Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Betrayal! Betrayal I say! Everyone betrayed me! I’m fed up with this world! Nothing is more shocking than a good betrayal. It’s the quickest way to spice up a story and get the audience to hate someone. It’s used in all forms of media and anime is no stranger to betrayals. Whether they be big or small betrayals are a commonplace in just about every anime out there. That’s why today we’re taking a look at them. We’re counting down the top 11 betrayals that left us shocked and angry and really changed the flow of the story. It’s your boy Nitsuj and these are the top 11 anime betrayals.
#11. Sailor Uranus and Neptune from Sailor Moon
It’s no secret that Sailor Uranus and Neptune are the lone wolves of the Sailor Scouts. Often choosing to do things their way and work independently from the team. Such is the case when the two committed the ultimate act of betrayal by aligning themselves with Sailor Galaxia in her endeavor to steal the star seeds. Of course, it was all a ruse to fool the enemy and steal her star seed, but this act really did cause a lot of heartbreak and shock within the team. I get the whole in order to fool thy enemy I must first fool my friends ploy, but still they could have at least let one of the other scouts or Luna in on the plan.
#10. Anthy Himemiya from Revolutionary Girl Utena
The worst thing about betrayal is that it usually comes from the person you trust the most. Someone with whom you lower all your barriers and allow yourself to be defenseless around. Such is the case for Utena. Whether you watched the movie or anime, the one constant thing is the relationship and friendship/romance between Utena and Anthy. Throughout the series Utena fights to protect Anthy and keep her safe so that she can have freedom. However, it gets revealed by Anthy’s brother Akio that Anthy is a witch, in a relationship with him (eww~) and he pits the two friends against each other. Utena refuses to believe Akio and when the two cross swords you would think Anthy would make the right choice and side with Utena, but no. To the shock of everyone Anthy stabs Utena in the back literally, revealing her true nature and her allegiance to Akio making everyone confused, angry, and shed tears of sadness. In other words, this was a well-executed betrayal.
#9. Makoto Ito from School Days
In my opinion, the worst thing you could possibly do in any relationship is cheat on your significant other. It shows that you don’t respect them and never once cared for them. Makoto, the animated embodiment of lust and assholery is a perfect example of this. He cheated on Katsura with Sekai and cheated on Sekai with just about every girl in the anime showing us that he doesn’t see Katsura, Sekai, or girls in general as people, but instead just pieces of meat that he can sleep with. It’s infuriating because Makoto never once questions his actions or takes responsibility for the choices he makes and in the end everyone is worse off than when we first met them. Makoto and Sekai are dead, Katsura is mentally broken, and I’m pretty sure the other girls caught something. All this tragedy because of Makoto betraying his first girlfriend. Thanks asshole.
#8. Vegeta from DBZ
DBZ was never known for much character development aside from one character, Vegeta. After Freiza’s defeat, Vegeta found himself following the same path as Goku. He settles on Earth, gets married, has a half-Saiyan baby to call his own, and even finds himself becoming an ally to Goku and his friends. For anyone this would be a good ending, but for Vegeta it’s a bad ending. At a young age Vegeta’s dream was to rule the galaxy alongside his father as a proud warrior of the Saiyan race, not some family man who does nothing all day aside from training. No longer able to take it, Vegeta allows himself to become the underling of Babidi for power and to return to his roots as the ruthless Prince of Saiyans betraying his family and allies. He kills a crowd of people to get Goku to fight him which results in the revival of Buu who will destroy the Earth. Thankfully, Vegeta returned to his senses and gave us one of the most emotional deaths in anime history. This betrayal however did shock a lot of people as it was tragic to see just how far he came only to fall back into his old ways. This betrayal and resolution serves as a lesson that even though things don’t turn out the way we would have liked, we can still find purpose.
#7. Kyubey from Madoka Magica
Folks, if a strange creature comes up to you promising to grant you a wish, chances are they’re up to something bad. Kyubey, the adorable mascot character of the series comes up to young girls enlisting them as magical girls to fight witches in exchange for a wish. What Kyubey fails to tell these girls is that if they fall into despair, they themselves become witches and get hunted down by other magical girls creating a never-ending cycle of death. It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t know either but no, he knew and chose to keep it a secret from everyone, thus betraying their trust and setting them up for pain and heartache. I’ll give the little bastard this he has a good poker face but behind that face is someone laughing maniacally at their situation and apologizing for nothing.
#6. Satsuki from Kill la Kill
Remember how I said betrayals are a good way to get the audience to hate a character? Well there are times when it can be used to make you like a character. Throughout a majority of Kill la Kill we were led to believe that Satsuki was the main villain of the series. The one responsible for killing Ryoko’s dad and was plotting to take over the world. To our surprise and shock, it turns out that the real villain is none other than Satsuki’s mom Ragyo who wants to sacrifice everyone to the life fibers and Satsuki all this time has been building up a resistance to take her mom down. The build up and execution of this betrayal was so brilliant. Nobody saw this betrayal coming and it skyrocketed Satsuki’s popularity. She went from being seen as one of the most hated characters in the series to one of the most likable characters in the series in the span of 30 seconds and one perfectly executed betrayal scene.
