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Most heartbreaking anime deaths

Saddest anime deaths

The community has spoken. Discover the world ranking, compare it to yours and see how everyone else voted.

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0commentsUpdated on 10/17/2026 at 03:00 AM

Itachi's death – Naruto1384

The worldwide ranking generated by 16.8k votes

38 / 38

Itachi's death – Naruto1384

Satoru Gojo's death – Jujutsu Kaisen1368

Jiraiya's death – Naruto1360

Koro-sensei's death – Assassination Classroom1325

Ace's death – One Piece1281

Hughes's death – FMA1267

Eren's death – AOT1260

Zabuza and Haku's death – Naruto1256

Nanami's death – Jujutsu Kaisen1253

#10

Whitebeard's death – One Piece1241

#11

Kyojuro Rengoku's death – Demon Slayer1233

#12

L's death – Death Note1232

#13

Minato & Kushina's death – Naruto1232

#14

Nighteye's death – MHA1230

#15

Donquixote Rosinante's death – One Piece1214

#16

Meruem's death – Hunter x Hunter1213

#17

Future Gohan's death – DBZ1212

#18

Asuma's death – Naruto1211

#19

Neji's death – Naruto1193

#20

Hiriluk's death – One Piece1193

#21

Hange's death – AOT1188

#22

Bell-mère's death – One Piece1186

#23

Lelouch's death – Code Geass1177

#24

Sasha's death – AOT1174

#25

Nina Tucker's death – FMA1174

#26

Junpei's death – Jujutsu Kaisen1173

#27

Erwin's death – AOT1173

#28

Kite's death – Hunter x Hunter1172

#29

Himeno's death – Chainsaw Man1142

#30

Stoutland's death – Pokémon1139

#31

Bardock's death – DBZ1133

#32

Baji's death – Tokyo Revengers1133

#33

Igneel's death – Fairy Tail1126

#34

Oden's death – One Piece1124

#35

Shimotsuki Yasuie's death – One Piece1100

#36

Caesar's death – JoJo's Bizarre Adventure1062

#37

Kamina's death – Gurren Lagann1041

#38

Otohime's death – One Piece1036

What the community says

44 ELO points separate Koro-sensei's death – Assassination Classroom from Ace's death – One Piece in the most heartbreaking anime deaths ranking, after 16821 duels.

Itachi's death from Naruto claims the top spot with 1384 ELO points across 1040 duels, edging out Satoru Gojo's death from Jujutsu Kaisen by 16 points. Gojo's sacrifice holds second place with 1368 points and a 54% win rate after 914 duels. Jiraiya's death, also from Naruto, secures third with 1360 points despite winning 63% of its 878 duels, suggesting strong support among a dedicated segment of voters. The sharpest divide appears between ranks 4 and 5, where Koro-sensei's sacrifice in Assassination Classroom stands 44 points above Ace's death in One Piece. At rank 5, Ace registers 1281 points with a 55% win rate across 945 duels. The bottom of the ranking reveals less consensus: Kamina's death from Gurren Lagann sits at rank 37 with 1041 points and a 38% win rate, while Otohime's death from One Piece closes the list at 1036 points after 770 duels.

The ranking draws from 16821 duels across 114 players who weighed 38 contenders against each other. Updated on 11 October 2026, it captures which deaths still resonate years after their episodes aired. Cast your vote to shape the list and decide which moment hit hardest.

Updated on October 11, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →