Some of the best stories, anime or otherwise, are defined by their incredible plot twists. It’s one thing to change the current direction of a series, but some of the best plot twists completely change the kind of story being told, and when pulled off right, they can elevate the story to a new level of quality that helps define it for the rest of its run and beyond.

Plot twists are almost always great to watch play out, and anime is no exception. For decades now, anime has been no stranger to subverting expectations or abruptly taking their stories in new directions with only the smallest amount of foreshadowing at best, and thanks to that practice, anime have developed a massive slew of plot twists that have surely blown everyone’s minds in one way or another. A few of those huge anime plot twists especially stand out, and overall, it’s hard to imagine how their respective stories would have played out if they didn’t exist.

10 Oshi No Ko Lied To Everyone About Its Story (Oshi No Ko)

First Shown In Oshi No Ko Episode 1

In the premiere of Doga Kobo’s Oshi no Ko, two fans of the up-and-coming idol Ai Hoshino are reincarnated as her newborn twins, with both of them seeing it as a new start following their tragic deaths in their old lives. However, everything quickly falls apart when Ai is abruptly murdered, and the story then becomes about Ai’s son, Aqua, spending his life trying to exact his revenge upon the one responsible for Ai’s death.

All the marketing for Oshi no Ko painted Ai as the main character and the overarching story as largely lighthearted, so for Ai to die in the premiere and for the story to turn into a dark mystery narrative was nothing but surprising. Ai’s death gave Oshi no Ko one of the biggest twists in modern anime, and with Oshi no Ko season 3 in development, it’s still getting plenty of mileage out of it.

9 Astra Lost In Space Hid The Truth Of Its Setting In Plain Sight (Astra Lost In Space)

First Shown In Astra Lost In Space Episodes 9-10

Near the end of Lerche’s Astra Lost in Space, as the crew of the Astra got closer to home, their newest member, an astronaut named Polina, was shocked to see how different the picture of Earth they showed her was from her memories. The reason for that, however, was that all of humanity had migrated to the planet Astra after Earth was destroyed a century ago, something only a select few people knew about.

Astra Lost in Space is a story filled with big, interwoven mysteries, and as surprising as each one was, it hardly compares to the reveal that everything in Astra Lost in Space was centered around the conspiracy of everyone not living on Earth. Astra Lost in Space is one of the best short anime a person can watch, and the way it handles its incredible twists is one of the biggest reasons as to why.

8 Rengoku Died In His First Big Story (Demon Slayer: Mugen Train)

First Shown In Demon Slayer: Mugen Train

In the climax of Ufotable’s Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, everything seemed to have resolved nicely with Tanjiro and Inosuke defeating Enmu, but their reprieve was broken up by the sudden arrival of Akaza, the Upper Rank Three Kizuki. As a Hashira, Rengoku was the only one strong enough to fight Akaza, but Akaza was far too powerful, and the film ended with Rengoku’s death.

With how quickly Mugen Train made Rengoku such a likable character and a mentor figure to Tanjiro, it would have made sense for him to stick around for a while, but instead, Rengoku's death in the same story he was made the star of served to highlight how no one in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is safe from being killed off. The way Rengoku affected everyone has been crucial to the ongoing narrative, but it doesn’t make his death any less surprising.

7 The Promised Neverland Caught Everyone Off Guard With Its Premiere (The Promised Neverland)

First Shown In The Promised Neverland Episode 1

CloverWorks’ The Promised Neverland revolves around the Grace Field House, an orphanage where the children have been trained to be hyper-intelligent since infancy for unknown reasons. One day, one of the children, Emma, discovers that it’s because they’re secretly being raised as food for demons, with smart humans tasting the best, and now Emma and her friends must find a way to break out before they’re all eaten alive.

The marketing for The Promised Neverland, as vague as it was, made it clear that something dark was going on, but it’s unlikely that anyone would have expected that The Promised Neverland was secretly about man-eating demons and the sprawling mystery behind their history with mankind. The Promised Neverland season 2 was incredibly bad, but at the very least, season 1 did a lot with that twist to create one of the most engaging stories a person can watch.

6 The True Nature Of Attack On Titan’s World (Attack On Titan)

First Shown In Attack On Titan Season 3, Episodes 19-21

In the climax of Attack on Titan season 3, Eren and his friends finally made it to the basement of his old home, where his father had hopefully left behind answers surrounding the truth of their world. Sure enough, Grisha did leave behind a record of the truth, and thanks to that, everyone learned that they’ve been living in fear of Titans thanks to the actions of Marley, a militaristic nation that’s turned the world against everyone who shares their Eldian blood for their ability to turn into Titans.

