Top 10 Logicless Moments in Anime

“Darling in the Franxx” (2018) None of us were under the illusion that Hiro was going to bite the dust this early on, that being said, it was starting to look pretty grim for him. After being infected with what amounted to a gnarly STD, he knew full well that if he partnered up with Zero Two one more time he was all but done for, yet he went out anyway. How does he come back from this one? By sheer willpower and embracing her, of course. Apparently sharing a heartfelt moment is enough to cure you of a volatile infection. Who would have guessed!

“Pokemon” (1997-) We know the anime doesn’t like to be a stickler for the actual rules of the game, but this Is just ridiculous. In order to earn another gym badge, Ash takes on twins Liza and Tate in a double battle, where their combined mastery of psychic Pokemon slowly starts to wear down both his Pikachu and Swellow. Luckily, he’s got the ultimate counterattack in mind; have Pikachu strike them both with so much electricity that it suddenly turns into solid armor. That…is NOT how type advantages work!

“Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt” (2010) In some ways you could argue that this little epilogue gels perfectly with the show’s unapologetic craziness. After all, they defeated the main antagonist after they summoned a giant pair of legs out of heaven to crush him. Here’s the thing, despite being utterly insane, it still fit with the world and its lewd lore. Having Stocking suddenly slice apart her sister at the last minute and reveal herself as a demon? We’re more inclined to call it trolling at the highest level. Alas, with no second season anywhere to be seen, this just feels like one big cliffhanger with zero resolution!

#7: Eren is the Coordinate

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“Attack on Titan” (2013; 2017) And you thought the key to the basement was bad. While we can’t deny that seeing Eren scream in despair at yet another loved one lost is definitely powerful, it still begs the question…since when could he control the other Titans?! In case you haven’t noticed, Eren has been doing a lot of screaming across the series and none of the other Titans seemed to care. Does he have to reach a higher octave or something? Were sure we’ll get an explanation in the third season but for now this who scenario made us scratch out heads more than it made us jump for joy.

#6: The Great Snake Escape

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“Naruto Shippuden” (2007-17) Quite the predicament here. Two of the series most beloved bad boys going head to head in a death match. Which fanbase will come out on top? Thanks to his Sharingan and Curse Mark, Sasuke was able to hold his own against the self-proclaimed artist, to the point he pushed him to use his trump card; turning himself into a gigantic bomb and annihilating pretty much everything in the immediate vicinity; Sasuke included. It’s okay though, he managed to survive by summoning a giant snake and hiding inside it…off-screen. And we thought Naruto pulled some bullshit.

#5: The Frying Pan

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“Cross Ange” (2014-15) This is where things really fall off the wagon. Momoka may have been through her fair share of ordeals, but at the very end was willing to risk it all to protect her friend Ange. In an attempt to kill the man who has caused Ange so much pain, she manages to ram a sword through the brute, finally reuniting with her beloved friend. After she’s been shot in the chest of course…and hit by a car…and thrown off a cliff…and have the car land on her…and then explode. Yep, she survives all of that. How? Because she had a frying pan under her uniform. Words fail us.

“Soul Eater” (2008-09) You were so close a perfect run. While the show had a few ups and downs, for the most part it was a truly solid anime series. Then the final battle happened. Our cast are beaten down, out of options, Asura seems nigh unstoppable, the only one left standing is Maka. How does she hope to beat such a devilish opponent? By punching him in the face, really hard. We’re not joking, one speech about bravery later and Maka’s fist is apparently imbued with the force of a thousand suns. Look, we love Maka and all but come on! Not everything can be solved with an explosive Punch!

“Dragon Ball Super” (2015-) Not that we weren’t dying to see Zamasu finally get his comeuppance, and seeing Trunks land the finishing blow was the purest form of poetic justice, but did he have to pull another transformation out of nowhere? We’re still not quite sure what happened here. He absorbed everyone’s energy like a Spirit Bomb and thus managed to slice an immortal in half? The kid deserves his time in the spotlight, but please give us something more concrete than the power of togetherness!

#2: Zero’s Second Geass

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“Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2” (2008) We were all too eager to see Lelouch take his father down after all the misery he’d caused. Perhaps in the political arena, or an awesome mecha duel, or maybe the most tension-filled game of chess in the history of Britannia? None of the above. While inside the Sword of Akasha, Lelouch manages to finally put an end to his father’s tyranny by suddenly gaining a second geass in his other eye, giving a very long speech and forcing his parents to dissipate into nothingness. We would have loved to see how he pulled that miracle off, but given how he orchestrates his own death soon after, we never do.

“Sword Art Online” (2012) We all know that video game logic allows for a lot of leeway, but even this is pushing it. After losing his beloved Asuna, Kirito finds himself going sword to sword with the warrior Heathcliffe, who just happens to be the creator of the entire game. As a result, he’s pretty OP, to the point that Kirito can’t even land a scratch on him. Naturally, Heathcliffe takes him to town and wipes out all of his health…until Kirito somehow manages to come back from the dead to get the win. It seems not even death can stop our perfect protagonist!