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Anime characters tend to be mighty powerful, especially near the end of the series. When the chips are down and the characters have nothing to lose, the true power of villains and heroes tends to turn up.
Which is why, sometimes, it's so weird that a powerful character will seemingly be removed from a series suddenly and without comment before or after. It can be something as basic as a villain being backstabbed by an unforeseen true final threat, a hero being wiped off the map, or even just sidelining someone indefinitely.
While these aren't shonen specific, expect a lot of shonen anime examples as we list 10 anime characters whose power was so much that their creators removed them from the series.
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Disclaimer: This list will contain heavy spoilers for ongoing series and even some finished ones. It is also heavily subject to the author's opinion.
10 overpowered anime characters who got swept away by the writers
1) Gojo Satoru (Jujutsu Kaisen)
As much as seeing Kaguya getting sealed away in Naruto may have been cathartic and otherwise good for such a powerful character, Gojo's fate being the same in Jujutsu Kaisen wasn't so much. The primary difference being that Gojo was a staple of the series and didn't come out of nowhere like the aforementioned rabbit goddess.
To summarize: After having the fight of his life during the Shibuya Incident and fighting off multiple cursed spirits and mutated humans alike, Gojo is stopped for an instant by Kenjaku masquarading as Getou. That instant is all that's needed to trap him in the Prison Gate and contain one of the most powerful sorcerers there.
As of the Itadori's Extermination Arc, any and all attempts to free him are considered criminal acts. The future's looking grim for Yuji, even if Gojo has faith in him.
2) Asura (Soul Eater anime)
If being suddenly sealed away in a prison realm doesn't count as being written off, how about suddenly being punched in the face by one person in an anime that emphasizes teamwork and creativity? Asura in the Soul Eater anime definitely qualifies, as almost nothing can contain or stand a chance against beating him.
Well, nothing but Maka suddenly receiving a power up from nowhere. At the very least, the manga version had her and Crona working together to seal the Kinshin in the moon, here it's a mostly solo effort. A solo effort that comes out of nowhere for Maka to learn confidence and that was all that was needed?
It soured the ending of the anime for many fans and is why it gets on a list of fumbled endings and likewise here.
3) Chaos (Sailor Moon)
Much like with Kaguya in Naruto, Chaos is Sailor Moon's absolute final boss that came way late after the fight with Sailor Galaxia. Turns out this supreme dark being is responsible for every villain the Sailor Senshi ever fought, and came to finally wipe the universe clean of light.
Truth be told, the only reason Chaos makes this list is because of how late it was revealed and how quick it's gotten rid of. After an entire arc dealing with Sailor Galaxia, Chaos is quickly sealed inside the Galaxy Cauldron. It's justified in that Sailor Moon herself has gotten super powerful, but still qualifies due to coming out of nowhere.
It doesn't take away from the hopeful and peaceful ending Sailor Moon has, just needed more buildup as to not be so quick.
4) Tomura Shigaraki (My Hero Academia)
If Chaos was done away with quickly but still felt satisfying, then Tomura got the short end of the stick. After being groomed by All For One to be his successor, being promised the world and built up as the final threat? Tomura's consciousness is effectively subverted and practically erased as All For One takes over.
While that's how villains are even in My Hero Academia, after everything shown about the League of Villains, the comraderie between them, and the support they gave each other? It was shocking to the fans and villains alike that All for One up and abandoned them in the aftermath of the Liberation War arc.
In the manga, All for One has completely assumed direct control of Tomura save for his good and positive side. Time will tell what becomes of his body and mind.
5) Madara Uchiha (Naruto)
Another straightforward example of a betrayal hitting the fans and an overpowered character in an anime out of left field is Naruto's Madara being betrayed by Black Zetsu. After an intense war with the reborn Madara, during which it seems he's gearing up for another round against Naruto and Sasuke, he's suddenly betrayed by Zetsu.
