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Fake deaths have been one of the most prominent tropes in Shonen anime for as long as fans can remember. Sometimes, creators want to create emotional and heart-wrenching scenes without having to dispose of one of their creations, which is why fake deaths are used so often.
If executed correctly, fake deaths can create memorable scenes that fans will remember forever. Sadly, not every utilization of this trope is looked back on fondly. Some of them are simply too unrealistic, others take away from the emotional response of a scene, and the rest are simply too obvious.
This list will talk about 10 fake-death instances in Shonen series that could have been handled better.
Disclaimer: This list reflects the author’s opinion and contains spoilers from various anime and manga series. Sportskeeda does not claim ownership of any media used in the article unless otherwise specified.
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These Shonen fake deaths will go down in infamy
1) Doflamingo did not kill Bellamy (One Piece)
One of the biggest complaints fans have about One Piece is the huge number of fake deaths Oda uses in this beloved Shonen franchise. While many of them have been heavily criticized before, fans have still not forgiven Oda for suddenly reviving Bellamy. During the Dressrosa arc, Oda wanted to prove how ruthless Doflamingo was by having him "kill" one of his men publicly. The man in question was Bellamy, who Doflaimingo hated for being one of his weakest pirates.
However, a few chapters later, Bellamy was revealed to be alive and unharmed, almost as if Doflamingo hadn't even tried to murder him. For many fans, this undermined the idea of Doflamingo being the cold-hearted tyrant One Piece was trying to present him as.
2) Natsu was resurrected by Zeref (Fairy Tail)
Before One Piece, the Shonen series with the highest number of fake deaths was Fairy Tail. The show barely consisted of any type of consequences for the main cast since even those who'd died in the past ended up being revived in some manner. The biggest and most controversial example of this is the protagonist himself, Natsu.
During one of the Fairy Tail guild’s encounters with the black mage Zeref, he revealed to our heroes that Natsu, who was Zeref’s brother, had "died" at some point in the past. Zeref spent years trying to find a way to bring his beloved little brother back to life. Fans did not know how to feel about this revelation, as it was somewhat unnecessary for the plot.
3) Naruto has Kurama removed from inside him (Naruto)
Naruto may not be as infamous as the previous two Shonen series for its number of fake-death instances, but this does not mean it did not have any. One of the least believable ones in the series happened during the time of the Fourth Ninja War. Madara accomplished his goal of taking Kurama from inside Naruto, which technically "killed" the blonde ninja.
Nonetheless, fans knew there was no chance of Naruto dying, no matter how much Kishimoto tried to extend his supposed death scene. Eventually, Naruto got back up and was stronger than ever before; something fans were not even surprised by.
4) Jaden’s friends were killed in front of him (Yugioh GX)
During the third season in Yugioh GX, Jaden and his friends were sent to the Duel Monsters Dimension, where they were forced to duel against entire armies to survive. During one of Jaden’s duels, his friends were taken hostage by the army of the monster that Jaden was trying to defeat. His opponent told Jaden that for every certain amount of life points he lost, one of his friends would be "killed."
At first, no one was worried about this since Yugioh was another Shonen series where no one ever died. Still, after the first few turns, Jaden witnessed one of his friends vanishing before his eyes, meaning that his enemy was not bluffing. Jaden ended up becoming the cruel Supreme King due to the guilt he felt about his friends' "deaths."
Fans were later enraged when the show revealed that his friends were never killed to begin with; they had just been incarcerated. Jaden’s entire motivation for becoming a villain was nothing more than fake deaths.
5) Dio survived an explosion (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
If you ask anime fans who the most iconic villain in Shonen is, a large portion will probably say Dio Brando, the main villain of Jojo’s first season. Dio was a magnificent villain, written with the sole purpose of playing the role of a proper antagonist in the series. This is why fans believed Dio "dying" alongside his sworn enemy, Jonathan, in a boat explosion was the best way to send the iconic villain off.
When it was later revealed that Dio not only survived the explosion but did so by using Jonathan’s body. Many people were enraged by the usage of this fake death. Not only was it disrespectful to Jonathan’s sacrifice, it also made no sense at all. That said, fans still enjoyed having Dio around for another season, but they never forgot the rage they felt when they saw him again.
