Tempting Fate/Anime and Manga

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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  • In Digimon Savers episode 10, Masaru comes under the influence of a curse that Chika put on him (though it turns out to be a digimon that just so happened to have heard her when she was wishing all these bad things on her brother). The following exchange occurs:

Touma: From the looks of that signpost, it seems as though Chika-chan has used some sort of magic to put a curse on you.
Masaru: A curse?
Touma: It's exactly as Chika had said. Slipping, falling down, getting hit... and now, running into a signpost.
Gaomon: And the next one was falling from a bridge, right Master?
Masaru: That'll never happen! I mean, there aren't even any bridges near here!
(Chopsticks[1] roll onto Masaru's path; he slips and falls)

Touma: o.0' He fell... from chopsticks...

  • A prime example comes in volume 14 of Mahou Sensei Negima After finding out about the pacts some of her classmates have made with Negi, Meta Guy Chisame jokes about making a pact and fighting Robot Girl Chachamaru; in reality, she most definitely wants to be normal. Naturally, she ends up having to do just that by the very next day. At least, very next day from the perspective of a normal person. Time Travel was involved, and depending on how you look at it, it could have been as long as a week.
    • A subtler example during the Battle of Mahora between protagonist Negi Springfield and current Big Bad: Negi tells her to surrender, as he had just destroyed the technology that allowed her to fight equally with a mage like him. "You can't beat me, not without magic!" Cue fireball.
    • A more humorous example occurs way back in chapter 3; Ayaka is talking about how Negi needs someone with a " motherly figure" to take care of him, ending with "and who's got more of a figure than me!?" Cue the four bustiest girls in the class entering the room.
    • Jack Rakan decided to do Dark Magic to show Negi what happens when one is not compatible saying, it's fine I'm me and I'm invincible. Cue giant explosion and 2-3 chapters of Jack Rakan actually in bandages. Also every time he says he is invincible during that time he gains high pressure blood.
    • And at the recent chapters... after being ridiculously hit by a bullet that renders his mana useless and being targeted by the FREAKING WHOLE SCHOOL...

Negi: I'll have to be especially careful not to run into the martial artists...
Cue Ku Fei.
Negi: (Well I guess if it's Ku Fei-san...) Are... you... in this too?
Ku Fei: Yes.
Cue love declaration. Two girls in one day, good job Negi!

  • Naruto: "It's an impenetrable defense. That's why, until now, no one has even been able to lay a scratch on Gaara." Uttered by Kankuro in ep. 48 of the first anime, Chuunin Exam arc. Sure enough, Gaara's next opponent, Rock Lee, does a lot more than just lay a scratch on him.
    • No, not really. While Rock Lee throws Gaara around for a few moments (at the cost of crippling himself), all of his blows are stopped by Gaara's defense, so the latter walks away from battle still unscratched (bruised, maybe).
    • From the first Shippuuden movie (the one with the Priestess Shion), where Naruto is fighting the Quirky Miniboss Squad. "Hah! That's the weakest fire jutsu I've ever seen!" Cue the wind jutsu, which supercharges the fire one and turns a ring of flame into a blazing maelstrom.
  • In episode 11 of Neon Genesis Evangelion, after the Tokyo-3 energy supply is sabotaged, Fuyutski says that it would be a disaster if an Angel attacked right now. Which is exactly what happens.
    • This could actually be a subversion because it's explained later on that he and SEELE know the specific times when the Angels will attack.
    • The Bridge Bunnies tempt fate further in End of Evangelion. Twice.

Aoba: I just hope they don't start using BC weapons! Things could get pretty ugly...
Hyuuga: Yeah, that or N2 mines --
(BOOM)
Aoba: Speak of the devil...!
Hyuuga: Damn! Haven't they ever heard of moderation?!
Fuyutsuki: That was a little much...
(the JSSDF begins a Macross Missile Massacre on the geofront)

