Anime heroes are often found to have a self-sacrificing sense of justice that leads them to carry the majority of the burden in any given series. Whether it be to protect someone or save the world, these heroes are willing to do whatever it takes.
In many cases, the heroes are put in these precarious positions due to another character's negligence, selfishness, or folly. Though they did not cause the issue, the hero is still willing to solve it, regardless of the drawbacks that may come. Here are ten anime heroes who ended up paying the price for another character's mistake.
10 Sasuke's Life Is Ruined Because Of Hiruzen's Decisions About Root And The Uchiha Clan (Naruto)
Sasuke Uchiha (and his brother, Itachi) had their lives ruined by the decisions of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the other village council members. The Uchiha clan had planned to rebel, mostly due to the way they were treated by the village higherups. As a result, Hiruzen let Danzo and the council have Itachi kill the entire clan.
This set off a chain of events that led to Sasuke leaving the village, joining Orochimaru, and swearing revenge on Itachi and then the Hidden Leaf, and this was only one family antagonized by Hiruzen and his terrible decisions.
9 Gaara Was A Villain Because Of His Father's Use Of The Shukaku (Naruto)
Gaara's father, the Fourth Kazekage, sealed the Shukaku, a demon, within his son, leading both to his wife's death and the creation of a jinchuriki. Gaara, however, had a lot of issues controlling the Shukaku within him, and it led to a lot of grief. So, the Kazekage tried to have him killed and failed.
Because of all this, Gaara was hurt and lashed out at those around him. He did not have a reverence for life, and he did not change his worldview until meeting another jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. Gaara's childhood was destroyed thanks to his father's actions, but he eventually changed his ways.
8 Hyakkimaru Lost All His Body Parts Thanks To His Father (Dororo)
Hyakkimaru never consented to having his body parts taken by a bunch of demons, but his father, Lord Daigo, traded them for his lands' prosperity. Despite Lord Daigo's intentions of helping his people, he hurt Hyakkimaru.
Hyakkimaru resolved to get his revenge on his father, and he systematically broke the pact by killing demons and regaining his body parts. Daigo's mistake led to a lot of grief for Hyakkimaru, and in the end, it led to Hyakkimaru's path of revenge and decision to destroy Lord Daigo, his family, and his lands.
7 Alucard Was In Slumber Due To His Father's Quest For Vengeance (Castlevania)
When the church killed Dracula's wife, Lisa, they started a chain of events they were woefully unprepared for. Dracula vowed revenge and planned to destroy humanity. His son, Alucard, opposed him, and this ruined their relationship.
When Alucard awoke from his slumber, he met Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, both of whom wanted to stop Dracula and his expanding plans. Alucard confronted Dracula with his new companions, and when Dracula realized what he was doing in fighting his son, Alucard killed him. Dracula's mistake cost Alucard his relationship with his father, and it forced him to kill Dracula.
6 Guts Lost Everything Thanks To Griffith Becoming Femto (Berserk)
Griffith made one big mistake in Berserk that lead to a lot of grief for many people. That mistake was making a move on Princess Charlotte. The punishment was his imprisonment and horrific torture. After this slight, Griffith sought to become Femto, and when he did, he hurt a lot of people.
Griffith sacrificed multiple people to gain his power, and using his power, he committed unspeakable crimes against Casca and ruined both hers and Guts' life. Griffith was hurt when Guts left, and he made a huge mistake that ruined many lives.
5 Shinji Had To Deal With The Apocalypse Because Of His Father's Obsessions (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Gendo Ikari had a lot of problems, one of which was his obsession with his late wife, Yui. This obsession led him to create the program that his son, Shinji Ikari, was part of. They were to pilot the EVAs and stop the angels that attacked the earth.
However, Gendo was trying to bring about the apocalypse. Much of it had been according to his plan. Eventually, Shinji and Asuka were left to deal with the logistics of the apocalypse caused by the adults in the series. Gendo and Shinji's relationship was complicated, and Shinji was hurt by Gendo's actions and his handling of Yui's death.
4 Chihiro Was Stuck Working At The Bathhouse Because Of Her Parents' Curiosity And Greed (Spirited Away)
Chihiro and her family were moving to a new house when they stopped at an abandoned amusement park. Unfortunately, this amusement park turned out to be somewhat of a trap, and her parents, who were drawn in due to their misplaced curiosity, turned into pigs after disrespectfully eating the spirits' food.
Chihiro was left alone and forced to work at a bathhouse for spirits until she found a way to get her parents returned to normal. Eventually, she was able to do this, but not before being traumatized by the loneliness and fear of being stuck in the bathhouse by a witch.
3 Avdol And Iggy Die Because Of Polnareff's Failure (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
Muhammad Avdol and the Stand-wielding dog, Iggy, died in a fight against Vanilla Ice and the Stand, Cream. This happened partially because Jean Pierre Polnareff was not able to carry his weight in the first part of the fight against Vanilla Ice. Avdol was quickly killed, and Iggy died trying to save Polnareff.
Polnareff is known for not thinking things through and rushing in due to his overconfidence. Avdol already had to fake his death before the fight with Vanilla Ice due to Polnareff's recklessness and inability to keep things on the down-low.
2 Akko And Diana Lost Their Magic Thanks To Shiny Chariot's Mistakes (Little Witch Academia)
As children, Akko and Diana were both victims of a scam pulled by Shiny Chariot (who was being manipulated, to be fair), and that scam caused them to lose their magic ability. With a lot of extra work, the two were able to overcome this obstacle, but it was very difficult.
Shiny Chariot stole their magic at the behest of Croix, another witch who had convinced Chariot she was doing good. Series protagonist, Akko, seriously struggled with the aftermath of this misdeed even after getting older.
1 Katara Is Burned Because Aang Is Irresponsible With Fire (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Aang, the Avatar, was incredibly irresponsible when first trying to learn firebending. His mentor told him the dangers of "playing with fire" and he did it anyway. As a result, his best friend and love interest, Katara, was burned.
Luckily, Katara used this experience to learn how to heal using waterbending. However, Aang's irresponsibility and guilt over hurting Katara delayed his firebending training for a while. It was not until he began working with Zuko and learned a new source for firebending that he picked it back up again.
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