Top 10 Shocking Anime Kill Steals

“Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings” (2009-10)

Given their inflated egos and inability to let a target go free, the absurdly powerful Date and Yuikimura were more than happy to battle it out to see who was worthy to be the one to remove Yoshimoto’s head from his shoulders. As it happens neither get the chance since the bastard gets himself a face full of shotgun courtesy of The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. Given how his aura is so malicious he seems to create a thunderstorm everywhere he goes, you can’t blame Date and Yukimura for backing off and letting him get away with killing their quarry.

“Mobile Fighter G Gundam” (1994-95)

It must suck being Sai Saichi. He thinks he’s on top of the world since he’s chosen to represent Neo-China, only for his opponent to have a major stink eye since Saichi’s ancestor killed him years ago. Now back as an undead with a regenerating Gundam under his command, Sai is ready to call it quits until Domon tells him to man up and go all Brandon Fraiser on his ass. But a last minute discovery proves that Domon’s brother is involved in this mystery, which leaves the king of hearts no choice but to swing in and use the Shining Finger Sword to kill Dahal off a second time. What happened to that whole manning up thing, dude?

“Demon Slayer” (2019)

While we’re sure that Tanjiro and Inosuke were thrilled when the veteran member of the Demon Slayer Corp arrived on the scene, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the one to actually end the life of the Twelve Moon Demon and his monstrous pet was actually Giyuu. Which means Inosuke getting his head caved in and Tanjiro’s breath-taking fire dance only amounted to stalling before the pros arrived. Not that we can fault Giyuu in terms of style. He cleaved his way through those two like they were nothing. Don’t mess with a guy who can be so calm no attack can phase him.

“Kill la Kill” (2013-14)

While Sanageyama might not have been killed in this little exchange, the way this little lady arrived on the scene, tore apart his Goku Uniform and sent him hurtling into the abyss naked is in itself pretty damn devastating. The fact she accomplished this by just using her nail makes it all the more painful, robbing Ryuko of her chance to defeat the blind swordsman in their long-awaited rematch. We imagine it took him a while to live this down. Now please put some clothes on.

“Naruto: Shippuden” (2007-17)

Jeez, Black Zetsu didn’t waste any time working his way up the food chain as soon as he got reminded what his motivation was “supposed” to be. In order to trigger the revival of Mama Kaguya, the dark side of the infamous plant man goes all in and manages to somewhat easily rip a hole straight through Madara. This not only comes as a shock because the Uchiha had claimed the power of the Sage of the Six Paths by this point, but it also robbed fans of the chance to see Naruto take down what everyone thought was the final villain. So much for that.

“Fate/Zero” (2011-12)

In order to claim the Grail for himself and put an end to all conflict, Kiritsugu was prepared to go to extreme lengths, using shady and dishonourable tactics to ensure he and Saber emerged the victors. This unfortunately resulted in a rather pitiful end for the noble Lancer. Through kidnapping, blackmail and assassination, Kiritsugu put an end to Kayneth and his Servant by ordering Lancer to stab himself with his own weapon, denying he and Saber the fateful match between equals both had agreed to. Messy yet effective.

“Hunter x Hunter” (2011-14)

Zeno Zoldyck is not a man you want to mess with. He might be getting on in years but he can still slaughter a room full of hired killers in seven seconds. His words. As such, we were all convinced a cocky Chimera Ant like Cheetu didn’t stand a ghost of a chance against him. Dude used to spar with Netero for gods sake! Alas, we will never know how many seconds it would have taken for him to turn the cheetah wannabe into a pelt, since Silva falls out of the sky like a rocket and smashes his head open upon landing.

“One-Punch Man” (2015-19)

Genos really can’t hold any animosity towards Saitama for this steal. After all, if he hadn’t come along and delivered a naked, bitch-slap that splattered Mosquito Girl onto the side of a building – the demon cyborg would have self-destructed in vain. Then where would our favourite hero and sidekick duo be? Saitama may not be able to crush a regular mosquito to save his life, but he’s pretty adept at turning villains and villainesses into red paste. Pest control has never been so messy.

“Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works” (2014-15)

Technically you could say this wasn’t really a steal, since Shirou and Archer are kind of the same person, only not because, you know – Fate-verse. Either way, it’s clear that the one to walk away with the winning shot from this brawl would be none other than the crimson cloaked Servant. Shirou may have done the heavy lifting and got Gilgamesh dead to rights, but it’s Archer’s arrow that managed to finally put a stop to the Grail War veteran once and for all. At least he had the courtesy to ask his former self to shimmy over first.

“Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’” (2015)

If there’s anyone that deserved the chance to blast Frieza into a thousand pieces, it was the Prince of Saiyans. And what better time than after accessing the power of Super Saiyan Blue, granting him the strength to vaporise has his most hated enemy, now helpless before his might. But no, Goku gets the win again by sniping the space tyrant before Vegeta can get his Galick Gun on. Granted this was probably for the best, since if he had let his Saiyan buddy do the honours, Frieza would have taken the opportunity to blow up the planet with them. Better luck next time Vegeta.