    • In episode 22, Asuka complains about how the Angel hasn't shown up -- just before she gets hit by its Mind Rape beam.
  • In Hayate the Combat Butler, Maria gives Hayate an expensive cashmere jacket to wear out in public and explains very clearly how getting it ruined will likely get him fired. After avoiding all manner of spills and sword-wielding thugs that are all clearly stated to "stain/ruin/cut cashmere very well", he tries to avoid falling into "the kind of pond that ruins cashmere coats" during an attempt to "rescue" Isumi from her servants by taking it off before he hits the water... and promptly ripping it to shreds on a nearby hanging tree.
    • Later on in the series, Sakuya builds a ship that is an exact replication of the Titanic. It doesn't fare well.
      • Sakuya also mentioned "unless terrorists hijack"... Guess what happens?
  • Parodied and subverted in an episode of Pucca. The introduction of the ship Gigantic by the captain includes calling her "unsinkable" three times, and the floor show in the dining hall involves a song including the lyrics "Because the ship can never sink." She hits the iceberg without incident, prompting the captain to cry "I told you it was unsinkable!" Later Double Subverted.
  • In Monster, after miraculously surviving a suicide run against four armed thugs, Martin pulls out a cigarette and mutters, "I'm surprised I lived through that." Naturally, this is the cue for the guy he missed to fatally shoot him in the stomach.
    • Roberto laughs at Tenma, telling him that he won't shoot him. Guess what happens next.
  • Subverted at least once in Naruto Abridged. Two ninja guards discuss their hatred of giant snakes that pop out of nowhere and kill you. Naturally, a giant snake pops out of nowhere and destroys the guard tower... next to them.
  • Vita in the final mission of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS. "I'm almost there. I still have cartridges. I'm fine. It'll be easy." Cue invisible Mecha-Mook stabbing her through the back and her having to prove just how big a Determinator she is.
  • Super GALS! episode 39. Ran and Tatsuki (and 10 plus other guys) find a missing monkey, which is wearing Tatsuki's scarf, that has just been said to collect a 50,000 yen reward. You see them chasing it and are then shown Ran's older brother:

Yamoto:What a peaceful Christmas Eve. Looks like I'll get to go on a date with Miyu today without any mishaps.

    • Alas, what he had in mind was not what happened.
  • Two episodes from the end of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Mu la Flaga reassures Murrue Ramius just before a battle by promising, "I'll be right back, with victory in hand." He isn't.
    • Not until Destiny, anyway.
  • Discussed and subverted in Azumanga Daioh, when Osaka predicts that their school trip to Okinawa will be "tons of fun" and Chiyo agrees, which it does turn out to be, on the whole. However, right after she says it, the image freezes and the background fades to black:

Tomo: At that time, they never would have dreamed... it would turn out to be such a miserable trip. Or something.
Yomi: Enough with the narration!

  • During the final showdown with Sailor Moon and Chibi-Usa on one side and the big scary skeleton guy Death Fantom on the other, Fantom repeatedly claims that he is eternally immortal. Then he dies.
  • After dodging a Rain of Arrows, one of the villains in Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust mutters "That was close..." seconds before the last arrow catches him through the neck.
  • Fellow robot Mechazawa introduces his little brother Mechazawa Beta in Cromartie High School. "I tell ya, this kid is tough! I guess that kinda stuff runs in the family. Any of you wanna try goin' one-on-one with him? Ha ha! As if!" Crunch. Gorilla crushes the poor tyke underfoot.
  • Characters in Yu-Gi-Oh! have a tendency to say things like:

Generic Badguy: Oh no, I hope his random trap card with a 1 in 10 chance of hitting me doesn't hit me. If that happened I'd totally lose! (gets hit) Oh no, I just lost!
Generic Henchman: Hah, you need to be really lucky to beat my unbeatable strategy! (3 minutes later) Oh no, what are the chances that you had one overly specific card in your deck to beat my strategy?!

Roba: No! If Jinzo hits my Reflect Bounder, it's all over for me!
(Jinzo hits Reflect Bounder and both explode)
Roba: No! Jinzo has hit my Reflect Bounder, and it is all over for me!

    • Could be combined with famous last words, but in episode 134 of the dub, when Yugi prepares his final attack, we get this little line from Kaiba:

Kaiba: YUGI! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED AT MY OWN TOURNAMENT!!!

