Top 20 Anime Scenes Where The Hero Goes Berserk

“Tokyo Ghoul” (2014) Trapped and continually tortured by a sadistic monster with a Friday the 13th fetish certainly has a way of putting someone in a bad headspace. With Yamori’s constant mutilations combined with Rize haunting his mind, Kaneki’s humanity slips away, resulting in him embracing his newfound Ghoul nature, leading him to turn the tables on his tormentor. Not only is he able to power through Yamori’s transformed state, but he gives him a taste of his own fearful medicine by digging into him for dinner.

#19: Bam Snaps

Also in:

Top 10 Anime Scenes Where the Hero Goes Berserk

“Tower of God” (2020) One does not simply injure the beloved of an alpha simp. With the Crown Game coming to a close, Rachel suffers a lethal head wound when one of the masked combatants tries to take the throne from Bam. Overcome by such a sight, Bam’s Irregular nature kicks into gear and unleashes such a vast amount of high tier Shinsu that it cleaves out one of the Navigator’s eyes. Thankfully the Black March chose to interfere before he totally lost it and tried to end her life as revenge for Rachel. Yeah…how’s that attitude working out for you now Bam?

“Goblin Slayer” (2018) Don’t you just love it when your party is on their last legs, only for you to land that all important critical? Despite getting his body severely damaged by a Goblin Champion, the titular adventurer refuses to simply lay down and die. Instead, with nothing more than some hair and one hell of a second wind, he climbs atop the beast and strangles the ever-loving Gimli out of it until it suffocates. Pretty impressive for a man haemorrhaging a colossal amount of blood behind that helmet.

#17: The Manslayer Returns

Also in:

Top 10 BRUTAL Anime Death Scenes

“Rurouni Kenshin” (1996-98) There are very few things that can push a changed man like Kenshin to revert back to the demon he was during his assassin career. Threatening to slice down a child just happens to be one of them. With Chou willing to use his bladed whip on an innocent, Kenshin is pushed to his limit, resolving to use the killer techniques of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. If not for the reveal that he had been in possession of the reverse blade the whole time, Chou would be missing the lower half of his body from just one slash.

#16: Dark Digivolution

Also in:

Top 10 Dark Type Pokemon

“Digimon Tamers” (2001-02) As heart-breaking as it might be to see something as adorable as Guilmon be turned into a grotesque packet of data, that’s what you get when you delete their friends right in front of them. In the wake of Leomon’s demise, Takato embraces his malicious side and forces Guilmon to transform, which prompts a sudden Digivolution to Megidramon – a Mega level that is nigh uncontrollable and fixated on devouring his target. As with most things in Tamers, this was on a whole other level of dark.

“The Legend of the Legendary Heroes” (2010) If you know the guy you’ve captured happens to be the vessel for an entity that can eradicate everything, why would you go out of your way to taunt him by attacking his friends and showing him the corpses of his fellow mages? Whatever the reason, these magic knights soon learned they were dealing with a literal devil, since Ryner’s despair at such cruelty allowed the Alpha Stigma to take over – where it proceeded to do what it does best and erase everything in its sight. In the most gruesome way possible, of course.

“Kengan Ashura” (2019) Throughout the Kengan Tournament, driven by his desire for revenge, Ohma continuously relied on the double-edged sword that was the Advance – a power-boost that improved his strength but at the cost of his lifespan. While he usually put some manner of limit on himself, that all went out the window when up against the Raian Kure and his equally sinister transformation of Removal. Unable to cope with the Taboo Descendant’s onslaught, Ohma abandoned the warnings of his mentor and allowed the Advance to take hold, becoming a crimson-skinned monstrosity in his own right.

#13: A Boxer’s Wrath

Also in:

Top 10 Anime Scenes Where The Hero Lets The Villain Die

“Hajime no Ippo” (2000-14) Despite his cavalier attitude and sickening approach to the sport, Bryan Hawk was nonetheless one hell of an obstacle challenge for Takamura to overcome. With so much force behind his punches, the Champion eventually succeeded in rendering Takamura partially unconscious. Unluckily for him, in doing so, he awakened a beast. Fuelled with rage over how Hawk had previously injured Coach Kamogawa, his body acted instinctively and, relying on his training, pummelled the feathers out of Hawk until he was upchucking blood all over the ring.

#12: The Laughing Arm

Also in:

Top 10 Anime Hero & Villain Team-Up Scenes

“Twin Star Exorcists” (2016-17) Nine times out of ten, Rokuro is the nicest kid on the block. He can punch you to hell and back with his Impurity Arm, but he’s still a chipper lad with a massive heart. Unless you’re Yuto, then you’re liable to get a Meteor Smash to the face. After the one-eyed killer tells Benio he never cared for her as a sister, Roku loses it. Sure, Yuto still knocks him around like a tennis ball, but it’s the sight of our boy’s arm howling in murderous glee while his eyes glow like a demon that sticks with us.

“The Rising of the Shield Hero” (2019) Naofumi was already not in the best place mentally given his horrific treatment ever since being dropped into this corrupt kingdom, but watching his cherished talking chicken daughter get gobbled up by a zombie dragon? That’s a bridge too far. Unlocking the Curse Shield of Wrath, this highly destructive yet all-consuming form was certainly able to burn away the rot of the dragon, but given how it fed on his rage, it also had the unfortunate side-effect of blurring Naofumi’s perception of friend and foe together, leading to best girl Raphtalia being injured in the process.

