Betrayal isn’t as uncommon as people may think—especially in anime. Characters have their own motivations for betraying people such as revenge, love, gratitude, or even to advance their careers. There are many ways in which a person can betray someone, and it’s commonly done by the people who are closest to them (but that's not always the case).
It’s also quite common in anime for people to be falsely accused of crimes that they didn’t commit. Some are small crimes, like theft, while others are much larger, like murder or massacres. In some cases, just even having the propensity to commit a crime is a criminal offense, even if a person hasn’t committed any crime. There are several characters in anime who’ve had to experience the displeasure of being falsely accused of crimes that they didn’t commit.
10 Naofumi Iwatani Trusted A Princess And Was Accused Of Assaulting Her (The Rising Of The Shield Hero)
In The Rising of the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani and three others are summoned to another world as Hero’s to help them fight the Waves of Calamity. As the shield hero, he is immediately made to feel unwanted and rejected.
So, when Malty S. Melromarc, joins his party, he’s ecstatic. The next day, however, he learns that she accused him of assault, and he is shunned by the entire kingdom and his fellow heroes. He was nothing but kind to her and even bought her a new set of armor, but she betrayed him for her own amusement.
9 Yato Is Accused Of Killing Someone Out Of Malice (Noragami)
Yato, along with Bishamon, are Gods but they don’t get along at all. Mainly because Bishamon believes Yato killed her Shinki. Shinki are souls that are bound to serve a God in the afterlife.
They can become corrupted and cause havoc on both Gods and other Shinki. Yato did her Shinki but not out of malice or because he’s cruel. He killed the Shinki because one of her more loyal followers asked him to, to stop Bishamon and the other Shinki from suffering. He did it as a kindness and to stop the suffering.
8 Ganta Igarashi Was Framed For Massacring His Entire Class At A Theme Park (Deadman Wonderland)
Ganta Igarashi and his fellow classmates went on a school trip to Deadman Wonderland—a deadly prison where the criminals perform dangerous acts for the amusement of onlookers.
Things go south for Ganta when a mysterious man in red massacres his entire class and disappears. As the sole survivor, Ganta is framed for the massacre of his classmates and is sent to the very prison that they were just touring. He is forced to survive alongside criminals to discover who and why he was framed.
7 Vash The Stampede Is Accused Of Destroying A Town Because Of His Supposed Hatred Of Humans (Trigun)
Vash and his twin brother Knives are humanoid plants that have opposing beliefs. Vash believes that humans and plants can coexist peacefully together. However, Knives would prefer to kill the entire human race.
Knives experimented on Vash in such a way that Vash accidentally unleashed an incredible power that destroyed an entire town, killing over 200,000 people. This earned him the title of “The Humanoid Typhoon” and a substantial bounty. He doesn’t fight off bounty hunters or his brother’s attempts to capture him and he tries to protect as many people as he can to repent, even though it wasn’t his fault.
6 Kyo Sohma’s Father Accused Him Of Killing His Own Mother (Fruits Basket)
Kyo Sohma is a member of the Sohma Clan and but he isn't a member of the Zodiac. However, as he’s cursed by the cat spirit, he is shunned and treated terribly by the Sohma clan and many of the people that work for them. He is blamed for everything that goes wrong, even if it isn’t his fault because the cat spirit is their scapegoat.
One of the prominent things he is accused of is killing his mother. Kyo’s mother committed suicide, but Kyo’s father blames him for her death and states that he is the one who killed her.
5 Maria Ross Is Accused Of Killing Maes Hughes And Had To Flee The Country (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Maria Ross, a Lieutenant in the Amestrian State Army, is accused of killing Maes Hughes. For anyone that knows her, this seems like the very last thing that she would do as she loves her comrades.
The evidence that is piled against her is quite minimal. A bullet that was pulled from his chest matched the ones in Maria’s gun but he was killed by Envy. As she was never proven innocent, Roy Mustang helped Maria fake her own death. She escaped and went to live under the protection of another country.
4 Shusei Kagari Had The Potential For Criminal Tendencies And Spent His Childhood In An Institution (Psycho-Pass)
In Psycho-Pass, everyone is tested using the Sibyl System. This determines a person’s criminal tendencies. If someone is suspected to have those tendencies, they are sent to an institution. One such person is Shusei Kagari.
Shusei spent his childhood in an institution because he had the tendency to become a criminal, even though he hadn’t committed a crime. He was given a chance to leave if he became an enforcer, people who help track down criminals, and he agreed. Even though he knows the system is flawed, he did what he could to protect people.
3 Jun Shiratori Is Accused Of Murdering Children Because Of His Appearance (Erased)
Jun Shiratori is a prime example of someone being ostracized and used as a scapegoat because of his appearance. Jun works very early shifts, so the fact that he potters around during the day he is seen as someone who doesn’t have a job and someone who doesn’t contribute to society.
He also likes to play at the park and loves helping kids but that doesn’t mean that he is the one murdering and kidnapping children (which he is accused of). Thankfully, his name does get cleared and he can go on leading an ordinary and happy life.
2 Dr. Kenzo Tenma Saved An Orphan Who Then Killed The Hospital’s Administrators As A Thank You (Monster)
Dr. Kenzo Tenma works at the prestigious Eisley Memorial Hospital. One day, he sacrifices everything (his fiancée and his career) all because he decided to operate on an orphaned boy called Johan Liebert, over a wealthy mayor. While the boy was unconscious, Kenzo talks about his troubles, thinking nothing of it.
To thank him, Johan kills the hospital’s administrators as soon as he recovers. Due to the circumstances, Kenzo is the one suspected of killing the administrators, but as there was no solid evidence, the police had to let him go. Kenzo realizes that it was Johan who killed those people and prepares to stop him.
1 Maya Kitajima Trusted The Wrong Person And Is Blacklisted As An Actress (Glass Mask)
In Glass Mask, Maya Kitajima is an aspiring actress who fell in love with theatre at a very young age. Similar to many industries, there are several people that are a wolf in sheep’s clothing and shouldn’t be trusted. One such person is Norie Otobe.
She comes across as sweet and ambitionless, but that’s just a façade. Norie spreads rumors about Maya in the hopes that she can get her Maya’s roles and it turns into a big scandal. Maya is blacklisted from many of her roles but finds her way back to acting. Thankfully, Norie is eventually exposed, but the harm was already done.