In almost every anime, it can be expected that the hero will prevail in the end. Whether through intelligence, strength, or the power of friendship, most authors feel an unspoken obligation to satisfy their audiences by letting the protagonist win.
However, there are many situations where the story's villains realistically deserved to come out on top. By identifying them, fans can better appreciate the circumstances where heroes only won due to plot armor. Moreover, it becomes easier to determine the stories where a hero failed to surpass their sinister counterparts.
10 Luffy's Victory Over Lucci Was Nothing Short Of Improbable (One Piece)
Although Lucci posed perhaps the most serious threat the Straw Hats encountered at the time, Luffy still defeated him at the battle for Enies Lobby. This was in spite of the fact that he could barely land a scratch on him during their previous encounter in the hospital.
Luffy beat Lucci by developing and mastering the second and third gear states. He virtually never practiced them until his final fight, making his success extremely improbable, regardless of how narrow it was.
9 Aizen Was Literally Unstoppable Before Ichigo's Desperate Play (Bleach)
Not a single person in the Soul Society could defy Aizen before Ichigo's rematch. He was so powerful that his mere presence killed ordinary people, and he became even stronger once he evolved.
By converting his spiritual energy into physical strength, Ichigo confronted and defeated the villain. However, considering his opponent's vast arsenal of techniques, heightened intelligence, and mastery of the Hogyoku, Ichigo's victory was undeserved. He had an even greater disadvantage in the living world since Aizen could have simply gone after his loved ones.
8 Light Was Just As Smart As L & Possessed A Supernatural Advantage (Death Note)
Light demonstrated an ability to match L's intelligence time and again. Compounding that, he also possessed a plethora of unfair advantages (such as a supernatural means of killing, loyal followers willing to shave their own lifespans for him, and even a sacrificial shinigami).
Although he ultimately managed to dispose of L, Light's identity was exposed by his less experienced successors. While it provided a satisfying conclusion to the series and gave necessary closure, it would have been virtually impossible to incriminate Kira when considering how much social and political power he gained through his successes.
7 Madara Never Would Have Lost Without Black Zetsu's Betrayal (Naruto)
Madara was written to be so powerful that the heroes could not conceivably defeat him. Even before becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and stealing the rinnegan, he defeated the Five Kage without substantial effort. The villain even survived the unmitigated fury of Might Guy's Eight Gates.
In the end, Madara was betrayed and killed by Black Zetsu. Considering his distrusting nature and godlike reflexes, he never should have been hit by his conspirator's clumsy and straightforward attack.
6 Esdeath Was A Seasoned Veteran With An Unbeatable Power (Akame Ga Kill!)
Esdeath deserved to win in the final battle against Akame due to the circumstances in her favor. Not only was she responsible for single-handedly winning multiple military campaigns, her Imperial Arms had the potential to stop time itself.
Akame only circumvented her ability by jumping up so fast that she had no idea where her opponent went. However, it's inconceivable that a character as skilled as Esdeath would not consider looking directly above her.
5 Pegasus' Millennium Eye Should've Disrupted Yugi's Plans (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Pegasus was a difficult opponent to duel, considering he could read the minds of his opponents and predict their next moves by using his Millennium Eye. To counter this, Yugi and the Pharaoh repeatedly switched bodies throughout their game.
Although their strategy successfully threw Pegasus off and negated his power, it was virtually impossible for them to formulate their own plan since they were playing with two separate brains. As a result, the card tycoon should have defeated his puzzle-wielding opponent, albeit with considerably more difficulty than his match against Seto Kaiba.
4 Ragyo Would Have Won By Being More Straightforward With Her Plans (Kill La Kill)
Ragyo was so obscenely powerful that she deserved her victory over humanity. The world's militaries could not hope to stop her; ironically, her worst opposition was of her own making.
Should she have never sponsored Honnoji Academy — or if she simply killed Ryuko in the two different opportunities where she had the chance — there'd never be a person alive strong enough to destroy her, let alone siphon the power from her life fibers. Ragyo's only flaw is that she made her plans needlessly elaborate.
3 Kars Was Only Defeated By Blind Luck (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
At first, it seemed as if the stars aligned in Kars' favor. In addition to successfully stealing the Red Stone, Stroheim's UV rays helped transform him into an unstoppable, perfect being.
Even after Joseph lured and thrust him into a volcano, he survived with minimal injuries. Kars was only defeated by being punched into space, a plan that Joseph hadn't even conceived of until both he and the villain were aggressively thrust skyward. In the end, the hero admitted his victory as a stroke of blind luck.
2 All For One Should Have Capitalized On Circumstances To Defeat All Might (My Hero Academia)
Despite All Might forcing All For One into the open, the villain had so many contingencies that he deserved to win. For example, he benefited from months of rest, whereas All Might already pushed past his daily limit by fighting Shigaraki and his underlings.
Additionally, All For One had the luxury of attacking nearby civilians, which forced All Might to either take hits on their behalf or watch them die. Not even pro heroes could help him, as they risked getting their quirks stolen and becoming a liability.
1 The United Coalition Were Completely Unprepared To Stand Against Eren (Attack On Titan)
Having deceived Zeke into lending his royal blood, Eren should have crushed anyone who stood in his way. The Founding Titan allowed him to control all Eldians both from the past and in the present.
Since Floch destroyed Kiyomi's aircraft, the heroes were forced to hitch a ride on Falco's back to access Eren's nape. The only thing stopping Eren from forcing Falco into his human form (and sending his ex-comrades plummeting to their deaths) is a platitude about not wanting to defy free will. However, he didn't hesitate to take the interned Eldians' free will in order to attack Reiner and reconnect with the source of all living matter.