Some anime has great writing, even though the genre is known for fantastic nonsense most of the time when it comes to characters and storylines. That's one of the many things that fans love about it. Sometimes, a rewatch or paying attention to certain details can even help to unravel a big plot twist before it's fully revealed.

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Some anime have great plot twists that are even better because they're only possible in a genre that thinks outside the box, assuming, that is, that the box even exists. For viewers with patience and curiosity, here are some of the best plot twists in anime history.

Spoiler alert is in effect for the following list. It is about plot twists, after all.

7 Poison Destroys Poison - Ninja Scroll

ninja scroll kagero

Kagero is a part of the Kōga Ninja team, but that's not her day job. She is the poison taster for the Chamberlain of her clan, which is the perfect job for someone whose body is so saturated with poison that they're immune to it themselves. The disadvantage here is that Kagero can't get close to someone even if she wants to, and there are times when it seems she's made peace with the idea.

However, the sincerity of wandering ronin Jubei melts her heart, and when she asks the monk that poisoned him for an antidote, the answer isn't what she wants to hear. The poison of her own body is all that can cure the wayward samurai, but the question of whether or not he will accept it, and how, is the real twist to this plot.

6 The Real Clone Wars - Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion third impact

It was a bit weird how Ayanami Rei would be in devastating accidents during Eva missions and somehow survive, but as the show nears its confusing and terrifying conclusion, Misato reveals the truth to Shinji. A big part of that truth was the secret of The First Child's true nature: that she was a clone.

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What that means is that there were several Ayanamis, and if they were killed while piloting the Eva, Gendo would simply replace her with another one. To add another layer to this apocalyptic onion, Ayanami was originally made by mixing the DNA of Yue, Shinji's mother, with the DNA of Lilith, and she is intended to play an essential role in the Instrumentality Project.

5 The Monster Gets The Girl - Ghost In The Shell

Ghost In The Shell

This movie opens up as a crime thriller and eventually progresses into psychological horror, with the Major and her team pursuing what seems like a hacker with a talent for espionage, extortion, and false memories. However, the monster that they're chasing isn't actually the bad guy that they're looking for.

It turns out that the Puppet Master and the Major have been circling each other for a long time; a story that the prequel series' explores in some depth. This is not a person either, but instead, an electronic entity that is seeking to join with the Major and her consciousness instead of control or destroy it.

4 Protecting The Trees - Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind

Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind spore collection

The mystery of the Wasteland plagues humanity in an apocalyptic future where the air and plants are a deadly poison that spreads over the planet. Nausicaa, the princess of the Valley of the Wind, has managed to gather seeds from the Wasteland and grow them poison-free in a private garden. The plants are not inherently dangerous, so this deepens the mystery of where the poison is coming from and why.

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It's only because of a wayward flight and a botched rescue that ends in a crash landing that Nausicaa discovers the secret. The trees of the Wastelands are cleansing the planet's water, and the bugs and plants are using their poison to protect it from the most dangerous species: humans.

3 Sailor Galaxia's Lost Soul - Sailor Moon

split image Sailor Galaxia Chibi Chibi

Sailor Stars is the final season of the Sailor Moon series, and, in a way, re-tells the plot of the second season. That's also how it surprises the viewer though, with a major twist in the plot near the end. The character Chibi-Chibi has a mysterious past, but everyone assumes that she's the future child of Chibi Usagi in a repeat of the plot in Sailor Moon S.

However, this isn't the case. Chibi Chibi is the embodiment of the Star Seed of the antagonist, Sailor Galaxia. After Galaxia defeated Chaos, she felt the evil entity taking over her body, so she sent her Star Seed into the universe to seek help from soldiers free from the corruption. Sailor Moon used this vital connection to restore Galaxia ad destroy Chaos for good.

2 Griffith Does Something Wrong - Berserk

Griffith (Berserk)

There was some foreshadowing of how this was going to go, and nobody was surprised to find out that Griffith was a traitor. The twist here is the true secret of the Behelit amulet, and how it tests the supplicants it deems worthy with the most brutal of tests.

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Griffith doesn't only have to defeat all of his enemies in some kind of blood sacrifice, but also his closest friends and his own body. The grotesque supernatural beings that judge him and mete out his destiny are a part of the resolution in which Griffith becomes the powerful demon Femto, which is a part of the deal that nobody saw coming.

1 There's Another Shinigami - Death Note

Death Note shinigami Rem

L would have had him. Light would have been caught, red-handed, in the act, with the physical evidence and all, if there had not been a second Shinigami. L entertained this possibility at this point, but never really had anything to go on other than some throwaway lines and phrases, and he could also not have foreseen that a Shinigami would consciously end their existence to save Misa.

This is a unique twist in anime history because viewers saw it coming but the characters on the show did not. It was also stunning how Light played the situation perfectly; getting rid not only of L but also Rem, who defied him when he tried to use Misa for his own twisted plans.

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