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In the world of anime, heroic fighters usually triumph over the mighty villains and win the day, and sometimes, it’s a very close call. For the sake of tension and excitement, the heroes are usually weaker than the villains and tend to win with creative and risky moves that no one, not even the viewer, will see coming.
Some anime heroes like to plan ahead and have won the fight well ahead of time. Other heroes are badly losing the fight until the very last moment, only to finally turn things around and claim victory. Some of these last-minute victories are satisfying while others might feel cheap, but they are all tense and exciting affairs where victory isn’t certain until the very last second.
10 Yumichika Ayasegawa Unveiled His True Shikai (Bleach)
Yumichika Ayasegawa is a minor hero in Bleach, and he is one of several Bleach characters who narrowly scraped a victory just seconds before certain defeat. In particular, he won a last-minute victory against the vain Arrancar named Charlotte, who had an advantage with his superior strength and released state.
Yumichika fought Charlotte with a partial shikai, and only at the last moment did he use his correct shikai and actually win the fight. This was the first time in quite a while that Yumichika actually used his correct shikai, and it took viewers by total surprise. Turns out he has a kido-type zanpakuto after all.
9 Naruto Uzumaki Narrowly Defeated Haku (Naruto)
Just like its contemporary Bleach, the hit shonen series Naruto has many examples of the hero winning at the last possible moment, often by using techniques or powers that are revealed just before the fight is over. One early example is when the newly-formed Team 7 fought the ice shinobi Haku.
Haku’s ice mirror kekkei genkai seemingly killed Sasuke, so Naruto’s fox chakra emerged for the first time, and just before he succumbed to Haku, Naruto turned the tables with his terrifying inner power. Haku and Zabuza didn’t see that coming at all.
8 Giorno Defeated Diavolo With Gold Experience Requiem (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Many fights in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are won at the last possible moment, and most of these fights are won in a satisfying and clever manner. One of many examples is hero Giorno Giovanna’s final battle against the terrifying mob boss Diavolo, who was wreaking havoc at the time. Bruno and Narancia had already succumbed to his power.
Giorno had no chance of defeating Diavolo with his Gold Experience Stand, but Giorno’s fortunes were reversed when he gained the Gold Experience Requiem Stand and inflicted an infinite series of deaths on Diavolo to finish the fight.
7 Izuku Midoriya Needed Eri’s Help Against Overhaul (My Hero Academia)
Izuku Midoriya has had some close calls of his own, and he very nearly died when he faced off against the Yakuza boss Overhaul. Already, Overhaul had overwhelmed both Mirio Togata of the big three and Sir Nighteye, and the situation looked hopeless. When Izuku took over the fight, the odds were stacked against him.
Izuku had no real chance until the young Eri took a risk and used her Rewind Quirk on her new friend to heal him as he used One For All’s true power. With this last-minute boost, Izuku claimed victory over Overhaul at last, and the day was won.
6 Ichigo Kurosaki Struggled Against Grimmjow (Bleach)
Ichigo Kurosaki is the main hero of Bleach, and he has had more than a few close calls of his own, such as when he barely defeated Captain Kenpachi Zaraki and Captain Byakuya Kuchiki in the Soul Society arc. Then, he scored yet another last-minute victory against his main rival, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques, in the Hueco Mundo story arc.
Ichigo and Grimmjow faced off inside Las Noches’ vast interior, and Ichigo slowly but surely fell behind, even with his Hollow mask on. Just before Ichigo collapsed, Orihime Inoue shouted a few encouraging words, and Ichigo found the strength to take down Grimmjow once and for all.
5 Gaara Was Lucky When Kimimaro Collapsed (Naruto)
It’s not just Naruto Uzumaki himself who’s winning last-minute victories in the story of Naruto. Gaara of the Sand became a redeemed villain and decided to aid Naruto during the Sasuke retrieval mission, and Gaara confronted the mighty Kimimaro all by himself.
Gaara did what he could, but in the end, Kimimaro was too strong, and he very nearly gored Gaara with a massive bone drill. Fortunately, Kimimaro’s illness caught up to him at the absolute last second, and Gaara was spared Kimimaro’s wrath after all.
4 Yumeko Jabami Didn’t Fall For Mary’s Tricks (Kakeguri)
Yumeko Jabami is a shonen heroine who is capable of planning ahead, but she doesn’t like to guarantee her odds in a gamble. She will only plan ahead to counteract an opponent’s cheating. Otherwise, she would rather have pure, random chance determining the winner. That’s what makes gambling so fun for her.
Yumeko often wins at the last moment, and that includes her first-ever game, where she and her rival Mary Saotome played a rock-paper-scissors game. Yumeko had nearly lost all her chips, but then she finally foiled Mary’s cheating and won the match right before she went bankrupt.
3 Major Alex Louis Armstrong Needed Help Against Sloth (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Major Alex Louis Armstrong has a strong sense of honor and fairness, even when fighting Greed’s minions, much to Wrath’s exasperation. During the Promised Day, Alex and his sister Olivier faced off against Sloth the homunculus, and while the Armstrongs fought well, they couldn’t keep up with Sloth’s constant regeneration.
Alex and Olivier were on the verge of defeat when Izumi and Sig Curtis heroically arrived at the last moment, and the four fighters finally turned the tables on Sloth and dealt the final blow. Sloth could only lay there as he crumbled to ashes.
2 Soma Yukihira Outmaneuvered Subaru Mimasaka’s Copycat Technique (Food Wars!)
Soma Yukihira is the son of a diner owner, and he is best known for his flexible and adaptable cooking style. Unlike his fierce rival Takumi Aldini, Soma isn’t pigeon-holed as a chef, which worked in his favor when he went up against the copycat chef Subaru Mimasaka in the Autumn Election tournament.
As usual, Subaru spied on and copied Soma and almost made better beef stew than Soma. Then, at the last possible moment, Soma altered his recipe yet again to one-up Subaru, and it was too late for Subaru to adjust. Soma won the match, and Subaru later became an ally.
1 Yuji Itadori Needed Sukuna To Defeat A Special-Grade Curse (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Yuji Itadori is a fierce melee fighter, and he has Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki by his side, too. However, none of them were ready to face a special-grade curse that early in the Jujutsu Kaisen anime, and Yuji even lost one of his hands to that monster. It looked hopeless.
At the last moment, Yuji accessed Ryomen Sukuna’s power and easily defeated the special-grade curse, claiming another of Sukuna’s fingers in the process. This was a total reversal of fortunes, but it came at a cost later. Sukuna is no ordinary ally, after all.
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