What an Idiot!/Anime and Manga: Difference between revisions

* In ''[[Death Note]]'':

** In the second episode of ''[[Death Note]]'', Interpol makes a broadcast wherein "L", the greatest detective ''ever'', announces that he will be taking the Kira cases. More importantly, he does this while giving his real name and showing his face for what is supposed to be the ''first time ever,'' and is practically ''daring'' Kira to kill him right then and there. There is something suspiciously fishy about this.<br />'''You'd expect:''' Light realize this was likely to be a trap or probe of sorts and avoid killing the man. Or, if the temptation is too strong, do some research on the name and face to check if its falsified first and ''then'' kill him at a later date.<br />'''Instead:''' He writes his name in the Death Note right then and there and, big surprise, it ''was'' a trap. Now, not only did L figure out his MO and limitations, but he pinpointed his location.

** After his first failed attempt to kill Near in ''[[Death Note]]'', Light Yagami sends the Death Note to Teru Mikami, a definite Kira supporter, with instructions on it.<br />'''You'd expect:''' Light to send a message to Mikami to hide a page of the Death Note on his person, considering he must have had Kiyomi Takada do the same herself, and does so himself (using a trick watch to hide it). This would help him handle emergencies, the number of which had lately been high enough for Light to be tempted to kill Sayu with the watch trick. Additionally, for himself, he would make some extra precautions to ensure that he's not on the brink of defeat again.<br />'''Instead:''' He does not. This is clear from the fact that Mikami has to go to the bank a second time in a single day in the first place to kill Takada. Light, blinded [[A God Am I|by his ego]] and not even instructing Mikami earlier to only enter the warehouse (which has a single exit to begin with) upon hearing a password from him (like what he did in his [[Memory Gambit]]), declares his victory in the warehouse too early.

** Light, still being a student, has been keeping his Death Note activities in the afternoon to late evening. L comments upon this, suggesting Kira is a student.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Light would try and dissuade the notion by suggesting that it is just a coincidence and many people may only be able to attack in the afternoon, not just students, being the [[Chessmaster]] he is.<br />'''Instead:''' He begins writing down names to die in a more spread out fashion that day the night before, leading L to deduce that the Kira has insider information about the investigation and prompting him to lock everyone in the same room together, which forces Light to actually get on the team to keep up with his opponent.

** It's the endgame! Light and Near face off in the ultimate battle of wits. The fate of the world rides on these moments. Light's plan? To perfectly recreate the act of using the Death Note with a fake, then ensuring Near swaps the fake for another fake. Essentially, they will have believed that they disarmed him, unaware that they've only captured a harmless copy! Meanwhile, he keeps the ''real'' Death Note hidden away, then replacing the fake with the real one at the last moment! That way, the copy they "know" is fake is anything but! That way, when they allow him to incriminate himself, he'll instead slaughter them all at once, and the world will be his!<br />'''You'd expect''' that Light [[The Chessmaster]] would keep an eye on the ''real'' Death Note at all times, test it prior to the epic finish, keep several backups stored, maybe lend that page he keeps in his watch to the assassin, and hey, maybe even a grenade or two just in case. As long as they die, however they die, he wins. And even if they don't, they won't have any evidence directly linking him to Kira.<br />'''Instead''' he puts the original in a safe miles away, under ''no observation'', doesn't bother testing it, and then loudly incriminates himself in front of all of them. Then he tries to use a Death Note (ironically, a functioning Death Note page that could have killed them all had he given it to his lackey instead), in front of several people with much faster guns. Twice.

* ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'':

** In the third season, Mithril's intelligence department put down a report stating that Sousuke is being wasted as Kaname's bodyguard, causing the South Pacific fleet commander to order captain Testarossa to recall him to full service as [[Super Prototype|the Arbalest's]] pilot.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Mithril to consider the fact that Sousuke has spent the last six months integrated into civilian society and has been solely responsible for a VIP's well-being, and include forewarning and a sensible recall schedule followed by a thorough psychological debriefing and a monitored return to active service to ensure he doesn't break down from the ensuing stress.<br />'''Instead:''' Over the course of the next 24 hours, Sousuke is promptly ordered out of the mission and permanently banned from contacting Kaname. Once back in Mithril's fold, his CO proceeds to verbally lambaste him because she's [[Clingy Jealous Girl|jealous]] and he is assigned a new superior officer who further belittles him and uses [[Training from Hell]] to retrain him, followed by immediate deployment into an active terrorist attack without any kind of follow-up. To the shock and awe of no one watching, Sousuke suffers a [[Heroic BSOD]] shortly after from the resulting stress. What's worse is that The Lambda Drive is dependent on the user's emotional and mental stability to even work, and since this is precisely what Sousuke was recalled for...