The basement was always going to reveal something big, and sure enough, the full reveal of Grisha’s backstory completely changed Attack on Titan’s story by turning it from post-apocalyptic horror into a philosophical war story. How that played out is still a point of contention, but regardless, there’s never been a twist of that magnitude in modern storytelling, anime or otherwise.

5 The Distance Between Your Name’s Leads Was Far Bigger Than They Thought (Your Name)

First Shown In Your Name

In CoMix Wave Films’ Your Name, when Taki and Mitsuha abruptly stop switching bodies, Taki, now fully in love with Mitsuha, tries to go to Itomori to meet Mitsuha face-to-face. Along the way, though, Taki learns a startling truth: Itomori was destroyed in a meteor shower three years ago, and Taki and Mitsuha’s body swapping was taking place across both time and space.

For most of its run, Your Name seemed to be just another quirky love story, but with the reveal of the time travel element, Your Name’s big twist took it from a standard rom-com to a thrilling race against the clock that truly tested Taki and Mitsuha’s love. Your Name made acclaimed anime director Makoto Shinkai a household name in the industry, and with that sort of writing, it’s easy to see why.

4 Luffy’s Devil Fruit Was Far More Special Than Anyone Could Have Imagined (One Piece)

First Shown In One Piece Episode 1071

In the climax of One Piece’s Wano arc, Luffy miraculously recovered from nearly dying to Kaido, but there was more to it than him getting a second wind. Not only did Luffy spontaneously awaken his Devil Fruit, his new form appropriately dubbed Gear 5, but it was revealed to the audience that Luffy’s Gum-Gum Fruit was the mythical Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, which was previously eaten by the legendary Joyboy.

Recent events in One Piece had done a lot to prop Luffy up as a messianic figure in the making, and sure enough, the reveal of Luffy’s true power fully settled him into the role of a savior by both changing the context of his powers and explicitly tying him to the legendary Joyboy. Gear 5 only recently became a thing, but even then, it quickly became one of the most iconic twists in all of One Piece.

3 Aizen Is The True Villain Of Bleach (Bleach)

First Shown In Bleach Episodes 60-62

After Ichigo defeated Byakuya in Studio Pierrot’s Bleach, everything escalated with the reveal of the true mastermind behind the Soul Society arc: Sosuke Aizen. While Aizen ed himself off as a kindhearted figure, he secretly set up Rukia’s execution to obtain the Hogyoku, a powerful device hidden inside Rukia’s gigai that can break the boundary between Soul Reapers and Hollows, and after doing so, he and his followers officially declared war against the Soul Society.

While Gin Ichimaru being the main villain was an obvious red herring, Aizen’s big reveal came almost entirely out of nowhere, and his accompanying change in demeanor did wonders to sell the fact that the kindhearted captain people knew was nothing but a farce. The reveal of Aizen’s true nature in Bleach completely redefined the story it was trying to tell, and it’s easy to see why Aizen will always be Bleach’s most iconic villain.

2 Being A Magical Girl Is A Never-Ending Cycle Of Misery (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

First Shown In Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 8

In Shaft’s Puella Magi Madoka Magica, as Sayaka fell into despair and allowed her Soul Gem to turn fully black, it suddenly turned into a Grief Seed. It was then revealed that magical girls turn into Witches when their Soul Gems are fully corrupted, creating a constant cycle of magical girls killing and turning into Witches for the sake of giving Kyubey the power to stall the heat death of the universe.

Madoka Magica blew up with fans and critics for its dark and deconstructive take on the magical genre, and sure enough, the reveal that magical girls turn into the very Witches they’ve been fighting cemented Puella Magi Madoka Magica’s legacy as one of the darkest anime of the decade. There’s never been an anime quite like Madoka Magica, and with its new film set to come out this year, there’s no telling how much further it will go.

1 Panty & Stocking’s Ending Is Crazy To The Point Of Parody (Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt)

First Shown In Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt Episode 13

In the finale of Studio Trigger’s Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, the battle with Corset abruptly ended when Panty and Stocking’s mother briefly descended from Heaven to defeat him and save the day. Everything was set to wrap up nicely, but suddenly, Stocking revealed herself to be a demon, killed Panty, and split her body into 666 pieces around the world for the rest of the cast to gather up, the series ending with everyone completely baffled by what just happened.

Ever since their Gainax days, the staff of Studio Trigger has been famous for making anime with bizarre twists, but even so, the ending of Panty & Stocking is absurd to the point of possibly purposefully parodying big anime twists. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt season 2 is bound to resolve things, but even so, it doesn’t change how it’s one of the biggest twists in anime, of all time.