10 Pathetic Anime Characters Who Keep Getting Saving By Bad Writing & Plot Armor

Plot armor will always be there to keep characters alive in anime, and there is no shame in needing that kind of protection now and then. Even action superstars like Monkey D. Luffy and Deku need it now and then, but it’s a problem if the plot armor is too obvious or if the character relies on it too much. Even worse is when it’s the weak characters who rely on plot armor time and again to survive in the story.

These weaker characters may be lovable in many ways and entertain viewers, but they still have an awkward relationship with plot armor, and viewers are going to notice. Such characters aren’t strong enough to escape the specter of death with their own abilities or wits, so they need lucky breaks and other contrivances to make it through. Anime fans can name plenty of low-power characters who need a helping hand from the author to reach the story’s end or at least get closer to the end than if they fought alone.

10

Usopp Amuses One Piece Viewers By Lucking His Way Out of Trouble

Most members of the Straw Hat crew rely on power such as Luffy’s Gears, katanas, or Devil Fruits to fight in One Piece, while Usopp is all about tricks and traps. One Piece fans aren’t actually that bothered by Usopp’s clear weakness, and he did get stronger after the 3D2Y reunion. That being said, Usopp’s Devil Fruit is definitely good old fashioned plot armor.

Usopp is one of many anime characters who has to luck their way through everything with silly or iffy writing. He somehow faced many of the strongest pirate crews in the Grand Line and New World with no Devil Fruit or Haki, and his idiosyncrasies did all the heavy lifting. Fans may recall how he defeated both Perona and Sugar with sheer luck, having just the right attitude or behavior to negate those villains’ otherwise fearsome powers.

9

Sokka Glowed Up But Still Needed Plot Armor to Survive the War

Sokka’s personal arc is an impressive one in Avatar: The Last Airbender as he expanded his worldview and used his sharp wits to support Team Avatar. He’s a great character on those levels, but the plot armor tends to be heavy-handed with this character. It’s obvious how much help Sokka needed from the kid-friendly narrative to survive lethal fireballs and other attacks.

Even when Sokka faced a non-powered foe like Piandao the swordsman, Sokka was simply lucky that his opponent was secretly an ally as a member of the White Lotus. If Piandao had been anyone else, he would have killed Sokka the novice swordsman in their duel — or Sokka would have needed his bender allies to bail him out of trouble yet again. It was also a miracle Sokka survived his assault on Ozai’s airship fleet in the series finale.

8

Kobeni Is Lucky She Hasn’t Died at a Devil’s Hands By Now

The characters in the subversive shonen anime Chainsaw Man tend to have thin plot armor. To drive home the harsh reality of being a Devil Hunter, many characters have gotten killed or otherwise written out, including the skilled Himeno. That makes it all the stranger how Kobeni, of all people, has made it this far. She even made a cameo in the Reze Arc movie and managed to not suffer a scratch.

Aside from fancy knife work and an unspecified devil contract, Kobeni is a remarkably underpowered character. She even panicked and tried to sell out Denji to the Eternity Devil, which said much about Kobeni’s desperation and lack of teamwork as a hunter. It almost seems like a running gag in Chainsaw Man for Kobeni to survive while the more powerful Devil Hunters around her fall in battle as heroes.

7

Iruma Suzuki Clung to His Classmates and Grandfather to Survive the Netherworld

From the very start, Iruma Suzuki has been a total underdog in the isekai anime Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun. The anime went to some lengths to explain how Iruma can survive in the Netherworld surrounded by humanoid demons, though there are some gaps, such as how Iruma explains the lack of his wings. More demons ought to have questioned Iruma’s oddities, but Iruma has managed to maintain his cover all the same.

Iruma is not physically strong and needs the Ring of Gluttony to absorb and use magical energy, but even that is limited. It was a proper miracle Iruma had what it took to defeat that chimera monster in the Walter Park battle, succeeding where all his demon classmates failed. It’s both amusing and a cause for tension, and there’s no doubt Iruma will keep clinging to this plot armor whenever the anime resumes.

6

Kazuma Sato’s Plot Armor is Reflected in His Luck Stat

It’s actually the point that Kazuma Sato has such impossible good luck and plot armor aplenty in Konosuba. Kazuma is a weak and sleazy antihero who knows that Luck is his only worthwhile stat in this fantasy realm, so he leans heavily on it. For that matter, everyone in Kazuma’s team is lucky to survive the fierce battles and monsters they come across in the anime.

