Top 10 Anime Where EVERYONE Dies
#10: “Chrono Crusade” (2003-04)
Despite the premise revolving around the partnership of a demon and a gun-slinging nun, we certainly didn’t expect for things to end in such a dismal and tragic manner. Even with their combined abilities, by the time that Chrono and Rosette put a stop to Aion’s plans to dismantle the hierarchy between earth, heaven and hell…every major character had already been sent off to meet their maker. Just when you think it couldn’t get any sadder, we’re greeted to the sight of the duo dying together on a porch while holding hands. Well, that’s a downer.
#9: “MD Geist” (1986)
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A super-soldier sealed away due to the intensity of his strength, Geist was presented to us as a black knight anti-hero, who after crash-landing on the warring planet of Jerra, teams up with the local ruffians in order to infiltrate a place containing a doomsday weapon that could unleash killer robots across the whole world. Naturally, he storms his way inside and wipes out everything in his way, but then what does he do? Activates the damn doomsday weapon himself and purges the planet’s populace. In the anime world, we call that a pro-Griffith move.
#8: “Shiki” (2010)
Possibly the only time that a in battle between vampires and humans you’ll see the overall kill count highly stacked in the latter’s favour…though that’s probably due to the fact that in the midst of their fear and hysteria, the humans of this quaint little village were ready to slaughter anyone who even looked slightly out of place. When a sudden case of vampirism starts spreading through this sleepy town, the locals let their inner monsters out the bag. If people aren’t being killed mob style, then they’re getting runover by tractors or left to burn in the widespread fire that eventually ravages the whole place. And frankly, good riddance.
#7: “Mobile Suit Victory Gundam” (1993-94)
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Ah yes, the series that gave Tomino his “kill em’ all” moniker. One of, if not the darkest outing in the Gundam franchise to date, the conflict between the resistance group League Militaire and the fanatical and somewhat sadistic BESPA armed forces is unrelenting in its brutality. This isn’t just another Earth Federation vs Space Colony tussle – BESPA are everything Zeon wish they could be with the amount of blood they spill, to the point where not even new starry-eyed pilot Uso and his Victory Gundam are enough to stop mass public executions as well as the heart-breaking deaths of major characters. Er, Tomino, do we need to have a talk?
#6: “Wolf’s Rain” (2003)
In their pursuit of paradise, they ended up destroying everything. As the battle between the wolves and Darcia comes to its bloody conclusion, the mad hybrid makes one lash dash to open the gates of Paradise for himself…but since he’s not a true wolf, ends up causing everything to fall into chaos. It’s only thanks to Cheza’s own death that a universal rebirth is triggered. Sure, in a new distant future we see our beloved group of doggos are living well as humans, but thanks to Darcia’s lingering corruption, it’s obvious that this fate of theirs is not the heaven they were promised or deserved. Dammit Darcia!
#5: “Akame ga Kill” (2014)
In the assassin business, you have to be prepared to give your life in service of the mission…it’s just sucks that when it comes to Night Raid, all of our favourites were eliminated while the villainous thugs of the empire got to keep on living the high life. While the truly reprehensible targets like Seryu and Esdeath were eventually bested, the fact we had to watch Sheele, Bulat, Leone and even Tatsumi get done in along the way gave the series a sense of moroseness that’s still just as poignant as it was back then.
#4: “Texhnolyze” (2003)
Because why settle for watching a city collapse in on itself due to the conflicts between its warring factions when you can add a whole other layer to the despair cake by giving us a gut-wrenching ending that renders every character’s ambitions moot as they’re cut down in the street. Watching Ichise struggle to survive with his new robotic ligaments while also trying to protect the innocent and all-seeing Ran certainly made for a punishing viewing experience at times, but seeing everyone lose themselves to madness and violence with not a shred of hope in sight? You know shit’s got dark when embracing insanity starts to look like a mercy.
#3: “Dragon Ball Z” (1986-96)
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Okay, so maybe death in this series is more akin to a revolving door, that still doesn’t take away just how many times each member of the Z Fighters has been sent plummeting to the other side after facing off against an intergalactic terror that’s got one power level over them. Goku and Vegeta? Regular visitors courtesy of Frieza and Cell. The population of Earth? Went kaboom when Kid Buu decided to flex his new form. Krillin? Honestly you can take your pick Can’t imagine the funeral expenses…
#2: “Space Runaway Ideon: Be Invoked” (1982)
This is what happens when the creator of Gundam decides to do Evangelion – everyone dies pointless deaths in space, slaves to their own petty desires for survival and revenge. With the Buff Clan chasing humanity’s last bastion across the galaxy, the crew of the Solo Ship have to fight for their life not only against the alien threat constantly on their heels, but turmoil from within as the growing fear of death pushes people over the edge. The result? Everyone grabs a laser blaster and starts firing.
#1: “Devilman Crybaby” (2018)
You can’t really have an apocalypse without the majority of the world getting burnt to a crisp, can you? And that’s exactly what happened here. Granted, we were already getting pretty sick of humanity after Ryou succeeded in stirring them into such a frenzy that they turned on each other, including butchering Akira’s beloved Miki. By the time it got around for Devilman and Satan to have their heavy weight title fight, the planet was pretty much just a giant pool of blood, which was then further annihilated when God decided to nuke it and start all over again. No winners here.
