Some deals always look too good to be true. In life, it usually comes in the form of some fine print or sneaky clause that only the keenest legal beagles could sniff out. In fiction, they come at a much more serious cost. Some sly figure will meet a character and offer to solve all their problems in exchange for their soul. Be it literally or figuratively, the poor sap just made a deal with the devil.
It’s been a good source of drama since time immemorial. Some of the best anime around have used similar devices too, like Light Yagami using Ryuk’s lethal ledger in Death Note knowing it won't end well for him. However, some exchanges were made for pretty ridiculous reasons. Here are some of the dumbest deals with devils and demons in anime.
5 One Piece
One of the reasons pirates caught on well enough to have a "golden age" in One Piece is because of the world’s geography. The Blue Sea dominates so much of its surface that the people split its territory into quadrants. Anyone who wants to stick to the land only has a few islands to choose from, or the Red Line: the world’s only continent, which is largely barren, mountainous, and hard to moor upon. So, the ability to swim is as crucial as reading and writing. Is it a skill worth losing in favor of a superpower?
That’s what every character in One Piece has to consider when they get a hold of the Devil Fruit. It’ll give its eater strange, new abilities while making them unable to swim. This rough exchange is why it got the "Devil" part of its name. They're not all equal either. Some can turn their eater into rubbery powerhouses like Monkey D. Luffy. Others, like the Hito Hito no Mi…turn them into a normal, regular-strength human, which is useless if they're already human. So, any would-be pirate would need to know some pomology too to avoid the Devil Fruit's bad deals.
4 High School DxD
High School DxD has a complicated world too, as devils, angels, and fallen angels live in secret in human society. Protagonist Issei Hyōdō learns this the hard way when his date reveals herself as a fallen angel and kills him. His classmate Rias Gregory reveals herself to be a devil and revives Issei as a devil too, making him subservient to her and the rules of the underworld. It’s unfair to call this "stupid" as Issei didn’t have a choice in the matter. But other deals, or "contracts," were more questionable.
Subverting the trope, the devils need these contracts more than the humans to increase their power and reputation in the underworld. After nearly being wiped out by the Angels in a Great War, they have to keep good PR with mankind too. So, these "contracts" can get quite silly. For example, devils Koneko and Asia Argento (not the actress) perform cosplay and play games with clients for clout and a few snacks. While Issei gets odd requests like bringing a doll to life. Some people will risk going to hell for the smallest things.
3 Urusei Yatsura
This episode may turn up in the new Urusei Yatsura series on HIDIVE. But until then, curious fans can look out for the original 1980s series' segment "Demonic Running." Usually, the male lead Ataru has pretty bad luck with everything. School, women, and life in general. But one day everything suddenly starts going right for him. He does well at track running, outperforms his rivals, and impresses his classmates, especially the girls. But this turns out to be due to a misunderstanding with the demon Velial.
Ataru accidentally summoned him by running a course that just happened to be in the same shape as Velial's crest. In return, Velial gave him good luck and improved running skills in exchange for his soul, and now he wants to collect. The anime ends with the two brawling hopelessly with each other. While the manga ends with Lum saving the day and Velial being reduced to cleaning up litter. Either way, it shows that even when Ataru gets lucky, it's because he's ultimately hopeless.
2 Dragon Ball Super
Based on Buddhism's devil-like ruler of the underworld, Dragon Ball's Great King Yemma is usually too busy working through the underworld’s backlog to do any devil-like deals. But in Dragon Ball Super, he agreed to a deal with Goku that didn’t end too well for the universe. Still, it was probably better than the alternative. During the Universe Survival Tournament, Goku’s Universe 7 was on the back foot because Majin Buu fell asleep.
If they don’t find a replacement, they’ll automatically forfeit and be erased from reality. Goku’s bright idea is to go to the Underworld and ask Yemma to resurrect Frieza for 24 hours. He grants it, only for Frieza to make another deal: if they win, he gets fully resurrected. They win, he gets resurrected…and he starts rebuilding his intergalactic empire, vowing to avenge himself on Goku someday. Universe 7 lives on, but with the return of one of its most malevolent villains.
1 Hell Girl
Got a problem person that needs sorting out? Access the Hell Link online at the right time, enter their name into the box, then confirm to send Ai Enma, the titular Hell Girl, after them. She’ll give them a chance to atone before dragging them off to Hell. The catch is that the user will also be hell-bound once they pass away. It’s not something to be used lightly. Still, some characters’ issues could’ve been solved without invoking the infernal. For example, episode 11 of Season 2 saw Shizuko Amagi move into an apartment and adopt a local cat.
She soon receives threatening letters from her neighbor Kyoko. Shizuko agrees to move out but, when the cat goes missing, she assumes the worst and sends Kyoko to Hell. It’s only afterward that she learns the cat, which turns out to be fine, was originally Kyoko’s, and she sent the letters because she was unhappy it moved in with Shizuko. So, she'll have to spend the rest of her life knowing she sent an innocent woman to Hell…and that she’ll be joining her soon enough.