The 20 Most Heroic Anime Sacrifices Of All Time

The entire plot of Code Geass is one long heroic sacrifice on Lelouch Lamperouge's part. His goal is to protect his helpless younger sister Nunnally, and create a world where she can be happy and safe.

Lelouch gives up his comfortable life as a student at Ashford Academy to engage in dangerous terrorist activities. His goal is to take down the Brittainian government and return control of Japan to the Japanese people. 

As the fighting intensifies, Lelouch makes a terrible choice. He becomes a tyrant who both nations can hate, in hopes that the two sides will come together to destroy him, then live in harmony. He sacrifices his own happiness, and his life, for the prospect of peace. 

During the Uprising arc, it is revealed why Erwin Smith joined the Survey Corps in the first place. Feeling guilty for the death of his father, he yearned to get closer to the truth about the titans. His end goal was to get to Eren's basement and finally uncover the truth about their world. But in a battle against the Beast Titan that seemed destined to fail, he sacrifices his life-long dreams to give humanity a chance at winning. Although he died before finding out what was in the basement, he became the Survey Corp's most honorable and heroic commander. 

During a battle with the Marines, Portgas D. Ace finds himself in a fight he can't win. Although his fire abilities make him largely resistant to burns, he can't stand up to magma, which flows freely from the wicked Admiral Akainu.

From the first moments of their battle, Ace knows he's outmatched. However, when Akainu turns his attention to Ace's adopted brother Luffy, the pirate sacrifices himself to protect his family. 

As Akainu hurdles towards Luffy, Ace steps into the line of fire, and a magma fist goes straight through his torso. He survives just long enough to thank his fellow pirates for loving him. His death marks one of the saddest moments in One Piece.

While anime heroes regularly sacrifice themselves for the greater good, the same can't be said for villains, who are typically self-motivated or narcissistic. This is doubly true when the antagonist is the living embodiment of avarice, which is exactly why Greed's final moments in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are so impactful.

For most of the series, Greed lives like a parasite inside Ling's body, and uses him to do whatever he wants. The two start off as enemies, but slowly develop a friendship, and shockingly, Greed seems to genuinely care about his human host. 

When Father, another homunculus, tries to kill and absorb Greed in order to gain his power, Greed severs his physical connection to Ling so he doesn't get consumed as well. Had he not expended energy saving Ling, he might have been able to fight Father off. Instead, he prioritizes saving his companion's life in a bizarre act of generosity. 

Midway through the Majin Buu Saga, Vegeta sacrifices his life to try and take down his horrific pink adversary. At first, Vegeta attempts to defeat Buu by beating him to a pulp. When he realizes Buu is far too powerful, he decides to end things using Final Explosion, a self-destruction technique that kills its user.

Vegeta's suicide marks one of the most painful moments in Dragon Ball Z. At the start of the series, Vegeta is totally evil, so his sacrifice shows just how much his character has grown and matured. Before he goes off to meet his demise and save the planet, he hugs his son Trunks for the first time.

Unfortunately, the explosion he causes isn't enough to permanently kill Buu, who soon regenerates and continues wreaking havoc on the planet. While Vegeta's sacrifice didn't save the day, he tried his best, and his efforts are truly courageous. 

Out of all the heroic sacrifices in Naruto, Neji Hyuuga's is perhaps the most jarring, as he gives up his life to save his family and friends. 

During a battle against the Ten-Tails, Naruto is nearly impaled by a vicious attack. With the show's hero down for the count, Hinata comes to his aid, determined to defend Naruto until the bitter end. 

Neji isn't ready to see his cousin perish, so he stands in front of her and takes brunt of the beast's attack. As he dies, he tells Naruto to appreciate Hinata's dedication, and alludes to the time Naruto helped him overcome some problems he'd had with the complicated Hyuuga family.

Neji's death is devastating, as it's legitimately heroic and totally voluntary. Neji could have easily escaped while Ten-Tails had its way with Naruto, but he instead chose to give up his life so his friends might live on.