Anime Famous For Killing Off Its Characters

Character deaths represent some of the most memorable scenes from a good number of reputed anime, and effectively handling these events is an integral skill in any storyteller's arsenal. While certain shows treat death with a grave sense of finality, others may be a little more relaxed in dealing with it — most prominently seen in the many deaths and resurrections in Dragon Ball Z.

Death scenes also add a great deal of shock value to a narrative, and have often been used as payoffs or build-ups for critical events in many plot threads. Some anime have even earned a reputation for indiscriminately killing off characters, despite how important they may have seemed when first introduced. On this note, here are some prominent anime that do not hesitate when it comes to dealing with major character deaths.

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7 Future Diary

A Death Game That Kills Off Most Of Its Main Cast

For a series with a death game as its premise, it comes as no surprise that the act of killing off characters is an integral feature of the narrative in Future Diary. Complex mysteries paired with dark and gruesome revelations set the main cast on a path where most, if not all of them, meet their end. Moreover, the deaths in question can also be quite violent and graphic, reinforcing the fact that this show is not for the faint-hearted.

6 Elfen Lied

The Violent Mystery Of The Diclonius

There's no reason to sugarcoat the fact that Elfen Lied is up there when it comes to discussions revolving around the most violent and gory anime in recent history. Deaths in the series can also be extremely harrowing to watch for all involved, as both background characters and members of the main cast are killed off in horrifying fashion. At the center of it all is the series' protagonist, the Diclonius Lucy, who struggles to form bonds without endangering those around her.

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5 Death Parade

Showing One's True Colors In The Afterlife

The caveat to Death Parade's inclusion here is the fact that most, if not all, of its characters are already dead by the time they first appear on-screen. In essence, the series is set in a world where departed souls are judged through death games that decide whether a person is reincarnated or condemned to roam the void for all eternity. Under such circumstances, these death games turn into disturbing contests for survival, where the competitors' true faces are revealed under the watchful eyes of arbiters.

4 Akame Ga Kill!

Ending A Brutal Revolution In Tragedy

A landmark dark fantasy title that traces the journey of a group of revolutionaries attempting to overthrow a corrupt regime, Akame Ga Kill! Is littered with major character deaths. Some events of this nature exert a devastating impact on both viewers and the series' narrative progression, and there is little restraint when it comes to gore, violence, and the sheer depths the main cast will sink to in order to achieve their goals.

3 Attack On Titan

The Cost Of Humanity's Survival

Despite its many shifts in tone, Attack on Titan consistently maintained the riveting sense of tension that had many fans hooked from the very start of the series, where no one knew who would emerge unscathed from each successive battle. Each confrontation was filled with violence, loss, desperation, and sacrifice, illuminating the true cost of victory in war for all to see.

Character deaths were an innate aspect of the series from the beginning, and provided effective triggers for other members of the cast to grow while driving the plot forward at a relentless pace even as the bodies piled up.

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2 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Night City Legends Are Judged By How They Die

Coming off the back of a disappointing release, Cyberpunk 2077 found a second lease of life with the hugely successful release of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an anime series set in the same timeline. It is no surprise that the vast majority of the main cast die over the course of the series' brief yet concise 10-episode run, given the unforgiving depiction of Night City in the original game.

Studio Trigger's over the top animation style had a near perfect conduit in the extreme violence and varicolored neon lights that typified Night City's cutthroat urban environment. What emerged from this unlikely match was a breakneck dystopian tragedy filled with love, death, madness, injustice, and moments of breathtaking beauty, amid all the chaos.

1 Devilman Crybaby

An Apocalyptic End For Humans And Demons

Masaaki Yuasa's now highly acclaimed adaptation of Go Nagai's seminal manga, made the bold choice to retain the series' intense original ending, which was filled with character deaths. In fact, virtually every single member of the main cast was killed off in some form or another, with many of these scenes being truly horrendous sights to behold. The manga's ultraviolence found a new means of expression in Yuasa's surrealist and stylized visual aesthetic, which made Devilman Crybaby a macabre visual feast to watch.

MORE: The Ending of Devilman Crybaby, Explained