While plot twists are far from a rarity in anime, some series choose to hold their cards until the final episode to reveal their biggest secrets. These sorts of endings almost always become infamous in some way, completely subverting the expectations that audiences have when committing themselves to an anime series.
Whether this be a complete change in genre or some kind of ultimate betrayal, curveball endings are something that many anime fans love. They're not only enjoyable in the moment, but they also keep fans talking long after a series is over.
10 School Days
Based on a series of visual novels with the same name, School Days is an infamous romance-turned-horror series that is perhaps best known for its shocking final episode. While the anime begins as a standard harem romance centered on a love triangle between the three main characters, the show quickly devolves as the series' lead, Makoto Itou, takes it upon himself to romance as many of the female characters as possible.
The biggest curveball occurs as the series reaches its conclusion, as Makoto is fatally stabbed by one of the show's initial love interests, Sekai, after rejecting her to try and make things work with his girlfriend, Kotonoha. When Kotonoha discovers Makoto, she messages Sekai to meet her alone, where she enacts her gruesome revenge. School Days ends with a shot of Kotonoha curled up on a boat holding what appears to be Makoto's head.
9 Odd Taxi
Odd Taxi is an incredibly unique and underrated anime that follows a colorful cast of anthropomorphic animals going about their daily lives in Tokyo. Focusing primarily on a walrus named Hiroshi Odokawa and his career as a taxi driver, Odd Taxi delves into the unassuming protagonist's connection with the supporting cast and eventually reveals his role in the mystery looming in the background of the show – a young cat girl who has seemingly vanished.
In Odd Taxi's final episode, it's revealed that Odokawa's perception of the world is fabricated. Due to trauma, he perceives the world as being one made up of animals. In reality, everyone is human. Additionally, throughout the series, it's continuously hinted that the missing girl could potentially be in Odokawa's home against her will. In a perfectly executed anticlimax, it's revealed that there is no missing girl – revealing that the only thing Odokawa has in his home is a normal, everyday black cat.
8 Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Madoka Magica is often heralded as one of the first series to subvert typical expectations and tropes that come from the magical girl genre. The anime follows two best friends, Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki, when they're offered the chance to have wishes granted in exchange for becoming fighting magical girls. The series' soft art style and colorful character designs gave it the impression of being a particularly stylized, upbeat fantasy, but that quickly changes as the show continues. In its finale, Madoka is still hesitant about what her wish should be and hasn't taken the plunge into becoming a magical girl despite the endless tragedies she's endured thus far.
After witnessing the other magical girls meet their end and now witnessing the last remaining girl, Homura, struggle to defeat the witch Walpurgisnacht, Madoka finally decides to do something. She wishes to exterminate the existence of witches from the universe and make it so that they never existed in the first place. This wish ultimately turns Madoka into a goddess, which consequentially resets the events of the series and revives each of the fallen girls. Sacrificing herself for the greater good, nobody remembers Madoka's existence now that she's become a god except for Homura, who mourns Madoka's sacrifice and continues to fight as a magical girl.
7 Angel Beats!
After waking up with amnesia outside a nameless school, Otonashi is greeted by a gun-wielding girl named Yuri who informs him that he has passed away. Those in the afterlife are stuck in the middle of a war against God and the student council president, "Angel," whose real name is later revealed to be Kanade. Additionally, despite the firearms and constant battles, nobody can actually die, as this mysterious afterlife operates more like a never-ending purgatory.
While the initial premise of the show is outlandish, the mysterious circumstances of the afterlife keep it engaging, and as Angel Beats! reaches its final episode, the true nature and bittersweet themes of the series are revealed. Otonashi comes to the realization that the purpose of this strange afterlife is for the souls residing there to overcome their regrets in life before moving on. Upon discovering this, Otonashi teams up with Kanade to help the students. Eventually, only Kanade and Otonashi remain, and in a heartbreaking climax, Otonashi reveals his feelings for Kanade and assists her in moving on. He then becomes the new student council president.
6 Assassination Classroom
Assassination Classroom is well known for how it quickly subverted its initial impressions to become something truly special. The first episode of the sci-fi anime introduces class 3-E of Kunukigigaoka Junior High School, a group of misfits whose homeroom teacher is an eccentric alien creature that blew up 70 percent of the moon. The government tasks the students with assassinating the creature, promising a bounty of 10 billion yen if they succeed.
