The rescue mission has become a common trope in anime with an expanded cast, especially in shonen anime like Naruto where villains may have taken an interest in characters that can change the course of major plotlines. However, while anime protagonists usually happen to be at the forefront of these rescue efforts, these missions can sometimes end in catastrophe.
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In fact, certain anime have shown just how devastating rescue missions can become not just got characters but the overall plot. In certain anime, rescue missions become the deciding factor of a villain’s plans while certain rescue efforts don’t go as well as characters predict.
7 Zoldyck Family Arc (Hunter X Hunter)
Less Of A Rescue And More Of A Sermon
Series | Hunter X Hunter |
Duration |
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When Illumi Zoldyck was sent to fetch his younger brother Killua to be sent home from the Hunter Exams, it took his mere presence to force the young Hunter to surrender. In the Zoldyck Family Arc, Hunter X Hunter protagonists Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika venture into the Zoldyck Family Estate to rescue their new friend from his family of eccentric world-renowned assassins. Things become serious for the Hunters when it’s revealed that Killua is currently being tortured for attempting to run away and make friends, forcing Gon and the others to use what little training they have to get past the family’s numerous members.
Granted, the arc inevitably ends with Killuua reuniting with his friends while adding depth to his family's members. However, the arc goes wrong with its relatively anticlimactic resolution of the rescue arc trope. Throughout Gon and the others’ challenges, Killua’s torture is revealed to be an exaggerated move by his older brother Milluki, especially when all it took was their father Silva’s orders to have Killua released. Worst of all, Silva giving Killua a pep talk and releasing him to continue adventuring with his friends anyway meant both Killua’s torture and his friend’s conflicts weren’t even necessary.
6 Fairy Dance Arc (Sword Art Online)
The Strongest Female Lead Becomes A Damsel In Distress
Series | Sword Art Online |
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When Kirito discovers that Asuna being held captive in the new ALfheim VRMMO is the reason why she hasn’t woken up in a coma yet, the Sword Art Online protagonist makes an account and ventures into the new game. Much of the anime’s Fairy Dance Arc is devoted into this rescue effort, with things culminating in a fight between Kirito and Asuna’s captor, Nobuyuki Sugou who turned out to be ALfheim’s GM and Asuna’s assigned fiancée in real life.
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Despite Kirito winning in the end, the Fairy Dance Saga does nothing to properly cement character development in the anime. Nobuyuki’s sleaziness towards Asuna makes him a disgusting villain with barely any personality. Asuna, perhaps the series’ strongest female lead, was reduced to a damsel in distress. Kirito, being a mere character, had to rely on a deus ex machina to defeat X in combat. Worst of all, the saga’s events led to the introduction of free open-source VRMMO creation in the SAO universe, leading to future events with far-reaching consequences such as VR-based serial killings and experimentation on inducing consciousness in programs.
5 Sasuke Recovery Mission (Naruto)
Konoha Loses A Pridigious Ninja To Ambition And Revenge
Series | Naruto |
Duration |
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Angry at his inability to kill his elder brother for massacring their entire clan years before, Sasuke Uchiha of Naruto decided the only path to victory is joining Orochimaru, the leader of Otogakure whose recent Konoha Crush resulted in the murder of Konohagakure’s Third Hokage. In an effort to stop him and his Sound Four escort, Konoha’s newly-appointed Fifth Hokage hastily creates the Sasuke Recovery Team tasked to stop Sasuke’s defection.
Unfortunately, despite efforts from Naruto Uzumaki and new allies from Sunagakure, Sasuke succeeds in his defection. Not only did Konoha lose one of their most promising ninja students, but Sasuke’s new relationship with Orochimaru, who is also a Konoha defector, shattered Konoha’s reputation as a reliable Hidden Village. Not only that, Sasuke also ended up becoming one of the major antagonists in the latter half of Naruto’s story.
4 Marineford Arc (One Piece)
The Summit War Forever Changes The Landscape Of The Seas
Series | One Piece |
Duration |
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When Monkey D’ Luffy of One Piece races to save his brother Ace from execution by the Marines, the town of Marineford becomes a battleground between Ace’s adoptive father Whitebeard and the all-powerful Marines. Despite Whitebeard and Luffy’s unity saving Ace, the Fire Fist meets his demise at the hands of Admiral Akainu. This conflict launches into an all-out conflict known to the world as the Summit War of Marineford, the greatest war in the Great Age of Pirates.
While Ace’s death already renders his rescue useless, things get worse in the immediate aftermath. The gravely-injured Whitebeard is killed in combat by Blackbeard, practically his father figure. The War is only stopped with the arrival of Red-Haired Shanks, whose reputation as one of the Four Emperors managed to create a ceasefire. The Summit War ends with a Marine victory, catapulting Luffy and the Straw Hats into the second half of the series with the solemn reminder that they can’t save everyone.
3 Ryoka Invasion Arc (Bleach)
Sosuke Aizen Defects In Pursuit Of True Power
Series | Bleach |
Duration |
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The story of Bleach begins when an injured Rukia Kuchiki transforms Ichigo Kurosaki into a Substitute Shinigami to help fight monstrous Hollows on her behalf. Unfortunately, when other Shinigami escort her home, it’s revealed that such an act is punishable by death. In order to help their new friend avoid execution, Ichigo and his human companions infiltrate Soul Society to stop Rukia from being killed.
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While Ichigo succeeds in rescuing Rukia and achieving other feats such as unlocking the powerful Bankai Form, it came with other misfortunes such as their friend Uryu Ishida losing his Quincy powers. Not only that, Rukia’s execution was proven to be a ruse by traitorous Captain Kosuke Aizen, who simply sought the powerful Hogyoku hidden inside the Shinigami. Upon its retrieval, Aizen retreated to a realm known as Hueco Mundo to amass his forces and prepare for an invasion of the human world.
2 Hideout Raid Arc (My Hero Academia)
The World's Greatest Hero Steps Down, Villains Triumph
Series | My Hero Academia |
Duration |
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When the League of Villains made consecutive attacks against Pro Hero hopefuls of U.A. High School, the My Hero Academia antagonists made it clear that they had no intention of letting students get strong enough to fight back. To make matters worse, their second attack was a ruse to kidnap the rowdy Katsuki Bakugo in the hopes of converting him to their side.
Despite the successful separate rescue efforts from both Katsuki’s classmates and Pro Heroes, the League has succeeded in its main objective: strain public opinion against heroes. Not only that, the reveal of the nefarious All For One as the League’s leader forced the retirement of All Might, arguably World’s Greatest Hero. With All Might’s successor Izuku barely able to handle his full power, and with more villains acting up in All Might’s absence, Pro Heroes are forced to reevaluate their existence in uneasy times.
1 Griffith’s Golden Age Arc Rescue (Berserk)
A Disgraced Griffith Sacrifices All For Ambition
Series | Berserk |
Duration |
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Thanks to Griffith's leadership and Guts’ remarkable battle prowess in Berserk, the Band of the Falcon ended the Hundred-Year War and ushered in an era of peace in Midland. However, Griffith is imprisoned and tortured for a year after violating Princess Charlotte of Midland. When Guts and the Band eventually rescue Griffith, his tortured state left him in no condition to fight permanently.
To make matters worse, Griffith’s frail body fails him in his own attempt to claim his life. However, this desperate moment resulted in the activation of his Crimson Beherit, giving him an audience with the extraterrestrial God Hand who wished to make him a part of their troupe. With no hesitation, Griffith sacrifices the entirety of his Band and violates Casca in front of her beloved Guts, completing his transformation as Femto, arguably one of the worst characters to ever grace fiction.
