15 Anime Characters Who Really Got What They Deserved
This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. (Learn more).Karma truly is a boomerang that will hit you in the head as hard as you throw it.
And while some manage to duck out of the way, some get whacked.
And oh boy is it satisfying when terrible people finally get whacked. So let’s see which kinds of characters get that treatment in the anime world.
Here we’ll be looking at some anime characters whose actions could not be excused in any stretch of the imagination, as they finally get bopped by life.
And yes, spoilers ahead.
15. Overhaul
Anime: My Hero Academia
As a villain, Overhaul was among the worst of the worst.
Like yeah, all villains do terrible things. But few can compare to a psychopath that not only mentally traumatized a child, but also made her continuously experience a death-like state.
Sure, Deku punishing him straight in the face and taking Eri away was satisfying.
But the real kicker came from the League of Villains.
They took out both of his arms, rendering him Quirkless.
Which is just some beautiful irony, as Overhaul was torturing Eri to rid the world of all other Quirks.
Seeing his terrified face as he finally realized his helplessness just served as perfect justice for such a criminal.
14. Akira Takaoka
Anime: Assassination Classroom
If you ever had a coach or mentor that absolutely abused their power and tried to push you far beyond your limits for their own satisfaction, you loved the end of this guy’s storyline.
He was just a garbage person who constantly abused his underlings under the guise of making them stronger.
So when the students finally clap back (pun intended) and put him in his place, it’s pretty great.
But then he goes even further beyond and just becomes a Disney villain, his defeat is even more satisfying.
He was pretty irredeemable from the start. But he was a blatant monster by the end, only making his punishment that much for satisfactory.
13. Daigo Kagemitsu
Anime: Dororo
Daigo is a bit more morally gray compared to a lot of the people on here.
But his punishment was definitely just as enjoyable.
He basically sacrificed his son to the demons, which is as bad as you can get. But he did it for his people to prosper, which makes it slightly justifiable.
That’s why I’m glad Hyakkimaru didn’t simply kill him, but rather just took back what was his.
Even when given the chance, Hyakkimaru refused to give up on his humanity and allowed his father to walk away.
But he did away all the fortune that Daigo had unfairly acquired, leaving him to honestly fight for the wellbeing of his people.
Not only did this decision subvert my expectation, but it also seemed like a more deserving end for such a leader as Daigo.
12. Neferpitou
Anime: Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Neferpitou was just straight-up evil.
Not only did she kill Gon’s mentor, but she also made a puppet out of his corpse.
She even lied to Gon that he could be healed in order to buy time and fulfill her task, only to drop the truth on him and attack.
Seeing Gon beat the whiskers off her was both very tragic and very satisfying.
On the one hand, we later learn how risky Gon’s powerup was, and the consequences that such power entails.
On the other hand, we finally get to see him get his sweet revenge.
No humanity or mercy. Just raw anger towards the person that took his precious mentor away.
11. Ragyou Kiryuuin
Anime: Kill la Kill
In terms of children rising up against a neglective and cruel parent, Kill la Kill held no punches.
Ragyou was arguably one of the worst mothers in anime – not only flushing one kid down the drain, but also assaulting and manipulating her second-born.
So having her second-born rise up and devote her life to taking her down was more than just deserved.
And having that abandoned child come out from the woodworks to strike the killing blow was equally as called for.
She legitimately had no positive qualities. And I loved the fact that those who she abused or abandoned ended up causing her downfall.
10. Shoya Ishida
Anime: A Silent Voice
This one is a little weird, as I love Shoya to death. However, that doesn’t excuse the fact that he was a merciless bully when he was young.
And what does he get in return?
He himself becomes the target of bullying.
Now, I’m not saying that you should always fight fire with fire. But in Shoya’s case, it was definitely a much needed wake up call.
I say this because he not only grew to understand what it means to be a victim and to be ostracized, but he also grew as a person and became a respectful adolescence.
So in that way it was definitely satisfying to see him getting a taste of his own medicine.
9. Aqua
Anime: KonoSuba
I want to include this one strictly because it’s one of my all-time favorite anime moments.
Although she initially put up a front of being this merciful and understanding goddess, Aqua quickly showed her snarky and entitled side to Kazuma – as well as to us.
So having Kazuma pull a complete 180 and just drag her to the mortal plane was simply hilarious.
It was one of those instant-karma moments. And to this day I still remember the face of utter disbelief once she realized that she pissed off the wrong isekai protagonist.
Plus, we could use a bit of laughter before going back into the human garbage dump.
8. Makoto Itou
Anime: School Days
Speaking of human garbage, we get this dude.
