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10 Shocking and Affective Deaths in Anime

Nopy — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:06:27 +0000

One of the things that I like about anime that is largely absent in western cartoons (or it was when I was a kid), is that it’s not afraid to kill off a character in order to drive the story. Sometimes these deaths make viewers cry, other times they create mobs of angry fans. Either way, they completely draw in the attention and bring out the emotions of any viewer, ensuring the series will always have people to remember it. Here are just 10 deaths which I thought were excellently done and helped make the series. The videos are the closest I could find of the actual scenes.

Note: I think this is obvious, but spoilers are below. If you haven’t seen but intend to see Mai-Hime, Death Note, Evangelion, Madoka, Nadesico, Gurren Lagann, Clannad After Story, Katanagatari, Code Geass, or Kodomo no Jikan and don’t want to be spoiled, don’t scroll down. Also, before anyone asks “where’s Spike?” I have yet to finish Cowboy Bebop.

Death #1: Takumi Tokiha (Mai-Hime)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNjxdeS2qKg

Takumi is the younger brother of the main character, Mai Tokiha. He was a weakling with no real fighting abilities and his death was anything but spectacular. What made it so instrumental though, was what happened immediately afterwards. Mai had been the messenger of peace for the entire series up until that point. Once Takumi passed away, she went totally berserk and in a fit of rage, called up Kagutsuchi and set ablaze everything around her before supposedly burning Mikoto to a crisp. Mai was the greatest proponent of pacifism, and when she defeated another Hime, it was as if the world turned upside down and the whole series spiralled into a dog-eat-dog world with no mercy.

Death #2: L (Death Note)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-aByNGwAE

When L finally kicked the bucket, I think everyone just went silent for a few minutes until rage finally set in. I mean, c’mon, how could you kill one of the players in a 2-person game of cat and mouse? While I’m sure everyone was upset about L, it paved the way for both him and Light to meet their demise without either one being better than the other (since Light never actually discovered L’s name). If either character had “won”, half of the Death Note fan base would have been up in arms.

Death #3: Asuka Langley Soryu (End of Evangelion)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJl0V7GWRqc

Asuka’s method of death by itself was already more gruesome than most people can imagine. What had a greater impact was that Shinji just stood by and did nothing (that bastard) while Asuka was being torn to pieces. At this point, everyone just hates Shinji with all of their heart, which is why the ending felt like such a relief when he finally made 1 good decision.

Death #4: Mami Tomoe (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKx3d_RlGnI

As of this writing, everyone, even those who haven’t seen Madoka, knows of Mami’s death. If this article survives the test of time though, here’s a short explanation. Up until this point, Madoka was a cool mahou shoujo series with bubbly characters and some drama between them. Mami was everyone’s favourite because she was a busty, gun-toting, badass that obliterated witches with a smile on her face. Imagine the shock in episode 3 when out on a typical witch hunt, she gets her head ripped off and you hear munching sounds in the background as a witch devours her body. That’s when everyone realized that no, this wasn’t a happy “let’s hunt some witches for fun” series, it was Kyubeyland.

Death #5: Gai Daigoji (Martian Successor Nadesico)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=didibp-tz2A

Personally, I think the creators of Madoka stole this element from Nadesico. Before Gai’s death, Nadesico was about a wacky, happy-go-lucky crew of a civilian battleship with a mission to go to Mars and rescue any people trapped there after the invasion of the Jovian Lizards. Gai was everyone’s favourite because he was an ace pilot that loved to collect gunpla and made everyone laugh. Imagine the shock in episode 3 when out on a walk through the hangar deck, he gets shot dead by some escaping military prisoners. That’s when everyone realized that no, this wasn’t a happy “let’s go save the world” series, it was a deep drama focused on the human condition, where the greater enemies come from within than from without.

Death #6: Kamina (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGwA3aCMT-c

Kamina, the hero of all heroes, leader of all leaders, and player of all players was taken down in episode 8. For someone so seemingly invincible to be taken out so early was a huge psychological blow to the rebellion in TTGL. It also opened up the anime for the other characters to shine in the spotlight, overcoming whatever is thrown their way and “piercing the heavens.” If Kamina had not died, TTGL would not have seemed as much of an anime about perseverance and GAR because Kamina would’ve just made everything too easy.