“Kill la Kill” (2013-14) Ryuko has never been one to quell her temper during a fight, but it’s fair to say that here she went totally off the rails. Not surprising, since her father’s killer suddenly dropped in and happily confessed. Her resulting outrage proves to be so potent that Senketsu can’t handle it, and consequently mutates her into a monstrous entity, complete with boiling blood and way too many teeth. It’s a hell of a look for her, just a shame she wasn’t able to use it to give Nui exactly what she deserved!

#9: Mob Goes 100

Also in:

Top 10 Most Terrifying Scenes in Anime

“Mob Psycho 100” (2016-) On an average day, this little ball of awkwardness is just about the nicest guy you could meet. At least until you decide to beat up his brother; then you might want to clear the area, lest you fancy seeing Mob unleash his dark side. Koyama learns this the hard way, who for all his bravado and psychic abilities, is woefully unprepared for Mob after he reaches 100 percent pissed off. As we all know, once he’s at his emotional pinnacle, there’s nothing that can stop him. Evidenced from when Mob sends his brother’s attacker right into the ground – face first.

#8: Monster Card Rampage

Also in:

Top 10 Man vs. Monster Anime Battles

“Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters” (2000-04) The world of children’s card game is a cutthroat business, something Weevil Underwood learns first-hand when he unwisely jokes that Yugi is gone forever during a duel. Despite being armed with an impressive new deck, the bug boy ends up facing the Pharaoh’s unbridled fury, given how he had just lost his partner in crime to the Seal of Orichalcos. Without Yugi to play spiritual good cop, no one can stop the King of Games from attacking Weevil again and again until his life points are well into the minus numbers.

“The Seven Deadly Sins” (2014-18) Well, least we now know how the Captain of the Sins got his infamous moniker of wrath. In order to reclaim his lost demonic power, Meliodas is forced to relive the haunting moment where he lost control of his rage following the death of his beloved Liz. Unable to hold back the anger inside, the Dragon Sin’s own dark power overwhelms him, reducing the Kingdom of Danafor to nothing more than a crater in the process. Look on the bright side Meliodas, at least your lover got reincarnated…into an infant. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers!

“Bleach” (2004-12) Apparently, not even a gaping hole in the torso is enough to keep this Substitute Shinigami down. While initially overwhelmed by Ulquiorra’s power, Orihime’s cries of despair are all Ichigo needs to claw his way back from death, only now bearing a much more nightmarish guise, one that comes complete with a lot of Predator sound effects and a crazy amount of laser beams. Now more powerful than even the Espada’s Segunda Etapa form, Ichigo and his inner Hollow proceed to rip Ulquiorra to pieces. Yep, this is all on you Orihime, well done.

“Gintama” (2006-) Despite being famed for his sword skills as well as being a demon on the battlefield, Gintoki Sakada is mostly known for acting like a complete doofus, one who always ends up failing at even the simplest of odd jobs. Not in this case. After Otose ends up wounded via the blade of her rival Deva and former friend Jirochou, Gin goes full-on White Demon. Armed with nothing more than his trusty wooden sword, he easily crushes nearly every gravestone in sight while trying to put Jirochou six foot under.

#4: Naruto Lets The Fox Out Of The Bag

Also in:

Top 10 Naruto Shippuden Fight Scenes

“Naruto Shippuden” (2007-17) We’ll admit it was an odd time for Hinata to find the courage to confess her love to her ninja heartthrob, but it at least it ended up giving us this epic scene. While trying to defend Naruto from Pain’s assault, the Hyuga heiress finds herself grievously wounded. The knuckle-headed ninja doesn’t take too kindly to this, once again losing control to the Demon Fox inside of him. Now completely taken over by his rage that, Naurto instantly goes all the way to six tails. Pain may have his own fair share of internal baggage, but he’s got nothing on a teen Jinchuruki who just watched his future wife get stabbed!

#3: Guts Cuts Off His Own Arm

Also in:

Anime Duel: Guts vs Eren Yeager

“Berserk” (1997-98) We had to get a little creative with this one, seeing how bloody rampages are kind of Guts’ bread and butter. The Black Swordsman may have angrily sliced his way through plenty of demons and enemy soldiers in his times, but in terms of sheer desperation, nothing tops the time where he was willing to mutilate his own arm to escape the jaws of an apostle. Of course, given how Casca was being violated by Griffith at the time, you can see why he would be willing to go so far. It’s a hellish sight to behold, the only thing more unnerving being the savage expression spread across Guts’ face. Now that’s rage.

#2: Gon vs Pitou

Also in:

Top 20 Zero to Hero Anime Characters

“Hunter x Hunter” (2011-14) You wouldn’t have thought a good kid like Gon would have had a dark side. Pitou probably thought so to, at least until he decided to taunt him with the corpse of his deceased friend. After discovering that his buddy Kite was gone for good, Gon gives into his hatred and unleashes all of his latent Nen, transforming into an older version of himself, equipped with enough strength to match the King of the Chimera Ants. Fuelled by the desire to seek vengeance on the wicked kitty, the young Hunter proceeds to smash Pitou’s face to bloody chunks, to the point where the Royal Guard is left essentially headless. Ouch.

#1: Eva 01 the Beast

Also in:

Top 10 Most Traumatic Scenes in Anime

“Neon Genesis Evangelion” (1995-96) The good news, Shinji got back into the robot. The bad news? It’s gone totally feral and developed quite a taste for Angel flesh. When one of the alien invaders nearly overpowers them, Shinji’s pleads for his Eva Unit to get a second wind…something that seems to strike a chord with the sentient mecha, leading it to go berserk and slaughtering the Angel. All before chowing down. All the NERV agents can do is hopelessly look on as Unit 01 goes primal.