An escape is one of the most exciting stories that could be told, which is why some anime tackled the idea in their own unique ways. From jailbreaks to last-ditch efforts, these anime escapees did the best they could to run, with some failing where others succeeded.
Though there will always be some changes to the formula such as breaking into the prison being the first stage of the escape, the storyline will always be exciting or even dramatic as long as it's done right.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
10 Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail — Rock Convinced Everyone To Help Gray Fox Escape Roberta's Wrath
When Roberta tracked down the black ops unit Gray Fox to Roanapur, all hell was sure to break loose. Not only was Roberta starting a bloodbath inevitable, but her killing American soldiers would turn Roanapur into a hotbed of international intervention. Obviously, the underworld couldn't abide by this.
Rock proposed that, by using aid and resources provided by every major gang in Roanapur, the Lagoon Company get Gray Fox (and by extension, Roberta) off the island. The escape worked and lessened the collateral damage on Roanapur. Instead, Roberta murdered most of Gray Fox in the Golden Triangle located outside of Roanapur's borders.
9 Psycho-Pass — Shogo Makishima's Final Gambit Against Sibyl Proved Futile
Depending on whose opinion is taken into account, the amoral serial killer Makishima is either Psycho-Pass' first major villain or a twisted yet sympathetic anti-hero. His murder spree is actually a rebellion against the Sibyl System, which isn't a cold, calculating panopticon as advertised, but a collective of hypocritical brains that dictate Japanese law and order.
Makishima was offered a chance to join Sibyl, but he refused and made one last desperate attempt to leave a country that willingly surrendered its freedom. Makishima's escape failed, and he was put out of his misery by Shinya Kogami, but it was still one of this morally complex anime's most thrilling moments and a chilling season finale.
8 Death Note — Light Yagami Got Cornered & Saw His Godhood Come Crumbling Down
For most of Death Note, and especially after L's fatal defeat, Light was ten steps ahead of his enemies. Not only did he trick everyone into thinking he was helping the police track down Kira, but he used this cover to enact his self-righteous view of justice on mankind from the shadows. However, even Light wasn't above a humiliating defeat.
In the finale, L's successors, Mello and Near, outsmarted Light in his own mind games. With his countermeasures nullified, his delusions of godhood demolished, and a fatal gunshot wound, Light did the only thing left to do: run away. Death Note's last escape may not be action-packed, but it was still a thrillingly tragic way to close the series.
7 Beastars — Legosi Broke Haru Out Of The Shishigumi Headquarters
For most of Beastars, Legosi and Haru had no idea what to do about the mutual affection they felt for one another. This became irrelevant when Haru got kidnapped by the lion mob, who wanted to eat her. Legosi wouldn't let that happen, and, for the first time in the anime, he stood up for what he truly wanted and rushed to Haru's rescue.
Beastars' finale was a daring raid into and escape from the Shishigumi's fortress that changed the characters' lives in irreversible ways. While the Shishigumi's power structure was crippled and ended up in Louis' control following a string of odd luck, Legosi and Haru grew closer to one another in ways they never thought possible.
6 One Piece — Luffy's Epic Raid On Impel Down Set The Stage For The Paramount War
Shortly after getting word that his brother Ace was to be executed for piracy, Luffy and a select few pirates stage an assault on the underwater prison Impel Down. However, getting inside was the easy part. What followed was one of Luffy's biggest fights, where he fought tooth and nail to escape with the help of former enemies.
The Impel Down Arc is one of One Piece's best and most action-packed pre-time skip events, but what's most important about it is how it led to the decisive Marineford Arc. Luffy's failure to get Ace out before his execution date laid the groundwork for the devastating Paramount War, which altered the course of pirate history forever.
5 Bleach — The Ryokoa Invasion Went From Rukia Kuchiki's Rescue To Sosuke Aizen's Escape
Bleach's iconic escape arc started out simple and straightforward enough: Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends broke into Soul Society to help Rukia escape her unjust death sentence. What Ichigo's group or even the all-powerful Gotei 13 only realized too late was that they were all being played like a fiddle by Captain Aizen.
Aizen orchestrated a complex, years-spanning masterplan to achieve godhood, and Rukia's execution was just one of the finishing touches. In a subversion of the usual shonen tropes, the arc ended in a pyrrhic victory: Rukia was spared from death, but Aizen got the Hogokyu hidden in her soul and made his own escape to Hueco Mundo.
4 My Hero Academia — The Katsuki Bakugo Escape Plan Was One Of Izuku Midoriya's Best Moments
The League of Villain's attack on UA's training camp ended with Bakugo's abduction. The villains erroneously thought they could convince Bakugo to join their ranks. While the Pro Heroes were enacting an official rescue operation, Midoriya led Iida, Kirishima, Momo, and Shoto in his own plan to help Bakugo escape captivity.
The plan worked perfectly and was yet another display of Midoriya's superb planning skills and his uncanny ability to perfectly calculate how he, his classmates, and even opponents would react to any given situation. The escape was rather fast when compared to the anime's other fights, but it remains one of My Hero Academia's greatest moments.
3 Attack On Titan — Humanity Escaped The Walls Of Paradis & Discovered A Harrowing Truth
From the anime's start, the people of Paradis Island had one, impossible dream: kill all the Titans so that they could finally escape their miserable lives of being caged behind walls. After three long and torturous seasons of fighting and dying, the Survey Corps finally defeated the Titans and breached the walls for the first time in generations.
However, the people of Paradis got more than they bargained for. Beyond the walls wasn't freedom, but the discovery that their homeland was basically a prison for an entire race of people that a hateful world wants forgotten or dead. This truth was so devastating that it drove Eren Yeager off the deep end and convinced him to end the world.
2 The Promised Neverland — The Grace Field Children Orchestrated A Season-Long Escape Plan
Shortly after realizing that Grace Field House was actually a high-class slaughterhouse and not an idyllic orphanage, Emma, Norman, and Ray decided that they and their adopted family have to get out of there no matter what. Problem is, even their combined genius intellect is nothing compared to Isabella's cunning.
Before it fell from grace thanks to a controversially botched second season, The Promised Neverland was praised for its season-long escape. The anime dedicated its first 11 episodes to meticulous planning and an unpredictable game of cat-and-mouse that culminated in a tense white-knuckled escape in the finale that kept viewers on edge.
1 The Castle Of Cagliostro — Lupin III & His Gang Pulled Off The Heists & Escapes Of Their Careers In Cagliostro
Being the world's most wanted conmen and thieves around, Lupin and his crew pulled off countless escapes, which may make picking a specific one as the best seem impossible. The classic anime movie The Castle Of Cagliostro easily puts this dilemma to rest, as it's a feature-length escape with countless twists and turns.
Lupin initially breaks into the eponymous castle to steal some counterfeiting plates before he decides to save Princess Clarisse from an arranged marriage. After that, he's trapped within the castle's dungeons and is forced to team up with longtime rival Inspector Zenigata to escape and bring down the corrupt Count Cagliostro. The movie is basically a collection of escape attempts, break-ins, and heists, and it's an endless thrill ride for all.