  • The Fate/stay night Visual Novel does this: in the Unlimited Blade Works route, Shirou explicitly states that he cannot die from projecting swords, as it is the one thing he can do (he even considers himself a circuit made solely for that purpose). Three guesses on what happens in the Heaven's Feel route.
  • In Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, when Heero Yuy asks if the bunker is shielded, Mariemaia Khushrenada says, "Of course! See for yourself just how powerless you are!" Heero's response: "Roger that." And then he cuts loose with Wing Zero's Buster Rifle. Three times. In a moment, her pride is vaporized instantly and turned into complete fear for her life.
  • In the manga Gun Blaze West, villain "Target" Kevin has a prominent tattoo of a target right over his heart and never wears a shirt so he can show it off. This is later revealed to be the object of a game; He and an opponent shoot at targets on each other's bodies. The fact that he shows his tattoo so proudly illustrates that he never loses.
  • Code Geass R2 has the rather fantastic example of "Don't worry...It will be impossible for Zero to destroy this place (Tokyo) like last time!" Which is technically true...
    • The dub makes it clear that they're specifically referring to Zero causing the settlement to collapse in order to weaken the forces defending it, but even before the FLEIJA blast, a Gefion Disturber goes off and disables all the older Knightmare Frames.
      • There was also when Milly assured Nina there won't be any Elevens at the hotel where they will be staying. They get taken hostage by the JLF.
    • The most infamous example of this would have to be episode 22 of the first season: "If I were to say 'Kill all of the Japanese' you would be forced to obey..." Too bad Lelouch didn't realize that his Geass had turned permanently "on" when he mentioned this to Euphemia. Cue one of the most tragic and influential events in the whole series.
  • In the manga Fullmetal Alchemist, one of the members of the top brass, while it is trying to handle Roy's coup d'état, is getting worried about their opposition's effectiveness. Another member says that it's not like they have any tanks with them. Guess what reinforcements from Briggs provides?
    • Maes Hughes mentions to Envy that he has a wife and kid waiting at home. Cue the Fatal Family Photo.
  • In Eureka Seven, members of the military tend to say things like "This place is so heavily fortified, nobody would ever try to invade!" just before the Gekko shows up.
  • A notorious example of the "You Just Had to Say It" variety occurs in Elfen Lied, where Bando, after being dismembered by Lucy (who has psychic powers that manifest as hands that can cut/grab/rip apart anything within a 2-meter radius) says that he'd kill her the next time he saw her. She made sure he wouldn't see her.. He recovers by becoming half-robot.
  • From Red Eyes. A sergeant, under suppression fire, asking "WHAT?!? YOU ONLY SEND A SINGLE PLATOON HERE?!? A platoon that including Graham "Genocide" Mills himself.
  • Mega Man NT Warrior Manga, "I'll be, I did it, I've beaten Bass, I'm now the strongest netnavi of all", yeah right (Bass isn't beaten, he's just gotten stronger).
  • Fate/stay night's anime has a fun one. In the grand battle between Archer and Berserker, Archer blows the light in the building they're fighting in. When Berserker and Ilya find him, a beam of moonlight has cast itself over him for virtually no reason and poor Ilya is arrogant enough to say "Looks like the lunar goddess isn't blessing you." Oh, how wrong you are.
  • In Weiss Kreuz, when a devastated Ouka tells Omi that they're half-siblings, wrecking their romantic prospects, he immediately tries to comfort her by telling her how happy he is to have found a family after being alone for so long, hugging her and ending on "We'll be together forever..." No. No, you won't.
  • A slightly less obvious version from My-HiME: It was established that whomever the Hime's care the most about is screwed the moment their Child/monster is destroyed. Two Hime's do not have a person shown on-screen that they particularly care about. But they're kind enough to tell us that they do have someone, and say who it is. Their monsters get destroyed the very same episode. Nao's mother goes from first-mentioned to vaporized in less than 3 minutes
  • In Area 88, the character Boris (known by others as "The Angel of Death") has a reputation of always returning to base alone after a mission, no matter how many pilots go up with him. In the anime, one guy in a flight of four (plus Boris) gets cocky: "We flew with Boris 'The Angel of Death' and survived!" SAMs kill his sorry ass and two other guys 7 seconds later, leaving only Boris to head back to base.
  • In the fourth episode of Black Butler Ciel Phantomhive had to disguise himself as a girl to get to a serial killer at a fancy party. He says, "Good thing Elizabeth isn't here. I'd hate to have her see me like this." Guess who actually was there?
  • In Bizenghast, the characters are exploring what looks like a labyrinth. Edaniel and Edrear remind Dinah and Vincent to stay together and that they don't want to lose anyone down there. When they lose Dinah, Vincent goes to look for her, even using the exact phrase "I'll be right back!" Subverted since while everyone except Edaniel falls victim to whatever is in there, they all survive.
  • Ghost in the Shell rarely follows the tropes that anyone who's at least a bit Genre Savvy would see from miles away. However, an early episode of Stand Alone Complex mentions that the prime minister was put in her position because she lacked the ambition to interfere with the directions of the people in charge.
  • In Darker than Black a verbal bouncer at USA Embassy gates vehemently opposed letting a few Tokyo Police representatives to proceed on his territory with attempts to find clues about recent bombing series. At "Don't test my patience!" stage he was rudely interrupted by a loud BOOM--from the inside.
  • In Black Lagoon, Revy laughs and laughs when Garcia Lovelace tells her that his housemaid could whip her ass but good. Guess who is in the bar right at that moment, and about to break out the dakka for a Roaring Rampage of Revenge?
  • Pokémon Special: Aqua Admin Ark walks home with the award for Biggest Fate-Tempting Blunder, though other characters in other Pokémon works do their fair share from time to time. How big was his blunder?

