Most popular anime end up achieving this success through a combination of strong character writing and excellent stories that keep viewers hooked throughout the experience. Watching everyone's beloved characters fight against all odds to attain victory time and time again makes for a truly riveting watch, with anime that manage to crack this code being revered by the masses.
However, there are times when the plot of an anime moves through the most harebrained actions around, which can be pretty grating to watch after a point. Sure, some characters might genuinely be stupid enough to let such obviously harmful actions pass, but there's no denying that these events serve as nothing more than a contrived way to move the plot in an interesting direction. The most egregious examples of the same are mentioned below.
10 Vegeta Letting Cell Absorb Android 18 (Dragon Ball Z)
Vegeta is a battle-hungry Saiyan who loves challenging himself at every opportunity. However, this can end up backfiring on him at times.
One of Vegeta's more notorious moments in the series comes when he lets Cell achieve his perfect form by absorbing Android 18. This arrogance proves to be costly for him, with Cell absolutely wrecking him and his son in record time.
9 Saitama Being Goofy All The Time Before Unleashing His Power (One-Punch Man)
One-Punch Man is one of the more unique and hilarious shows around. The idea of a single man becoming the strongest person in the universe by just following regular strength training makes for a hilarious concept indeed.
Most of the fights in One-Punch Man where Saitama fights should honestly be over after the man throws a single punch. Instead, what we get to see is Saitama being distracted or goofy most of the time before unleashing a single punch that absolutely destroys everyone and everything in his path.
8 Naruto Farting On Kiba's Face (Naruto)
The Chunin Exams are one of the best arcs in Naruto. Established characters fight each other in a high-stakes series of tests that govern their ascension to the next rank.
The preliminary bouts preceding the main tournament of the Chunin exams see Naruto and Kiba face off in a pretty hilarious battle. The fact that Naruto's fart is what helps him win this battle is typical of the Number 1 Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja!
7 Ichigo's Blind Trust In The Fullbringers (Bleach)
Ichigo Kurosaki, just like most other shonen protagonists out there, isn't really the smartest dude around. However, he can reach immense heights of power, although he lost all his Shinigami powers after his fight against Aizen.
His desperation to regain a semblance of his powers leads to him joining the Fullbringers. However, this was a bad move from the get-go, with both Tsukishima and Ginjo showing just how heinous they really were.
6 Light Hastily Killing Lind L. Taylor (Death Note)
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Light Yagami is meant to be a quick-witted student who can outsmart anyone with his massive intellect. So, the fact that he needlessly decided to kill Lind L. Taylor without doing his research was a pretty brain-dead move on his part.
For what it's worth, this was the first time Light was engaging in a battle of wits with L. So, while this slip-up is out of character, it also serves as a great way to show just how smart L really is.
5 Yusuke's Random Unwillingness To Fight (Yu Yu Hakusho)
Yu Yu Hakusho is a great manga that eventually fell off after its creator, Yoshihiro Togashi, lost faith in his own art style. This struggle is replicated in the final arc as well, with Yusuke himself losing the will to engage in battle.
This would've been a pretty compelling arc... had this sudden change in Yusuke's character gotten the build-up it deserved. Instead, what viewers got was a pretty dumb Yusuke who started questioning the very nature of battle itself in the most unsuitable circumstance possible.
4 Kaneki Joining Aogiri Tree (Tokyo Ghoul)
The manga of Tokyo Ghoul is pretty great and does a great job of painting Kaneki's character in a nice light. However, the same can't be said for the anime, which completely fell off the rails following the first season.
To this day, fans still question Kaneki's decision to join Aogiri Tree, an organization that tortured him and turned him into the psychopath he is now. The idea of keeping his friends close and his enemies closer might make a lick of sense, but the manner in which this is executed paints Kaneki to be pretty stupid by opting for this course of action.
3 Griffith Sleeping With The Princess After Losing Guts (Berserk)
There was a point when Griffith could be considered as the deuteragonist of the show along with Guts. Both fighters formed a great bond that Guts had to sever if he wished to grow on his own.
When Griffith was unable to stop Guts, he lost all sense of self-control and slept with the princess to feel powerful once again. However, this backfired, and the King sentenced Griffith to be tortured in the dungeons until the Band of the Hawk came to save him.
2 Akira Leaving Miki Behind (Devilman Crybaby)
Devilman Crybaby is one of the saddest anime anyone can watch. Humanity is painted in a pretty bad light here, especially given how Akira's friends are ripped apart by a crazy mob that simply doesn't know better.
Akira leaving his girlfriend behind despite the fact that a crazy mob was targeting her is a pretty horrible decision on his part. He pays the price when he comes back, only to see his friends' body parts being paraded around in a gross spectacle that causes him to lose all sense of reason.
1 Goku Letting Raditz' Tail Go (Dragon Ball Z)
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Goku is considered by many to be one of the dumbest and most naive anime protagonists around. This is established pretty early on in the first season of Dragon Ball Z during his and Piccolo's battle against Raditz.
After grabbing his brother's tail, Goku falls for the most obvious trick in the book and lets Raditz go after he lies about turning a new leaf. It's moments like these that show the effect of Goku being dropped on his head as a child.