Only a few words can describe how truly messy many fans described the event that led to Kaguya's debut. A simple battle between an all-powerful reborn Madara suddenly subverted for a literal goddess was unexpected and rather controversial when it happened. It is still looked at as a copout way to deal with Madara.
The Otsutsuki were eventually given a proper backstory and chances to shine. However, the fact that their grand debut came in the form of a pre-established and popular villain being unceremoniously struck down, angered many.
6) Panty (Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt)
As prior entries have put it best, sudden betrayals suck. This is especially true when the betrayal is someone you trusted, who fought alongside you, shared a room with you, and more than a few laughs together. Such is what happened to Panty in the rather random anime Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt.
Both Panty and Stocking had become incredibly powerful at the end of the anime. So, naturally, many people were more than a little freaked when Stocking randomly turned evil, and sliced Panty into 666 pieces. It came at the end of the first season and was practically the final word in the series.
Thankfully, in 2022, the series was confirmed to be continuing. Hopefully the resurrection of Panty will be just as crazy as the first season was.
7) Exodia (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
The first episode of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime had Yugi Mutou defeat Seto Kaiba using Exodia. The original Exodia cards, when combined, were an instant win for anyone using them. It was almost unthinkable that these cards could be beaten, at least in the anime.
Then the third episode happened, where Yugi shows off his Exodia cards to the nerfarious Weevil while on a boat en route to Duelist Kingdom. Weevil threw them overboard, and Yugi had to save Joey from drowning as he tried to save the cards.
That's one way to get rid of an impossible-to-beat monster card set. It is right up there with Seto tearing a Blue Eyes White Dragon card in half so Yugi couldn't use it in episode 1.
8) Mewtwo (Pokémon )
A rather odd case that brings up the question of what canon is or isn't in the Pokémon anime, but one that bears examination. At the end of the Kanto version of the Pokémon anime, Ash and friends journeyed back to Virdian City to face the final gym leader before heading to the League. The problem? The actual gym leader was absent.
Meaning, instead of fighting Mewtwo after he utterly wiped the floor with multiple trainers, Ash fought Team Rocket, as in Jessie, James, and Meowth. Why? It's a tie-in to Mewtwo Strikes Back, wherein Mewtwo broke out, destroyed the gym, and went missing for years.
Now, this is a staple of the Pokémon anime. Legendary Pokémon will show up, usually in a movie, and never get caught or mentioned again.
9) Gilgamesh (Fate Heaven's Feel)
Gilgamesh is known for being an arrogant jerk of a servant with more than enough power to back his claims up. He's usually a final boss, pain in the side, or otherwise one of the more troublesome servants in the Fate series. This comes to a head in the Heaven's Feel anime movie trilogy.
Unlike in Zero or Stay/Night, where he played a major role, Heaven's Feel barely has him show up at all. When he did show up, it was mostly to exposit and have a few words with Shirou and Kirei. He then next shows up at Babylon's Gates where he meets his end at the hands of Sakura Matou.
Well, that's an understatement. It's more like she devours his soul and has to quickly obliterate his essence because he cannot be controlled. It's still a bit of a weird way for a powerful franchise character to go.
10) Nui Harime (Kill la Kill)
What's worse than a betayal or a sudden character powerup? How about a villain offing themselves to power up the main villain and/or deny the heroes any satisfaction of beating them? The sadistic Nui Harime from Kill la Kill fits the bill.
Aside from Ragyo Kiriyuin, Nui was practically the most chipper and unstoppable character in the series. Try to cut her? She dodges easily. Stab her? She laughs it off. Trap her with a hallway full of grenades? She's annoyed, but otherwise fine. It was only Ryuko slicing her arms off with both scissor blades that finally got her to panic and freak out.
While she got new arms and proceeded to be a problem during the battle against Ragyo, she killed herself at her twisted master's command. This allowed Ragyo to get her full power and to commence the final battle, but some wanted Nui dead by the heroes' hands. Alas, it doesn't work out that way sometimes.
