Anime’s 10 Greatest Plot Twists Ever

We all love a good plot twist, and in the world of anime, there’s no shortage of outrageous twists that completely upends a series. If you’re thinking about getting into an anime full of twists and turns, here are 10 of the most notable ones.

Of course, there are good twists and there are bad twists. A bad twist is a twist that makes no sense and usually just exists for shock value. Many anime fall into that trap constantly, failing to realize a good twist takes effort. There needs to be a build-up to it, when a show works to establish a status quo then rip the rug out from under the viewer. There needs to be emotional investment or the twist won’t have any impact. That, and the twist needs to be memorable. It needs to be a singular moment that defined a key moment in the show’s narrative.

So when we’re looking at the best twists, those are the criteria that we’re looking for. What are the twists that stuck with us and changed a series completely, for better or worse? It goes without saying too that if you’re reading this for the first time, beware of spoilers. With that said, here are the 10 best plot twists in anime history, in alphabetical order.

Attack on Titan – Eren Was the Villain All Along

There are plenty of good twists in Attack on Titan and choosing the best one was hard. Learning about the history of the world was definitely surprising, as well as the origins of the Titans, and how characters like Bertholdt and Reiner were Titans, but the one that tops them all was how Eren was the villain all along. Eren had been manipulating events through his ability to send memories into the past, most notably in how he convinced Grisha to kill the Reiss family. This one event kicks off basically everything Eren needed to gain the Founding Titan powers, which is notable if only because of what he would do later in the Rumbling. This one moment flipped the series on its head and changed everything we thought we knew.

Berserk – The Eclipse Went So Hard

For the first chunk of Berserk’s story, we follow a mercenary group called the Band of the Hawk, and its leader Griffith and his closest friend Guts. We see them bond, but over time, it becomes all too apparent that Griffith is losing control of the group and his own ambition for power causes him unparraled suffering. At his lowest point he intentionally ushers in an event known as the Eclipse, where he attains godhood and joins a demonic group known as the God Hand. Berserk laid out the prophecy regarding the Eclipse and Griffith’s fate extremely early on, so it wasn’t a big surprise, yet the real shock was just how brutal the Eclipse was. Nearly every character we knew was brutally murdered, maimed, or psychologically broken in a gruesome manner. Yes, we all knew that Griffith was going to betray Guts in his pursuit of power, but wow was it worse than we thought.

Bleach – Aizen Faked His Death

The Soul Society arc of Bleach is often regarded as its best, and its in no small part to its twist. Someone murdered the mild-mannered captain of Company 5, Sosuke Aizen, and all eyes are on Ichigo, the unsanctioned Soul Reaper, as the primary suspect. At the end of the arc though, it’s revealed that not only is Aizen alive, but he faked his death and manipulated the other companies in order for him to acquire a powerful item called the Hogyoku. The entire climax of the arc is him just revealing how he accomplished everything and seeing his polite venear evaporate into sociopathy. This was the moment that gave Bleach its best antagonist and made him a truly devious mastermind.

Death Note – L Dies

Death Note establishes early on a cat and mouse dynamic between Light Yagami, a high schooler who gains the power of book that allows him to muder anyone he wants, and L, the reclusive detective trying to hunt him down. The first half of the series has these two frenemies working alongside each other, with Light doing whatever he can to evade L’s capture and find a way to kill him. And at the halfway point of the series though, Light succeeds and kills L. L’s death was a shocking moment, if only because now the show had to figure out what happens next. Because of this, the second half of Death Note isn’t as strong as the first, but seeing Death Note willingly destroy its core relationship was a bold twist, albeit one that doesn’t really pay off.

Dragon Ball Z – Goku Is An Alien

Audiences may take this one for granted given how generations have grown up knowing that Goku is an alien, but following the original Dragon Ball, this was a shock. Dragon Ball was a quirky action anime that rarely touched sci-fi concepts, so to see Dragon Ball Z begin not only with the revelation that Goku was an alien, but that he also had a brother was a double whammy of twists. Again, this twist has faded considerably in recent years given how Dragon Ball Z has basically gone all in on sci-fi themes and ideas, but to hear that everyone’s favorite monkey boy was actually and alien was completely unexpected.

Kill la Kill – Satsuki Was Good All Along

If we could have a surprise heel turn on this list, then a surprise face turn is just as valid. Throughout Kill la Kill, we’ve seen Ryuko fight against the head of Honnouji Academu’s student council, Satsuki Kiryuin. Satsuki is ruthless in her goals and always seems two steps ahead of Ryuko and her friends, even when her subordinates lose. All of this was a ploy though to defeat her mother Ragyo, who is the headmistress of Hannouji, and prevent humanity from being assimilated by alien clothes. Sure, it’s predictable, but the length that Satsuki went to prove her loyalty to her mother made this twist all the more effective and the reveal so dramatic.

Odd Taxi – Everyone Is A Human

If you’ve never heard of Odd Taxi, stop and watch it now. It’s a gripping crime drama about a taxi driver that is painfully real with the themes it examines, but that’s not why it’s on this list. It’s not even because the series centers around the strange death of a high school girl and the reveal of the culprit was completely unexpected. No, it’s on here because while the entire series follows a group of animals, that’s actually just the result of a brain injury suffered by the main character. Everyone is actually a human and the story takes place in the real-world. It’s a masterfully laid twist that may not seem amazing, but is imaculately executed in the show.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Just… All Of It

I’ll be real with you all, trying to select one twist in Madoka Magica is virtually impossible. Should I go with the true nature of the magical girls? What about the motivations of the cute Kyubey? Or how about the events of episode 3 that put into perspective just what kind of show Madoka Magica is? Or why not talk about the tragic backstory of Homura? Unlike with Attack on Titan where there was one twist that clearly stands above the rest, all of the twists in Madoka Magica are all equal in my eyes, leading to a series whose twists will absolutely destroy you.

School Days – The Ending

School Days is a terrible show. It’s a mid-2000s harem comedy that has bad animation, an absolutely horrendous main character, and plenty of moments that will rub anyone the wrong way. Seriously, after three episodes, you will loathe its main character Makoto. And then we get to the final episode. The outrageous, brilliant, and jaw-dropping final episode. A final episode so infamous, I’m not even going to spoil it. All I’ll say is that if you hated Makoto (and everyone hates Makoto), then this finale will leave you floored at how the series opts to end his arc.

Zombie Land Saga – Truck-Kun Kills Sakura

Let it never be said that a twist can’t be hilarious, and Zombie Land Saga gets its twist right out of the gate. The series stars Sakura, who is a high schooler who wants nothing more than to be an idol and after a few minutes, she steps outside her house and a truck smahses into her and kills her. Eventually she’s revived as a zombie, but you won’t be thinking about that. You’ll still be thinking about how that truck absolutely demolished her without any warning. It’s comedy gold, plain and simple, and easily a great way at suberting expectations, like all good twists do, leading to a great anime comedy about a group of zombie idols that has a ton of heart.