** In the novels following End Of Day By Day (TSR), it's revealed that the chief of the Intelligence Department was in fact an agent of Amalgam. It's strongly implied that Sousuke's abrupt removal was in fact his idea, intended to leave Kaname alone and vulnerable, under the "protection" of an agent like Wraith, who preferred to not get involved, and who bore a personal grudge against Sousuke. It was probably meant to clear the way for Leonard Testarossa. Until Gauron's pupils got in the way. Once you start adding all this together, it's clear that the odds are being deliberately stacked against Sousuke, no matter how much Tessa might think it was only her decision. Oh, and in case you missed this, the Amalgam agent mentioned is the general Sousuke smacks down at the end of TSR. (He is finally discovered and captured in the "Dancing A Very Merry Christmas" novel.)

** The first series also has a grand example of this kind of mistake. After participating in a massive joint military operation to capture [[Ax Crazy|Gauron]], the team proceeds to imprison him aboard their high-tech super submarine.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Since Mithril is explicitly stated to be a MERCENARY ORGANIZATION, the two individuals who should have guarded this man would be the only two who wouldn't be motivated by anything other than personal vendetta or duty, particularly Sosuke and either Kalinin or Kurz, whose partner was just injured in battle against him. As long time members of the organization, it is likely they could be trusted to, at the very least, not help [[For the Evulz|Gauron]] in any way.<br />'''Instead:''' Sousuke is not put on duty guarding this guy, and instead the job is relegated to two nameless guards who, surprise, surprise, work for the [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|very financially well off]] Gauron. Because they're MERCENARIES.

** In the novels, it's explicitly mentioned that Gauron was being watched by members of both the PRT and the SRT, in 'quick one hour shifts". Lian and Dunningan were the second shift—that's why Gauron didn't escape sooner, because he didn't know who the traitors were or when they would make an appearance. So, while it was possible for Sousuke and/or Kurz to end up guarding Gauron sooner or later, I truly doubt Kalinin would let Sousuke in there, knowing full well their history. Kurz, on the other hand, is surprisingly described in the novels as a much more cool-headed guy, who couldn't be nettled easily. ''Or at all''. It's all part of being a good sniper, apparently.

* In ''[[Naruto]]'' {{spoiler|[[The Dragon]], Pain, has attacked Konoha and is destroying everything in sight. He wants to capture Naruto. One problem: Naruto is away training. Tsunade has to decide what to do.}}<br />'''You'd Expect''' {{spoiler|Tsunade to keep Naruto away from this mess. He has not finished his training yet and Pain is the person who killed Naruto's mentor, Jiraiya.}}<br />'''Instead''' {{spoiler|Tsunade asks a frog messenger to get Naruto back to the village! The village where a death machine wants him and will probably kill him if he engages him.}}

** {{spoiler|Then, Naruto fights Pain.}}<br />'''You'd Expect''' {{spoiler|Pain to pull the Naraka Path away from battle. The only combat-efficient move that Path could do would result in his opponent's death. And it's an interrogation move. Considering Naruto is a Jinchuriki, that would majorly screw up Akatsuki's plan. Plus, the Naraka Path could revive any of the other paths should they be disabled in battle. So, pull him from battle, and as soon as Naruto kills one of the other paths, have the Naraka Path recover the body behind Naruto's back, go into hiding, and ressurect the body ''there.''}}<br />'''Instead''' {{spoiler|'''He's out in the open doing fuck-all except for reviving one path!''' And then he gets killed off rather easily.}}

** This trope retroactively applied to Jiraiya when we learned that Pain/ {{spoiler|Nagato}} and Konan {{spoiler|were trained by Jiraiya when they were kids}}. Pain had the Rinnegan, supposedly the strongest of the Eye powers, first used by the ''creator'' of ninjutsu, ninja philosophy, and, supposedly, ''the freakin' moon!!''<br />'''You'd Expect''' Jiraiya would take the kids back to Konoha with him so the village could have all three Eye powers, getting major bragging rights in the ninja world.<br />'''Instead''' {{spoiler|Jiraiya leaves them to own devices, and gives nothing to let them get in touch with Konoha. Eventually, Nagato loses one too many best friends to the violence of the ninja world, and gets manipulated by [[Big Bad|Madara Uchiha]] and plans to use the Tailed Demons to make the equivalent of an atomic bomb. His quest for the Demons is what brought him to Konoha's doorstep.}}

** Also, pre-timeskip: Naruto is having trouble hitting Kabuto with his new uber-move because Kabuto's too good at dodging and is kicking the snot out of Naruto despite only having one working arm. Employing desperation tactics, Naruto manages to grab Kabuto's good arm.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' that Kabuto might remember that he still has legs, and kick Naruto in the face.<br />'''Instead:''' He spends almost ''half a minute'' doing nothing but standing there tugging ineffectually at his trapped arm, watching as Naruto charges up his uber-move and smacks him in the chest with it.