"You've been in the water for three-- no, four minutes. Are you trying to set a world record or something?!"
"Oh? Iron Defense? You may have broken Sharpedo's fangs, but you're not out of danger yet... far from it."
"Our first task as Admins has been completed." (Evil Laugh)

    • Why are all of these relevant? The first one is done after flooding a locked, airtight cable car in an attempt to kill Sapphire, who demonstrated physical prowess beyond the average peon the last time they met. The second was when she called out her Lairon to break Sharpedo's teeth in what was seemingly self-defense. And the third came when she appeared to have drowned... in reality, she broke the teeth off with the express intent of using them to pop a hole in the glass and drain all that water out, giving her and Flannery a way to breathe and allow her to mount a counteroffensive. Cue a Did You Actually Believe? from Sapphire as a retort to the Evil Gloating and an extremely justified Oh Crap from Ark, who now knows just how many ways he happens to be boned.
    • Earlier in the GSC arc, two security guards casually remark what a terrible thing it would be for the Magnet Train to be hijacked, but that it would be impossible to hack the system. Cue their Oh Crap faces seconds before being knocked out by Team Rocket grunts.
  • Hidamari Sketch. "Today I will not forget to buy new batteries for my clock." Yuno's resolve is helped by the fact that the clock she's borrowing uses as its alarm the sound of a woman screaming as she's being (or about to be) murdered. Even the male gazer extraordinaire would likely find that more than counters the fact that one of the pictures on it is a close-up of boobs. (Barbie Doll Anatomy) But between the lottery tickets, the visit from a former student of Yoshinoya's, and the discovery of abandoned art, she completely forgot until they went to bed that night...
  • Hanaukyo Maid Tai La Verité episode 7. Ryuuka is standing in an underground tunnel which has shown itself to be trapped. She says "I'm not like Taro. There's no way I'm going to do anything dumb." Immediately thereafter she accidentally pushes a brick into the wall with her elbow, causing a metal pan to drop from the ceiling onto Taro's head. Lampshaded by Ryuuka herself immediately afterward: "Boy, I sure set myself up."
  • Every Apostle in Berserk pulls this one. "No mere human could compete with an Apostle!" Then Guts horribly kills them.
    • A rather memorable example comes from an unlucky group of soldiers. The commander of said soldiers insists that Guts reputation as a "Hundred man slayer" couldn't possibly be true, or at the very least, an exaggeration. Its not. May we also point out during this discussion, Guts is beyond a state of Unstoppable Rage after finding poor Griffith in his tortured state. They didn't stand a chance.
    • Even protagonist Guts pulls one of these, possibly the primate and worse one in the series. After defeating Griffith in a duel, winning his freedom from the Hawks Guts says in his mind that he wasn't a big player in the Hawk's success and that Griffith would eventually get over it and the Hawks would press on. No, Guts. Griffith did NOT get over it. And the Hawks got into deeper, and DEEPER shit.
  • In Holyland, some Sawako gangsters are saying that after beating up Shinichi they would go after Shougo or Yuu. Cue the former punching one of their own into the room they're in.
  • In the Axis Powers Hetalia movie, Russia, China, and America are undercover in an UFO trying to find a way to defeat the Pict aliens when they come across a room full of complicated controls. Russia decides to pull a suspicious red lever against the warnings of China, and says:

Nothing bad can possibly happen, so...