Death #7: Ushio Okazaki (Clannad After Story)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IwN67M4UGQ

I had a suspicion that Key wouldn’t actually let Ushio die, but my gosh, when they showed that scene I nearly cried. Imagine having your lover die on you after only a few short years and leaving behind your only child. Not having enough time or money, she gets neglected and falls ill. Then, no matter how hard you try to fulfill her last wishes, she passes away in your arms. This doesn’t have an effect on the characters since it’s only a magical dream world, but it really brought out the emotions. I’m sure Tomoya would make an excellent father with Nagisa there to support him.

Death #8: Togame (Katanagatari)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5ljdfHzZso

There were quite a few scenes in Katanagatari that alluded to Togame’s death, but I was still shocked when it actually happened. I know it had to have happened or else Togame would have killed Shichika later, but I would like to think she would choose love over personal gain. At least it made Shichika go berserk and made some awesome ending fights.

Death #9: Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass R2)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlbKDBz6k6c

Lelouch was my hero in the first season of Code Geass, he was cunning, ambitious, and took advantage of every opportunity that arose regardless of the ethical or moral issues. That’s why when he finally dominated the world, I was utterly speechless to see him plan and carry out his own death, it was absurd. Lelouch was no hero, I think he should have fallen due to his own folly (divine justice), not something that he planned. For me, this is one of the most shocking deaths in anime because of how he died.

Death #10: Aki Kokonoe (Kodomo no Jikan)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpPXVRE8maE

When I saw I liked Kodomo no Jikan, I’m not saying I liked Kodomo no Jikan. I’m saying that I liked episode 6 of the first season, where the teacher doesn’t even make an appearance and Rin is just a minor character. This episode was by far one of the most memorable episodes of all the anime I’ve ever watched and could actually be viewed without watching any of the others. The whole episode focused around Aki ane Reiji, cousins who fell in love with each other. The problem was that Aki was an ill single mother who could barely take care of herself much less her daughter. It was heartbreaking to see Reiji and Aki falling in love with each other even though they knew Aki was running out of time. The scene of Rin folding paper cranes beside her mother’s withered corpse made my heart wrench.

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I’m sure there are some more deaths that deserve mention, but these were the first 10 that came to mind. If you can think of some other good ones, feel free to share.

Megami Magazine Vol. 111

Nopy — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:28:58 +0000

There were lots of yummy posters in this volume of Megami Magazine, and some nice extras too. As always, here’s a look at what posters they have in this volume:

First up is the wise wolf Horo in an enticing pose on the bed. Personally, I think the colour of her ears and tail make her look more like a fox than a wolf.

Not sure what anime this is from.

Saki posters are always nice to look at.

Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo posters are also welcome any time. Having the girls in chinese dresses is a plus.

Canaan looks pretty good, but I still have no clue what’s going on.

I’m sure lolicons would enjoy this anime. It was too “cute” for me.

I like the girl with the leaf bikini, the the one to the right of her is freaking scary.

Princess Lover = harem + fanservice, a combination I’m starting to grow tired of in anime, but it makes for nice posters like this one.

It’s almost as if she’s deliberately showing everyone her panties. Seriously, how many people actually bend over like that to take a drink of water.

What I don’t get about Umi Monogatari is if these people live in the ocean, why do they have feet, wouldn’t it make more sense to have flippers? Anyways, its got nice artwork and I like the character designs ^.^

Anyone with a megane fetish would probably like this poster.

I didn’t think Rika was the type to wear ichigo panties, she’s always so serious.

This is probably the most risqué picture I’ve seen in Megami Magazine. You can actually see part of Plug’s nipple >.>

Poor Zwei, little does he know that the two women that he cares for the most have dumped him for each other.

I like the older version of Mashiro, but the loli version is kinda cute too.

Here’s more loli material in the form of a blue-haired robot.

I was quiet surprised at how much they decided to expose in this volume (the Juuden-chan and Spice and Wolf posters), but hey, with the new Nyantype Magazine out they’ve got to step up the service. I guess we’ll be expecting some more skin in the future.

Some of the images for upcoming (or I guess past) DVD releases and newer series were also really nice.

More Tayutama on Blu-Ray and DVD.

The first Phantom DVD is also out now.

I’d like to see someone cosplay as Plug from Fight! Ippatsu Juuden-chan just to see what they’d look like in that suit.