** Anytime that Naruto leaves the village, ever, and is either alone or with only a few people who aren't expecting immediate danger. Special mention to the battle with Sasuke at the Valley of the End<br />'''You'd Expect''': Tobi to appear in front of him and use his Time Space attack to capture him instantly. We've seen him sense people and teleport right to them, after all. At the battle with Sasuke, not only was Naruto especially vulnerable, but Zetsu was watching and has been shown to be good at contacting Tobi.<br />'''Instead''': He doesn't. Honorable mention goes to anyone who thought him leaving the village was a good idea, especially after Itachi's visit confirms that Akatsuki is after him. On multiple occasions, Naruto is with only a few people while actively seeking out Akatsuki members who are after him. Idiots indeed.

** A related one the Danzo fight: Sasuke is confronting Danzo for ordering Itachi to slay the Uchiha clan. Sasuke, not fully trusting Madara's story, asks Danzo if this is truly the case. Danzo's mind control eye has not fully recharged yet<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Danzo would stall for time until the eye is usable again and use it to bring Sasuke back under control.<br />'''Instead:''' He confirms Madara's story, fueling Sasuke's rage.<br />'''However:''' Before even asking for confirmation, Sasuke assures Danzo that he has already settled on killing him and restrains Danzo with Susanoo. Danzo realizes there is no time to stall and there is no perceptible disadvantage to telling Sasuke the truth.

** Sasuke has just given {{spoiler|Karin}} the nth degree when Sakura shows up, [[Face Heel Turn|wanting to join him]] in his nefarious plans like she proposed in Part I. Sasuke is still standing over the prone, bleeding, barely conscious {{spoiler|Karin}} and there's a good chance Sakura saw the end of his fight with {{spoiler|Danzo}}. Sasuke demands that Sakura {{spoiler|[[Shoot the Medic First]]}} before she joins him.<br />'''You'd Think:''' Since one of Sakura's most noted traits, before being [[The Load]] and then [[Action Girl]], was being the [[Smart Girl]] that she would think that something's up with Sasuke and at least not show her back to him.<br />'''Instead:''' She does and Sasuke promptly tries to knife her [[In the Back]], prompting a [[Big Damn Heroes]] from {{spoiler|Kakashi.}}

** In the Forest of Death during the Chunin Exams, Sakura is left fighting 3 sound ninja all by herself. She tricks one of them through an admittedly tricky series of substitutions, getting him to assume she's a substitution when she isn't, giving her a window of opportunity as she jumps down on him with a kunai in her hand.<br />'''You'd Expect''': She'd jump on top of him and stab him with the kunai either to kill or disable him so he couldn't fight her anymore.<br />'''Instead''': She lands on him and ''bites his arm'', doing nothing while he repeatedly punches her on the head.

** [[The Dragon|Kabuto]] has now {{spoiler|managed to capture both [[The Messiah|Naruto]] and [[Crazy Awesome|Killer Bee]] with the rejuvenated Nagato.}} <br />'''You'd Expect''': Knowing that Itachi is still out there, he'd keep Preta Path ability up, as well as create more summons to widen the field of Shared Vision. Thus, when Itachi begins his counter attack he'd be able to easily retort and capture Itachi too.<br />'''Instead''': {{spoiler|Instead, he turns off Nagato's Preta Path ability thus enabling him to be blindsighted by Itachi in [[Power Armor|Susanoo]], and Naruto and Bee get freed. Adding insult to injury, he uses Nagato to create the Chibaku Tensei and just ''stands there'' instead of you know, summoning another bird or one of the Rams or Rhinos in his disposal. He doesn't even keep the Preta Path ability up in the little chance that the Chibaku Tensei gets destroyed. Thus, Nagato gets sealed.}} \\

** Naruto is facing Tobi's Jinchuriki Six Paths. They have taken their [[Super-Powered Evil Side|V2 forms]], while he and Bee are standing in front of them. <br />'''You'd Expect''': Tells Bee to quickly launch a [[Wave Motion Gun|Bijudama]] before they can attack, or at least enter V2 himself to get back his mobility. And if they got close? Start using his fabled speed and reflexes.<br />'''Instead''': {{spoiler|Naruto and Bee stand there, doing nothing as Tobi orders the Six Paths to attack. Bee gets his hand melted slightly, Naruto is hit by three of the Jinchuriki Paths and incapacitated since [[I Forgot I Could Fly|he forgets about his speed]] and needs to be saved by Kakashi and Gai.}}\\

