No story can always be happy, sometimes bad things have to happen in a plot – like character deaths. Character deaths can be unavoidable, even in the most cheerful anime, but luckily enough there are plenty of ways that lovable characters can be brought back from the dead.
In spite of how much it may not make sense in reality, anime has come up with some creative items and techniques to raise the dead, but not all come with the same result. Death might be a normal part of life in the real world, but in these anime, the same rule does not apply, or at the very least is repeatedly ignored.
10 Gantz – Fail The Hunt And Hope Someone Makes It To 100
The characters in Gantz are all recently deceased, but are given the opportunity to fight their way back to the world of the living by killing strange alien creatures. This hunting game is based on a points system in which any hunter who achieves 100 points is allowed to choose between three rewards: return to the living, a powerful weapon, or revive another hunter. The hunter who does well enough can bring back others who've died, which happens a few times over the course of the manga.
9 Pokémon – The Power Of A Good Cry
In Pokémon: The First Movie, fans are introduced to the bioengineered Pokémon Mewtwo, who in a fit of rage attempts to take over the world with an army of Pokémon clones. Ash and his friends are tricked to bring Pikachu and the rest of their Pokémon right to Mewtwo in order to be cloned. In the middle of a huge fight breaking out between Mewtwo and the legendary Pokémon Mew, Ash is struck in their crossfire and turned to stone.
Pikachu tries to bring Ash back with his thunderbolt, but to no avail, Ash remains as stone. The fighting ceases, and all the Pokémon, both original and clone, cry for Ash. There's never really any explanation as to why it works, but the crying magically undoes the petrification and Ash is brought back.
8 Dr. Stone – A Scientific Way To Break Petrification
The main premise in Dr. Stone is the massive outbreak of stone petrification across the globe. The main character Senku develops a surefire way to cure petrification: revival fluid, a liquid substance that's used throughout the series. While it is possible for the characters to break free themselves, it depends highly on them remaining conscious and being in contact with nitric acid.
Interestingly enough, if the petrified is broken up in their stone form, they can still be put back together with no injuries so long as all the pieces are put back together perfectly. That, and having the revival fluid on hand.
7 Naruto – Orochimaru Used Edo Tensei Before It Was Cool
Ninjutsu is capable of many things, that's a well-known fact in the ninja world of Naruto, but one Konoha ninja decided to take this concept to dangerously dark levels. Orochimaru shocked his village when it was discovered that he was conducting human experimentation, but he ignores the moral implications with the aim to create a new jutsu and perfect the second Hokage's Edo Tensei.
With this technique, one summons the dead by binding their soul to a living body, that person becoming the vessel of the risen dead. Orochimaru comes close to perfecting this jutsu, bringing back the first and second hokage, but later on, Edo Tensei is brought back on a much larger scale.
6 Naruto – The Selfless Side To Reincarnation Ninjutsu
Edo Tensei is not the only jutsu to revive the dead in Naruto. There's also the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, which can only be performed by someone with the Rinnegan. Nagato, acting under the alias Pain, demonstrated the numerous abilities the Rinnegan possessed, notably the revival technique.
Unlike Edo Tensei, this revival jutsu doesn't require direct access to the deceased's soul, but rather summons the King of Hell to bring the souls back instead. The need for a sacrifice is still present, but rather than the summoner sacrificing someone else, it's the summoner themselves who will inevitably die.
5 Fullmetal Alchemist – Entering The Dark Side Of Alchemy
Alchemy can be used to create weapons and gold in Fullmetal Alchemist, it can even be used to fix something that's broken, but one thing that it shouldn't do is raise the dead. This metaphysical science is bound by the laws of the universe, which fall under the recurrent principle of equivalent exchange, meaning "in order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed."
In theory, one can raise the dead. Many Alchemists try, with varying successes, but the risks are so high with so little chance of success that it's classified as forbidden.
4 Dragon Ball – The Mighty And Predictable Power Of The Dragon Balls
The fighters in Dragon Ball face many deadly opponents, so it's inevitable that a character is going to die at some point. Normally, this would mean an emotionally scarring moment for the main characters and the audience, but the effect becomes moot when the cosmic power of the magical dragon Shenron is just an adventure away.
The main characters summon Shenron by collecting the seven dragon balls and do this multiple times throughout the series. Once they have Shenron, all they have to do is wish for their fallen friend back from the dead.
3 Inuyasha – Wielding The Tenseiga And A Compassionate Heart
The Tenseiga sword from Inuyasha is neglected for a long time by its owner, Sesshōmaru, due to its ability to bring human souls back from the underworld. Because of his hate for human beings, the sword's true power is sealed away and is unusable, though Sesshōmaru is perfectly fine with that.
He has no desire to help humans in any way until he meets one small child that brings out his compassion, and it's only at this point when the Tenseiga's power is unleashed. The resurrecting ability is only used once.
2 One Piece – Biting Into A Second Life
In the series One Piece, supernatural food known as Devil Fruit are scattered across the world, each giving the consumer unique superhuman powers. One is called the Yomi Yomi No Mi, which brings the person's soul back from the dead after their first death, with some small limitations on life.
The Straw Hat crew sees this Devil Fruit in action with the character Brook, a walking, talking skeleton. Brook died and was brought back to life in his skeleton form, but returning to a normal flesh-filled life is possible if he finds his body.
1 Fairy Tail – A Long To-Do List Comes With The Tower Of Heaven
In every magical setting lies a dark side and Fairy Tail is no exception to the rule. A cult of dark mages built a powerful tower, either called the "Tower of Heaven" or known as the "R-System," with the intention of being able to revive the dead. The magic item was deemed forbidden, yet a tower was still built upon slavery and used for its purpose of resurrection.
In order to bring the dead back with this tower, the mages need enough power to start it up, which means stealing a powerful weapon from the Magic Council for starters, on top of the sacrifice of a mage that holds enough power themselves.