No one likes it when their favorite anime character dies, but even die-hard fans can grudgingly admit that a character’s death often makes the story better. It can get boring when anime characters can survive the impossible, so killing characters means the story has a lot on the line.
That said, a story can also be ruined by the death of a character. While many would think that the protagonist is the only character who needs to stay alive, the people around him are often the ones who really make the story work. If the wrong person dies at the wrong time, a series can be ruined.
10 Kamina’s death changed the series (Gurren Lagann)
Kamina played a huge role in the progression of the story. Without him, Simon would not have had the courage to leave his home and explore the world. His death played a major role in the growth of Simon’s character and the story completely changed after his death.
Fans who enjoyed the first half of the series found the second half much less interesting. It completely deviated from the story presented so far and was even a bit boring. Although Kamina’s death was important, the series was much less interesting without him.
9 There are no other villains compared to pain (Naruto Shippuden)
For many fans, the Pain Arc was where the series should have ended. His character was incredibly well developed and the battle between him and Naruto had been going on throughout the series.
Although Madara presented an interesting roadblock, the show really went downhill once Pain died. Things probably would have worked out better if Pain had been the final villain of the series, not Madara.
8 Hughes could have done more for the series (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood)
Maes Hughes is one of the most beloved characters in full metal alchemist and fans of the series still mourn his death. He was a loving husband, father, and friend who shouldn’t have had to suffer the way he did.
Despite his death being handled incredibly well, many fans felt that the remake series Fraternity hastened his death. His character could have contributed much more to the series and many more fans could have learned about him. With more character development and more screen time, his death would have been even more difficult.
7 Naomi had tons of potential (Death Note)
Naomi was probably one of the smartest detectives in the series besides L. She found out a lot of information about Kira and she wasn’t even part of the investigation team. It makes sense that Light would take her out due to how risky it was for her to continue investigating, but she was still killed too soon.
If his character had stayed, he could have replaced L instead of Near, which would have been much more interesting. Having her around her would also have increased the tension of the series.
6 Rei’s character was not fully developed (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Rei is a favorite among fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion and that’s probably because of how interesting it is. Unlike the rest of the cast, she is incredibly stoic and calm, which is a good thing considering how loud Asuka is.
Her character held great promise, but she was killed off before her potential could be realized. More of her past was revealed after the fact, but towards the end of the series, she faded into the background of Shinji’s story.
5 Shirley deserved better (Code Geass)
Fans are often divided on whether Shirley is a good character or not and that’s mostly because she’s incredibly underdeveloped. Even though she had a huge influence on the story and on Lelouch as a character of hers, the audience didn’t really get to know much about her.
He is a kind person with a good head on his shoulders, which is why fans can see past his faults. Considering how well other characters were developed from Code Geass son, it’s a shame she didn’t get the same treatment.
4 Sakura Died Before Fans Knew Her (School-Live!)
Sakura was a teacher and advisor to the school life club, but she took on a lot more responsibility when it came to protecting the students. It’s thanks to her that the girls were able to survive, so it’s unfortunate that she died much sooner than fans initially realised.
Since Yuki couldn’t deal with her death, she often imagined that Sakura was with them when she wasn’t. While this was an interesting take, it would have served the story better had she died later in the series. She would have made her sacrifice more meaningful if fans could see her living with the students and given fans more time to get to know her.
3 Rengoku’s Death Felt Hollow (Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Movie)
the studio behind Murderer of demons Rengoku did her a huge disservice by making her story into a movie first. A lot of important character-building moments were left out, so for many, his death felt pretty hollow. Considering how brave and kind Rengoku was, his death should have been an important moment for the series, but it wasn’t.
The public needs time to get to know Rengoku and the mugen train The series did a much better job of that. An original movie with Rengoku would have done a much better job of preparing fans for mugen train. That way, his death would have made more sense.
two Orochimaru’s character change was rushed (Naruto Shippuden)
Orochimaru played a very important role at the beginning of the naruto Serie. He was the main villain and was even responsible for the death of the Third Hokage. However, his importance diminished as the series progressed and even more so once Sasuke killed him.
His death caused him to have zero character development, so his change of beliefs felt empty once he came back to life.
1 L was better than close (Death Note)
The biggest problem fans have with Death Note it’s how soon L was killed. He was the perfect foil for Light and it would have made sense for their intel battle to last the entire series.
However, instead of building their rivalry, L was killed off and replaced with a less interesting character. Near’s introduction may not have ruined the series, but Death Note it would have been much better if L had lived longer.
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