** The fillers did this with Neji in the Star saga. [[Big Bad]] Akahoshi hires the heroes to protect the village's secret weapon, but then takes measures to recover it himself, then declares them enemies of the Hidden Star Village, in front of a large crowd because they know of their motives. In the finale, everybody comes together, Akahoshi's plan to mutate the children of the village with the power of the meteorite into an army that will help him conquer the other nations is exposed, and he decides to use the meteor by himself to slaughter his own people and the Leaf genin present.<br />'''You'd expect''' for Neji to recognize an open declaration of war, and coordinate a joint attack taking out the bastard.<br />'''Instead''' he forbids his team to interfere in another country's internal affairs - basically condemning an entire village and his own teammates to certain death.

** Filler Neji again. During the penultimate filler arc of the original series, Naruto escorts an amnesiac ninja to the Land of Rice Fields, to help him recover his memory. Neji is ordered to follow them and keep an eye on the later, due to strong evidence of him being a sound ninja, and his possible connection with the man who attacked the village. They arive to a village near the Land of Rice Fields that has been burned to ground by sound ninjas, and there's a good possibility they might return at any moment, killing many innocents. The amnesiac Menma decides to stay and help the people defend themselves.<br />'''You'd expect''' Neji to agree, seeing how his mission was to keep an eye on Menma, and not much else, also considering the possibility that there might be a connection between the ninjas who attacked the village and the one who was after Menma, not to mention that Menma was found shortly after the attack on the village took place.<br />'''Instead''' He refuses to stay and urges Menma and Naruto to carry on with the mission, even after Menma tells him that helping the villagers might trigger some of his memories and refuses to even look into any possible connection between Menma, the village, the attackers and the man who attacked the leaf village earlier, effectively defying the Hokage's orders because of a minor technicality.

** [[The Dragon|Kabuto]] is now confronting Itachi and Sasuke. <br />'''You'd Expect''': Knowing what Itachi is capable of, you'd expect him to set up a trap to catch him unawares. Either a new type of clone, summoning a few of his back up Edo Tensei's, or even hiding under ground since the Sharingan can't see through the earth.<br />'''Instead''': {{spoiler|Instead, he continues sitting around and lets Itachi break through his barrier. Note, he could have already been in his [[Super Mode|Sage Mode]] by then and hit him with his blinding Gatsugei or have the entire earth attack him with Mushi Tensei. No, instead he sits there, bragging on how Edo Tensei can't be stopped and let Sasuke come to back Itachi up.}}

* ''[[Dragonball Z]]'', Vegeta, while effortlessly defeating Semi-Perfect Cell, acknowledges Cell's last transformation.<br />'''You'd expect''' that he would also acknowledge his son Trunks' warnings, considering that he knows a great deal about Cell, and annihilate the evil android while he still had the chance and prevent the destruction of the world as well as thousands of lives.<br />'''Instead''' he beats the crap out of Trunks and then allows Cell to transform into his ultra-powerful [[One-Winged Angel]] form because of his massive overconfidence. Cell proceeds to promptly beat the crap out of Vegeta, Trunks, and anybody who stands in his way at that point, threatening the entire world with his power.

** In the Frieza saga Goku splits a magic bean in two parts, so that Gohan and Kuririn can both have their part. They are fully recovered, even despite eating just half a bean.<br />'''You'd expect''' that from that point on they'd actually split any magic bean into two so that they have double the limited supplies of magic beans without having any drawbacks.<br />'''Instead''' no one splits a magic bean ever again...

** The Full-Power Super Saiyan means that by remaining transformed as a SSJ for extended periods of time the users can conserve their energy consumption much better than any other form of SSJ, thus they become stronger in training than any other form of SSJ would make them. While the FPSSJ users Goku and Gohan exit the training room in this state Vegeta and Trunks notice how genius this kind of training is, Vegeta even comments about this.<br />'''You'd expect''' that during their second year-long-training Trunks and Vegeta entered they'd be SSJ all the time, thus not only becoming FPSSJ but they'd be if not stronger at least equally strong as Gohan and Goku.<br />'''Instead''' Vegeta and Trunks completely forget about the benefits of training as a SSJ all the time, thus even though they trained double the time Goku and Gohan did, they were far weaker.

