Top 10 Anime Fan Theories That Turned Out to Be TRUE

“One Piece” (1999-)

It’s practically an unwritten rule of storytelling that, unless there’s a body, a character isn’t really dead. Although, in Sabo’s case, becoming seafood is a pretty good cover. That didn’t stop hopeful fans from theorizing that Dragon, who had taken a special interest in Luffy's sworn brother, may have rescued him before his ship was blown to smithereens. The lack of a corpse gave the idea some credence, but the fact Sabo’s death was truly mourned indicated he’d really perished. That is, until he suddenly reappeared, having been saved by Dragon just like fans guessed. Sabo’s return was a few years late due to some amnesia, but a win is still a win.

“Death Note” (2006-07)

In the very first episode of the series, one rule was made explicitly clear: those who use the “Death Note” cannot go to either Heaven or Hell. Naturally, that begs the question: where do they go? Unfortunately, the series’ ending doesn’t give much of a concrete answer. So, many viewers extrapolated that they become Shinigami themselves. The death reapers have no official origin, and it fits into the series’ themes of justice and atonement. These suspicions seemed to be confirmed in the OVA adaptation, which includes a new ending scene featuring a Shinigami very reminiscent of Light. It’s never outright confirmed to be him, but why else would they add in this new scene?

“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” (2009-10)

The identities of the sinful homunculi had theorists frothing at the mouth for years. In fact, you could say it was a real matter of “pride.” Due to the manga’s ongoing release, the 2003 adaptation pinned the blame on King Bradley for their original ending. It was a reasonable extrapolation that put most fans off the scent of the true culprit. But, in 2006, one reader discovered several subtle and seemingly negligible similarities between Pride and Selim Bradley. So, even with an obvious culprit at hand, this fan correctly guessed that the young boy was the real villain. To put it into perspective, this was three months before the manga’s reveal, and four years before it would ever be animated.

“Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou” (2020-21)

These guys have a real nasty habit of getting stuck in murderous time loops. Though, in their defense, this time it was totally Satoko’s fault. Though she spent the first few seasons as victim fodder alongside the others, the “Gou” series had a few early signs that pointed to her villainy. So, even among the blood, guts, and other dismembered body parts, most fans found enough evidence for a rather quick conviction. At first, it seemed a bit far-fetched given Satoko’s mostly sweet disposition, but that just made the inevitable reveal all the more terrifying. It’s safe to say she threw non-believers for a loop in more ways than one.

“Dragon Ball” Franchise (1986-)

All things considered, it’s not too surprising that most well-researched fan theories end up at least partially true. What’s completely unprecedented is for a meme to do the same. Gohan’s superpowered white-aura throughout “Super” earned him the ironic title of “Gohan Blanco.” Fan headcanon during the tournament of power believed that Gohan would unlock a new form with white hair to once again become the series protagonist - a form known as Gohan Blanco.
It was just that - a name, with no real credibility in canon beyond a few cheeky fan gags. Of course, no one back then could have known that Gohan’s next transformation would actually give him white hair. Even though the new form is technically called “Gohan Beast,” for most fans, this is the true debut of “Gohan Blanco” in all his glory. It’s all the cooler because no one ever expected the white hair to actually come true.

“Attack on Titan” (2013-)

As if the show didn’t have a behemoth-sized following already, the introduction of Titan-shifters set the fanbase into an utter frenzy. With so many minds at work, deducing the likely candidates became as obvious as an actual approaching Titan. To start, Reiner and Bertholdt had a suspiciously overwrought reaction to the Beast Titan’s entrance. That, when compounded with their lack of internal monologue and murky motivations only solidified what most had already deduced - that these two were the Armored and Colossus Titan’s, respectively. At a certain point, it became less a theory and more of a hope. After all, there was really no satisfying way they could’ve been anyone else.

“Mobile Suit Gundam” Franchise (1979-)

These two adversaries went out with an actual blaze of glory. Or, at least, that’s what it seemed. The 1988 film “Char’s Counterattack” culminated the iconic rivalry between Char and Amuro with a real bang. And then, well, nothing. The credits rolled, leaving the fates of both its legendary leads up for interpretation. Most viewers rightfully assumed they were both goners, since it would have been a disservice to the climactic battle to have them both survive. However, their widely-accepted deaths were only confirmed in 2010’s “Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.” There, they returned as spirits to impart some last words of wisdom before figuratively and literally saying farewell to the decade-spanning fan theory.

“Naruto: Shippuden” (2007-17)

The only real question revolving Tobi’s identity is why he bothered wearing a mask at all. For one, the fact he immediately revealed his Sharingan to Kakashi massively thinned the suspect pool. Secondly, his name was nearly a complete anagram of the Copy Ninja’s fallen comrade, Obito, who seemingly died offscreen several years prior. Seriously, he could’ve at least tried a little harder on the name. Even when Tobi tried to pass himself off as Madara, his continued use of the mask made it all-too-obvious that the whole thing was a poorly disguised ruse. As it stands, this was less of a fan theory and more of an eye-rolling inevitability.

“My Hero Academia” (2016-)

In the age of social media, anime fans have developed their own superpowered quirk of accurately predicting massive plot twists. But even still, this one lit a fuse incredibly early. Before Toya Todoroki was even name-dropped, fans deduced that the fire-wielding Dabi and Shoto’s inexplicably missing brother were one in the same. The subtle bits of foreshadowing over the years only fanned the flames into an inferno of fan expectation. By the time Dabi finally revealed his true lineage, the entire fandom burned with the satisfaction of a theory proved right. That’s noteworthy on its own, but the fact the prediction emerged as early as it did puts it in a league all on its own.

“Rebuild of Evangelion” Series (2007-21)

Admittedly, “Evangelion” isn’t the easiest show to analyze, but one thing has always been abundantly clear: “Neon Genesis Evangelion” doesn’t need a remake. So, the film series played on those exact expectations. What began as a near shot-for-shot remake soon included a few new scenes. And then a new character. And then an entirely new storyline altogether. But, as some fans realized early on, the clues were always there. Even in its seemingly faithful-to-a-fault story structure, there were the tiniest easter eggs that implied this was not just an alternate retelling. The result is a double-whammy: fans had their suspicions confirmed, and they got an exciting new chapter in the series at the same time.