5 anime mentors who died (and 5 that avoided death)

Anime mentors are a lot like parents in anime: they're either going to die during the series, or they're not destined to last the whole series. Mentor deaths outside of anime include famous examples, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Gandalf's death and rebirth in The Lord of the Rings.

The death of an anime mentor typically serves to galvanize the student, passing the torch and allowing the next generation to take over. But for every famous anime mentor's death, like Jiraiya in Naruto, others have subverted this trope entirely.

Sometimes, killing the anime mentor can raise the stakes. Other times, keeping the mentor alive, such as RWBY's Qrow Branwen, can lead to further development.

Disclaimer: The following article will contain spoilers for all the anime included. All opinions are exclusive to the author.

5 anime mentors whose death shook their anime

1) Jiraiya (Naruto)

Jiraiya was a master of a great number of jutsu throughout Naruto, one of the Legendary Sannin, and one of the greatest anime mentors. His death via Pain was one of the most memorable in the series. That's saying something since Naruto gives memorable deaths to many characters, both good and evil.

What makes Jiraiya's stand out is that it took the Six Paths of Pain to kill him. The Six Paths are already mighty individually— they killed a few people, including Kakashi, but all six being used simultaneously on one man says a lot. That said, Jiraiya's death wasn't in vain— he managed to sneak intel to Konoha on how to defeat Pain.

Jiraiya wasn't just Naruto's master who taught him both summoning and the Rasengan technique. He also taught Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and mentored the Ame orphans: Nagato (the future Pain), Konan, and Yahiko. He was also a master of frog summoning and authored the Icha Icha series.

2) Genkai (Yu Yu Hakusho)

Genkai and her death (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Continuing the trend of an anime mentor being killed by their former student is Genkai from Yu Yu Hakusho. The older woman was rather abrasive when initially meeting Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara. Still, she wasn't unkind, as she had her code of honor and genuinely loved Yusuke.

Though she was revived at the end of The Dark Tournament Saga after being killed by Younger Toguro, she does permanently die during the Three Kings Saga. That was in the manga because of natural causes, she was well over 70 at the time of her death.

Her first death is probably what most fans remember the most. Genkai was a master of spiritual energy. Despite her harsh training methods, this anime mentor helped Yusuke learn a few Spirit Energy techniques, including the Spirit Shotgun and Spirit Wave. Additionally, Kuwavara learned Spirit Sword from her.

3) Erwin Smith (Attack on Titan)

Erwin Smith and his death (Image via Wit Studio)

The running trend of anime mentors dying epic deaths in combat is reinforced with Erwin Smith from Attack on Titan. Erwin was known for being many things: a stalwart and loving commander and anime mentor, a brilliant strategist, a man who never broke down even when he was about to be eaten, a ruthless commander who threw people into the meat grinder, and a massive hypocrite.

None of this changes the fact that Armin and Levi both looked up to him like a father, nor that, despite the sheer amount of corpses on his conscience, he saved more lives than he lost. Even the suicide charge, where he and most of the new Scouts in the Survey Corps die charging the Beast Titan, ended up with the Beast Titan fleeing and Wall Maria retaken.

Erwin's final death ends up being a sadistic choice between reviving him or Armin with Titan serum. Levi chose Armin for one crucial reason: Erwin's dream was to uncover the secrets of Grisha Yeager's basement, whereas Armin's dreams extended to freedom beyond the walls.

4) Kyojuro Rengoku (Demon Slayer)

Rengoku and his death (Image via Ufotable)

At first, Demon Slayer protagonist Tanjiro Hamado did not get along with Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku at all. Rengoku was one of the first to agree with executing both Kamado siblings due to breaking the Demon Slayer law. He was also a paragon of what it meant to be a Demon Slayer, a genuinely nice guy, and a great anime mentor.

He proved all that and more during the Mugen Train Arc, where he easily bonds with Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke. He even warmed up to Nezuko after seeing how fiercely she protected civilians. Even when he died while fighting the Upper Rank 3 Akaza, Akaza didn't dismiss him and called him a worthy opponent.

Rengoku's death haunts and hangs over Demon Slayer's narrative. He was Mitsuri Kanroji's mentor, her Love Breathing being an offshoot of his Flame Breathing. He was loved by all of the Hashira, even in death. He also inspired Tanjiro to focus on saving people rather than scoring kills.

5) Satoru Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Even the most powerful anime mentors are struck down eventually, especially when they're facing the final villain of the series. Satoru Gojo was a mentor to Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, Yuta, and others. He was also the world's strongest sorcerer in Jujutsu Kaisen, with his Six Eyes powers making him a force of nature.

That said, being a force of nature is a lonely existence. Gojo's life was mostly isolated from people due to being so powerful. Gojo made plenty of friends in Geto, Shoko, Yuji, Yuta, Megumi, Riko, and others, who helped shape him as a person and made him a better man.

His death wasn't an easy one for Sukuna, forcing the King of Curses to sacrifice a lot of Curse Energy and once-unkillable summons like Mahoraga. Though Gojo died, Sukuna didn't become completely unstoppable afterward and started losing gradually once he let the power go to his head.

The fact that it's some of Gojo's best students (Yuji, Yuta, Nobara, and Maki) who finish Sukuna is only icing on the cake.