** According to [[Word of God]], Krillin's Kienzan technique is capable of cutting through ''anything'' (the only times it failed to cut through its targets were in anime filler scenes). Now, let's look at a certain point in the battle with Frieza: Krillin has just blinded Frieza using the Taiyoken.<br />'''You'd expect''' Krillin would take this opportunity to use a pointblank Kienzan on his blinded enemy, ridding the universe of a great evil once and for all. It's not like he could have forgotten that he ''has'' that technique, considering he was attacking Frieza with it several times in a row mere ''seconds'' earlier.<br />'''Instead''' Krillin shouts at Vegeta to take the opportunity to blast Frieza... even though ''moments'' earlier Vegeta blasted Frieza with all his strength to no effect. Krillin is actually ''surprised'' when Vegeta doesn't take the opportunity. Let's see... technique that is guaranteed to accomplish nothing versus technique that could be a one-hit kill, regardless of the user's [[Power Level]]... Gotta go with the flashier one.

** Earlier, when Recoome was about to use his Recoome Eraser Gun on Vegeta, Krillin moves up for a sneak attack on Recoome.<br />'''You'd expect''' Krillin to bust out a surprise-attack Kienzan, slicing Recoome in half while he was busy with the attack and eliminating yet another member of the Ginyu Force, as well as making some headway toward not being regarded as a joke by the fans.<br />'''Instead''' Krillin slams Recoome's mouth closed mid-beam, accomplishing little more than knocking out his teeth and severely annoying him.

** The Earth is seconds away from being destroyed and Goku has time enough for only one choice: use Instant Transmission to save Hercule and Dende or use it to save Goten and Trunks.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Goku to save Trunks and Goten, not only giving them access to the amazing powers and abilities of the only other Super Saiyan 3 in existence but also given them a formidable 3 to 1 defence against the most powerful creature in the history of the universe.<br />'''Instead:''' Goku saves Hercule and Dende: an act which literally had no foreseeable benefit. Goku had full knowledge that Porunga was still alive which nullified any benefit they would have gained from Dende '''and''' Goku had absolutely no way of knowing Hercule was going to rally the people of the Earth for his Spirit Bomb or summon Fat Buu to save their collective asses (a situation that would have in no way been relevant if they had access to the exponentially stronger Gotenks.)

** Majin Boo is immortal, has infinite energy, and can completely regenerate as long as any of his ''atoms'' are intact. In effect, any attack that doesn't completely obliterate every single atom in his body is meaningless.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' all of the characters to only use incredibly powerful, explosive ki blasts, since they are the only attacks that have a chance of doing anything.<br />'''Instead:''' nearly all of the characters continue to waste their time and energy using hand-to-hand combat, or blowing holes in Boo's belly, or doing some other kind of damage that is known to be meaningless. Then they act surprised when it doesn't work.

* In ''[[Ranma ½]]'', when Akane has been given an [[Time to Unlock More True Potential|unbeatable powerup]] thanks to a [[Clothes Make the Superman|Battle Dougi]], Soun and Genma convince Ranma to seduce her, since this would be one way to make the Dougi desert its master. Ranma does, but quickly realizes he's being a [[Jerkass]] and stops the charade, allowing his true feelings to surface instead. They're on the verge of kissing...<br />'''You'd Expect:''' That Soun, Genma, and Nabiki would [[Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone|back off]], since they actually want [[Takahashi Couple|Ranma and Akane]] to get together conclusively, and allow the scene to reach its expected outcome.<br />'''Instead:''' Nabiki gleefully lets the Dougi interrupt the moment, and Soun reveals the entire "seduce the Dougi's master" plot to Akane. She does not take it well.

** Again, in ''[[Ranma ½]]'' Ranma, who has a surplus of Fiances, suddenly has Shampoo, a Fiance he's not interested in, to lose interest in him. (She's been brainwashed, and in the anime the source is a magical jewel that alteres her behavior, but Ranma doesn't know that.)<br />'''You'd Expect:''' That Ranma thanks the gods that something has finally gone right in his life.<br />'''Instead:''' He tries to win Shampoo back, not because he's worried about her being brainwashed, but because ''his ego can't handle being rejected by a woman.'' Any issues he has involving Shampoo from then on are by definition self inflicted. Also to note, he never learns she was brainwashed right until Akane, brainwashed now herself, breaks it up. Not to mention, Brainwashed!Shampoo takes his most sorceful try as pretty muchy ''a rape attempt'', and [[Jerkass Has a Point|it's among the few times she looks genuinely better than Ranma]]; even with her brainwashing, she ''does'' have a point about how you can't force people to love you.

