One of the most satisfying parts of watching a thrilling anime is the moment the viewer realizes the protagonist has finally outsmarted their opponent. Witnessing these intricate plans unfold as the beloved hero that fans have been rooting for finally comes out on top is a key part of proving a character's true capabilities.
However, no one is perfect and anime characters are no exception to this rule. Every now and then, even the most brilliant of masterminds will have the occasional slip-up. Here are a handful of the dumbest blunders made by some of the smartest anime characters.
7 Kei Nagai - Meeting With Sato
- Anime: Ajin: Demi-Human
On the run from the government and all other citizens wanting to capture him for the bounty on his head, Kei Nagai had no real choice but to ask for a helping hand. Ajin, humans with the ability to revive themselves after death, were labeled as dangerous beings and shouldn't be considered people with any rights.
In Kei's desperation, he decided to give the suspicious Sato a chance and met with him to hear him out. However, this led to Kei's capture. The character was then subjected to painful experimentation as a part of Sato's plan to turn Kei against humans.
This momentary lapse in judgment was done out of pure desperation, and it ultimately sets up Sato as the main antagonist of the series.
6 Saiko Intelli - Underestimating Momo's Abilities
- Anime: My Hero Academia
Miss Saiko Intelli of the prestigious Seiai Academy is the last hero in training that anyone would expect to make such a foolish mistake. Saiko's quirk is quite literally her exceptional intelligence. Saiko's quirk, IQ, allows her to boost her intelligence for a short period of time upon drinking tea; the perfect quirk to have to hatch a master plan to foil her foe's attack.
However, in her first and only appearance in the anime so far, this character was easily dealt with. Saiko may have had the good mind to send Froppy into hibernation, thus rendering her quirk useless, and exhausting Momo's Creation quirk, but in the end, she made a misstep. Saiko must have underestimated Momo's level of determination as she was able to still utilize her quirk and defeat Saiko and her classmates.
This proved to be a bit of an anticlimatic plan for someone whose quirk is literally to be highly intelligent. Maybe Momo secretly has Saiko's quirk too.
5 Emma And Norman - Leaving Behind Evidence
- Anime: The Promised Neverland
Throughout all of the cunning plans and clever scheming The Promised Neverland featured, the heroes made one mistake that most fans tend to overlook. Norman, Emma, and Ray are known for their resourcefulness and exceptional intelligence, and for the most part, their plans to escape the orphanage and their cruel fate were well thought out. However, it was at the very beginning that Emma and Norman made their first huge mistake.
After finding out the terrible fate of Conny, in their haste to flee the scene, they ended up leaving evidence of their presence; thus allowing Isabella to discover that some of the children found out the orphanage's dark secret.
If Isabella had never found this key piece of evidence, the children's escape plans would have flown under the radar as no one would have known that any of them were even aware of their fate to be demon food.
4 Shikamaru Nara - Giving Up After Winning The Upper Hand
- Anime: Naruto
During the Chunin exams very early into the series, Shikamaru is pitted up against Temari. The fight seemed like it could go either way but in the end, Shikamaru hatched an incredible plan, utilizing his smarts to counteract any power Temari held. Shikamaru used his Shadow Jutsu to control Temari's movements and forced her to do his bidding. And what Shikamaru did with this amazing advantage was...give up.
Shikamaru ultimately decides to throw in the towel and hands over the win to Temari because continuing through each battle would have been "too troublesome."
Even though he could have truly proven himself through this tournament, it's no surprise that sleepyhead Shikamaru let his laziness get the better of him, yet again.
3 Light Yagami - Publicly Killing His Enemy
- Anime: Death Note
Light may have been a genius but in a single fleeting second, the mastermind let his ego get the better of him. The moment Light killed Lind L. Tailor (whom he thought was L) on live television, L showcased how capable he truly was; now deducing what Kira needed in order to kill and also which region of Japan he was residing in.
Killing Lind L. Tailor was obvious bait and Light probably knew this but was blinded by sheer hatred. Light is usually a cold and calculated person but at this moment, he cared about nothing but shutting his opponent up, proving a point, and recklessly flaunting his power.
It was this slip-up and showcase of Light's massive ego that gave L the biggest lead in the entire series.
2 Griffith - Taking Out His Anger The Worst Way Possible
- Anime: Berserk
To say that Griffith took Guts' departure from the Band Of The Hawk poorly would be a bit of an understatement. Griffith is normally very good with planning; knowing what he must do or sacrifice in order to always conquer and get his way. However, it seems as if even Griffith himself wasn't aware of how much Guts meant to him until the moment he left his side.
For once, the cold, calculated, rational leader of the Band Of The Hawk was full of powerful emotion that he had no idea what to do with. In that frenzy of emotion, Griffith made the single worst decision of his life: sleeping with Princess Charlotte. It was this faux pas that lead him (and his entire band) to be banished by the King Of Midland and ultimately led Griffith to his years of torture and eventually forcing him to turn to the God Hand.
1 Shou Tucker - Throwing His Entire Life Away
- Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist
One of the most tragic moments in anime history is Nina Tucker's story from Fullmetal Alchemist. Shou Tucker was a scholar, a dedicated bio-alchemist, desperately trying to create a perfect chimera while juggling the responsibilities of being a single father to his daughter, Nina, and taking care of the family dog, Alexander.
Nina and Alexander were sadly the answer to Shou Tucker's woes. Subjected to Shou's experimentation, they were thus fused together and transformed into a chimera. Shou had a beautiful wife, daughter, and family pet that he threw away, all for the sake of academics, and he suffered greatly in the end.
Shou was a gifted alchemist but focusing on the wrong things for the entirety of his life was the biggest mistake anyone could have made.