Top 10 Anime Characters That Betrayed The One They Love (ft. Todd Haberkorn)

“Darling in the Franxx” (2018)
While the argument can be made that the split from their original partner allowed both these pilots to grow as people, you can’t take away the fact this poor fella got his big heart smashed to pieces. Minutes after promising to spend the rest of his life with Kokoro, she decides she would rather partner up with the brooding loner of the group, which would eventually lead to the two of them breaking beds like nobody’s business, while all Futoshi got out of it was uh…nothing but the worst case of blue balls ever animated by Trigger.

“Future Diary” (2012-13)
Granted, it’s kind of his fault for abandoning reason and deciding to sleep with the homicidal maniac responsible for killing best boy Akise Aru (still not over that!) Alas, the deed is done, Yuno finally gets what’s she always wanted…only for the tables to be flipped when the truth about her origins is blown wide open. At which point its goodbye honeymoon and hello axe to the face. Apparently, the course of true love goes off the rails when it comes to ensuring her deepest, darkest secrets remain in the dark!

“Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal” (1999)
As expected, the Manslayer’s past was not a pretty one, filled with blood and grief, especially when it comes to the truth regarding how he got his now iconic scar. After falling in love with the beautiful Tomoe, Kenshin believes himself to have found happiness on the battlefield …only for him to fail to realize that he had previously killed her husband and that she’s been plotting her revenge ever since. Things only got more complicated when she starts getting all hot and bothered for her hubby’s killer! With such a murky pool of emotions between them, it was only ever going to end in tragedy, and tragic it was.

“The Promised Neverland” (2019)
Mothers are supposed to protect. To nurture. To cherish. So you can imagine the horror that would befall a child like Emma when she discovers the most important figure in her life was actually in cahoots with demons and was essentially raising all of the orphanage’s inhabitants like cattle. This was made all the more painful during their physical altercation. With their escape plan seemingly ruined, Emma makes a last-ditch effort to hold Isabella off…which results in mother dearest breaking her leg with zero difficulty in order to teach her a lesson. Well, that’s several years worthy of therapy in the making.

“Bleach” (2004-12)
See what too much fangirling gets you? Practically worshipping the ground her beloved Captain Aizen walked on, Hinamori was more than a little obsessive when it came to serving as his lieutenant, all before spiralling into violent paranoia following his apparent murder. No worries! Turns out her precious Captain is alive and well! Aww, what a touching reunion! Now they can go off and – oh wait he stabbed her. Yeah, you could say that Hinamori was one of the first casualties of Aizen’s grand betrayal, shattering her preconceptions as well as her torso in a single, bitter front-stab.

“Code Geass” (2006-08)
There are very few side characters in anime that have worked harder for the booty than this guy! A high-ranking member of Lulu’s team and overall nice guy, Ohgi was a lad that truly deserved a happy ending. Thankfully he got it in the form of the beautiful Villetta; a deadly soldier of the Britannian Empire who just happened to suffer a dose of amnesia and fall for the lovable rebel. Too bad those blasted memories came back full swing and caused her to gut shot him first chance she got. Like we said, he WORKED for that booty!

“Naruto” series (2002-17)
It’s hard to walk away from those adolescent crushes, especially if you’re Sakura and it ends up defining your character for the foreseeable future! She certainly wised up in her later years and even tried to assassinate the edgelord of her dreams when he went-full villain at one point, but the most bitter of betrayals still stems from when they were still kids. After confessing her true feelings towards the runaway Uchiha, he responds in kind by knocking her ass out and heading off to throw his lot in with a snake terrorist. Reality can certainly be a bitch.

“School Days” (2007)
While this technically counts as a betrayal on Makoto’s part, there is no debating why he ended up suffering such a messy end at the hand at one of his conquests. Sekai’s actions might have been a little on the…extreme side, but her anger is perfectly justified. After abandoning his first girlfriend in order to end up with her, Makoto would go on cheat on Sekai with numerous other girls, including the original he dumped, before cheating on all of them again. He’s like a perverted ping pong ball, who inevitably gets his comeuppance for treading on too many hearts.

“Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory” (1991-92)
Don’t you just hate it when the woman you love turns out to have romantic ties to an older man…who also happens to be the enemy’s leader with a murderous mission to drop a space colony on Earth? Yeah…as it happens the brutal confrontation between both of these Gundam pilots doesn’t only turn out to be a clash of ideals, allegiances and whose got the bigger beam saber, but also centred around the woman they both adore. You have to feel for Kou here. It can’t be easy to learn that the engineer of your dreams has had the Nightmare of Soloman under her sheets.

“Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School” (2016)

Sure, being imprisoned and forced to be in a kill or be killed situation doesn’t make for a healthy environment. Given Ruruka’s selfish personality and strong fear of being betrayed, it’s no wonder that she ended up trying her hand at playing serial killer. But to give her boyfriend the literal kiss of death?! That’s below the belt! Just because you didn’t trust him despite his assurances doesn’t give you the right to put the one guy who wanted to protect you six feet under. This is why you aren’t best girl.