** Ranma, the character of ''Ranma ½'' is a boy who is cursed to transform into a girl every time he comes into contact with cold water & vice versa with hot water. He is uber-masculine and absolutely hates having his life ruined by these transformations.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Every single time he leaves his house he would carry a backpack containing at least a Thermos of hot water, a kettle, a full body anorak and a towel.<br />'''Instead:''' He leaves his house every morning wearing a short sleeveless vest and without precautions of any kind. This frequently turns out exactly how you would expect ([[Fridge Logic|not helped by]] Japan's rainy climate).

** Nabiki has been given the "rights to Ranma" after Akane throws a temper tantrum. She knows that Ranma's [[Unwanted Harem]] consists of a [[Hot Amazon]] whose culture has a motto of killing obstacles, a [[Rich Bitch]] who routinely uses blackmail, paralysis powder and other dirty tricks on ''Ranma himself'' and is much nastier to her competition, and a [[Wholesome Crossdresser]] who hunted Ranma for about ten years looking for revenge. They also know that Ranma doesn't have the "history" with Nabiki that he does with Akane, so they're more likely to believe they can get away with hurting her.<br />'''You'd expect:''' She would keep things on the quiet and make nice with Ranma, who is her only protection against them should they think to try anything.<br />'''Instead:''' She flaunts her "new relationship" in front of everyone at school, treats Ranma like crap, and then goes so far as to offer to auction him off to all of the girls simultaneously... naturally, they egg each other on and try to kill her instead.

** Nabiki has learned that Ranma and her sister are finally going to get married.<br />'''You'd expect:''' She'd try and keep the various also-rans away from the ceremony, if only to prevent either her own death or the destruction of her property in the crossfire, being well aware that the mere possibility that Ranma was trying to give Akane an engagement ring caused the girls to destroy the Saotome house.<br />'''Instead:''' She figures they will bring cash presents to the wedding, as is traditional, and that she can somehow take that money for herself (as well as any money she may get from telling them). So, she ''calls them and lets them know what's going on''.

** In an anime episode, Shampoo has managed to use a literal [[Red String of Fate]] to get Ranma to fall head-over-heels in love with her, and the effect will become permanent if they are still bound together five hours after it was first used to tie them together.<br />'''You'd expect:''' She and Ranma would high-tail it out of town so that nobody can find them until the magic is permanent.<br />'''Instead:''' She not only sits around the Tendo Dojo, giving Kasumi and Nabiki a chance to figure out that the string is responsible, she ''sends a wedding invitation to Akane''. And ''then'' she trusts Akane enough to let her get close enough to cut the string, seconds before the magic expires and the string vanishes—releasing Ranma back to his senses.

** Ranma and Akane's persistent and unwanted admirer Kuno has met Mariko Konjou, a girl with a similar personality to his own and who is actually very interested in him.<br />'''You'd expect:''' Ranma decides to do some [[Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends]] and encourages Kuno to give up on his female form and Akane to get together with his admirer.<br />'''Instead:''' Ranma decides to break them up by proving he (in his female form) loves Kuno more and actively encourages Kuno to come after "her and dump his new love interest. All too get back at Kuno's admirer for making Akane upset by cheating in a volleyball game, never mind that there were other ways to get back at her. Ultimately, Kuno's admirer gives up and leaves, while Kuno continues to pursue Ranma and Akane as much as before if not more so and ends up ruining Ranma's wedding in the final story.

* ''[[Code Geass]] R2'' has quite a few points.

** Shortly before the second battle of Tokyo, Suzaku gets between Lelouch and his goal of rescuing Nunnally. <br />'''You'd Expect:''' Lelouch to remember that he once put a "Live" Geass on Suzaku and order Kallen to merely disable the Lancelot rather than destroy it.<br />'''Instead:''' After Suzaku refuses to submit, he orders Kallen to kill Suzaku, which she was just about to do anyway. Thanks to the "Live" command, Suzaku takes the quickest way to survival and {{spoiler|nukes the Tokyo settlement, supposedly killing Nunally.}} [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Nice Job Breaking It Anti-Hero.]]

