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Plenty of plot twists are difficult to pull off, especially in shonen anime. While some fans have seen it all and make no attempt to disguise their distaste when a shonen anime tries to pull the rug from beneath them, others are far more accepting given the genre's demographic.
There are plenty of plot twists in shonen anime that do impact the story and surprise the audience in good ways. Several in Naruto sparked heated debate that has lasted to this day, and Death Note was no exception. Others, like some in My Hero Academia, are rather predictable but still notable in execution.
Whether it's an unexpected character death that fundamentally changes the tone of the story or a fundamental truth that flips the story on its head, this article will be split into five shocking twists in shonen anime that nobody expected and five that everyone saw coming.
Disclaimer: The following article will contain major spoilers as to plot twists in their respective shonen anime. The opinions expressed therein are solely those of the author.
5 shocking Shonen anime plot twists that no one predicted
1) Everything after Grisha's basement is open - Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan's biggest mystery was "What is inside Grisha Yeager's basement?" This twist carried the shonen anime for many years and had fans on pins and needles, with many theories galore. The big twist that shocked everyone was that there was indeed life outside the Walls and that the island of Paradis was only a small speck in the wider world.
There's a lot more to it than that, including the fact that everyone on Paradis descended from the despised Eldian empire. Every secret divulged, from the truth about Titans to Marley's hatred of Eldians, from King Fritz to Eren influencing the Paths and the events of the series, and especially the Rumbling, all go back to Grisha Yeager fighting against Marley and the secrets hidden in that basement.
In the end, Attack on Titan criticized many things, from fascism to the "sins of the father" trope, in its final season. This is quite remarkable for a shonen anime primarily about fighting giant monsters.
2) The Truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre - Naruto
Being a special operations operator in a shonen anime like Naruto isn't easy. Whether it's being part of Danzo Shimura's "Root" that cursed people to die or the ANBU being sent after traitorous ninjas, it's a messy operation that usually takes people's sanity, innocence, and eventually their soul. Such is the truth behind the infamous Uchiha Clan Massacre.
The shonen anime peeled back the curtain on Itachi Uchiha, showing just how much he regretted the decision and trying to find any way out only to lose them all was heartbreaking. Long story short, the Uchiha were planning a coup against the Hidden Leaf government. Shisui, Itachi, and the Third Hokage tried to resolve matters peacefully until Danzo Shimura threw a wrench in each of their plans.
With no alternatives left available, Itachi enlisted the aid of Obito and slaughtered the entire clan save for Sasuke. The debate surrounding this gut-wrenching reveal continues among fans of the shonen anime to this day.
3) L's Death - Death Note
Light Yagami was a high school kid who became a murderer with a god complex after finding the titular Death Note. While on his killing spree, this shonen anime antagonist gained the attention of the great detective L Lawliet. As the two began their game against each other, they came up with elaborate plans to trick each other.
This shonen anime rivalry was so packed with suspense, anticipation, and dread that nobody knew who would win this one. Fans were split right down the middle over who they supported. Light would win out in the end, as by the time L realized the truth, it was too late. L died of a heart attack halfway through the series in a very tragic fashion.
Naturally, most fans of this shonen anime considered this to be the point where the anime should've ended, as nothing was going to top it. Whether the fandom was right or wrong depends on how fans view L's replacements, Near and Mello.
4) Koro-Sensei not blowing the moon up - Assassination Classroom
The premise of the shonen anime Assassination's Classroom revolves around a low-level group of middle school students in Class 3-E. Their task is to kill their teacher, Koro Sensei. The issue is that Koro Sensei is a nearly invincible tentacle monster who claims to have destroyed the moon and threatens to destroy the Earth unless they kill him. It's a humorous project with a very shocking and tearful twist.
In a twist that surprised fans and viewers alike, Koro Sensei didn't blow up the moon and wasn't intentionally going to destroy Earth. A further twist is that his body is infused with a powerful antimatter bomb that will explode and take out most of the planet and cannot be removed conventionally via surgery. So it wasn't technically a total lie, he was still a threat to the world.
The reasons Koro Sensei asked Class 3-E to kill him are simple. First and foremost, Koro desired to spend his remaining months on Earth fulfilling a promise made to his late friend Aguri Yukimura to care for her students. Secondly, he really has no reason to blow the Earth up. Despite appearances, Koro Sensei isn't a supervillain.
5) Ace's Death - One Piece
More than two decades after its premiere in 1997, One Piece is still going as strong as it ever was. For context surrounding this death, Ace was captured and set to be executed at Marineford. Upon learning this, Luffy literally brought war to the World Government and Marines in a drastic rescue attempt.
