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Shonen anime characters come in all shapes and sizes but a very controversial topic is death. Character deaths can have a huge influence on a story, pushing the plot in several different directions, and a manga or an anime can also become stagnant if certain characters are kept beyond their expiration date.
Simply put, there are shonen anime characters who should have died in certain moments of a story and there are others that were killed way too earlier. That is why this list, in no particular order, is going to show the most prominent examples of both rhetorics and why they are viewed that way.
Disclaimer: This article contains massive spoilers for the shonen anime characters featured on this list and their respective series.
Disclaimer: This list is also based on the author's personal opinions.
Five shonen anime characters who deserved death
1) Byakuya Kuchiki (Bleach)
When it comes to shonen anime characters that deserved their death, Bleach's Byakuya Kuchiki is one of the biggest examples of this case. There has been this myth over the years that author Tite Kubo reversed his "death" against As Nodt in the Thousand-Year Blood War arc because he received death threats from fans. The mangaka, however, has gone on record saying that wasn't the case.
A lot of fans have felt that Byakuya's death at the time was a fitting end to his character arc. He started in the series as arrogant, unattached to his sister, Rukia, and like a man who had no care for anyone other than himself.
However, he went on to become a lot more caring as the series progressed and he ended up asking Ichigo for help, making their relationship go full circle while giving Rukia another motivation to fight As Nodt.
2) Might Guy (Naruto)
Might Guy was a beloved character in Naruto but he rarely had a moment to shine. He was a great mentor to Rock Lee and his uplifting personality was very entertaining. However, his greatest moment was in the eleventh hour when Madara Uchiha was in front of him.
As he opened the Eight Gates, he was the only one who could hurt Madara Uchiha because of his taijutsu mastery and provide one of the greatest moments in the series. Naturally, the Gates takes a huge toll on the body and Guy was meant to die... only for Naruto to heal him up in the aftermath, killing (pun intended) the moment and making Guy's sacrifice feel worthless.
3) Gon Freeccs (Hunter X Hunter)
There is a strong argument to be made that Gon should have died after the Chimera Ant arc. When it comes to shonen anime characters, the young Freeccs is a very good example of how to subvert a lot of classic tropes of the genre. With that in mind, his story concluding after that sacrifice against Pitou would have been risky but fitting with the type of story that Hunter X Hunter is.
Author Yoshihiro Togashi took his time to slowly develop Gon from a positive and typical shonen protagonist into a character capable of being very selfish and violent. This was shown in his battle with Pitou. Sacrificing all the Nen he would ever have and dying there would have been a radical way of pushing the story forward while removing the protagonist in the middle of the story.
4) Joseph Joestar (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure part 3: Stardust Crusaders)
Part of Joseph Joestar's appeal in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is how crazy and brilliant he is at the same time. He can come up with some of the craziest strategies and defeat his enemies through smarts. However, there is a fair argument to be made that his death at the hands of DIO in Stardust Crusaders should have stood.
After DIO was killed by Jotaro, the latter managed to restart Joseph's heart, and the old man was brought back to life. While is fun to see Joseph playing a joke on his grandson right after that moment, his final scene before his "death" had been absolutely perfect as a goodbye. Additionally, it would have raised the stakes even more. Considering Joseph's very minimal role afterward in the series, his staying alive didn't feel necessary.
5) Bon Clay (One Piece)
A major criticism of the One Piece franchise is the fact that no one dies or at least not many major characters. Both the Grand Line and New World portions of the story have been heralded as ruthless lands where only the strongest pirates survive. However, very few characters have been taken down and many have survived, with Bon Clay's fate being the most annoying.
Bon Clay had become a friend of the Strawhats after the events of the Alabasta storyline. He was a great aid for Luffy during the events of the Impel Down arc as he was searching for his brother Ace.
However, after Bon Clay sacrifices himself to allow Luffy and others to escape, in one of the most memorable moments of the series, author Eiichiro Oda confirms he is still alive. This beats the purpose of such a powerful act.
Five shonen anime characters who were killed too soon
1) Noriaki Kakyoin (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure part 3: Stardust Crusaders)
When it comes to shonen anime characters and their deaths, author Hirohiko Araki had no qualms about taking their lives in his magnum opus, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Each part of the series shows that the author has no problem killing characters, which usually ups the stakes. That being said, if there is one death people feel frustrated about that is the death of Noriaki Kakyoin in Stardust Crusaders.
Kakyoin was killed during the final battle with DIO in Egypt and he was the one who discovered how his Stand, The World, worked. However, Kakyoin was a character that a lot of fans felt could have lasted beyond this part and had a lot of potential, especially considering how the surviving Crusaders were used for the remainder of the franchise.
2) Yachiru Unohana (Bleach)
That Unohana, the pleasant and peaceful Captain of the 4th Division, which is focused on medicine, was the first Kenpachi, going back to the beginnings of the Gotei 13, and the biggest criminal in Soul Society history was a twist by Tite Kubo. However, as much fans loved this turning of events and gave Yachiru greater dimensions as a character, the impact lasted very shortly.
Basically, Unohana came back to her former assassin ways to aid the current Kenpachi, Zaraki, and get his full potential, which resulted in them fighting to the death. While it was an amazing battle and showed a lot more of their respective characters, the general consensus in the fandom was that they wanted to see more of this version of Unohana in combat.
3) Kimimaro (Naruto)
Shonen anime characters come in all shapes and sizes in Naruto and their deaths are no different. While Might Guy probably should have died and Neji Hyuga probably shouldn't have been killed the way he was, those two cases were at the end of the original series. Meanwhile, Kimimaro had the potential to be a phenomenal character.
Part of the character's appeal was his design, his ability with his bones, and the fact that he didn't seem to be a straight-up bad guy when compared to other Orochimaru lackeys. The fact Rock Lee and Gaara were not enough to take him down and he died as a result of an illness says a lot about his potential as a fighter. Fans believe that it is a shame Masashi Kishimoto didn't do more with him.
4) Raditz (Dragon Ball Z)
Raditz is one of those shonen anime characters that most fans would have loved to see more of. Considering that he is Goku's brother, a lot of people have argued that Akira Toriyama did him a disservice by taking him down so quickly and never mentioning or featuring him in some capacity.
Sure, no other character had a connection with him and he was a villain while he was around but the same can be argued about the likes of Piccolo and Vegeta. It's not unusual in Dragon Ball for some bad guys to turn a new leaf and it would have been interesting to see a redemption arc from the protagonist's brother.
5) Star and Stripes (My Hero Academia)
Very few shonen anime characters have gotten the short end of the stick the way Star and Stripes did in the My Hero Academia series. Most fans were excited to see her in action. She was the first international hero to show up in the story and she was powerful enough to fight a boosted-up Tomura Shigaraki, so there was the basis for an interesting character.
However, she was quickly killed by Shigaraki in her first battle, even if her Quirk managed to nerf the villain somewhat. It was a frustrating affair because she was killed as fast as she was introduced, leaving fans with a bad taste in their mouth. They also felt that she was more of a (bad) plot device rather than an actual character.
Final thoughts
Shonen anime characters are always going to be handled well or poorly, depending on the circumstances and that is going to be a point of contention for a lot of fans. However, there is no denying that a well-executed death could boost the character's arc to a whole new level.
