Top 10 Anime Easter Eggs YOU Missed

“Ranma ½” (1989-92)
In the final OVA of this long running comedy series, we got a very unexpected cameo in the form of the half-demon and his comrades. Caught up in a deep slumber, Akane eventually ends up having a rather grizzly nightmare, one that has her surrounded by the seemingly dead bodies of Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku and Shippo. Okay, so we’re not that broken up about Shippo biting the dust, but seeing the rest of the cast get killed off is kind of unsettling. You sure this wasn’t Naraku’s dream?

“Oreimo” (2010-13)
Beside her prickly façade, its well known that Kirino is actually a huge otaku who loves nothing more than indulging in everything nerdy and erotic. With such a divisive personality, it’s only fitting that we would get a nod towards one of the most polarising anime in recent memory; Sword Art Online. They may be stuck in the form of action figures, but it’s good to know that Kirito and Asuna are there to give their consent to yet another pairing that really, really shouldn’t have come about.

“Lucky Star” (2007)
Given her reality-altering powers, it should come as no surprise that Haruhi Suzumiya is able to influence and make cameos in other anime. As it happens, she along with the rest of the SOS Brigade are featured most prominently in the oddly charming series Lucky Star. This is mostly shown through our lead character Konata Izumi, who happens to be a big fan of the show. She buys their merchandise, sings the theme song, has pictures of Haruhi on her phone, she even worked at a Haruhi Suzumiya themed café. Now that’s dedication.

“Fairy Tail” (2009-16)
It’s no secret that Hiro Mashima received great success with his manga Rave Master. While it arguably has been overshadowed by the monstrous popularity of Natsu, Ezra and company, it hasn’t stopped it from popping up throughout the course of its spiritual successor’s series. One of our favourite instances has to go to the time that Erza, Wendy and Carla took up acting jobs, and went on stage dressed as Rave’s lead characters Elie, Haru and Plue. Sure, their acting sucked, but it was a nice call back nonetheless.

“Mob Psycho 100” (2016)
We knew that Reigen talked a big game, but who knew that he had friends in such high places? Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s still awesome to see a reference to arguably the strongest anime character of all time. We shouldn’t’ be too surprised by this, since Mob Psycho 100’s creator also wrote One Punch Man. He may only appear for a brief moment, but you have to wonder, if Reigen had Saitama in his contact list, why doesn’t he call him up more often given all the crazy espers he encounters on a daily basis?

“Gurren Lagann” (2007)
Well, at least it’s is a step up from working at the Krusty Krab. In what has to be one of the weirdest cameos ever, just before Team Dai-Gurren manage to an end to another Beastmen threat by drilling one of their Gunmen to kingdom come, we see that there’s an unexpected guest on board. Your eyes are not deceiving you, Squidward Tentacles is in the cockpit. Good to see his string of bad luck is holding out, he did back the wrong team after all.

"Eromanga-sensei" (2017)
Because why just have one trashy anime about a bland lead character getting it on with his step-sister when you can have two? Though we shouldn't be surprised since both were created by the same guy. As Masamune ventures out to inspect he and his sibling's latest work of erotic fiction, he passes by a very familiar group. You have to wonder, is the look he and Kyousuke share some-kind of acknowledgement that they are kindred spirits? Both bound by their desires to bone their underage sisters?

“Nisemonogatari” (2012)
And you thought all Araragi had to worry about was dealing with vampire attacks and his female friends suffering from supernatural afflictions. This little Easter egg goes by so fast that unless you’re looking for it, it will slip by you. Once you see it however, it will stick with you for the rest of the series. Plastered across a random sign, we see that one of the images resembles that of Madoka Magica’s adorable abomination Kyubey. Given how the little bastard has a talent for causing suffering, maybe he has something to do with Araragi’s perpetual bad luck? Coincidence, we think not!

“Yu Yu Hakasho” (1992-94)
We knew that the chance to become Genkai’s successor would attract contenders from near and far, but who would have expected Capcom’s poster boys to show up? While Yusuke and Kuwabara engage in their usual arguments, if you pay attention to the background you’ll see the likes of Zangief and Ryu. It’s kind of a tragedy they don’t show up later in the arc, can you imagine how awesome it would be to see the Hadoken and the Spirit Gun clash? At least give us Zangief throwing Kuwabara into a piledriver.

“Death Parade” (2015)
Guess you really do reap what you sow. In an Easter egg that had anime fans’ jaws on the floor, we see that someone identical to Death Note’s lead character was going to be taking part in the Death Games. The fact that Kira himself could be sent to the void is almost too poetic, and in all honesty, we can’t decide on what fate we think he should have. For his crimes, he deserves to face oblivion, but knowing Light like we do…there’s every chance he could have slithered his way to reincarnation. Now that’s a scary thought.