My Top 10: Memorable Death Scenes

Monroe Anderson asked me to list down my top 10 favorite death scenes in anime/manga almost a year ago when I started my top 10 project (speaking of which, I never did say anything about it in my blog. I guess post forthcoming). I thought I postponed it long enough so here I am writing about it though I changed it from favorite to memorable.

Why? Come to think of it, it shouldn't really be my favorite since most of the time, these deaths became the reason why I lost interest in that said anime and even dropped the show. They became memorable because I am biased for the dying character and thus why it affected me so. I just can't help it. I invested a lot of affections for these characters thus my attachment to them runs deep.

Well, here goes it, in no particular order because ranking it would be too much of a hassle. Also, I think I should probably warn some of you guys that this post obviously contained spoilers. Read the following at your own risk.

anime: Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
character: Kamina
seiyuu: Katsuyuki Konishi
died in episode: 8

(c) yoku

I feel obligated to start the list with Kamina otherwise I would have feel that this list lack in GAR. Those who knew me well would have known that I raged when I found out that Kamina was dead. I remember sitting in front of my computer and was dumbfounded by his death. I kept waiting for his revival but he stayed dead much to my dismay. I watched a couple more episodes after that but the show wasn't the same without him, plus they introduced Nia who is in my list of least favorite characters. I ended up dropping it until Baka Raptor and Glo convinced me to finish it (he even wrote a post about it) which I eventually did late last year. Like I said, it wasn't the same, even if Simon sorta became quite a badass himself. Did I cry? Surprisingly, I didn't because I was too busy raging about it.

anime: Shikabane Hime: Aka
character: Keisei "Shikei" Tagami
seiyuu: Keiji Fujiwara
died in episode: 12

he's that cool dude with the megane back there

Keisei was an effing cool guy and he was not your average monk either. He had to be my favorite character for the show and I remember bawling my eyes out when his possessed adopted brother Ouri killed him. I think I might be grudging about it which was why I couldn't watched passed the third episode of the second season. I was still blaming Ouri for Keisei's death and still am.

manga: Naruto
character: Itachi Uchiha
died in chapter: 394

(c) Kivi 1230

Another older brother who got killed by his younger brother which further stem my dislike for Sasuke. He was depicted as the villain at first but as his character developed, we were able to understood the reasons for his actions and that just thawed at my heart. When he was killed, I cried and cursed the damn Sasuke and promised myself to seek vengence lol. I remember my Gotei friends and I from facebook mourning for weeks after his death. He is sorely missed.

manga: Bleach
character: Gin Ichimaru
died in chapter: 423

(c) pixiv id 1954268

Damn you Monroe. By including this in the list I can no longer be in denial. I have to acknowledge the fact that Gin truly is dead. I loved Gin for his evilness and yet right before he said his last words, we learned about the truth. The reason was surprisingly romantic for a shinigami who was one of the most cunning characters in anime history. It just strengthened and multiplied my obsession. Why must a solid character like him died but a useless character like Momo can live even after she was stabbed twice in the guts. Damn you Kubo. I curse you. Damn you for making me cry T____T
p/s: Gin still lives inside of my b0nar.

anime: Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
character: Yuuki Onozawa
seiyuu: Yumiko Kobayashi
died in episode: 8

Maybe because it was so unexpected that when they finally revealed the death of Yuuki, I was taken aback and can't stop my tears from flowing. It made me feel compassionate for Mirai because I feel her lost deep inside my heart. I am sure all who watched the show felt pretty much the same way. It definitely made the show suddenly felt more real.

anime: Death Note
character: L Lawliet
seiyuu: Kappei Yamaguchi
died in episode: 25

I believe it is pretty black and white when it comes to Light and L. You can only love one and dislike the other. In my case, I dislike Light's fucked up righteous shit and find comfort with L eccentric characteristics and personalities. I am still sad with the fact that he died. For a genius like him, he should have live longer. He would have bring greater goods to the world.

anime: Grave of the Fireflies (movie)
characters: Seita and Setsuko

The fact that this movie is about the World War II is already saddening but to see these two kids struggle to survive in that harsh condition is heart wrenching. I personally think that the deaths were beautifully orchestrated to depict what really did happen during the war (in any war) and in fact still happening even now after 50 years. Nowadays, we lives comfortably in the comfort of our home while there are millions of kids who are still homeless and die of hunger. We still have people bombing each other killing civilians who are mostly women and children. Such is the world we live in, where greed and power conquer all.

anime: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
character: Maes Hughes
seiyuu: Keiji Fujiwara
died in episode: 25

Hughes was a loving father who doted on his daughter at every chance he got. He was so proud of her, he practically shoving her pictures to anyone he met. He was killed by Envy while in duty and perhaps the reason why we were all saddened by his death was because of the family he left behind. We kinda shared that sorrow. His death was the catalyst that made Roy Mustang wanted to overthrow and defeat the Military so in hindsight I don't think he died in vain.

anime: Dragon Ball Z
character: Vegeta
seiyuu: Ryo Horikawa

Vegeta's death in the Buu saga was badass. He fucking blew himself up. For the first (and last time) he actually willing to sacrifice for someone else. He does it for the ones that he loves – Bulma, his son Trunks, and even, begrudgingly, for Goku. What took place before it with him and Trunks made it mean all the more.

anime: Fate/Stay Night
character: Archer
seiyuu: Junichi Suwabe
died in episode: 14

He was my favorite character in Fate/Stay Night and when he was killed by Berserker, I lost all interest to watch the rest of the show but I grudgingly did so without giving any shit to the episodes. That was why I can't remember any important details from Fate/Stay Night. I found the show to be pretty weak and boring without Archer. It was sort of irony given his personality but I guess that was where his charms lie.


And that concluded my top 10 list for favorite death scenes. I think the choices I made are pretty repetitive but you gotta admit that there weren't that many deaths in anime to choose from. Sure we have side characters died left and right in shounen but that shouldn't count.

So what is your favorite death scenes?

p/s: I excluded Spike because I want to believe that he is still alive.

Posted in: anime freak, top10