While some anime heroes win battles thanks to their adept skills and strategy, others win thanks to sheer, dumb luck. Anime characters who got lucky pop up in all genres, and some are a lot luckier than others. Whether the hero is participating in a low-risk card game, or fighting for their life against a deranged killer, sometimes they just don’t have what it takes to get the job done without a little good fortune.
When done right, these lucky breaks can provide an unexpected, organic new direction for the plot. When done wrong, it can feel like the show’s writers are letting the characters off too easy. While it’s hard to see a fan-favorite character get taken down by their adversary, the hero still needs to struggle a little bit to ramp up the tension. For better or worse, luck can certainly help decide an outcome when nothing else can.
1. Rock Lee And Gaara Only Defeat Kimimaro Because Of Tuberculosis
Kimimaro was the original vessel for Orochimaru in Naruto, and he’s so absurdly powerful that neither Gaara nor Rock Lee seem to have a chance against him. He is able to manipulate his own skeleton at will, pulling out his spine to use as a weapon, turning his bones into powerful drills, and so on. After using a technique that causes thousands of bones to burst from the earth, Kimimaro seems poised to kill Gaara and Lee, but then he suddenly drops dead.
As it turns out, Kimimaro was suffering from an unnamed terminal illness that resembles tuberculosis. He was doomed to suffer a premature death from the start, and Gaara and Lee are super lucky that it happened at that exact moment.
2. Pikachu Defeats Onix Thanks To A Sprinkler Malfunction
In the world of Pokémon, electric type Pokémon are weak against ground types (since rocks don’t conduct electricity). When Ash pits his Pikachu against Brock’s Onix, he’s in for a rough time. Without a heavy dose of good fortune, Pikachu would have definitely lost.
At the 11th hour, the gym’s sprinkler system turns on, soaking Onix and allowing Pikachu’s electricity to actually do enough damage to win the battle.
3. Naruto Uzumaki Defeats Kiba Inuzuka With His Digestive System
If you don’t think a fart can decide the outcome of a fight, then you don’t know the true power of Naruto’s titular hero. During the chūnin exam battle with Kiba, Naruto blasts *ss all over Kiba’s face. While this would distract anybody, Kiba has an enhanced sense of smell, which makes him especially susceptible. The stench is so overpowering that he can’t continue the match, and Naruto wins.
Most people can’t fart on command, and Naruto doesn’t have any special digestion themed jutsu, so the timing really worked in his favor.
4. Yusuke Is Saved Because He Had Swamp Algae In His Ears
In Yu Yu Hakusho, a piece of swamp algae saves Yusuke from being killed by Rando. As Rando initiates his Shrinking Curse technique, he throws an unconscious Yusuke down the lake. Little does he know that the invocation only works if the oppponent covers their ears. And swamp algae from the lake made its way into Yusuke’s ear by accident. As a result, the invocation backfires and Rando shrinks instead of Yusuke.
5. Basically Every Card Game In ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!’ Involves Dumb Luck
Pretty much everything that happens on Yu-Gi-Oh! occurs because of dumb luck. Sure, there’s strategy involved, but half the time that strategy is so convoluted that even the most attentive viewers can’t follow it. More frequently, strategy is far less important than drawing the right card at the right time. This has happened so many times that it’s impossible to account for all of them, but one of the most extreme examples comes in Yugi’s duel with Noah.
As the end of the match draws near, Yugi has no more cards in his deck, and it looks like he’s about to lose the duel. By sheer luck, he manages to draw a card that lets him draw six more cards, and those six cards just happen to be exactly the combination of cards that he needs to defeat Noah. While Duel Monsters is partially a game of chance, that’s still a little much.
6. Spike Spiegel Defeats Mad Pierrot With Help From A Toy Cat
Without dumb luck, Spike Spiegel of Cowboy Bebop would almost certainly have have been shot to death in an amusement park by Mad Pierrot. Thanks to torturous experimentation, Mad Pierrot is inhumanly strong, which allows him to easily best Spike Spiegel, a regular human who happens to have abnormally bendy legs. However, the same experimentation that gave Mad Pierrot his supernatural abilities also brought about his trademark insanity.
When he hears a toy cat meowing, it triggers a PTSD flashback of the torture he endured, all of which was overseen by a “data cat.” This causes him to start shooting his guns at random, allowing Spike to easily defeat him.
7. Scar Defeats King Bradley Thanks To The End Of An Eclipse
During Scar and King Bradley’s showdown in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, it appears that Bradley is about to be victorious. If Bradley hadn’t decided to prolong the battle to mock Scar for his religious beliefs, he probably would have been able to kill him.
Instead, he just monologues like the anime villain he is until the eclipse ends, and a sudden burst of light distracts him. Scar uses the opportunity to reverse the situation and kill King Bradley. To Scar, this is a sign of divine intervention. Maybe it is, but it’s also an example of winning with sheer luck.
8. Ochaco Uraraka Defeats Thirteen By Accidentally Hitting Them In The Face
When Ochaco Uraraka and Yuga Aoyama of My Hero Academia have to fight Thirteen — their teacher — during an examination, no one thinks they stand much of a chance. After all, Thirteen is a pro hero who can create miniature black holes that pack a serious punch. Ochaco and Aoyama try to avoid getting sucked up by clinging to a railing, which isn’t a great strategy, considering their goal is to handcuff their teacher.
When Ochaco lets go after Aoyama embarrasses her by asking about her love life, it seems as though the worst is imminent. However, instead of getting sucked into the black hole, Ochaco lands on top of Thirteen, which allows her to seize victory.
9. Kirito Randomly Gets Admin Powers During His Showdown with Sugou
Sword Art Online’s Kirito has exceptionally good luck, if you ignore all the terrible circumstances that his luck has resolved. One of the most notorious examples of Kirito’s luck comes during his in-game showdown with the disgusting Nobuyuki Sugou. Just when it looks like Sugou is going to sexually assault Asuna while Kirito is writhing in pain on the ground, the hero gets hit with a ridiculous stroke of luck.
Kayaba, AKA the guy who trapped everyone in the original Sword Art Online game, suddenly appears and gives Kirito admin privileges. Since this is a video game world, admin privileges mean that he can totally eliminate Sugou’s power, which he swiftly does. Many viewers consider this a cheap plot device that goes beyond luck, but others are just glad that Sugou didn’t win, regardless of how it occurred.