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Anime characters that are overpowered tend to be the main characters or otherwise villains that need to be stopped. There are a few anime that even have them as gag characters, like One Punch Man's Saitama or Kusuo Saiki in The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
However, for every anime with a strong main character who is either the protagonist or antagonist, a few are cut from the story for various reasons. Sometimes it's a beloved character that's killed off, or otherwise just leaves the proceedings to never be seen again.
Whatever the case may be, this article will dive into 10 anime characters that were so powerful they were completely removed from the story.
Disclaimer: This article will contain spoilers for all the anime and character fates mentioned therein. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
All might, and 9 other anime characters who were so strong that they were written off
1) Yuki Tsukumo (Jujutsu Kaisen)
One of the most powerful sorcerors in the fantasy anime Jujutsu Kaisen was, as of chapter 208, Yuki heroically sacrificed fighting against one of the main villains. The gist of this death is that Yuki was badly injured and bisected by Kenjaku, and pulled a last resort move by turning herself into a black hole.
However, Kenjaku did confess that he only made it using a rarely practiced gravity technique and that he was barely hanging on at the end. He's currently healing himself, whereas Yuki is thought to be dead from overuse of energy. Many fans were outraged because they loved Yuki and hated that she was one of two Special Grade sorcerors who died, the other being Satoru Gojo.
2) Gas (Dragon Ball Super)
The tossup was between Jiren, the final opposing contestant to Universe 7 in the Tournament of Power, or Gas, the most powerful Heeter in the universe. In the end, Jiren took a group effort to defeat whereas Gas was quickly murdered by Frieza. Gas has no competition for a spot on this list, despite the fact that he appears in Dragon Ball Super's manga but has yet to be adapted for the anime.
Gas and Granolah were both considered to be the strongest in Universe 7, with both having made the same wish with Dragon Balls. Gas ultimately required a monumental effort from Granolah and a fully powered Goku and Vegeta to make him flinch, let alone damage him. So it felt rather cheap that Frieza suddenly returned with a new transformation and killed him with one hit.
3) Kabuto Yakushi (Naruto)
Kabuto artificially acquired Sage Mode and surpassed Orochimaru. He was responsible for the mass resurrection that led to the Fourth Great Ninja War, so it's not surprising that it took a revived Itachi and Sasuke to take him down. The latter fight was not a problem, as it showed off how far Kabuto came when compared to the beginning of Naruto.
The real problem was that he didn't lend an assist aside from helping to save Sasuke during the climax of the Ninja War. The fact that he was stuck in a time loop was a good thing, as he came to grips with what he wanted out of life. The trouble was the immediate sidelining. Many fans felt it was a waste to give him all that power just to sideline him.
4) Rolo (Code Geass)
In a mecha anime series like Code Geass that features characters capable of hypnotizing entire populations, Rolo's time-stopping ability is ludicrously overpowered. The only weakness it has is that overuse puts an immense toll on his body, as shown when he overtaxes himself to save Lelouch's life. The fact that he's almost forgotten about afterward almost feels insulting.
It's more complicated, as most things are in that anime since Rolo was originally inserted by Charles to keep Lelouch docile. Rolo did, however, genuinely come to love Lelouch as an older sibling and Lelouch likewise. The sacrifice did hurt Lelouch, especially after the Black Knights' betrayal and Schniezel coming into power.
5) Giorno Giovanna (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind)
To date, the only recurring JoJo's Bizarre Adventure protagonists that have shown up beyond their initial appearances have been Joseph Joestar and Jotaro Kujo. Even when things seemed to line up perfectly for a protagonist like Giorno Giovanna to return to Stone Ocean, he did not end up returning for part 6.
While various reasons may be put into place as to why the number one theory is that the Golden Wind Requiem is too powerful. This makes quite a bit of sense, considering it puts Diavolo into an infinite loop of death. Giorno has been named one of the most powerful protagonists in Jojo, so to see him not show up again makes sense given he can't be touched power-wise.
6) Sailor Pluto (Sailor Moon)
Of all the Sailor Senshi to exist in Sailor Moon, Outer Senshi proved instantly popular and nearly eclipsed the main characters. Sailor Pluto is among the strongest of their numbers, being the Guardian of Time and almost able to one-shot kill many enemies. That's why she, plus Sailor Saturn, don't show up much in the anime and were killed off during the final arc.
To explain, during Chaos and Sailor Galaxia's takeover of Earth in the final anime and manga arc, both Saturn and Pluto were seemingly betrayed and killed by a traitorous Neptune and Uranus. The two would reemerge following the final episode of the series, but Pluto seems to have died a lot, whether from stopping time or against super powerful foes. Thank goodness for the reincarnations.
7) All Might (My Hero Academia)
Not every overpowered character in an anime, particularly a shonen one, is written off via death. All Might is the Symbol of Peace in the superhero anime My Hero Academia, and a good example of what happens when a hero gets injured in the line of duty. As much as All Might is important to Izuku, post-retirement he doesn't do much in the way of helping as he expends all his strength pummeling All for One.
This doesn't entirely take All Might out of the equation completely, it just means he stops helping out at big moments in his musclebound form. That and the plot couldn't start without him giving up One for All to Izuku. He also helps out in UA, helping set things up and giving counseling to students who may need it. A good example of writing someone out doesn't mean death.
8) Smoker (One Piece)
"White Hunter" Smoker was one of the biggest Marine threats to the Straw Hat crew in early One Piece. He possesses the powers of a rare Devil Fruit named the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, allowing him to create and control smoke. This made him one of Luffy's meanest threats during the East Blue saga. Smoker was able to subdue Luffy with ease and almost arrested him were it not for the efforts of Monkey D. Dragon.
So, what happened to him? Smoker's last appearance was during the Punk Hazard arc, where he was badly wounded by Doflamingo. Since then, he has received no screentime at all. Smoker was last seen at the tail end of the Dressarosa arc, and fans hope he'll make a comeback soon.
9) The Fullbringers (Bleach)
The Fullbringers were all spiritually aware humans in the Bleach anime with the ability to manipulate souls that reside in all physical matter. Essentially, this means they can use their powers to pull souls out and manipulate them. This extends to inanimate objects like lampposts and chairs, which can be brought into battle. They likewise have super speed and other powers equal to, if not greater than many Shinigami.
So what happened to them? At the end of the Lost Agent Arc, the Fullbringers are written out of Bleach's story entirely. Several of them, like Giriko and Tsukishima, died. Riruka departed after begging for people to forget about her, whereas Shishigawara, Jackie, and Yukio parted ways amicably. Although Yukio does comment that he'll reform the group in three years, this never materializes as far as the audience is concerned.
10) Lalah Sune (Mobile Suit Gundam)
An example of an incredibly powerful Newtype accompanying Char Aznable, Lalah Sune is pivotal to the Universal Century story of the Mobile Suit Gundam anime franchise due to being the first pure Newtype. Lalah Sune was strong enough as a Newtype to destroy ships with only the prototype mobile armor code name Elmeth and its mega particle cannon. So, why is she here?
Lalah Sune died during the One Year War after taking a blow meant for Char. Amuro was aiming for Char with his beam saber and Lalah shoved Char out of the way and took the blow. Her death escalated Amuro and Char's rivalry into personal status, culminating in their final battle in Char's Counterattack. Lalah herself would reappear as a spirit there, but was physically dead and remains so.
