Top 10 Anime Scenes Where The Hero Lets The Villain Die
For this list, we'll be looking at the times where the good guy was happy to sit back and let their fated foe bite the big one. We won't be shedding any tears over these losses, just as long as its clear the hero willingly allowed someone to perish on their watch.
#10: The Azure Messenger
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“Bungo Stray Dogs” (2016-) We all know that Dazai has something of a chequered past as a former member of the Port Mafia, and while he appears to be the very picture of decency these days, that’s not to say he’s unafraid to pull out the occasional dirty trick to save the say. Case and point, that one time he managed to take out a would-be terrorist by pretending to drop a gun…only to land It in the lap of a vengeful teenager who shot her instead. The blood may not necessarily be on Dazai’s hands and he probably saved a lot of lives as a result…but that was still pretty manipulative.
#9: Armageddon
“Inuyashiki” (2017) Granted, there’s not a malicious bone in this old man’s body, in spite of the fact he was remade into a cyborg death machine. However, we can’t deny that he broke his code about saving as many people as he could when it came to his nemesis Shishigami. Though in all fairness this was born out of necessity given how there was a giant meteor ready to splatter the earth, and the only thing capable of stopping it was setting their bodies to self-destruct. It’s just a shame that Shishigami’s detonation wasn’t enough, at least he would have regained some of his humanity in a worthy sacrifice instead of taking both of them down for the count.
#8: Shirou on the Sidelines
“Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works” (2014-15) Yeah…maybe you should start actually following through on your glorious speeches there Shirou, because after a while it just starts to look like you’re all talk. Take this little scuffle for instance. After Archer manages to butcher Caster with absolute ease, her emotionally-stunted master decides he wants to have a crack at him in order to avenge her. Shirou, being his usual sympathetic self, gives a big long plea about how Kazuki has so much to live for. You would have thought that he would have done more to stop him from getting himself sliced to pieces by Archer…but nah, he’s content to just kick it back while his future self gets to carving.
#7: Vergo Feels the Law!
“One Piece” (1999-) His deceptions, betrayals and dealings with Doflamingo pretty much cemented as Vergo as a low life in high places, one with weird breakfast cravings and no hesitation when it came to breaking people’s faces in with Haki. Thankfully, there’s a cure for that, and it comes at the hand of the infamous Surgeon of Death. With Punk Hazard exploding all around them, Law decides to provide a deadly prescription for Joker’s lackey, by cutting him into tiny, sentient pieces, all before leaving him to melt away with the rest of Caesars’s laboratory. That’s for Corazon!
#6: The End of Envy
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“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” (2009-10) Not that we were ever going to miss this little bastard for what we did to Maes Hughes, but who would have guessed that such a jealous beast would have been given such a brutal and heart-wrenching send-off. After being reduced to his true, ugly form, Envy finds himself given the one thing he can’t stand – sympathy. Unable to handle Ed’s words, the Homonculus decides the only option is to end it all by pulling out his own Philosopher’s Stone. It’s an incredibly potent scene, one that Ed was happy to watch go down. Guess as long as Mustang wasn’t the only flicking the kill switch…
#5: Ultimate Execution
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“Danganronpa: The Animation” (2013) Hard to say if these kids were frozen in fear or were just silently hoping for revenge, either way, they gave this psycho a pretty wide berth when she decided to send herself six feet under. After her precious despair is defeated by the light of hope, Junko goes utterly cuckoo and throws herself into the executioner’s chair, subjecting herself to a non-stop series of tortures before she’s finally given the despairing death she’s craved. Can’t exactly blame the rest of the students for not leaping in to try and save her, no one does crazy quite like Junko.
#4: Relight My Fire~
“Rurouni Kenshin” (1996-98) There’s obviously no love lost between these two Man-Slayers, after all, both have tried to hack each other to pieces on multiple occasions. In spite of his pacifist ways, Kenshin was left with no choice but give his all in order to best the bandaged anarchist, which he accomplished in spectacular style. Too bad that he caused Shishio to exert himself so much that he literally caught fire. Can’t blame Kenshin for watching the agent of chaos go up in flames, after all the dude was a scumbag swordsman, but it’s kind of goes against that whole “never kill again” thing he had going for him.
#3: Cats and Robots
“Cowboy Bebop” (1998-99) Can’t think of a more fitting way for a bouncing killer in a top hat to meet his end after being scared witless by a robotic cat. Yep, this was definitely one of the Space Cowboy’s strangest adventures. Despite his regal look and disproportionate body, the Mad Pierrot proved to be more than a match for Spike’s skills. If not for a rogue feline appearing and kickstarting Pierrot’s trauma, the Bebop may have lost its best bounty hunter. This must have been a rough Thursday for Spike, so can you really blame him for hanging back while the fat bastard was crushed to death?
#2: Zabuza’s Suicide Run
“Naruto” (2002-07) Jeez, when it comes to the Demon of the Mist even his redemption involves a bloodbath. After Kakashi disables his arms, accidentally kills his student and his employer decides to betrays him, Zabuza is left with only one option. Naturally, being a Steven Blum character, he decides the best course of action is to grab a kunai in his mouth before massacring every suit he can get close to. Obviously it’s a powerful moment and proves that even amidst the carnage, he at least has a shred of humanity left inside him. Though it does beg the question…why did the gang just stand there? Couldn’t have been that hard to summon the shadow clones and leap in!
#1: Welcome to Elf Town, Bitch!
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“Drifters” (2016) Leave it to the crimson-clad samurai to incite an elvish uprising by beating in a murderous general’s head in with the back his sword. After being transported to a fantasy world filled with oppressed races and random historical figures, Toyohisa decides to free his new long-eared friends from their human overlords via the means of a violent revolution. Seems to do the trick, since after a quick and bloody demonstration, it isn’t long before the elves take up their nearest pitch forks and get to slaying!