In the world of anime, a character with immense strength is usually the one who stands at the top of the pile. But even they are not immune to the power of the author’s pen. In many cases, manga authors have taken the liberty to kill off a powerful character, and in most cases, they have turned out to be the correct choice.
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But as always, there are some situations where keeping a character alive for longer would have benefited the story. Or at least helped to refine the character further. With that in mind, here are some of the strongest characters who were killed too early.
Neji Hyuuga
Image via studio Pierrot.
Neji was a prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan, and he was a cut above the rest of the children his age. Neji nearly mastered the use of the Byakugan, which allowed him to hit the chakra points of an opponent quite easily. Once the points were hit, the target could no longer use their chakra, which allowed Neji to finish them off as he wanted.
From the beginning, Neji had been taught about fate and how it had already been predetermined. This caused Neji to have a nihilistic approach, but his fight with Naruto changed his perspective. For once, Neji could hope that his destiny might change. Neji continued to be a part of the story until the Fourth Great Ninja War, where he threw himself in front of a projectile to save Naruto. Not only was the sacrifice pointless, but Neji could have actually had a much better ending. Once the war had ended, he could have become the new leader of the Hyuuga Clan and truly destroyed the circle.
Portgas D. Ace
Portgas D. Ace was the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. He had the power of the Mera Mera no Mi, which allowed him to create and control fire at will. Some of Ace’s most potent attacks could easily destroy an entire city.
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Portgas D. Ace’s life came to an unexpected end in the Marineford arc, where he was killed by Admiral Akainu. Ace’s death can be considered an important event for Luffy’s personal growth, but at the same time, Oda could have handled it another way. Keeping Ace alive and only killing Whitebeard would have been ideal. This way, Ace could have carried on Whitebeard’s legacy.
Caesar Zeppeli
Anime: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Caesar Zeppeli was an important side character in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency. He trained under Lisa Lisa and mastered the use of Hamon, which was the only surefire way to defeat the Pillar Men.
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Caesar Zeppeli died in the fight against Wamuu, who was arguably the most honorable out of all the Pillar Men. Caesar had two reasons for fighting Wamuu—first, to stop the Pillar Men from wreaking havoc, and second, to find the antidote to save Joseph. Even though Caesar’s death was extremely emotional, it is hard to deny that it wasn’t unnecessary.
Rengoku
Image via studio UFOtable.
Rengoku Kyojiro was the Flame Hashira and one of the most iconic characters in the series. As the Flame Hashira, Rengoku specialized in Flame Breathing, a style that he mastered mostly on his own. With time, Rengoku brought down many demons, and as a result, the surviving demons began to fear him.
Rengoku met his end during the Mugen Train arc, where he fought Akaze, Upper Moon Three. The duel between them was legendary, and despite the Hashira’s best efforts, he couldn’t win. Rengoku’s death was rather shocking, and frankly, it would have been a lot better if he had survived and joined the final fight against Muzan. Rengoku had both power and personality, which is a rare combination. On top of that, he would have been an incredible mentor to Tanjiro.
L Lawliet
L Lawliet is unquestionably one of the most popular anime characters of all time. Most people know L as Light’s antithesis, as he kept the latter on strings. In fact, Light had to rely on exploiting a Shinigami’s emotions to get rid of L. Otherwise, there’s a good chance that L would have caught him.
L’s death was not shocking because fans knew that he would have to go if Light had to continue using the Death Note. In fact, his death wouldn’t be a problem if the series ended then and there. However, the anime continues, and its quality takes a massive dip. The characters brought in to replace L seemed like cheap knockoffs, which is why either he should have been kept alive or the story should have ended.
Thors
Thors was the father of Thorfinn, and one of the strongest characters in Vinland Saga. Before becoming a family man, Thors was an elite Viking commander who earned the respect and jealousy of his peers. Ultimately, Thors faked his death and started a new life elsewhere.
Thors’ death was important to the story as it pushed Thorfinn towards a dark and dangerous path. However, one can’t help but think that Thors’ death came too soon. A person of his capability could have definitely been a bit more involved in the story before ultimately being killed off.
