Highlights
- Great storylines are often ruined by predictability, so misdirection and red herrings keep audiences engaged in anime.
- Characters like Mechamaru and Baji Keisuke fooled audiences by appearing untrustworthy, only to reveal their true motives were loyal all along.
- Betrayal can be temporary or unintentional, as seen with characters like Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto, who ultimately redeemed themselves or showed their intentions to be just.
Oftentimes, a great storyline can be ruined by predictability. It's only natural that audiences begin to throw guesses or create theories about what a series could have planned ahead as the story progresses. Misdirection or red herrings can act as the perfect solution; keeping the audience on one track while the plot advances in a completely different direction.
Video Game Characters We Thought Were Traitors (But Weren't)
Fans likely suspected these video game characters to be traitors. In the end, their true intentions were revealed.
Framing a character in a way that is seemingly untrustworthy or outright suspicious just to fool the audience is a rather common trope within the realm of anime. Here are some famous anime characters that had audiences fooled by staying completely faithful to their friends until the very end.
7 Mechamaru (Jujutsu Kaisen)
An Unintentional Betrayal
Jujutsu Kaisen
- Release Date
- October 3, 2020
- Seasons
- 2
- Studio
- MAPPA
- Creator
- Gege Akutami
Mechamaru (real name Kokichi Muta) mainly took a backseat during season one of Jujutsu Kaisen as yet another student at Kyoto Jujutsu High that protagonist Yuji meets along his journey. However, by season two it is revealed that there may have been a traitor among the students. While Mechamaru did indeed act as a traitor by providing Geto and Mahito with the information they wanted, he merely did it as a means to have Mahito heal his frail body and lift the curse of his painful Heavenly Restriction; not because his true motives lay with Mahito.
Mechamaru did technically betray the others, but his heart was not in it; his betrayal was simply a step in his plan to help Yuji and the others. Immediately after completing the binding contract between the two, Mechamaru sets out on his plan to reach Gojo to inform him of Geto's plans, known as the Shibuya Incident.
6 Baji Keisuke (Tokyo Revengers)
Going Undercover
During protagonist Takemichi's quest to save his sweetheart Hina's life in the current day, he must travel to the past where he meets the Tokyo Manji Gang (a.k.a. Toman). Among the gang members was Baji Keisuke, who was first introduced in Tokyo Revengers as Chifuyu's best buddy, former Toman captain, and Valhalla defector.
Tokyo Revengers: Each Main Character, Ranked By Strength
Tokyo Revengers' characters have unique strengths, but when it comes to raw, physical strength, this is where the anime series' characters stand.
While Takemichi first assumes that Baji left his childhood friends in a bout of anger, he eventually discovers that Baji was merely pretending to switch sides. Baji planned on infiltrating Valhalla in order to find more information about Kisaki as he had been suspicious of him and his intentions towards Mikey from the beginning. Baji merely played the part of the traitor on the outside in order to protect his friends the best he could.
5 Nicholas D. Wolfwood (Trigun Stampede)
A Change Of Heart
Trigun Stampede
- Release Date
- January 7, 2023
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator
- Yasuhiro Nightow
Trigun Stampede's mysterious Nicholas D. Wolfwood (a.k.a. The Punisher) kept viewers guessing. While Trigun Stampede does generally follow the same story as the original Trigun series, there are bits and pieces of lore that have been slightly tweaked or changed completely for the 2023 reboot.
It's no secret that Vash's "ultimate pacifist" way of life clashed heavily with Wolfwood's colder and often pessimistic attitude. When things came down to the wire at the end of season one, what Vash was fighting for was simply too troublesome for Wolfwood, and the two went their separate ways; Wolfwood left Vash when he needed him the most. However, at the last second, Wolfwood finally learned to open up his pessimistic heart and lent his help to Vash, whom he had realized became his friend along the heavy journey they took together.
4 Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia)
An Incorruptible Hero
During the Hideout Raid of My Hero Academia, Bakugo is captured by the League of Villains. By the third season, it was clear that Bakugo wasn't the average/typical hero that the rest of his classmates strove to be. Bakugo often had rather selfish goals, motives, and overall attitudes about becoming the number one hero.
My Hero Academia: Bakugo's Best Friends, Ranked
Despite his overbearing nature, these individuals remain close to Bakugo and support him throughout My Hero Academia.
After being kidnapped by the League of Villains, many fans held their breath, thinking that Bakugo was bound to join the League, seeing that their ideals may seem similar to his on the surface. To many fans' surprise, Bakugo passionately denied them and made himself (and his intentions) clear: he loves to win, crush his enemies, and be the victor, but only as a hero.
3 Power (Chainsaw Man)
Rivalry Turned Friendship
It's no secret that Power and Denji are best buds by the end of the Chainsaw Man anime, but they did have a rather rough start to their friendship. In the beginning of Denji and Power's relationship as coworkers, Power intentionally lead Denji into what she thought was a simple trap, all for the sake of saving her beloved feline friend, Meowy. It seemed as if from that point on, Power would be one of Denji's biggest enemies and main series antagonist; but instead, something unexpected happened.
Denji survived and managed to get himself, Power, and Meowy out of the Bat Devil's deadly grasp. Although Power did indeed knowingly and willingly try to sacrifice Denji, the pair ended up closer than ever after the incident, and Power faithfully stuck by Denji ever since.
2 Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)
An Impossible Choice
One of the longest cons in anime history has to be Naruto framing Itachi as the most heartless bad guy. Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, was seen as a major antagonist in the series after mercilessly murdering his family as well as the rest of the Uchiha clan. For years, fans saw Itachi through Sasuke's lens: the traitor who murdered his entire clan, accidentally letting his younger brother slip through the cracks.
However, years later, it was revealed that Itachi was indeed forced to commit the horrible act and carried a heavy heart doing so. Itachi's options were to allow his entire clan to die in the coup they had planned against Konoha and its leaders or to take his clan's lives via his own hands, but with the caveat of being able to spare his younger brother. With the promise of being able to protect his Sasuke, a hesitant Itachi did what he was ordered to do, intentionally playing the villain in Sasuke's eyes to motivate him to become strong enough to kill Itachi one day and cleanse him of his sins.
1 Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto/Boruto)
Coming Around In The End
Although Sasuke Uchiha had indeed had the intention of betraying his friends in Konoha all the way back in the original Naruto series, he surely earned some points back for his eventual return. In some cases, it's fit to say that the ends justify the means and, with Naruto's Sasuke Uchiha, it may leave fans divided.
Some fans may still consider Sasuke a traitor as he did attempt to defect (and for a while succeeded at it), others may argue that in the end, his long angsty arc against his poor older brother, Itachi, didn't truly matter in the end, considering he did eventually come back around to dedicate his life to his loving family and protecting Konoha.
