academia)
It was inevitable that All Might would eventually lose One For All after having passed it onto his successor, Deku. However, the process seemed to be a slow one, as All Might still possessed some of its power as the Quirk’s former holder. However, All Might’s penchant for throwing himself into battle eventually proved detrimental.
All Might gave everything to defeat All For One, using his greatest weapon, the United States of Smash, to subdue his nemesis. In the process, he is stripped of the remaining fragments of One For All. Given his already weakened state from a previously sustained injury against All For One, All Might would have benefitted from finding an inheritor earlier to avoid risking his secret and putting himself into a potentially catastrophic scenario.
7 L’s Intellect Cannot Save Him From A Devastating End (Death Note)
L and Light make for phenomenal adversaries because they possess incredible intellect. It is only after L’s introduction that Light’s Kira mission appears to be in genuine jeopardy. L gets close to Light in an attempt to either confirm his suspicions that the teenager is Kira or to remove them entirely by confirming he isn’t.
Unfortunately for L, it is this conviction that leads to his downfall. Light finds a way to conquer his greatest adversary and ends up setting the Task Force back years when Watari deletes L’s case notes. Perhaps L’s biggest mistake was getting too close to Light in the first place.
6 Eren’s Mission Puts Him On A Genocidal Warpath (Attack On Titan)
When the walls are breached in Shinganshina, Eren wants nothing more than to rid the world of the Titan threat that now looms large. After watching his mother being devoured by a Titan, he vows to eradicate every last Titan and secure a better future for his people.
This eventually proves ruinous for Eren as, after discovering the truth about the Titans, he becomes obsessed with removing any threat to the Eldian people. This leads him to believe that the only way to grant his people true liberation is to commit mass genocide against the rest of the world since they never accept them. Eren’s once noble goal puts him on a destructive warpath that destroys his moral compass.
5 Erwin Sacrifices Everything For An Outcome He’ll Never See (Attack On Titan)
Commander Erwin’s goal is to learn the truth about the world and once again establish the human race as the dominant species. He risks life and limb to attain this objective, charging bravely into battle with designs on discovering what is hidden inside Grisha Yeager’s basement in order to uncover the secret behind the Titans’ existence.
However, ever the consummate leader, Erwin chooses to sacrifice himself in a battle with Marley’s secret agents to ensure the survival of a small portion of the Corps’ soldiers so that they may discover the truth he has fought so hard to learn. In the end, Erwin meets his demise after a suicide charge when Levi opts not to revive him. Consequently, Erwin dies without learning the truth.
4 Subaru Endures Immense Pain And Suffering In A Mysterious World (Re:Zero)
On the way home from a convenience store one day, Natsuki Subaru finds himself transported to a mysterious world. He has no idea who has summoned him to this strange place nor the reason.
During his stay in this alien world, Subaru is subjected to both physical and psychological torture while trying to save the Kingdom’s people from an ill fate and ensure Emilia is appointed as its Queen. Subaru later becomes Emilia’s knight, but not before suffering terribly. Perhaps he would have been better off just seeking a means to return to his normal life instead.
The story behind the Elric brothers’ decision to perform human transmutation is harrowing, to say the least. At the ages of seven and eight respectively, the brothers become orphans when their mother passes away after falling fatally ill. Having already experienced life without their father, the brothers are devastated by the loss of their mother and decide to use alchemy to bring her back.
When their attempt fails, Alphonse loses his body and Edward loses his leg. Desperate to save Alphonse, Edward uses alchemy to bind him to a suit of armor, losing his right arm in the process. The story is heartbreaking, and the Elric brothers were young and naive, however, had they left things alone, the brothers would not have suffered further after their mother’s passing.
2 Thorfinn Fails To Defeat Askeladd In A Duel (Vinland Saga)
Thorfinn vows to avenge his father and defeat the man responsible for his untimely demise in an honorable fashion by taking his life in a duel. As a result, he joins Askeladd and his band of mercenaries as they plunder and pillage villages abound with innocent people, all in a bid to end his mortal enemy. Unfortunately for Thorfinn, this simply isn’t the case.
After several attempts to take Askeladd’s life during a duel, Thorfinn fails. Instead, it is Canute who administers the blow that kills Askeladd, leaving young Thorfinn devastated and reeling from his failure. In the end, Thorfinn might have been better off abandoning his nobility and simply dispatching his father’s killer through any means necessary.
1 Despite His Best Efforts, Takemichi Just Makes Things Worse (Tokyo Revengers)
Takemichi is determined to do whatever it takes to change the past and save the people he cares about from a doomed fate. He is unwavering in his mission, yet seldom achieves what he sets out to do. He has returned to the past time and again only to witness his friends’ pain and suffering.
Despite his best efforts, Takemichi’s attempts to fashion a better future for his companions fail miserably. While he accomplishes good in positively altering things for some, he makes things far worse for others. As he watches Kisaki put a bullet in Chifuyu’s skull, Takemichi is forced to accept that perhaps he shouldn’t have tampered with the past after all.
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