** Earlier, Suzaku had promised to Lelouch to keep Nunally safe from that battle as long as the latter kept his vow to bring world peace. Furthermore, Suzaku should have also backed Lelouch and the Black Knights in battle, since their victory would result in the liberation of Japan with the least amount of casualties. However, Schneizel and Kanon pull a trap on Lelouch and frame Suzaku for setting him up. So: <br />'''You'd Expect:''' Suzaku to prove his loyalty to Lelouch and Japan by standing by and helping to protect Nunnally. <br />'''Instead:''' Our [[Leeroy Jenkins|"hero" dives into the battle]], thus placing the liberation of Japan and team Lelouch's attempt to reach Nunally in serious jeopardy. And then, he deploys himself with the FLEIJA bomb in tow, which he has the gall to carry into battle, rather than playing defense on behalf of Lelouch, Nunally and Japan. To be fair, Suzaku is a great pilot and isn't horribly outmatched yet, but Jeremiah still manages to catch him. Anyway, then Kallen comes in and absolutely destroys Luciano, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that her new Knightmare just decided the entire battle. Against the recommendations of everyone, he decides to pick a fight with her. He then spends the next two minutes using ''the same ineffective attack'' over and over like it will suddenly work better. He is being yelled at to retreat and ignores it. Kallen literally doesn't even fight back. Of course, when he's put on the ropes when Kallen gets serious, Suzaku decides [[Death Seeker|to stay and die]], which is even dumber than Lelouch's order to kill him because Suzaku ''knows'' exactly what kind of insane and out-of-character stunts the command can make him pull off when it's triggered. And that's exactly what happens: he {{spoiler|nukes the Tokyo settlement. This results in the death of millions, including, seemingly at first, the one he swore to Lelouch to protect, which does not better Lelouch's opinion of him.}} [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|Nice job, dumbass:]] [[Memetic Mutation|Achievement Unlocked: 35 Million Casualties.]]

** Even earlier than that, Shirley, just after Lelouch had risked his life to save her from falling off the edge of a building, {{spoiler|is found dead in a puddle of blood in a smoking building just minutes later. Her death is ruled as suicide, but even so....}}<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Suzaku to absolve Lelouch of {{spoiler|causing Shirley's death, taking the earlier heroic near-sacrifice, and a lack of opportunity for a Geassing into account.}} <br />'''Instead:''' Suzaku blames Lelouch for {{spoiler|Shirley's death}}, and never realizes, or certainly not before it was too late, that Lelouch {{spoiler|didn't Geass Shirley into suicide, which makes no sense to begin with.}} Accusive ass. Thank you for causing us God knows how much trouble. Really, {{spoiler|it was Rolo, working on his own buggy, although thoughtless, agenda, who killed Shirley.}}

** And then, The Black Knights are led by ''another'' Britannian prince and Ohgi's Britannian agent of a girlfriend to believe that Lelouch Geassed them into loyalty. Because of this, {{spoiler|1=the Black Knights revolt, using Kallen to draw him out for a public execution. Lelouch just laughs at the Black Knights' gullibility - not that the Black Knights are wrong, but as if they are right, in order to let Kallen go free - which prompts the BKs to try to kill him. [[Big Damn Heroes|Rolo busts in with Shinkiro to save him.]]}} <br />'''You'd Expect:''' The BKs to realize that Lelouch does have his morals and give him a fair trial for his actions. After all, for instance, even if he did Geass them, their attempt at mutiny would prove his Geass wasn't inviolable. In addition, that he did ''not'' use Kallen as a human shield would usually be considered strange, if the BKs weren't willing to kill her so they he couldn't. At the very least, they could have engineered events so that Kallen would go free. <br />'''Instead:''' They don't, and instead chase him and Rolo down, resulting in Rolo's death and the Knights leaving Lelouch for dead. All of this is for an under the table deal to liberate Japan, giving the middle finger to the entire UFN in the process. Congratulations. {{spoiler|You have just pushed our [[Byronic Hero]] to [[Despair Event Horizon|his ultimate breaking point]], and now have a seemingly despotic Emperor Lelouch for it.}}

** On the same subject, Ohgi's Britannian agent of a secret girlfriend, Villetta, is among those to testify against Lelouch. <br />'''You'd Expect:''' Ohgi to get a slap on the wrist at the very least for secretly harboring a Britannian agent, since that was one of the charges raised against Lelouch. After all, Villetta caused, among other things, {{spoiler|[[Took a Level In Dumbass|Ohgi to let his guard down]] during the Black Rebellion, leading to further destabilization within the ranks of the Black Knights watching over Ashford (which also arguably resulted in V. V. being able to sneak in and abduct Nunnally, causing Lelouch in turn to take a costly detour from the Rebellion), and him to accept a death threat from her, leading to an assassination attempt.}}<br />'''Instead:''' This is overlooked too easily, and {{spoiler|Villetta even joins the Black Knights. The two even get [[Happily Married|married]] [[Happily Ever After|ever after]], with Ohgi becoming Prime Minister, making them both [[Karma Houdini|Karma Houdinis.]]}}

** Remember that potential [[What an Idiot!]] moment mentioned above? Well, now it warrants mention given the thought. {{spoiler|The Black Knights had been told about Geass, and it being a form of hypnotism, which especially has the stereotype of working more effectively on weak-minded people. They think they have been Geassed, which shows signs of still being effective for extended periods of time.}} <br />'''You'd Expect:''' {{spoiler|1=BKs: Wait a minute, Zero AKA Lelouch Vi Britannia. How can we be able to try to mutiny against you when you had a princess who appointed a Japanese man as her personal knight through all that prejudice massacre Japanese people. Something is off.}} <br />'''Instead:''' {{spoiler|1=BKs: [[Castlevania|Die, monster! You don't belong in this world!]] [[Kangaroo Court|Open fire and kill the girl we used as bait under premise of being Geassed for questioning us, boys!]]}} <br />'''Result:''' The [[What an Idiot!]] moment 2 entries above, its own results and all.

