Top 10 Decapitations in Anime

“Claymore” (2007)

As every Claymore knows, if you use too much Yoki, you’ll fall off the deep end. Such is the case when Teresa breaks Priscilla, causing her to attack in a blind rage. The peaceful Teresa easily overpowers her - leaving Priscilla to beg to be struck down. Unfortunately, Teresa’s sympathetic nature became her undoing, as Priscilla took the opportunity and sliced through Teresa’s neck - becoming an Awakened Being in the process. To see such a powerful warrior struck down was both tragic and utterly shocking.

“Akame ga Kill!” (2014)

When you live in the world of assassins and inhuman warriors, you’re bound to have quite a bit of bloodshed. Chelsea of the night raid was one of the best spies the group had. Unfortunately, she lacked the offensive power of her teammates and was murdered in the most brutal of ways, torn limb from limb, before her swift decapitation. Like other members of Night Raid, all she wanted to do was make the world a better place, and seeing her head placed on a pike, was heartbreaking.

“Shiki” (2010)

Shimizu is one of the first denizens of Sotoba to be turned into a bloodthirsty demonic corpse. Despite this turn, when Shizumu is later caught, we actually feel a moment of empathy. Pinned under her once friendly neighbors’ tractors, she screams and begs for her life, right before they run over her head. This disturbing scene proves that as horrifying as the Shiki may be, regular humans can be just as bad.

“Terra Formars” (2014)

When cockroaches are sent to help set the stage for Mars colonization, 500 years later they become humanoid freaks.. Possessing extreme strength, durability, and speed, just one of ‘em is enough to take down several people, as is the case with this one. The creature pulls out a human’s head with their spine intact, throwing in his own twist of decapitating other scientists with the spine. It’s gruesome, terrifying, and admittedly pretty unlikely.

“Berserk Golden Age Arc II: The Battle for Doldrey” (2012)

Brave, powerful, and full of pride, Boscogn is the ideal soldier. He follows orders to the letter, regardless of who his superiors may be or if they go against his better judgement. When The Band of the Hawk sets out to capture Doldrey, Boscogn and his knights are sent out to stop them. In the heat of battle, Boscogn enters a one-on-one duel with Guts, and almost appears to win. But the legendary swordsman isn’t defeated so easily, as he not only beheads Boscogn, but the man’s own horse too!

“JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders” (2014-5)

This one is a bit… bizarre. Dio has no shortage of loyal followers, but following the defeat of both D’arby brothers, he begins to question their loyalty. He soon turns his attention to right-hand-man, “Vanilla Ice” asking him for a simple offering of blood. He takes this challenge to heart, bringing forth his stand and severing his own goddamn head. Needless to say, his loyalty is proven and Dio quickly revives him but…dude…chill.

“Mirai Nikki” (2011-12)

The young detective, Akise Aru is hailed for his deductive skills, But you know, it really doesn’t take a genius of any kind to figure out that Yuno’s a psychopath. Regardless, he pursues the truth about the grander scheme in play. When he finally figures out her plot, he tries to tell Yuki, only to have Yuno slice his head off to protect herself. Unfortunately for her, Akise’s body still managed to make it’s way to Yuki, and show him his revelation…

“Hunter x Hunter” (2011-14)

As far as Hunters go, Gon is a pretty nice guy. While he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, Gon never really has that killer instinct that Killua has. This drastically changes, when Pitou, of the Chimera Ants, refuses to heal Kite, Gon loses all sense, aging rapidly and unleashing all his nen. Well beyond Pitou’s power now, Gon easily defeats him in battle, beating him senselessly even after Pitou had died, smashing Pitou’s skull flat.

“Puella Magi Madoka Magica” (2011)

When you think magical girl anime, you tend to think of something cheerful, light-hearted and overall fun. Yet this series loves to flip the script and, while maintaining a bright cheerful art-style, can get pretty violent and dark. Mami, one of the most powerful magical girls, foolishly decides to take on the witch Charlotte by herself. Just when she thinks she’s won, the witch springs loose and -before Mami can react- bites her head clean off.



Before we see the last head roll, let’s take a look at some honorable mentions.



Horse Demon

“Berserk” (2016)



Nobuko

"Parasyte -The Maxim-" (2014-15)



Makoto Ito

“School Days” (2007)

“Naruto Shippuden” (2007-17)

How do you defeat a smack-talking immortal ninja with the power to become a living voodoo doll? That’s a pretty difficult task, and requires brains rather than brawn. When the veteran, Asuma, cut Hidan’s head clean off we breathed a sigh of relief…but soon came to realize he was immortal. While Hidan doesn’t die from the beheading, it does prove to be his downfall – as Shikamaru takes advantage of his immortality in the second fight, beheading him a SECOND time via explosion, and burying the bastard’s head deep underground. So satisfying.