There are a fewunwritten rules in animethat most, if not all, series adhere to. These unspoken rules range from rules that help a series make sense logically, to the arbitrary rules that exist to give the art form its own character. These rules are never broken, for the most part. When they are, the moment they are broken stands out significantly. It takes an expert series to break these rules and use their subversion for the better. Luckily, a few series have been able to pull it off successfully.
Most of the time whenan anime rule is broken, it’s a moment that the series treats seriously. Moments like Gon getting powers from the future inHunter x Hunterand the bad guys winning inDevilman Crybabyare brutal moments most viewers won’t forget even long after the series is over.
7Gon Acquires His Future Powers at a Great Cost
Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunteris one of thebest anime series of all time. It stars young Gon as he looks to leave his tiny island, adventure as a Hunter, and eventually find his father Ging. Most of the series is fun and light-hearted withonly a few dark moments.The Chimera Ant Arc, however, throws anything adorable aboutHunter x Hunterout of the window and introduces the bleakest moments in the series so far. There aren’t many more heartbreaking scenes in anime than when Gon loses Kite.
Kite was one of Gon’s mentors and saved his life when he held off Neferpitou for as long as he could. Gon loved Kite so much thathe waswilling to throw away everythingif it meant getting his revenge. When he fought Pitou, he quite literally sacrificed his future to acquire all the power he ever could in a single moment. Most anime, especially shōnen series likeHunter x Hunter,force their characters toundergo serious trainingif they want to get stronger. Gon broke this rule by becoming one of thestrongest characters inHunter x Hunterin a single moment. He summoned an absurd amount of power and beat Pitou in a sad, brutal bout that was closer to a beatdown than an actual fight.
Devilman Crybaby
Devilman Crybabyis one of the few series wherethe villain wins in the end. It’s never a light-hearted series, butthe ending breaks all the rulesby letting everyone on Earth die, leaving Satan alone to lament his victory like a true villain would. While most other series would probably show Akira putting up more of a fight or giving Akira some absurd power at the end,Devilman Crybabyjust lets him die.
It’s a sad, unexpected moment that’s hard to understand the first time anyone watches it. There aren’t many series willing to subject their audiences tosuch a bleak ending,but that’s what makesDevilman Crybabystand out. Not only does the villain win, but he’s not even happy about his victory in the end, making viewers wonder who even benefited from the deaths of billions.
5Chainsaw Man Kills Everyone
Chainsaw Man
Chainsaw Manis one of thebest anime series in the past five years.It’s equally hilarious and horrifying, two traits few other series can handle at the same time. It’s also incredibly dark, with agripping first episodethat left fans wanting more right away. LikeDevilman Crybaby, Chainsaw Manis more than willing to do what must be done in the name of telling a good story. The series introduces the Public Safety Devil Hunters, with plenty of experience hunting the most vicious villains.
Toward the end of the first season,Chainsaw Manthrows itself on its head by killing off most of the Public Safety Devil Hunters out of nowhere. The Devil Hunters are simply walking around when they start getting executed in a shocking, dark turn of events. There’s an unspoken rule in shōnen anime that deaths will be significant, but there’s nothing significant about the way the Devil Hunters go out. They’re killed thoughtlessly and quickly,a huge subversionin a genre known for its heartbreaking, emotional deaths.
4Ainz Kills 100,000+
Overlord
Overlordhas made a name for itself as one of thedarkest isekai series of all time. While most isekai series include a protagonist with a moral compass that points them towards the good,Overlordwonders what would happen if it threw away the compass entirely? Ainz Ooal Gown is the answer to that question. He’sa walking one-man armywho couldn’t care less about his enemies most of the time. He rules with an iron fist, begging anyone to come and stop him.
One of the craziest moments in the anime occurs on Katze Plains. What should have been a normal skirmish between two armies was anything but. In an attempt to both display his overwhelming power and look for another real person within the world of Yggdrasil, Ainz unleashed a devastating spell. Hekilled over 100,000 enemy soldiersin just a few seconds, breaking even his allies' morale at the sight of the sheer destruction.
It’s one of thebest moments of mass destruction in anime. There’s an unspoken rulethat keeps anime characters, especially protagonists, under a certain power window. If a character gets too strong, it almost gets boring to watch them as they don’t face any real adversity.Overlordand Ainz couldn’t care less, throwing the rule directly into the garbage when Ainz ruins the Re-Estize Kingdom in less time than it takes him to leave Nazarick.
3Mahiru Confesses in Front of Everyone
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten
Romance anime series have their own set of unbreakable rules.One of the most famous tropes within romance series is the confession. It’s supposed to be an honest, emotional event that usually makes two characters grow closer together due to the sheer intimacy of the moment.The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rottenis one of thebest romance anime of all time, and the fact that it threw this basic romance rule away might be part of the reason why.
Confessions in romance anime areusually private,but not inThe Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten.The titular Angel finds her crush in a game where contestants have to find what their card tells them to. Her card is to find “Someone Very Dear To Me”, an unmistakable way to call whoever you’re bringing the person you have feelings for.
Anime Romance isn’t for Everyone, But These 7 Grounded Series Will Turn Even the Strictest Skeptics into Mega Fans
A lot of romance anime have unrealistic relationships or set pieces that just don’t make sense. These 7 picks have the most realistic relationships
Instead of the two sharing an intimate moment alone,Mahiru announces to the entire school that she has a crush on Amane. It’s an adorable, unexpected turn of events that setsThe Angel Next Doorapart from other romance series by breaking one of the genre’s most followed rules.
2Goku Gives Cell Senzu Beans
Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ballis not a series known for subverting expectations. It follows a lot ofunwritten anime rules, mostly becauseDragon Ballinvented them, like showing that a character gets stronger through apowerful transformationthat changes them just as much visually as it does metaphorically. It’s also just as known for breaking the same rules that it follows, like when Krillin gets revived three separate times when the Dragon Balls were initially only able to revive someone once.
One of the biggest rules it breaks isto not help the villain of the series. In a jaw-dropping turn of events, during the Cell Saga, Goku hands the somewhat tired Cell a Senzu Bean so that he can get back up to full power. It’s an insane moment that most fans still don’t truly understand to this day.
Dragon Ball: Goku’s 25 Best Quotes, Ranked
In the heat of battle, Goku has delivered some of the best quotes in Dragon Ball. Here are the best of the best from the anime to the manga.
There are few, if any, moments in anime where the heroeshelpthe villain. The logic behind Goku’s decision was that he knew Gohan was the strongest person there, but his son wouldn’t unleash his full potential if Cell didn’t push him to his limit. In Goku’s mind, Cell would have beaten Gohan if Gohan didn’t have his back against the wall. It’s a basic rule that is never broken elsewhere, for better or for worse.
1Eren Punches the War Hammer Titan
Attack on Titan
Eren punching the War Hammer Titan during her transformation is one of the mostunintentionally hilarious moments in anime.Attack on Titanis one of the darkest series around, making this moment even funnier. One of the mostcommonly followed unwritten rules in anime is thatwhen a character is transforming, they’re allowed to finish. Not evenDragon Ball,a series known for both transformations and breaking anime’s unwritten rules, is willing to break this one.
When Eren invades Marley, it’s supposed to be dark and serious. The War Hammer Titan begins to transform to take the Founding Titan down, and in the middle of her transformation, Eren punches her right in her not-fully formed face. It’s a gut-busting funny moment because of how funny it is andbecause Eren is so angry, he’s breaking anime’s ruleslike only he could.
