Anime relationships are not all beautiful unions between two hopeful romantics. Often, characters have to work, fight, and even risk their lives for love. Sometimes a character will go through all of the above just to be let down, or even worse, betrayed.
This article will list 10 anime characters who were betrayed by the one they love.
10 anime characters who were betrayed by the one they love
1) Sakura
Adolescent crushes are hard to let go of, especially when your character is defined by them for the foreseeable future. As soon as she confessed her feelings to Sasuke, he knocked her out and joined Orochimaru.
To add salt to the injury, Sasuke later stabbed Sakura with a chidori. Although the two end up creating a happy family together, it must have taken a lot of time to heal from these betrayals. Or not, seeing as Sakura was illogically obsessed with Sasuke.
2) Misa Amane
Misa was in love with Light at first sight. She dedicated herself to the Death Note anime protagonist and happily did his bidding. Misa threw herself at Light countless times only to be brushed off. Light manipulated and used his relationship with Misa to progress his goals.
Even after everything she did for him, Light operated without any consideration for the young woman's feelings. In the end, he threw himself into the fire without any backup and lost his life.
Heartbroken by the loss of the one she loved, Misa was shown standing on the edge of a rooftop at the end of the anime. It is implied that she took her own life.
3) Kou Uraki
Kou Uraki and Nina Purpleton developed feelings for one another in the Gundam anime. However, Kou was unaware of the history between Nina and the Gundam antagonist, Anavel Gato.
In the end, the fierce confrontation between both of Nina's two Gundam pilot lovers is not only about a battle of ideologies and allegiances, but also about love. Although Nina clearly did not mean to harm Kou, he had to feel hurt after learning about Nina's relationship with the enemy major.
4) Sonosuke Izayoi
Fueled by her harsh imprisonment, Ruruka’s selfish personality and fear of being betrayed led her to madness. As much as Sonosuke tried to reassure his girlfriend, she couldn't suppress her worries. Ruruka gave Sonosuke the kiss of death, betraying the man who stood by her side.
5) Momo Hinamori
As a lieutenant of Captain Aizen, Hinamori was infatuated with her commanding officer. When he was allegedly murdered, Hinamori spiraled into despair. Upon finding that the captain was still alive, Hinamori rejoiced.
However, their happy reunion was short-lived. The hopeful Bleach romantic suffered the brunt of Aizen's betrayal when he tried to take her life.
6) Sei Sakuraoka
Sei is one of Kurono's many love interests in Gantz. This anime character was very sympathetic to Kurono and took an immediate liking to him. She comforted him and expressed her intention of maintaining a long-term relationship with him. Sei died trying to protect Kurono from the alien Kannon.
Later in the series, Kurono has the opportunity to revive any of his fallen accomplices. He briefly considered resurrecting Sei, but eventually decided on bringing back Nishi.
Sei was prepared to do anything for Kurono. Even though she sacrificed her life for him, Kurono didn't care enough to bring her back to life.
7) Kaname Ohgi
Ohgi, a member of Lulu's team and an all-around nice guy, truly deserved a happy ending. He fell in love with the the gorgeous Villetta, a deadly soldier of the Britannian Empire.
Villetta happened to suffer from amnesia and fell in love with the Ohgi. Sadly, their romance crumbled when Villetta regained her memories and shot her rebel Code Geass lover.
8) Kenshin Himura/Yukishiro Tomoe
Kenshin Himura's past was filled with blood and grief, but he fell in love with the beautiful Tomoe and believed that he found happiness on the battlefield.
Himura failed to realize that he had previously killed Tomoe's husband and that she had been plotting her revenge all along. However, the vengeful widow found herself developing feelings for her intended mark.
Believing in their love, Tomoe betrayed her comrades for Himura. While attempting to protect Himura, she was slain by her lover. After her death, he learned of all her hidden feelings and the anime widower vowed to never kill again.
9) Emma
Although this betrayal is not one between lovers, it is perhaps the most savage. In The Promised Neverland anime, Emma was horrified upon discovering that her mother was secretly working with demons to raise all of her orphanage's occupants like livestock.
In an attempt to salvage a failed escape attempt, Emma confronts her mother. The woman coldly breaks Emma's leg to teach her a lesson, injuring her physically and emotionally.
10) Sekai Saionji
While pursuing his love interest, the protagonist of the anime School Days, Makoto Itou, is charmed by his classmate Sekai. Originally just playing matchmaker, Sekai develops feelings for Makoto.
The two cultivate a morally-complex relationship after Makoto finally succeeds in asking out his crush. Talk about bad timing! Unsurprisingly, Makoto ends up cheating on Sekai with numerous other girls.
Even though Sekai should've seen the morally-loose playboy's actions coming from a mile away, it still had to hurt.