Spoiler warning: The following article contains heavy spoilers for Akame ga Kill, Seven Deadly Sins, Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and the entire Dragon Ball series. If you don’t want any character deaths in these anime to be spoiled for you, stop reading now
Whether it be of natural causes or in a fight, character death is a staple storytelling device in anime. Regardless of if they are a good or bad guy, killing someone off is usually an easy way to help push a compelling narrative.
Just because death is usually inevitable in a lot of anime, doesn’t mean it needs to be pointless. In fact, a meaningful death in these shows, while painful, usually serves to make them that much better, as they add stakes and drama to the conflict.
Unfortunately, the following four anime deaths did exactly the opposite of that. Not only were these deaths not meaningful, but they were also in fact detrimental, as every single one of them could be avoided with common sense or better writing.
So without further delay, these are four anime character deaths that were completely pointless.
Leone – Akame ga Kill
Anime Character Deaths That Were Completely Pointless
As a whole, Akame ga Kill is a considerably frustrating anime when it comes to how it treats its character deaths. Sure, at first, it was kind of cool to know that no one on the cast was safe, adding real consequence and drama to each interaction.
The problem was that the show began leaning on this far too heavily, relying on the shock value that came with character deaths regardless of how stupid it made some of them look. Leone is the worst example of this.
After a battle where she is gravely wounded, Leone eventually runs into Akame, who offers her medical assistance. Instead of accepting this, she walks off and enjoys one last night of drinking out with her friends, eventually dying in the alley where she met Tatsumi.
This is one of the most head-scratching deaths in all of anime, as the character actively avoids help that could save her life for no reason whatsoever.
Denzel Liones – Seven Deadly Sins
Anime Character Deaths That Were Completely Pointless
Seven Deadly Sins has plenty of deaths that don’t really make sense or feel pointless due to events that happen later on in the show, including Hawks sacrificing himself only to be reborn not too long afterward. However egregious some of these may have been, Denzel Liones’ fate takes the pointless cake.
As a means of stopping the powerful 10 Commandments, Denzel Liones offers up his body as a vessel so that the group can summon a high-ranking member of the Goddess Clan, Nerobasta. As soon as the goddess is summoned, though, she refuses to fight.
Instead, Nerobasta decides to try and talk to the Derieri, the Purity of the Ten Commandments. Not too long after the conversation begins, the angel is slashed into oblivion by the demon, making the king’s brother’s sacrifice entirely in vain.
Neji – Naruto Shippuden
Anime Character Deaths That Were Completely Pointless
Neji starts out in Naruto as a minor antagonist. His ideals clash with that of our knucklehead ninja protagonist, as he believes that you can’t fight your own destiny. After Naruto defeats him in the Chunin exams, the two eventually become friends and see eye to eye.
Unfortunately, not too long after their friendship develops, Neji takes a major backseat, being reduced to a minor character that shows up now and then, instead of the powerhouse that he was at the start. This only gets worse in Naruto Shippuden, as the character is barely in it at all…that is until they needed someone to sacrifice.
In order to protect Hinata and Naruto from an oncoming attack, Neji throws himself in front of them and gets impaled in the process. While noble, the deed in question is baffling, considering all of the other huge attacks that the characters are able to survive or dodge later on in the fight.
Why didn’t Neji or Hinata use their palm rotations instead of throwing their bodies in the way? Why didn’t Naruto summon a bunch of shadow clones?
Instead of a sacrifice for a friend, the scene comes off as a lazy and cliche way to push Naruto and Hinata’s future relationship, furthering their bond through a means of tragedy. It all just feels icky. Simply put, Neji Hyuga got done dirty.
Every Death – Dragon Ball Series
Anime Character Deaths That Were Completely Pointless
Now, this one is kind of cheating since it isn’t one character, but it counts all the same, as death has absolutely no meaning in the world of Dragon Ball.
Seriously, dying in Dragon Ball is the equivalent of getting sick in real life, with either Senzu Beans or the Dragon Balls being the equivalent of some cold medicine. Krillin alone has already died three times in the series (killed by Tambourine, blown up by Frieza, & eaten by Super Buu), only to be brought back by Shenron every time.
Due to how often Dragon Ball uses deus ex machina devices to bring everyone back, death as a whole just ends up feeling meaningless, lowering the stakes of the drama along with it. This continues to be the case in Dragon Ball Super, as you just know that every universe that gets erased in the Tournament of Power is going to be brought back.
Action-oriented anime need death and consequences to keep you interested. If anyone can be brought back at any time, why should we care about who dies?
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