10 anime characters who couldn’t do anything to change their fate
Predestination is one of the greatest existential concepts that people think about every day. This is how not only is fate questioned thematically in some anime, but it is actively and literally fought in others.
Unfortunately for some anime characters, they can’t escape their fate no matter what they do. Some are simply doomed to suffer a single miserable end, while others make matters worse by defying the inevitable.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
ten Good luck girl! – Ichiko Sakura can’t outrun her ridiculously good luck
On paper, Ichiko’s life is something to envy. Ichiko was literally born lucky, but her fortune is fueled by those of others. This means that she not only drains the luck of others, but also unbalances the cosmic karmic scales. As divine intervention, Momiji, the goddess of misfortune, was sent to reverse Ichiko’s luck.
Aside from always being on the run from a comically vindictive goddess, Ichiko’s perfect life is also boring. Because everything goes according to plan without even trying, Ichiko doesn’t grow up and learn as a person. This is best explored in the manga, since the anime focused on Ichiko’s inevitable silly fate as much as the futile anger of the vengeful goddesses.
9 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya – Kyon was chosen by the goddess Haruhi
Kyon only wants to live a normal, ordinary high school life, but that dream came to an end the moment he decided to talk to his eccentric classmate, Haruhi. It wasn’t just because he accidentally gave her the idea to found the SOS Squad, but because her mere presence gave Haruhi a reason to end reality if she wanted to.
Specifically, Haruhi’s divinity was kept under a cover until Kyon came into his life. Kyon denied having anything to do with Haruhi’s re-emergence, but interested parties reassured him that he was specifically chosen by Haruhi for a reason. Like it or not, Kyon was now a constant part or even the cause of Haruhi’s shenanigans.
8 Attack on Titan – Eren Yeager fought one war only to enter another
Ever since the Titan Colossus shattered the Maria Wall and condemned the Shiganshina District, an orphan Eren knew he was trapped by the walls of Paradise Island and the defeatist attitude of its people. Eren went out of his way to find his way, only to learn that not only would he change next to nothing, but his efforts were ultimately wasted.
When the Survey Corps reached the edge of Paradise Island, Eren realized that it was not humanity’s last sanctuary. Paradise was a penal colony for marginalized Eldians, meaning defeating the island’s Titans did not save humanity, but only left the Eldians exposed to attacks from the world beyond the Walls. In short, Eren has been trapped in war since birth, and he resigned himself to it last season.
7 My Hero Academia – Sir Nighteye’s Quirk made him cynical beyond reason
As the name suggests, Sir Nighteye’s puzzle power, Foresight, allows him to see important glimpses into the future. The downside was that after seeing so many doomsday scenarios come true, Sir Nighteye became incredibly fatalistic. While that made him a dangerously pragmatic hero, Sir Nighteye accidentally limited his own potential.
Because Sir Nighteye always believed the worst would happen to himself and others, his Foresight always showed him what he already expected. As he prioritized the fates of other people like All Might and Izuku Midoriya, Sir Nighteye subconsciously got trapped in a self-fulfilling prophecy that ended in his inevitable death.
6 Re: Zero – Natsuki Subaru’s superpower trapped him in an inevitable cycle of death and suffering
For outsiders, the gift of technical immortality is something to envy. For its user, however, it is a fate worse than death. For reasons that have yet to be revealed, Subaru has awoken in the kingdom of Lugnica with the Return By Death ability, which revives him whenever he dies and places him back at a certain starting point.
Try as he can, Subaru cannot escape the hell in which his awesome power has trapped him. Despite his sincere efforts to improve himself and avoid the worst possible outcomes, Subaru always finds himself at the mercy of fate, or worse, he survives long enough to see those he has learned to care for and love die horribly. .
5 Steins; Gate – Mayuri Shiina has died horribly in countless timelines
While Rintaro Okabe has undoubtedly been through hell and through time loops, no one has suffered more than his adorable childhood friend Mayuri. One of the worst constants in the timeline that Okabe found himself in was Mayuri’s horrific death, and it was always too late to save her or there was simply nothing he could do to help her.
For most Steins; Gate‘s final arc, Okabe was trapped in an endless loop of timelines that always ended with Mayuri’s death. No matter what he did, Mayuri was doomed to die, oblivious to the fact that his latest death was neither the first nor the last. Mayuri was ultimately spared a dark fate, but it was thanks to the efforts of Okabe and Kurisu, not her own.
4 Zombie Land Saga – Every member of Franchouchou has been killed by the curse of the saga
Besides being idols of the living dead, something the members of Franchouchou share is that they all dreamed of living incredible lives outside of the mundane Saga Prefecture before they died. While it can be blamed on bad luck, the truth is more insidious: there is a curse in Saga that kills those who could make the province popular.
This invisible force makes Saga boring at all costs, and it has killed aspiring singer Sakura Minamoto and her fellow idols through “accidents.” Although Franchouchou and their manager and Kotaro Tatsumi gave their all with every performance, they are always at the mercy of Saga, as evidenced by natural disasters and Kotaro’s fragile health.
3 Berserk – Guts Life Is One Of The Laws Of The Many Victims Of Causation
Since birth, Guts has known only pain and suffering. For a very long time, the man who would become the Black Swordsman attributed this to chance and the unpredictability of life ….
The Hand of God weaves fate as it sees fit and pays no attention to those it endangers and kills. After barely surviving The Eclipse, Guts dedicated his life to hunting down the Divine Hand and killing their new member, Femto. The problem is, whatever he does is only further the Hand of God agenda, and his challenge was, to some extent, anticipated.
2 Devilman Crybaby – Ryo Asuka’s challenge is part of his divine punishment
Ultraviolet Devilman crybaby‘s Halfway there, Ryo finally understood why he seemed to have a growing resentment towards people: he is, in fact, an amnesic Satan, and his envy and hatred of God’s favorite creation has never left him. Furious at realizing what was done to him, Ryo embraced his satanic side and unleashed his demons on Earth.
The point is, it was all part of God’s torment. As punishment for his rebellion, Satan was not only stripped of his memories and cast to Earth, but he was condemned to an unbreakable time loop. Whenever Satan remembers himself, he is destined to destroy the Earth, kill his only chance for love and redemption, and repeat the cycle forever.
1 Neon Genesis Evangelion – Shinji Ikari has been manipulated to end the world from the start
A central theme of Neon Genesis Evangelion was the feeling of helplessness in the face of both an indifferent world and an unattractive self, and no one embodied it better than Shinji. Despite his best attempts, Shinji was never able to change his fate or avoid becoming the trigger for Third Impact because even his challenge was part of the plan.
From the moment he set foot on Tokyo-3 to the choice of human instrumentality, everything Shinji did went according to the designs of his father Gendo and the ancient SEELE conspiracy. Worse yet, these big plans only worsened Shinji’s already fragile mental state, trapping him in an inevitable self-fulfilling loop of misery and self-loathing.
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