While most of the series is made up of absurd humor and hilarious interactions between the students as they plot their tentacled teacher's downfall, the ending takes a heart-wrenching turn. It's revealed that class 3-E's monstrous teacher isn't a monster at all – in fact, he was once a human assassin who had been experimented on by the government. Growing an attachment to him, the students lose their will to continue their assassination attempts but are forced to carry out the task. For a show that spent so much time on comedy, the sudden tear-jerking finale feels perfectly jarring.
5 Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop is a legendary sci-fi series well known for the misadventures of its main characters, a group of bounty hunters led by Spike Spiegel. The first outing, as well as many of Cowboy Bebop's episodes, feels rather standalone – introducing new characters, exploring the dystopian future that the rag-tag group is a part of, and only hinting at Spike's backstory.
In Cowboy Bebop's two-part finale, the constant hints about Spike's history culminate in a final showdown between the protagonist and his biggest adversary, Vicious. After reuniting with his lost love, Julia, Spike resolves to end his ongoing feud with Vicious once and for all. Despite the action-packed final confrontation, the events leading up to it, and the tragic death of Spike afterward, are overwhelmingly somber – something that up to this point was rather uncommon in the show.
4 Made in Abyss
Despite its cute character designs, Made in Abyss is a horrific dark fantasy series that initially comes off as rather unassuming. It opens on Riko, an ambitious young girl embarking on her first-ever excavation to recover trinkets with her friend, Nat. After discovering a robot during their journey, which eventually becomes Riko's traveling companion, she decides to descend into the Abyss. While the first episode hints that not all is as it seems, it's unclear what direction the series will go.
In the final episode of Made in Abyss season 2, there are no longer any assumptions to be made about the horrific nature of descending deeper into the Abyss, and the finale spends an ample amount of time recounting the tragic events that have taken place so far. Instead of simply focusing on gore, this finale instead hones in on the trauma inflicted upon the main characters and adventurers who dared take on the Abyss before them. With somewhat of a cliffhanger, the ending teases that there's a much bigger mystery hiding in plain sight for Made in Abyss season 3.
3 Tower of God
Based on the smash-hit manhwa, Tower of God has one of the best cliffhanger twists in modern anime. The first episode of the series introduces its main characters, Bam and Rachel, as they begin their climb up a mysterious Tower that will supposedly grant the desires of anyone who makes it to the top. He's soon separated from his friend and makes a vow to find her. In typical fantasy fashion, it's quickly revealed that Bam is "irregular" – an outsider who entered the Tower by opening the gates on his own. He's given a powerful sword called the Black March and continues his quest to find Rachel.
Tower of God's powerful finale reveals that the true villain of the story is none other than Bam's best friend who he's spent the entire first season searching for – Rachel. In a cold-hearted betrayal, Rachel shoves Bam as they ascend up the Tower. The cliffhanger perfectly sets up Rachel's role as a villain and leaves fans anxious to know what season 2 will bring.
2 Code Geass
Code Geass follows the life of Lelouch Lamperouge as he finds himself mixed up in an anti-government movement against the Britannian Army in Shinjuku. In the middle of this dire conflict, Lelouch is rescued by a mysterious green-haired girl who grants him "the power of a king," which allows him to compel others to do whatever he wants. Similarly to the series Death Note, Code Geass' first episode sets Lelouch up as a sort of antihero, capable of doing bad things but who is ultimately aiming for the greater good behind his alter ego, Zero.
As the anime reaches its climax, Lelouch's goals have become distorted, and the young man has begun committing atrocities with his corrupted worldview having completely taken over. As Lelouch quickly becomes the villain of Code Geass, he's betrayed by his best friend and ally, Suzaku, after being fatally stabbed. In addition to his betrayal, Suzaku dons Zero's outfit, immortalizing Lelouch's alter ego as a hero of the people – a reputation that Lelouch wanted all to himself.
1 Attack on Titan
Beginning as a relatively average shonen action series following Eren Yeager's desire for revenge against the monsters that took his mother away from him, Attack on Titan reveals a much larger conspiracy behind the hack-and-slash battle sequences.
In the final episode of Attack on Titan's most recent season, Eren's descent into madness reaches its climax as he ushers in the Rumbling, an apocalyptic event that aims to wipe out all life. In a horrific transformation, Eren turns himself into the Founding Titan, a grotesque titan that looks completely different from the naive young man introduced in the first episode of season 1.
Consistency is an important quality for anime, but so are plot twists and sudden turns that leave viewers in shock. The anime on this list made a great job of subverting the expectations set with their first episode, and their final episodes will usually remain impressed in viewers' memories for a long time.