As the raid on Marineford commenced, Luffy freed Ace after plowing through many defenses and people. A roadblock appeared in the form of Marine Admiral Sakazuki, aka Akainu, who fought Ace during the escape attempt. When Akainu decided to strike at a defenseless Luffy, Ace sacrificed himself to save Luffy and died from the blow through his back. Ace's death was incredibly painful and traumatic for Luffy and One Piece fans, both of whom were angry and depressed about the event for a long time.
The icing on that particular cake? Ace's death was the first, but not the last, to occur in One Piece's present time rather than a flashback.
5 shonen anime plot twists everyone saw coming
1) Annie as the female titan - Attack on Titan
Considering their appearances are virtually identical, the lines around Annie's eyes never truly fade, and the fact that she's conspicuously absent when things go down with the Female Titan in the shonen anime Attack on Titan, quite a few fans were able to guess that Annie Leonhart was the Female Titan.
Humans being able to morph into Titans was still a huge twist, though the identity of this particular one was obvious to some fans. The clues were incredibly evident to fans who looked, including the two having the same blonde hair and that same dead-eyed look, and both focusing on Armin for a few tense moments.
Annie wasn't the only Titan shifter to be revealed, though she was the one that people saw coming a mile away.
2) Tobi is Obito - Naruto
This is a longtime plot twist that Naruto fans predicted after Obito's identity was given in a flashback. It was about as obvious as Naruto being the Fourth Hokage's son, but it was still very impactful given everything that happened. Predictable plot twists aren't bad, especially in shonen anime, and especially if the execution is good.
Obito as Tobi has long been considered and theorized.This was especially true when it was revealed that Tobi possessed the sharingan, same as Obito in one of his eyes. This wasn't a bad plot twist, especially considering that Obito's story is a fall into darkness and a fall from grace that happened owing to Madara's manipulations.
It may have been predicted a long time ago, but such predictable twists are praised for not trying to trick the audience and insulting them for not getting it.
3) Lisa-Lisa is Joseph's mom - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency
This twist from the shonen anime Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency is more of a reveal than a twist, so it's still predictable. Some fans predicted this when they first watched the series, but especially when they rewatched it because the hints were there.
Throughout their training, other characters such as Caesar and the other trainers hinted at Lisa Lisa's true identity through her age and proclivity for giving Joseph Joestar chances and praise for ingenuity. Anime is no stranger to making middle-aged women look unrealistically young, to the point where it's even become a meme. This is especially something that many anime artists have done, they don't include visible aging indicators like wrinkles or gray hair.
Of course, people age differently, and there's probably some in-universe aging regimen that Lisa Lisa follows that helped her age gracefully. It certainly threw Joseph for a huge loop.
4) All for One's breakout from Tartarus - My Hero Academia
Has prison ever kept a supervillain in place for long, in comic book material or anime? Ever since All Might defeated All For One in the no-holds-barred showdown in Kamino that led to All Might's official retirement, most fans have been betting All For One would either stay in Tartarus and manipulate events or break out of there eventually. Fans of the shonen anime My Hero Academia who supported the latter theory were proven correct.
Supporters of the former theory said that it would be realistic for All for One to pass things on to his so-called successor, Tomura Shigaraki. They also speculated it would be fantastic given Tomura's dark mirroring of Deku and allowing the story to end with the next generation battling it out for supremacy. By contrast, fans who predicted the latter theory stated that things seemed suspicious and out of character for an egomaniac to allow another person to wield his precious Quirk.
Tomura's consciousness being consumed by All for One after the fact sent the fandom into a frenzy of hatred. That is more of a plot twist that no one saw coming and that everyone despised.
5) Ichigo's many identities and power ups - Bleach
Main characters getting power ups is a staple of shonen anime that borders on cliche, as are characters with hidden identities or powers they don't know about. Then there's Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, whose multitude of powers and identity have been predictable ever since his Hollow side was revealed.
Ichigo has been a Fullbringer, a Hollow, a Quincy—all matter of things that are supposedly big twists and yet there to give him more powerups. It's not unlike Goku's Saiyan heritage and the Super Saiyan myth, but Ichigo's takes the cake for a shonen anime protagonist having too many power ups and hidden heritages.
It just goes to show that giving too many things to a protagonist gets very dull after a while, or at least incredibly predictable. It was one of those things that made Ichigo very bland as a protagonist for many anime fans.
There are many other twists and predictions which have left the fandom excited and many as predictable as the ones above across shonen anime. Let us know the ones you like in the comments.
