There’s no better way to shake the audience up and immerse them in the narrative than a well-executed plot. The satisfying shock of seeing seemingly familiar elements unexpectedly line up to reveal something totally unforeseen about the story sticks in fans’ retinas long after the credits roll.
Anime likes to throw startling reveals at viewers, unraveling its mysteries in unpredictable ways. However, executing an unplanned plot takes a lot of work, and not all anime series manage to surprise audiences with their reveals. Most fans saw these twists coming early.
10 Female Titan Is Identical To Annie Leonhart
The attack of the Titans
The introduction of Titan Shifters in the first season of Attack on Titan led fans to speculate which cast members might be hiding a secret power. Unfortunately, the identity of the first major antagonist, the Female Titan, was obvious to even the most inattentive viewers, robbing fans of a spectacular reveal.
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The Female Titan bears by far the most obvious resemblance to her human form, Annie Leonhart. Their transparent resemblance had fans acknowledging Annie as the culprit long before she was revealed on the show.
9 School-Live’s Biggest Twist! hides in plain sight
live school
If someone went to School-Live ! You might be completely blindsided by this cute comedy flick that turns into bloody zombie horror at the end of the first episode. school live ! combines moe tropes with a classic post-apocalyptic setting.
However, the show’s supposed plot twist is almost impossible to miss, as it’s clearly stated in the show’s genre tags, synopsis, and promotional materials. However, it may be better than fans of School Live! don’t expect an uplifting school comedy.
8 Lunatic Could Be None Other Than Yuri Petrov
tiger and rabbit
Tiger & Bunny judge Yuri Petrov seemed like a sinister character from the start. However, all suspicions about his sinister motives were confirmed with the appearance of Lunatic, his alter ego. Although the series tried to keep Lunatic’s true identity a mystery, it didn’t take long for fans to connect the dots.
The parallels between the two were apparent early on, as if the show didn’t even try to hide the clues. Most obvious, however, was Lunatic’s voice, identical to Yuri Petrov’s.
7 Everyone Knows What Kind Of Series Madoka Magica Is
Magi Madokes Magical Girl
When it premiered in 2011, Puella Magi Madoka Magica fooled many impressionable magical girl fans into thinking it was just another typical magical girl series, albeit a bit more mature. These days, even those uninterested in magical girls are aware of the infamy madoka magazine ica as one of the darkest series ever made.
magic madoka rose to fame as a villainous subversion of the magical girl genre. However, his notoriety made the big reveal of his sinister nature ineffective.
6 Fans Predicted Dabi As Toya Todoroki Long Before It Was Confirmed
my hero academia
One of the most popular and enigmatic members of the My Hero Academia League of Villains ( ), Dabi has always baffled fans of the series. His powerful Fire Quirk combined with his hatred of Endeavour, who was infamously cruel to his children, led many to believe that Dabi’s true identity was Toya Todoroki, Endeavour’s eldest son.
In fan works and theories, Dabi and Toya became the same person long before the show suggested it in canon. So when Dabi finally snapped and revealed her identity to her abusive father, no one was surprised.
5 Tem’s killer could be determined through a simple process of elimination
beasts
The general plot of the first episodes of Beastars revolves around the search for the identity of Tem’s killer, a mystery already raised in the first episode of the series. Although he may seem very enigmatic at first, once Legoshi’s actual investigation picks up steam, he eliminates all other suspects except for Riz, a grizzly bear from the drama club who was friends with his victim.
For any attentive viewer, this revelation is in no way shocking. However, the resolution of the conflict between Legoshi and Riz surprised most fans.
4 Speed Was The Last Person To See Runner X Was His Estranged Brother
Meteor
The most notorious example of a reveal everyone saw coming is the not-so-secret identity of Racer X in Speed Racer. His real name is Rex Racer, the long-lost older brother of the series’ protagonist Speed, who is first mentioned along with the introduction of Racer X.
His alias is an obvious pun on his real name. While the reveal couldn’t have been more obvious to audiences, it took Speed a very long time to recognize Rex in Racer X, despite constantly dropping clues to his identity.
3 Spike’s Death Is A Spoiler Modern Fans Can’t Avoid
cowboy bebop
Before Cowboy Bebop achieved the cult classic status it has today, the tragic death of its protagonist, Spike Spiegel, at the end of the final episode shocked most first-time viewers. The series’ devastating finale has lingered with fans for decades.
The ending is considered one of the best anime endings of all time to this day. Unfortunately, now that cowboy bebop reached its peak of popularity, even those who have never seen the show know how it ends, seeing Spike’s death from the very first episode.
2 Makima Has Been The Main Antagonist Of Chainsaw Man From The Beginning
chainsaw man
The last shonen touched everyone’s mind, Chainsaw Man is infamous for its incredible twists, most of which center around Makima, the enigmatic public safety official. The series attempts to portray Makima as a neutral and pragmatic bureaucrat who acts for the good of humanity.
However, her character’s haunting qualities make her a threat from the start. Finding out that Makima is a villain is simple from the start. However, his true identity and motivations may shock anime fans.
1 Gaku Yashiro Was The Only Viable Candidate To Be The Killer
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A good murder mystery can’t work without a well-executed plot twist. Erased, infamous for its lackluster ending, went to great lengths to construct a compelling and unexpected crime thriller. Satoru Fujinuma’s time travel to save his childhood friends from an enigmatic murderer holds the viewer’s attention for quite a while.
However, everything falls apart when the villain’s identity becomes apparent. The only character that fits the description of the assassin is Gaku Yashiro, Satoru’s teacher, and most fans figured it out long before the protagonist.