5 anime mentors who didn't die

1) All Might (My Hero Academia)

The Symbol of Peace and anime mentor to Izuku Midoriya in My Hero Academia had a few close calls throughout his career and in the story proper. Introduced in the first chapter and episode as having an injury that prevents this anime mentor from being in his full-power form for long, most fans suspected All Might would die at some point.

These fans nearly got their wish twice: the first time when All Might and All for One fought in Kamino Ward in the Hideout Raid arc, and the next time when Armored All Might and All for One fought in the Final War arc. The latter was the closest All Might came to death, and were it not for Bakugo's timely recovery, he would've died.

Keeping All Might alive proved wildly successful at giving My Hero Academia its "deconstruction" title, as All Might's status as the Number One Hero was eventually turned into an unattainable title. Though All Might remained a good guy at heart, it's telling that even he lost some hope and had to be helped out of a spiral.

2) Qrow Branwen (RWBY)

Qrow Branwen was introduced onscreen in RWBY volume 3, though he was foreshadowed as early as Volume 1. The drunken spymaster quickly made an impression as the "cool" one to Ozpin's chessmaster, Ironwood's authoritarian, or Glynda's straight man.

Come Volume 4, Qrow is nearly killed in a fight against Tyrian Callows via Tyrian's poison. Surviving that altered Qrow's story moving forward. The audience begins to see his problems and how, like many other characters in the cast, the first impression is often misleading.

Qrow's character is revealed to be a wreck of a person hanging on by a thread and drinking his way through life. He shuts down in Volume 6 when Ozpin's backstory and lack of a plan to stop Salem are revealed, and he slowly begins recovering over time. He gives up drinking in Volume 7 and is talked out of getting revenge against Ironwood in favor of helping people in Volume 8.

3) Captain Bright Noa (Mobile Suit Gundam)

Captain Bright Noa from the original Mobile Suit Gundam is a mentor to the many Gundam pilots across the ages. Whether it's Amuro Ray, Kamile Bidan, or Banagher Links, they all have nothing but good things to say about Bright— after they get used to him.

Bright also has the dubious honor of being one of the only recurring characters from the original Mobile Suit Gundam to live through the One Year War and continue to appear as a regular in the sequels, going as far forward as Unicorn. His mentor abilities evolve, from infamously slapping Amuro to giving Banagher more leeway and approving of some of his more reckless antics.

Bright also managed some self-reflection, realizing how wrong he was to slap Amuro. It's a slow change for Bright, but he does start becoming better after being a soldier who didn't tolerate insubordination in the original. Bright would also be instrumental in helping orchestrate the downfall of the Titans in Zeta Gundam.

4) Izumi Curtis (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

A rather curious case of "mentorship" is Izumi Curtis. She took the Elric brothers in after they were orphaned and told them to "prove" themselves for a month on Yock Island without alchemy while pondering the meaning of the phrase "All is One, One is All". They succeeded, and she took them under her wing.

It took about six months for the two to be trained under her, and the audience doesn't quite get to see all of it in full. The point is that she maintained a somewhat amicable relationship with the Elric brothers, even accepting that she wouldn't have been able to use alchemy to bring her unborn baby back to life.

Izumi's role in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood also extends to helping warn Major Miles and Buccaneer about the events of the Promised Day and surviving Truth. She helps fight the homunculus Father and survives the events of the Promised Day.

5) Lisa Lisa (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency)

It's not every day that an anime mentor survives brushes with death in a series like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, where many end up dying like Zaleppi, Bucciarati, and Jotaro. Joseph Joestar would have made it onto this list, if he didn't need his heart restarted to revive him in Stardust Crusaders after Dio killed him..

Lisa Lisa needed no such drastic aid, though she did almost die when Kars stabbed her in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency. She was a Ripple Master on the run after killing a zombie soldier who killed her husband, with the military thinking she just killed a regular soldier.

With the Speedwagon Foundation's help, she was able to train students like Caesar Zaleppi and later Joseph Joestar in secret. Her teachings led to all three Pillar Men dying, though that required some genius use of Ripple and the environment on Joseph's part.

Lisa Lisa was eventually revealed to be an alias for her true name: Elizabeth Joestar, the adopted daughter of Erina Pendleton and Jonathan Joestar, and Joseph's mother. She lived thanks to Joseph saving her from Kars' dastardly use of a body double in a one-on-one fight.

Final thoughts

Some classic anime mentors (Image via Toei Animation, Studio Pierrot, Studio Madhouse)

Though the more popular trope is that anime mentors die, and plenty of them do, it's more interesting to see what happens when they live. Sometimes it's not about the death itself, but the legacy that's left behind following an anime mentor's death. In Jiraiya's case, it's Naruto ending the cycle of generational trauma. In Rengoku's, it's Tanjiro always remembering it's better to save people.

The anime mentors who live, if they happen to feature past their initial appearance, are usually further developed as characters. Might Guy, for example, never stops training people or lets his smile fade. Kakashi became the Sixth Hokage, among other examples such as Piccolo training Gohan and later Pan in Dragon Ball Z and Super.

Anime mentors come in all shapes and sizes, like Sailor Moon's Luna and Artemis, Kero from Cardcaptor Sakura, or even Koro-Sensei from Assassination Classroom. They don't have to die for them to be memorable or have an effect on the story.