8 Unforgivable Anime Plot Holes Fans Still Can’t Forgive

Image from one piece film red shows shanks extending his hand out while it's raining and his crew is standing behind him.

By Emedo Ashibeze Published 23 minutes ago Emedo Ashibeze is a tenured journalist specializing in the entertainment industry. Before joining ScreenRant in 2025. he wrote for several major publications, including GameRant. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Regardless of the medium, crafting a truly flawless narrative across hundreds of episodes is a Herculean task that only a few authors manage without stumbling. Not to mention, long-running serialization naturally invites continuity errors, as concepts evolve and the story progresses. Consequently, audiences are generally willing to suspend their logical beliefs for the emotional payoffs or spectacle.

But certain narrative fissures tend to be too wide to ignore. Rather than some mere animation error, these narrative gaps are fundamental contradictions that undermine the established logic of their world. For this reason, this retrospective examines eight glaring inconsistencies where the internal logic of beloved anime series completely collapsed, leaving viewers with lingering questions that even the creators cannot satisfactorily answer.

Shanks' Arm Loss - One Piece

The worldbuilding of One Piece is widely regarded as some of the best in anime, yet one of its most iconic moments contains a rather baffling inconsistency. Shanks, one of the Four Emperors and among the strongest pirates alive, loses his arm to a relatively weak Sea King while saving young Luffy. Though it happens in the story’s opening chapter, the encounter with the Sea King marks the beginning of Luffy’s journey.

Once Haki is introduced, it becomes difficult to match the scene with Shanks’ established status. As a future emperor whose mere presence can overwhelm others, losing an arm to a minor sea creature just doesn’t make sense. The story does not explain this, leaving the incident caught between its symbolic meaning and logical inconsistency.

The emotional impact of this scene remains strong, but its logical foundation becomes shaky. Trying to view it as a deliberate moment of sacrifice comes off as an attempt to make sense of it after the fact, rather than as part of the story's world-building. At the end, what we have is an iconic moment that works thematically but struggles logically.

Naruto’s Parentage Secrecy - Naruto

Screenshot of Naruto crying after finding out about Jiraiya's death.

Naruto is the story of an orphan whose childhood is marked by isolation and scorn. However, the mystery of his family's origins leaves a significant hole in the story. As the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails and the son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the fact that Naruto never knew of his parents or family origins is head-scratching.

The official explanation of hiding his identity to protect him from enemies also falls apart once the world expands, since everyone knows he is the Nine-Tails’ carrier. From an objective standpoint, the secrecy serves less as a real protection and more as a way to keep a dramatic reveal.

Hence, the story relies on the whole population keeping perfect silence, creating a clear gap between what is said and what is actually real. Inherently, the emotional impact of Naruto discovering his origins is strong, but its logical basis is weak.

Who Raised Naruto (or Didn’t) - Naruto

Jiraiya and Naruto walk out of Konoha in Naruto

The question of who actually cared for Naruto during his childhood represents another glaring inconsistency in the series. As the Fourth Hokage’s son and host of the Nine-Tails, the complete non-interference of his early childhood leaves you wondering. Guardians who admired his father, such as Jiraiya and Kakashi, let him grow up without mentorship or family support.

While the Sage was Naruto’s teacher and godfather, Jiraiya is noticeably absent until he is around 12-13 years of age. The series also never really explains why Naruto had to live generally unsupervised as a child, despite being the ‘supposed’ responsibility of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

It would seem that it simply suited narrative whims to fully draw out the emotional tension of Naruto’s inspiring journey. Consequently, while the emotional intent of Naruto’s loneliness is clear, it is simply not justifiable enough.

Itachi’s Mysterious Sickness - Naruto / Shippuden

Itachi touching Sasuke's forehead before he dies

Itachi Uchiha's strength in Naruto was tragically undermined by a mysterious illness that ultimately claimed his life. However, the shocking part is that this illness is never named in the show and is written off by many as a plot device. Other than the known fact that it is a terminal illness, nothing else is known of the sickness.

Accordingly, this uncertainty creates tension between the story's purpose and the character's consistency, in that the illness conveniently justifies his choices while keeping his true motives hidden. Another thing is that the gap between his supposed weakness and his ability to fight and travel strains the believability of the mysterious ailment.

