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Seeing your favorite character die in a Shonen anime is not something that one is usually prepared for. It is even worse when their demise turns out to be a fake death. Unfortunately, this is one of the most recurring tropes used in anime, particularly Shonen.
That said, Shonen anime can create amazing plots that revolve around the fake death of a character. Sadly, the most popular series in this category use it to prevent their characters from seeing a proper, real death, which causes fans to get tired of the trope after a while.
This article will talk about five fake deaths portrayed in Shonen anime that were executed horribly, as well as five others that fans remember fondly.
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Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s opinion and contains spoilers.
Lisanna and 4 other Shonen anime characters with awful fake deaths
1) Rafael (Yu-gi-oh)
It is strange to think that a series such as Yu-gi-oh, which revolves around a children’s card game, would contain so many deaths. This Shonen anime has a reputation for killing side characters every few episodes. However, when it comes to the main characters, they would normally die or be sent to the “Shadow Realm” for a few episodes before returning to life.
No main character really ever died in Yu-gi-oh, which desensitized fans to the fake death trope that the show had been using to try and shock them. One of the most infamous and ridiculous examples of this is Rafael’s fake death. He was one of the only enemies to ever defeat Yugi and the pharaoh in the show.
During his rematch with pharaoh Atem, Rafael decided to help the heroes defeat the villain of the season, only to “die” moments after when a building crashed on him. However, Rafael appeared minutes later, unharmed, as if nothing had ever happened.
2) Gecko Moria (One Piece)
"No one dies in One Piece" has been a meme within the community for a long time. Even though the series is amazing and has an incredible plot, fans have been getting more tired each time a character who should die is miraculously saved.
Such is the case of Gecko Moria, who was seconds away from being killed by Doflamingo after the war in Marinefold. Doflamingo claimed he finished the job and killed the former warlord for months.
It was later revealed that Moria had survived because he suddenly disappeared. Absalom had helped him get away by turning himself and Moria invisible, but fans were still confused as to why faking his death was necessary.
3) The village of Konoha (Naruto)
Naruto is another Shonen anime that has trouble killing characters. However, it does not use the fake death trope as often as some other similar series. When Pain attacked Konoha and killed several beloved characters, fans were in shock and wondered what might happen next.
Fans even got to see Kakashi speaking with his father after reuniting with him in the afterlife, leading fans to believe he was dead for good. Many people were enraged when moments after Naruto convinced Nagato to let go of his hatred, everyone suddenly came back to life.
It was great to know that Kakashi and many others would not disappear from the series, but their resurrection came out of nowhere and made the previous emotional scenes pointless.
4) Lisanna Strauss (Fairy Tail)
Having to bury a member of your family is never a pleasant experience to go through. But learning that the member of your family you mourned and cried over was just transported to another dimension with magic is beyond horrific.
That is exactly what happened in Fairy Tail with the youngest member of the Strauss family, Lisanna. When the series began, Elfram and Mirajane had buried their sister two years prior. By that point, they had already accepted her "death."
Natsu and his group were later transported to another dimension where Lisanna was still alive. Fans thought this was the Lisanna of this universe, but that was not the case. It turned out to be Lisanna from the main universe who fell into this dimension by mistake. While viewers were happy to see her return to her family, that does not take away from the trauma they went through.
5) Senku (Dr. Stone)
Dr. Stone is a Shonen anime that usually deals with science and facts instead of magical powers. Despite this, it does contain a certain amount of fantastical elements, mainly the petrification that affected humans for millennia.
This petrification was confirmed to cure certain illnesses as the series progressed but never to the point of reviving someone. When Senku was mortally wounded by Tsukasa, fans were fairly certain that the main character of the story was not going to perish.
That prediction came true when Senku was resuscitated, thanks to the use of petrification. The show explained that for people to come back to life, their deaths need to have happened moments before being petrified. It was a good explanation, but it reduced the gravity of any future confrontation.
Maria Rose and 4 other amazingly-written fake deaths in Shonen anime
1) Touta Matsuda (Death Note)
Inside Death Note’s world, only a select group of people were brave enough to form a team that would catch Kira, with Matsuda being a part of this squad. Even when he was considered the least skilled and most cowardly individual on the team, Matsuda always worked his hardest to help his colleagues.
On one occasion, he was sent on an undercover mission to discover if Kyosuke Higuchi and his associates were working for Kira. He knew this would probably paint a huge target on his back, so to prevent his death at the hands of the serial killer, he faked it the same night he collected the necessary evidence.
He pretended to be drunk and started doing acrobatics on the edge of a balcony. He let go of the railing and fell, leading many to think he was dead. However, a member of the task force was waiting to catch him with a mattress to cushion the fall.
Fans really believed Matsuda was dead for a few moments, and in a series like Death Note where not many survive, it was refreshing to see Matsuda still alive.
2) Maria Ross (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood)
Father’s plan to create a massive Philosopher Stone with the souls of everyone in the world was nearly divulged by Maes Hughes. To prevent this from happening, the Homunculi worked together to kill the Major.
Afterward, they created fake evidence that pointed to Maria Ross being the culprit of the crime. Colonel Mustang, who was Hughes' best friend, was tasked with capturing and killing her. Nevertheless, he was aware that Maria would never have been capable of such a thing and helped her escape.
He used a fake body and artificial teeth to create the illusion that Maria had been burned alive by him. This fake death was so convincing that even the protagonist of the series believed it. Truly one of the best uses of this trope a Shonen anime has seen.
3) Yuji Itadori (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the most recent Shonen anime to have used the trope of a fake death effectively. The protagonist, Yuji, consumed the finger of an ancient Curse called Sukuna, allowing the demon to take possession of his body.
Although Yuji is mostly in control of the body he and Sukuna share, when the demon comes out, it is devastating for anyone around, even Yuji. Once Sukuna took control of Yuji, he ripped out the young man’s heart and was about to let him die agonizingly.
Yuji had to make a deal with Sukuna in order not to die right away. The only person aware of Yuji’s resurrection was his teacher Gojo, who told his student to pretend he was still dead. His friends were not happy with this, but fans loved the outstanding use of the trope the Shonen anime series made use of.
4) Sosuke Aizen (Bleach)
It is not strange for a Shonen anime to fake the death of a villain only to bring him back later as an even bigger threat. Yet, most anime have not done it in as iconic a way as Bleach did with the Shinigami Captain Sosuke Aizen.
Aizen was presented as a righteous and friendly man who just wanted the best for the Shinigami society. His "death" shocked both the cast of the series and the viewers, who were not expecting such a powerful character to die so suddenly.
As it turned out, Aizen had planned his demise from the beginning to take suspicions of being the mastermind away from him. He later revealed himself as the final villain of the series, explaining how he manipulated everyone into believing he was dead.
5) Kazuma Kuwabara (YuYu Hakusho)
YuYu Hakusho may not be as popular as other Shonen anime from the 90s, but it still has a big fanbase that enjoys the adventures Yusuke gets involved in. The series does not deal with too many fake deaths, but it offers some well-executed examples.
One of the most important ones to the plot involves Kuwabara pretending to have died to motivate Yusuke to fight. He acted like Toguro'd injured him fatally, hoping that his "death" would be enough to enrage Yusuke and give him a new power up.
His plan in the Shonen anime was a complete success in the, seeing as Yusuke became several times stronger while thinking his friend had died. Without a doubt, it was a cruel method but no one can argue with the results.