6) Pound somehow survived Oven’s ax (One Piece)
With One Piece having so many different nonsensical fake deaths, we obviously had to add another one to the list. During the Whole Cake Island arc, the Straw Hat Pirates met one of Big Mom’s ex-husbands, Pound. At one point during the arc, one of Big Mom’s children, Oven, attacked Pound with his axe while the man was distracted.
The series strongly implied that Pound was "killed" after Oven’s attack, which saddened many fans who grew to love the character. Some chapters went by before the series revealed that Pound was perfectly fine, making fans all around the world groan in displeasure due to another fake death making its way into their favorite Shonen series.
7) The Ninth Vongola Boss went into a coma (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)
Fans of Katekyo Hitman Reborn were not familiar with the Ninth Vongola Boss before the start of the Varia arc in the series. Nevertheless, they noticed the despair the characters felt following the disappearance of their boss. After one of the final fights involving the conflict against the Varia took place, Tsuna and his friends figured out that the members of Varia had kidnapped the Ninth to frame him.
After Ninth was rescued from the robot he had been forced into, he fell into a coma, making many characters inside the series think he would never wake up again, only for it to turn out to be a fake death. Fans of this Shonen series knew that the Ninth was going to be fine, as Tsuna was still not ready to inherit the Vongola Family, so they never once feared the death of the Ninth.
8) Helbram fought King three different times (The Seven Deadly Sins)
The Seven Deadly Sins is a Shonen series that truly does not want to keep its characters dead for long. Fans like to point to Helbram, one of King’s best friends, whenever the topic of fake deaths presents itself in conversation.
Helbram was killed and revived more than anyone else in the series. It was also revealed at the start that he'd somehow survived being killed by King decades before the start of the franchise.
He came back in the form of a human that used to haunt him and other fairies before his first fake death. After taking that form, King defeated Hellbram once again, causing fans to tear up, as they believed this would be their final goodbye. Just a few chapters later, Helbram returned once again as a mindless zombie that King had to slay once again. Fans were desensitized to Helbram’s deaths by that point, praying that this would be the last time he would come back to fight King.
9) Nobody believed Sebastian was dead (Black Butler)
When a murderer infiltrated the Phantomhive Mansion and apparently killed Sebastian, most characters in Black Butler were shocked to learn that the demon was "dead." Fans, on the other hand, were certain from the beginning that there was no chance of Sebastian being dead, seeing as he was not only the most popular character in this Shonen series but also a powerful demon.
Sometime later, Sebastian revealed himself as one of the guests of the Mansion, telling all his friends that he had gone undercover to catch the murderer. This shocked no one, as fans had been expecting something like this since Sebastian’s death was announced.
10) Bakugo survived Shigaraki’s attacks (My Hero Academia)
Horikoshi’s series is one of the few Shonen franchises to have major characters die in battle. Heroes like Sir Nighteye, Midnight, and Nana are among the dozens of casualties the series has under its belt. This, however, does not apply to the main cast of the series, Bakugo in particular.
During the first war against the Paranormal Liberation Front, Shigaraki was seconds away from piercing Deku with one of his many Quirks. Without thinking, Bakugo jumped in the way of the attack, which caused major damage to the explosive Hero’s body. Bakugo fans almost started a civil war believing Bakugo to be dead, only for it to be revealed that he was okay.
Something similar happened very recently in the latest chapters of My Hero Academia’s manga. Bakugo had to fight Shigaraki while waiting for Deku to arrive and defeat the villain. At some point, Bakugo’s heart was destroyed by Shigaraki’s Quirk, causing the young boy to "die." But that only lasted a few seconds. Fortunately, Edgeshot was close and sacrificed his own life to save Bakugo.
Final thoughts
Fake deaths can be used by Shonen series to give fans amazing scenes that will come up in conversations for a long time to come. However, not every Shonen in existence knows how to use them effectively, which may leave fans not knowing how to feel later on.
If the fake death is too obvious, overused, or just does not make sense inside the franchise, it is likely that fans will have problems with this trope. Shonen creators only need to use them when necessary to keep people from becoming angered by the deaths.