    • He ends up activating an alarm that alerts all the aliens in the UFO and results in the three nations being chased around by aliens.
  • Dragonball Super; Krillin seems to issue an open challenge by claiming it's safe for him to help Goku fight Frieza, as there's no way Fate could be cruel enough to let the same villain kill him a second time. Subverted, in that while Frieza does give a lot of attention to Krillin - promising one of his planets to whoever brings him Krillin's head - Krillin survives that arc.
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica:
    • "There's no way I'll regret this." Three episodes later, she does.
    • "I'm not afraid of anything anymore." That 'anything' probably includes death, so OM NOM NOM you go!
  • In Shugo Chara, Amu is having trouble with her one-sided (on her part) Unwanted Harem of three boys. She goes to get help from her best friend Nadeshiko, but she's not home and she meets her twin brother (At least what everyone thinks...) Nagihiko. Congratulations Amu, now your Imagine Spot Unwanted Harem consists of four guys.
  • In Tiger and Bunny's second drama CD, Karina notes that she's aware of that thing where two people who constantly bicker with each other end up falling in love, but that she's completely and absolutely 100% sure that it will never, ever, ever in a million years happen between Barnaby and her because there's no way she could ever possibly become attracted to such a trolling Jerkass. Barnaby agrees. Then, in the series proper, Karina ends up begrudgingly falling in love... with Barnaby's partner, Kotetsu.
  • A group of assassins taunts their victims "What difference can changing your glasses make? Even without glasses, you can see your imminent death." Being Manga/{{Gintama}}, it turns out that the glasses shoot eye beams, make combat tentacles, predict enemy moves, and transform their user into a magical girl.
    • On another instance, Gintoki expresses his utter hatred for New Year's cards, and claims he's going personally execute everyone who sends him one. Naturally, he ends up getting hundreds of them in the mail. In an attempt at being Genre Savvy in the same episode, he expresses false hatred for Valetine's Day chocolates, and doesn't get any, much to his irritation.
  • In Ao no Exorcist episode 10, this happens.

Guard: "It's not like it's unchained and will return to its original demon form, right?"
Cue the cat turns back into its original demon form off-screen.

  • Somewhere around 1/3 into episode 5 of Toradora!: "Well, it's not like we'll ever be seeing her again." Oh yes you will. Tomorrow. And for another two. Freaking. Years.
  • In the first episode of New Dominion Tank Police, the bad guy, an ex-cop, is ascending an elevator shaft in a mobile weapon when Leona and Bonaparte appear in the bottom of the shaft. Said bad guy goes, "They wouldn't dare shoot straight up," figuring that standard tank shells wouldn't reach him, but not only does she shoot straight up (Oh Crap) but she hits him…because she was using a high-velocity armor-piercing shell!
  • Pokémon anime episode "The Poke Spokesman". At the end Team Rocket is in a balloon in cloudy weather and James says "At least Team Rocket won't be blasting off this time". Seconds later a lightning bolt hits them and they become a Twinkle in The Sky.
  • Don't get cocky just because Nishizumi Miho is the not-quite-disinherited-yet daughter of the Nishizumi style of tankery, and the team she commands is composed entirely of newbies with mostly-inferior equipment. Darjeeling boasts that whatever happens in her match with Miho's group, she won't spill any of her Spot of Tea. Miho's tactical improvisation makes a liar of her — in her Oh Crap moment, she actually drops and breaks her teacup.
  • One Piece, in an episode during the Whole Cake Island Arc, Carrot assumes her Sunlong form, boards Daifuku's ship, and proceeds to beat the crud out the crew. Daifuku angrily tells her he's only one ship of a larger fleet and she can't take them all down this way... Then Carrot shows him the wheel of his ship, which she just ripped off. (Meaning Daifuku may have a point there, but his own ship is pretty much crippled.) Cue Oh Crap from Daifuku's whole crew.
  • Girls Bravo has Yukinari wishing that a girl would be nice to him for a change after Kirie (his masculine female friend) kicks him into a bathtub. He ends up meeting Miharu, the nicest girl ever. And yes, he does eventually hook up with her. Kirie admittedly is a good person at heart (she legitimately loves Yukinari, which is more than can be said for most girls Yukinari meets), but she can be aggressive towards him at times.


  1. ↑ which sounds very similiar to "bridge" in Japanese
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