#5. Itachi Uchiha from Naruto
Talk about being caught between a rock and hard place. Itachi was one of the most talented ninjas in the Leaf Village as well as his clan. However, his clan was planning on going to war with the village and Itachi acting as a double spy for the village was given a choice. He could either go to war with his clan which would result in their extinction or kill the clan to save himself and Sasuke. Itachi choose the latter and slaughtered his whole clan in one night. In doing so Itachi not only betrayed his family but kept his brother safe as well as protected the legacy of the Uchiha clan from being viewed as warmongers. This decision could not have been easy for Itachi or anyone for that matter, but he chose the option that would have the less bloodshed and he got to die by the hands of the person he loved and cared for the most.
#4. Walter from Hellsing Ultimate
Despite only having a minor role, Walter was considered one of the most liked characters in the series. He was the loyal butler of Integra, a good teacher to Seras, one of the few people who Alucard could call friend and was a badass vampire hunter who despite old age could still kick ass. He was a prime candidate to join the butler hall of fame which included Alfred from Batman, Sebastian from Black Butler, and Geoffrey from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. So, imagine the shock on everyone’s face when he returned at the end of the 8th OVA as Millennium’s new secret weapon. Just like the characters who were shocked and speechless, so was the audience who saw this. It just didn’t add up, why would someone as loyal as Walter betray those closest to him and how could he do such a thing? This is pure shock at its best and to have it happen right before the final battle was nothing short of brilliant on the part of Hirano.
#3. Bert and Reiner from Attack on Titan
Yeah you knew this one was coming. If you were an anime only watcher like me when this reveal came, you had your mouth opened the whole time. With the reveal of Annie as the female titan near the end of season 1, the question on everyone’s mind was who were the true identities of the armored and colossal titan? We all knew it had to be someone in the military and could keep an eye on Eren, and we got our answer with the reveal of Bert and Reiner. While Bert’s betrayal didn’t have much of an impact because we didn’t know him all that well, Reiner’s betrayal sure as hell did. He was kind of like the big brother of the group. Strong, resourceful, and was always looking out for everyone. He was essentially the guy Eren wanted to be and to find out that him and Bert were the ones responsible for everything that’s happened up to this point in the anime is enough to fill anyone with rage and shock. Hell, Reiner was so distraught by his horrendous acts and betrayal that he had to create a split personality just to cope with everything he’s done. Attack on Titan is a series that’s full of shocking revelations and this one is definitely one of the best in the series.
#2. The Bitch from The Rising of the Shield Hero
Right from the get go you can tell that Naofumi was going to be the odd man out in this anime. He didn’t have an offensive weapon like the other heroes and everyone including the king seems to be looking down on him because of it. However, a ray of hope seems to present itself in the form of the Bitch who at the time seemed like she was going to be a trusted ally and help him get through this ordeal only to turn on him and make his life a living hell. She falsely accuses Naofumi of rape, he loses his title as hero, is shunned by everyone, and at every opportunity she tries to make his life a living hell. Oh, and let’s not forget the mental trauma she caused on his psyche and the fact that she was trying to kill her little sister just to take the throne. I have never wanted to see someone have a more agonizing and painful death as much as her in all of my life. Apparently, everyone else felt the same as they were all ready to kill her by the end of the first episode. Even when her lie is exposed, she shows no ounce of remorse for her actions and continues to lie, manipulate, and betray others for her own goals. I don’t know what caused her to turn out this way, but I’m convinced she’s the devil who’s sole purpose in life is to make everyone’s life miserable and to destroy happiness.
And number 1. . .
#1. Griffin from Berserk
Obvious choice. I’ve talked about Griffin’s betrayal a number of times over the years, but it really is a shocking and rage inducing betrayal. Griffin was the leader of a mercenary group, became Guts’s best friend, and helped end a war. Everything was going Griffin’s way until Guts’s decides he wants to leave the group to travel on his own and Griffin’s affair with the princess gets discovered resulting in imprisonment and torture. When he’s rescued by his group, the man they once knew as their leader is no more. To the shock of everyone, Griffin sacrifices his friends to be reborn as the God Hand and the first thing he does is rape Guts’s girlfriend, have him watch, cause said girlfriend to give premature birth to a deformed demon as well as mentally damage her, and then brands Guts with a mark that draws monsters/demons to him. This whole act of betrayal sets the tone for the rest of the series as Guts now seeks to find Griffin and exact revenge by killing him in the most horrendous way possible. The one thing that separates this betrayal from the other betrayals is that in the other betrayals everyone received their due. The people who committed the betrayals were either punished or killed respectively. Guts, has yet to get his revenge, and even he’s not sure if he should either. Under Griffin’s rule the world has entered a somewhat time of peace and being held as a hero. When Guts does finally get revenge the world won’t see him as a hero, they’ll see him as the villain who killed their savior and peace. They’ll hunt him down until he’s either been captured or dead, he’ll never know peace, and Griffin will have gotten the last laugh. Griffin’s act of betrayal is the best because of how cruel and shocking it is, and because of how even if Guts gets revenge he’ll still get the last laugh.
And that’s my list. I hope you enjoyed. If I left any out let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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