Truthfully, the narrative basis of it pays off, but the logical consistency of it just isn’t there. Relying on vague, inconsistent illness cripples the realism of his choices. It makes his suffering feel staged instead of genuine. The outcome is a powerful tragedy built on a fragile foundation.

Goku Forgetting Instant Transmission When Convenient - Dragon Ball series

Goku Super Saiyan staring down in Dragon Ball Z anime

Goku’s Instant Transmission lets him travel across large distances almost instantly. This makes it one of his most useful abilities. However, in many story arcs, he fails to use it at critical times, putting his allies at risk or dragging out fights unnecessarily. Fans have often criticised this inconsistency, viewing it as a clear plot mistake.

The tension comes from the story's choice to overlook an important ability for dramatic effect. Instead of using the skill strategically, the narrative simply pretends it doesn’t exist, conveniently. This forces conflict and drags out travel or battle scenes.

Even with the excitement of his fights, the repeated mistakes hurt the story's credibility. The audience feels a disconnect between Goku’s established powers and the challenges he faces, creating a gap where his abilities should solve conflicts.

Hashirama’s “Immortal Cells” vs. His Death — Naruto

Naruto's Hashirama in Sage Mode

Beyond being the most powerful shinobi to exist, Hashirama Senju stands out for his wild healing powers, all thanks to his supernatural cells. The story makes it seem as though they were a ticket to living forever. Yet he dies in the end, and that just does not add up for many fans.

The writers never really say how someone with Hashirama’s abilities could just die, so fans are left with no other plausible option than to guess why he died. Without a real answer, his “near-immortal” cells just turn into a plot device instead of a real part of the world.

Hashirama’s influence still echoes through the story, but this weird, unresolved part takes the edge off his legend. Rather than being a clear symbol of power and consequence, his story feels a bit hollow, as if something is missing between the big ideas and their execution.

The “Talk-No-Mind Control” Problem - Death Note (Serious Work)

Light Yagami holding the Death Note

In Death Note, the notebook's power comes with a specific set of rules, including that the user can control the victim’s actions, provided the actions are physically possible and within the victim’s cognitive capacity. On the other hand, it also states that the victim cannot be made to do anything they are reasonably unwilling to do.

The problem, however, is that the line that controls these rules fluctuates at Light’s whims. In a way, the writers wrote themselves into a corner with this. The inconsistency emerges when you consider the complexity of the actions Light commands through the series.

For someone who can make a prisoner draw a perfect pentagram, it doesn’t reconcile that he cannot make a victim kill another person. But somehow, he does exactly this in the bus jacking scene. In the end, the level of control specificity he actually possesses compared to what the story supposes he should have simply does not tally.

Eren’s Time-Loop Logic - Attack on Titan

eren yaeger and the rumbling from attack on titan

Attack on Titan throws viewers into a wild loop with Eren’s whole plan; he manipulates the past by sending memories back from the future. Theoretically, it’s a cool idea, but one that logically raises eyebrows. If Eren can send knowledge through time, why doesn’t he just fix things or take charge of what happens?

The truth is, the rules around his powers feel pretty fuzzy. Almost like the story wants drama and big moments, but isn’t too concerned about the logic that holds everything together. So much of the story depends on what Eren knows and when he knows it, but how his memories work was by no means properly explained.

Certainly, Eren’s choices pack an emotional punch. There’s a lot of weight to what he does. But when the logic behind those choices wobbles, the whole thing loses some power. What could have hit like a true tragedy ends up feeling a bit manufactured, as if the story is tugging the strings behind the scenes.

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Like Follow Followed Attack On Titan TV-MA Animation Adventure Action 167 9.2/10 Release Date 2013 - 2023-00-00

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Genres Animation, Adventure, Action Story By Hajime Isayama Streaming Service(s) Hulu, Crunchyroll, Adult Swim Characters By Hajime Isayama Distributor Adult Swim (Toonami) Franchise Attack on Titan Main Characters Armin Arlert, Mikasa Ackerman, Eren Jaeger Powered by

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