this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2025
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I'm basically looking for anime where any character can die. Usually, most anime with this trope are horrible. I feel like the only good one is Chainsaw Man. Are there any others?

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[–] RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

By "anyone can die," do you mean "lots of randoms die," or "any of the main cast of characters can unexpectedly die before the show ends?"

[–] chiruyuki@ani.social 19 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Madoka magica, the anime doesn't hesitate to kill off characters , and each death is important for thr show

[–] msage@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Wow, a fellow MadoMagi enjoyer!

I don't know many others.

[–] twice_hatch@midwest.social 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)
[–] msage@programming.dev 1 points 8 hours ago

How are you! Did you like the third movie?

[–] Unboxious@ani.social 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Really? It was a very popular show.

[–] msage@programming.dev 1 points 1 day ago

It was, but even the few anime fans around me haven't seen it.

[–] redsand@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago

Stein's; Gate similarly

[–] Endmaker@ani.social 23 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

Anime with a high death count that's actually good?

I find that such anime usually involves war and politics.

Some that I can recommend are:

[–] Tai@mander.xyz 7 points 2 days ago

Seconding 86. It was pretty average for me, but the last couple episodes of the second season were phenomenal.

[–] msage@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago

Claymore perhaps?

[–] Eq0@literature.cafe 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Support for Attack on Titan! (I don’t know the others)

Go watch them. You're missing out

[–] bblkargonaut@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

You should watch Iron blooded orphans, it's a standalone Gundam series in its own universe so no homework needed. It has great writing and animation while telling the full story in 2 seasons. For me it's a watch once anime because I don't think I could put myself through the trauma again. Also on a similar note if you just want trama porn watch Victory Gundam.

[–] Alwaysnownevernotme@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Orb: on the movements of the earth.

If you're looking for a show that doesn't have plot armor of any kind.

To your eternity.

If you're looking for a show where the protagonist will outlive everyone they love over and over and over again.

[–] redsand@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 12 hours ago

A friend for Frieren you say?

[–] dethstrobe@startrek.website 3 points 1 day ago

Some of the deaths in Orb just leave you with...well now what? Everyone is dead, how can the plot possibly continue? And then it does... So I think this is exactly what OP is looking for.

[–] Unboxious@ani.social 14 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Here are my favorites, in roughly descending order of preference:

  • Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1988 OVA version) - A space opera following two admirals on opposite sides of a galaxy-scale conflict. There's a remake with more modern animation, but it has inferior music and character design so I prefer the 1988 version.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans - Some street kids try to make it big as mercenaries
  • Cyberpunk: Edgerunners - A young man gets involved with a small gang of cyberpunk mercenaries
[–] Get_Off_My_WLAN@fedia.io 2 points 2 days ago

Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1988) for sure! One of my personal top anime of all time.

And it's not just space battles. It has tons of (fictional) history, strategy, and political philosophy.

[–] cram@piefed.world 6 points 1 day ago

Hellsing and Black Lagoon

[–] orenj@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] twice_hatch@midwest.social 1 points 11 hours ago

Just drop it after season one I'd say

[–] nullagon@ani.social 4 points 1 day ago

shiki has a lot of death, it's my favorite horror anime.

[–] redsand@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Future Diary, Akame ga Kill (I wasn't a fan by the end), Made in Abyss, From the New World and let's say... Angel Beats to make you cry even though it doesn't fit as well.

[–] Eq0@literature.cafe 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Made in Abyss is one of a kind, honestly had to take a break half way through the manga. Great, but… difficult (very connected to the high body count)

[–] redsand@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago

Yes. The immortal and disfigured body count. What a movie.

[–] e0qdk@reddthat.com 4 points 1 day ago

I also recommend From The New World (Shin Sekai Yori).

[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Shows with time loop content, like Re:Zero and Steins;Gate, can rack up quite high body counts (and then nullify them an episode or two down the line—does it count if the characters don't stay dead?)

Texhnolyze might or might not qualify (high body count, IIRC yes, but maybe too odd to be considered good). Some other older violence-heavy stuff like Black Lagoon, maybe.

[–] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

Texhnolyze might or might not qualify (high body count, IIRC yes, but maybe too odd to be considered good)

I don't know why I enjoyed Texhnolyze so much, but its oddity was a part of it. I barely remember it but the moustache guy I remember being a great character.

[–] FRYD@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago

Gundam handles death really well in my opinion. Specifically the original series, Thunderbolt and Iron-Blooded Orphans.

Cyberpunk Edgerunners

[–] y0kai@anarchist.nexus 5 points 2 days ago

I kind of felt this way about Goblin Slayer. I think that's the one, anyway.

[–] neuracnu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

The deeper question here is what interests you about about having a high body count in an anime?

If it's about pure numbers, you can't beat Apocalypse Hotel; every human dies or flees the planet by the end of the first episode. The show itself, however, doesn't really linger on that. It's just the setup for how a bunch of robots cope and find usefulness after all the humans are gone. It's life-affirming.

If you're interested in general bleakness and existential dread, where anything can happen to anyone at any time, I'd recommend Made in Abyss and Sonny Boy. These are two VERY different series. Made in Abyss falls into the newly coined "guro-moe" genre (purposely-designed chibi characters dealing with gut-wrenchingly painful situations) where the main characters are compelled to face increasingly dire and morally complex scenarios in service of a Sisyphean quest from which they may never return. Sonny Boy starts with a well-worn "floating classroom" trope, but quickly turns into a dense meditation on existential philosophy. Taken in isolation, you'll find yourself constantly playing catch-up to understand what the hell is going on. If you decide to try this one out, I strongly recommend following up each episode by reading Steve Jones' episode reviews on Anime News Network, which really help unpack the action and provides context clues to a lot of the philosophical musings the show gets into.

These may not be exactly what you had in mind. Two others that I read about that might be up your alley are Death Parade and Alice in Borderland, but I haven't watched or read either of them.

[–] mo_lave@reddthat.com 2 points 1 day ago

Devilman Crybaby

Tokyo Ghoul

Jujutsu Kaisen

Demon Slayer

Berserk

Deadman Wonderland

Junji Ito Collection

Fist of the North Star

Attack on Titan

Dororo

Dorohedoro

[–] drdiddlybadger@pawb.social 3 points 2 days ago

Akudama drive

Cyberpunk super cool bloody as fuck.

[–] hypnicjerk@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

dead dead demons dededede destruction is one of the best anime this decade and among the bloodiest in terms of pure body count

[–] recursive_recursion@piefed.ca 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

The ones I haven't seen mentioned yet is Mirai Nikki and Akame ga Kill

[–] ninjabard@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I still haven't recovered from Mirai Nikki.

Totally understandable

[–] Rottcodd@ani.social 2 points 2 days ago
[–] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 1 points 2 days ago

Strongly recommend Ishura. The way the narrative progresses is unique so you'll either like it or hate it, but if you like it it has exactly what you want.

[–] seraphine@lemmy.blahaj.zone -5 points 1 day ago

whats wrong with you