Kazuma’s plot armor reached its hilarious peak in the Konosuba movie, where he got caught up in the final showdown with the villain Sylvia. Kazuma was right there when Megumin and Yunyun combined their magic to set off the explosion of the century, with Kazuma only making it out alive because Aqua kept boosting his impossible luck many times over. Only in an anime like Konosuba can luck be a character’s official superpower at the cost of all others.

5

Krillin is One of the Weak Links Among the Z Fighters

Plot armor became an official plot device in the Dragon Ball universe via the seven Dragon Balls and the dragon Shenron, along with other versions of those items. That cut into the tension or tragedy of certain characters dying, even Goku himself, since Shenron can bring back the dead with a wish. Goku is a mixed case, relying on both his own ferocious power and the Dragon Balls to survive the story.

Meanwhile, Goku’s onetime shonen rival Krillin has needed plot armor time and again to make it through Dragon Ball Z. He fell too far behind Goku to fight by his side in most cases, and he certainly needed the Dragon Balls to return to life at one point. Krillin also needs the strongest members of the Z Fighters to keep him safe, and unflatteringly enough, Krillin is often advise to hang back while Goku and Vegeta handle things.

4

Murata is a Demon Slayer Redshirt With Impressive Plot Armor

No matter its goofy comedy and colorful visuals, Demon Slayer is a brutal shonen action anime that won’t hesitate to kill off or maim its heroes. There have also been some jobber characters on both sides of the conflict to reinforce the sense of danger, including the low-ranked demon slayers who died in Mt. Natagumo’s forest. Despite the danger, though, Murata the slayer made it out alive, and he’s been keeping it up ever since.

Murata looks exactly like the kind of redshirt to get killed off so Tanjiro Kamado can appreciate the danger and avenge the fallen, but Murata bucked all expectations and survived anyway. He even made it into the Infinity Castle Arc, though whether or not this lucky demon slayer survives, he probably won’t make much of a difference anyhow.

3

Karin Would Have Died if Sasuke Had His Way

Naruto Uzumaki’s own plot armor in Naruto is Kurama himself, since that Tailed Beast will always keep Naruto alive for the sake of self-preservation. Meanwhile, other characters like Karin need more traditional plot armor to survive, especially if they are not particularly strong. Karin definitely needed some of that, since her own jutsu won’t cut it in Naruto Shippuden‘s battles.

Karin was a support kunoichi in Sasuke’s antihero team, and when Sasuke turned against her, it was a miracle Karin didn’t lose her life. She was indeed shocked when Sasuke impaled her alongside Danzo on that long Chidori, but the plot swooped in to keep Karin out of the grave. Later, Sasuke even suggested Sakura should finish off Karin so Sakura could prove her loyalty to Sasuke. Once again, the plot decided otherwise, and Karin was spared.

2

Chad is Lucky to Fight Enemies Who Can’t Be Bothered to Kill Him

Chad’s character was seriously shafted in the Bleach anime, since he was written to be Ichigo Kurosaki’s badass friend as a fellow fighter. However, Chad was always two steps behind and even acknowledged that to himself. Thus, Chad could only win his easiest fights, such as when he battled ordinary Soul Reapers or when he took on Gantenbainne Mosqueda in Las Noches.

Anytime Chad faced a serious opponent who could have killed him, Chad needed a hefty dose of good fortune to not get himself killed. Mercifully, Captain Kyoraku was too kind to finish off Chad, and the villain Nnoitora Gilga simply felt it was beneath him to finish off Chad in Las Noches’ central chamber. Normally, shonen underdogs power up when superior foes pressure them in battle, but Chad tends to lose and luck his way out of an execution instead.

1

Armin Was All Brains and No Brawn Until Season 4

After a point in Attack on Titan‘s story, Armin Arlert could keep himself alive with the fearsome power of the Colossal Titan. That allowed him to handily survive the destructive Liberio raid, for example. He was still lucky to survive fighting his own best friend Eren, however, such as in the final fight when Eren summoned the forms of history’s Titan Shifters.

What is more, even the Colossal Titan form itself was heavy-duty plot armor for Armin. He easily could have died in Season 3’s battles, only for Levi to be finally convinced to save Armin with a Titan serum rather than save Erwin Smith with it. In the battles before that, Armin was equally lucky to make it through those Titan battles when so many other, stronger soldiers lost their lives.