The anime industry sports some of the flashiest battles and most destructive conflicts in media. These struggles often call for equally powerful and determined heroes to counter such threats. Sometimes, however, that's not an option.
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Every so often, anime characters will emerge victorious purely by accident. Rather than devote themselves to saving the world and carefully studying their enemies, these guys merely stumble into victory. These would-be saviors can both main and supporting characters. Either way, the scenarios are clearly the hand of fate (or the writers) playing a prank.
10 Arale – Dr. Slump
Before Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama made his name with Dr. Slump. This gag manga focused on the screwball adventures of Arale, a robotic girl who routinely saves her home of Penguin Village from the evil Dr. Mashirito.
The joke is that she doesn't even know she's a hero. Arale is just a ditsy, excitable child who wants to have fun. This is a problem when she doesn't know her own strength. Whenever villains try to kill her, she thinks it's all a game, often flattening her foes in her overwhelming joy. Sometimes, playing rough works out for the best.
9 Yun Arikawa And The Otaki Factory Boys – Godzilla Singular Point
Scientific reasoning drives much of this show. As such, the characters mostly overcome many of their problems–kaiju included–through their own solutions. The great irony is that their first monster encounter begins and ends seemingly out of nowhere.
When Rodan suddenly attacks their local town, the ragtag team from the Otaki Factory send their prototype Jet Jaguar mech to combat him. The saurian creature makes quick work of this clunky bucket of bolts and zeroes in on the heroes. All seems lost until Rodan flies up and randomly drops dead. Viewers later learn that his biology wasn't made to last, but Yun and the other Otaki Factory boys nevertheless become famous for their valiant efforts. The other monsters, though, don't make it so easy.
8 Goku – Dragon Ball
The mighty martial artist of Dragon Ball has saved both the world and universe countless times. He mostly overcomes these threats through his own intense training, sharpened instincts, and natural power, but the first time was entirely a fluke.
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Not only did Oolong's silly wish to the Eternal Dragon thwart Emperor Pilaf's evil scheme, but that night just happened to present a full moon. This caused Goku to become a giant monkey and destroy Pilaf's palace. The little fighter didn't know about this transformation or how to control it. How fitting that the most pathetic Dragon Ball baddie goes down in such a random fashion.
7 Luffy – One Piece
It's hard to believe that one of the most enduring anime franchises starts with a childish mistake. The rambunctious Monkey D. Luffy has always wanted to be a great pirate captain, and he seems to have the right instincts. That said, he wouldn't be nearly as formidable a fighter if he hadn't unwittingly eaten the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit when he was a kid.
This juvenile act gave him his famous elastic powers, and they've sure come in handy. Luffy has used his stretchy abilities to overcome countless obstacles, vanquish numerous evils, and take down some of the most notorious pirates in the Seven Seas. He'd have been a capable captain anyway, but the Devil Fruit elevated his potential tenfold. Yet, his legend started because he was hungry.
6 Yugi Moto – Yu-Gi-Oh!
As with any card game, winning Duel Monsters largely comes down to having the right hand. One cliché that the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime loved to exploit was the miraculous draw. Yugi or one of his friends would be out of options, but they'd then pick the exact card needed to turn the tide and win the game.
Considering many of Yugi's matches have interdimensional Armageddon riding on them, it becomes really tired seeing the key to victory emerge out of nowhere. The characters can shriek about the "heart of the cards" all they want. At the end of the day, it's just the luck of the draw (or a fixed deck).
5 Ash Ketchum – Pokémon
For a kid who wants to be the best Pokémon trainer, he sure puts himself in the firing line a lot. Ash has a bad habit of leaping headfirst into danger without thinking. Most of this is chalked up to his desire to protect his Pokémon, but most of it comes down to pure idiocy.
Take the first movie, for example. When Mew and Mewtwo–the two most powerful Pokémon–are going at it, Ash runs right into their energy beams. This somehow turns him to stone, which causes all the Pokémon to cry and Mewtwo to see the error of his ways. When he returns to normal, Ash has no idea what happened or why everything's hunky-dory. He wasn't thinking that far ahead.
4 Izuku Midoriya – My Hero Academia
This little guy has always wanted to be a hero, and he often pursues that dream at the risk of his own life (and the cost of his common sense). Despite being the show's protagonist, Midoriya was born without a quirk, giving him no powers to speak of. Still, he throws himself at a slime monster to save his childhood bully, Bakugō. This inspires costumed savior All Might to push past his own limits and defeat the villain.
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By all accounts, Midoriya should be dead. Rushing into battle sans a quirk was suicide. He knew that there was no defeating this monster, yet the good guys managed a victory by outside intervention. However, the wannabe hero couldn't have known his act would renew All Might's drive. Apparently, all's well that ends accidentally well.
3 Zebra – Toriko
Changing even one aspect of the environment can have drastic effects on the ecosystem. The brutish Zebra learns that the hard way when he attempts to satisfy his hunger. The Heavenly King greedily devours entire species, wiping out a whopping 26 of them in the process.
He eventually has to eat some crow, as his insatiable appetite gives a struggling desert village a fighting chance. Overpopulation and resource shortages are serious threats to any society. While Zebra's actions aren't exactly "heroic," they are a cause for celebration for certain parties. Sadly, a savage despot like him probably can't appreciate that like the other Heavenly Kings.
2 Saitama – One Punch Man
Being the strongest guy around sounds exciting, but it means that no one can pose any real challenge in combat. As a result, any battles become boring. That's the problem that plagues Saitama, the titular "One Punch Man."
He'd so jaded at this point that he can't muster up any enthusiasm for his fights. In fact, he often daydreams or becomes distracted by something else. Because of this, his foes are vanquished not through intense struggle, but through simple negligence.
1 Yusuke Urameshi – Yu Yu Hakusho
Death is only the beginning. Yusuke started as a punk teen when he reflexively leapt in front of a speeding car to save a child. Little did he know that this would kill him, but it also led to his being granted a second chance as an Underworld Detective.
Yusuke goes on to achieve countless heroic acts and wage valiant battles against the supernatural forces threatening the world. However, none of it would have been possible without this one unforeseen event. Good thing most job interviews don't require a hit-and-run.
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