Top 10 Anime Deaths That Broke The Internet

“Attack on Titan” (2013-)

His strategies were both perilous and ingenious, his resolution to restore humanity unshakeable, and more often than not was the only one willing to make the hard decisions, even if it involved throwing himself right into the heart of danger. With only a single chance to take down the Beast Titan, Erwin used himself and his fellow soldiers cannon fodder, commencing a one way rush that eventually led to him getting blown apart by incoming debris. To make matters worse, when it came to the once chance to have his life restored via the Titan Serum, he was ultimately passed over in favour of Armin. Yeah, this one had us and the net in pieces.

“Devilman Crybaby” (2018)

We could handle the world going to shit and humanity showing off its ugliest side…until they descended up this pure-hearted maiden and chose to make an example of her. With their mob mentality twisting them into monsters, the rabid populace hunted down Miki before cutting her up and parading her body on sticks, just in time for Akira’s arrival. It’s devastating to watch, to the extent you’re left totally numb as you watch Akira grieve for his beloved, and subsequently burn her killers to dust.

“Akame ga Kill!” (2014)

With an anime original ending, you can expect a series to take some liberties, and in this instance it concluded with Tatsumi adorning his fallen Night Raid companion’s armour, going golden, and protecting Empire citizens from a giant tokusatsu, sacrificing himself in the process. The backlash for this whole affair was immense, with fans not only calling out the diversion from the source material, but also because they found the whole thing just plains stupid, like the show needed to think up a way to get Tatsumi out of the picture so Akame and Esdeath had something to fight over at the end!

“JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable” (2016)

There were a million ways Yoshikage Kira could and should have gone out. Pummelled to death by Star Platinum, crushes one piece at a time by Echoes, maybe shredded then healed then shredded again by Crazy Diamond. Getting his head run over by a reversing ambulance? Got to admit, we didn’t see that coming. While his soul getting dragged to the underworld was a welcome sight, there’s no getting away from the sheer number of memes that were spawned due to the ludicrous way Kira got his head squashed like a melon.

“Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans” (2015-17)

This one is a bit tricky. On the one hand, it’s saddening to see the face of Tekkadan get shot down like a dog, betrayed by those who thought the orphans from Mars were getting too big for their boots, which in turn would signal the future demises for many other beloved characters. On the other hand…Japanese audiences found this death hilarious. No joke. The memes would not stop, especially when it came to Orga pointing a bloody finger forward with his dying breath. You folks are harsh!

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica” (2011)

And just like that, all magical girl series were forever changed. While it certainly had some degree of tension in its opening episodes, for the most part it looked like Mami and her infinitely respawning magic rifles looked unbeatable. She could get knocked down but it's not like anything soul-shattering would happen to such an innocent and well-mannered young lady. Well, the Urobutcher proved us all wrong when he had a Witch bite her head clean off right in front of Madoka and the rest. From that point on, no shoujo heroine was safe.

“Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo” (2012)

It may not have sent the fanbase into a rage as it did back in its heyday, but the Rebuild-verse still succeeded in causing quite the sensation, namely due to the second death of everyone’s favourite husbando angel. In order to stop Fourth Impact from occurring and to save Shinji, Kaworu allows the explosive collar around his neck to go off. Not quite as dramatic as getting crushed by an EVA Unit but still just as gnarly, hence why gifs of it were plastered all over Tumblr back in its heyday.

“Code Geass” (2006-08)

Many would say that the Prince of Britannia orchestrating his own death in order to unite the world was a stroke of genius, and spoke to the true depth of what kind of person he truly was beneath the masks, Geass and other deceptions. The perfect ending for the man who sought to overthrow an empire and was willing to damn himself in order to do so. Of course, there was a sect of fans who could handle the truth that Lelouch had bitten the big one, leading to fandom theories exploding across the internet revolving around how he could have secretly survived.

“Gurren Lagann” (2007)

Killing off your best character right before the series gets off the ground? Whether you thought it brilliant or pointless, there’s no denying his sudden end immortalised Kamina as one of the modern greats. Dripping with machismo, inspiring us one moment and making us howl in laughter the next, the shirtless wonder had it all. It might have paved the way for Simon to take centre stage, but that still didn’t take away the sting of watching such a larger than life character exit stage right after only eight episodes.

“Death Note” (2006-07)

The OG internet breaker, With his bizarre approach to mundane life and uncompromising intellect, L was not only the greatest detective the world had ever seen, he was also the only one capable of pushing Light to his limit, constantly closing in on deducing his identity as the supernatural murderer Kira. Alas, after using his devoted Misa as a means to loop the Shinigami Ren into his plans, Light was able to finally end their battle of wits and eradicate L once and for all…halfway through the series. You can imagine how the fangirls reacted.