Saying that he’s heatless is not doing him enough justice, as this hormone driven man seemed like he was on a quest to ruin as many lives as he could.
The amount of lies he told and girls he cheated on is already pretty abhorrent.
But then you also get scenes where a girl lies that she’s pregnant with his child and he just says “oh, woopsie doopsie, get rid of it now”.
So, you know, seeing him getting stabbed countless times by one of his multiple victims was just kind of satisfying.
I’m not sure whether he deserved to be full-on murdered, but it was quite satisfying nonetheless.
7. Shou Tucker
Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Shou somehow makes Makoto seem like a nice guy, let’s just start off with that.
This dude was so obsessed with his career that he literally sacrificed his daughter, wife, and dog.
And not like “neglected” or “hurt”. Oh no, that would be too tame for this man.
He made them into breathing abominations who could only hope for the sweet release of death. And I’m glad that he ended up the way he did.
If Edward had just beaten him up, it wouldn’t have been a severe enough punishment. And if Scar had just killed him immediately, he would have gotten off too quickly.
So a good beating followed by death seems like an appropriate punishment for such a monster.
6. Johan Liebert
Anime: Monster
Speaking of monsters…
This entry is a bit odd, especially if you didn’t watch the show, but stick with me.
Johan was the perfect mastermind, controlling countless people and leaving corpses wherever people knew of his existence.
His grand finale was planned so that he would be killed by Tenma, a doctor who had saved him previously. He wanted Tenma to finally give up on his ideals and become his equal in a way.
But then he just gets shot by a random drunk dude.
Not only that, but Tenma saves his life again!
That might sound like a cop-out. But it was honestly the worst punishment Johan could have received.
He failed to destroy Tenma’s ideals, and his reign of terror was put to a stop. Presumably, that is.
5. Ruruka Andou
Anime: Danganronpa 3: Monokuma Gekijou
God knows that Danganronpa has quite a few characters that deserved punishment.
However, Ruruka was exceptionally deserving because she made little to no sense and just acted upon her every basic instinct.
She literally killed her boyfriend just because she thought for a second that he might betray her.
She also nearly killed her best friend, because why not at this point?
So seeing her getting hypnotized and offing herself shortly after, was rather called for.
I swear, this show makes me cheer for the most morbid stuff.
4. Kingdom of Falmuth
Anime: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
This isekai was honestly very wholesome – for like 90% of its run.
But then come these Falmuth bastards and ruin my happy-go-lucky escape fantasy.
Not only are the individual characters complete pricks, but the kingdom also attacked and massacred the good people of Rimuru city just because they were afraid of their merchant trade.
Saying that Rimuru was pissed would be an understatement.
So when Rimuru finally confronted the entire army by themselves and returned the massacre favor, it seemed completely justified.
Plus it was just a very epic moment.
3. Squealer
Anime: From The New World
Here’s another weird one that I think is worth mentioning.
Squealer was definitely not a good guy. He played dirty, started an entire war that claimed countless souls, and even stole infants from his enemies to strengthen his forces.
However, he was also justified in wanting to revolt, being that humans treated his race as garbage and never acknowledged their intelligence.
For this reason, his initial punishment was not deserved in my opinion.
He was forced to endure endless torture for as long as his captors felt like healing what remains of his body.
It was only after he was finally put to death that I think he reaped the full consequences of what he sowed.
He took away countless lives. So it was only right that his own be taken away once the battle was lost.
2. Ishihara
Anime: Rainbow
When you think of corrupted cops, this dude should be the best example.
He has no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and abuses his power in the worst ways possible.
Beyond just abusing the prisoners, he also sends some of them off to a sick old man so that he can have his way with their bodies.
He even flat out kills one prisoner, and even one of his colleagues.
You would think that this guy deserves to die. But you would be wrong.
Squealer deserved to die.
Ishihara deserved to suffer.
And so he did.
He became homeless and an addict, falling so low as to beg one of his victims to end his misery – only to be met with the sentence “you are not worth killing”.
It was extremely satisfying, and exactly what a garbage person like Ishihara deserved.
1. Reiner Braun
Anime: Attack on Titan
As of this writing, the series has not concluded yet.
However, the first part of the final season was the perfect example of karma.
Being that Reiner was at fault for destroying the wall and subjugating so many people to the wrath of the Titans, it was only fair that he received the exact same punishment.
Not death, mind you, but rather the realization that someone you used to call a friend just unleashed hell onto your homeland – just so that they can protect their own skin.
Reiner knew this was what he truly deserved. Which is why I think he begged for death upon meeting Eren.
It was such a powerful scene, and probably my favorite example of karma.
Because even if you think you’re fighting for the right cause, the second you harm others, you should expect harm to come right back into your arms.