I still haven’t gotten around to watching Hayate no Gotoku 2. It looks like I’ll have to watch it all in one go like with the first one.

I haven’t seen anything on Kanokon for a while. Chizuru looks the same as always.

Lelouch certainly did manage to obtain an impressive harem.

Girls, magic, and panties; that should sum up Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou pretty well.

Needless is the perfect anime for adolescent boys. It’s got cool heroes, some fight scenes, and bouncing boobs galore.

Kara no Kyoukai is another one of those anime that I still haven’t gotten around to watching.

This little plush toy of Horo really creeps me out. Is this even on anyone’s want list?

One of the extras that came in the volume was this K-ON pencil board. Unfortunately mine’s stuck to the magazine and I’m afraid I might rip out some pages if I try to pull it out.

On the other side of the pencil board is the evangelion image from the front cover.

The other extra that I got was this little K-ON booklet. Here’s a little peek at the contents:

I didn’t know the K-ON club had so many releases already. I wonder if any of these CDs are still available.

That’s it for this volume of Megami Magazine. I thought there was a noticeable change in this one compared to previous volumes. The posters seemed more fanservicey than usual, and there was a pencil board AND booklet included with the magazine (it’s usually one or the other). Hopefully there will be even more extras in the future ^.^

–>Subscribe to Megami Magazine

Megami Magazine Vol. 106

Nopy — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:31:46 +0000

I had so much paper build up on my desk during the last couple of weeks that my copy of Megami Magazine volume 106 got lost in all of it. This volume features Nagi and Zange on the cover and includes part 2 of the book-in-book section for Kannagi. There were some nice posters this time, but I don’t know where half of them are from, I guess I’m really falling behind on my anime.

Mmm, melon soda sure seems tempting. Has anyone else noticed how suggestive this Akikan poster is, a pop can in a very enviable position and a banana gun?

The ever fashionable Ami shows off her adorable Minori and Taiga purse straps.

It’s like they’re ranking Kaori, Mikoto, and Index here from top to bottom. Poor Index is at the bottom, but she doesn’t seem to mind.

Is it just me, or is Kuro missing some vital clothing?

Nanami really likes those gero frog things.

I’ve never heard of this anime. Is this girl’s cat ears and tail actually ears and a tail, or is that just her hair shaped strangely? Also, what are those strange things trying to strip her?

Out of the pull-out posters in this volume, I liked the Toradora one best since Ami is my favourite character. I also liked the one with the semi-cat-girl even though I’ve never seen the anime she’s from. My third favourite would be the Akikan poster for obvious reasons :)

Fans of Akikan and Asu no Yoichi will be pleased to hear that the first dvds will be coming out on April 15, and March 25 respectively.

There was quite a bit of info on Kannagi, all in Japanese though.

I really liked the cover of the Kannagi book-in-book, really nice art.

Within the book-in-book were a lot of screenshots from the anime along with information on all the characters.

The back cover also had some nice artwork.

As you may or may not know, the 3rd season of Zero no Tsukaima was censored during the tv broadcasts to help increase sales of the dvds which aren’t censored. The last volume came out on January 23, and the box set will be coming out soon on March 6.

One of the things I like about Megami Magazine is that you find things that you wouldn’t normally find anywhere else, like this Kemeko DX fighting game for the DS. Now i just need to figure out how I’m going to get a hold of a copy of this game.

Two new dating sims are featured in the PC games section: Flyable Heart and Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai – Under The Innocent Sky. The illustrations for the second one were done by Aoi Nishimata, the illustrator for the Shuffle! characters.

The back cover of the magazine features To Heart 2 and Utawarerumono.

This time, the large poster that comes with every copy of Megami Magazine features Nagisa from Clannad in her waitresss uniform.

The reverse side has Asuka and Rei from Evangelion.

There was also a bonus item this time, a double-sided Kannagi pencil board.

It was called a pencil board, but I prefer to think of it as a useless (though pretty) thin piece of plastic. This “pencil board” is too flimsy to actually use as a pencil board, and it doesn’t work too well as a mousepad either. I guess you can’t really expect any quality from a free item from a magazine.

I thought the quality of this volume was above average. There were some very nice pull-out posters and the extra Kannagi stuff was a treat (even though I don’t watch Kannagi). I also had a tough time deciding which side of the large poster to show on my wall. In the end I decided to go with the Evangelion side.

–>Subscribe to Megami Magazine