** Then there's Rolo's {{spoiler|[[Big Damn Heroes]] moment: he is right there in a ''Knightmare'' and has a Geass power capable of stopping the senses of anybody in range, however temporary. He is quite okay with overusing his Geass to save Lelouch, whose life is threatened because of everybody else in the room except for Kallen, but cares too little for anybody else to not think twice of killing them, demonstrated not just by the fact that he ''[[What Measure Is a Mook?|kills random pilots]]'' in the following scenes but that his assassin history and instincts in any other case would compel him to kill at the slightest provocation, as has been [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded earlier on a few times]] by other characters.}} <br />'''You'd Expect:''' {{spoiler|1=Rolo to use the Knightmare and his Geass power to wipe those people (the BKs) off the face of the Earth already.}} <br />'''Instead:''' {{spoiler|Rolo just bolts for the exit. With Schneizel and Kanon being allowed to live, they get to report Lelouch escaping; this leads to making sure Rolo ''has'' to lose his life to ensure Lelouch's safety. And with them and the Black Knights still alive, Lelouch has to fight through them later on.}} All in the name of {{spoiler|Lelouch fighting against the world}} just like {{spoiler|Shirley}} said. Or maybe he could let Lelouch into the cockpit (which he did do well before dying), then escape into the water, of which few Knightmares possess the ability. To be fair to that alternative, though there was an explicit scene where he scraps a ton of amphibious Portmans.

** Lelouch and Suzaku join forces for the first time and take over the Britannian empire, but they know that Schneizel still has his Damocles and that he plans to use it nuke the world into submission, and that they need to stop it at any cost. So Lelouch contacts the only other super power on earth, the "UFN", which is controlled by people he helped put in power, and who's army he helped build and used to command, and invites their leaders for a peace conference, which they agree to.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' Lelouch to try and rebuild his alliance with his former followers by providing them proof that he did not use Geass on them (he can easily do that, since [[It Only Works Once]]), tell them the truth about who he is and why he fights and unite together against Schneizel and the Damocles which threatens them all. That way, Schneizel would be facing all the armies of the entire world.<br />Or at the very least, have made a secret pact then went as per canon, until someone like Xingke could meet with Schneizel and assassinate him.<br />'''Instead:''' Lelouch uses the peace conference as bait to lure the UFN leaders into a trap and then take them all hostage, he then sends his army in and conquers the whole of Japan, thus insuring that he has to fight The Black Knights ''and'' Schneizel at the same time.

** Which leads me to the next one. Lelouch and Suzaku actually had at least a good month before Schneizel got Damocles up in the air, FLEIJAs and all.<br />'''You'd expect:''' Them to hunt him down, and/or put him under close watch to keep him from putting his big [[Kill Sat]] into action unmitigated. One FLEIJA was bad enough. Plus, he already had the Avalon in the first season. Why give the opportunity to do worse?<br />'''Instead:''' He just waits around for Schneizel to emerge on his own, with even worse than predicted results. Hello, [[Contractual Genre Blindness]].

** Nunnally has the ability to tell lies by holding a person's palm. She did this to Suzaku and [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|Alicia]] in R2.<br />'''You'd expect:''' Her to do the same with Schneizel, her brother who she hasn't seen in years. She sees her own blood brother, Lelouch, as a person who has lied to her, so why should Schneizel, let alone anyone, period, be an exception?<br />'''Instead:''' She takes Schneizel's [[Half Truth|words]] at face value, which results in her turning against Lelouch, and nuking Pendragon, which she has been falsely informed has been evacuated.

** And even R1 is not immune, and even has a moment ''in the second episode'', from ''Lelouch himself'' no less: Lelouch has just Geassed Villetta for her Knightmare. Not five minutes ago he had Geassed a bunch of Britannian soldiers to kill themselves. He could kill her a few different ways and be done with it. At few if any points in ''the entire series'' does Lelouch care for [[What Measure Is a Mook?]], and he even kills ''named soldiers''.<br />'''You'd expect:''' Lelouch to kill her. One less piece of Britannian scum to deal with, not to mention covering up how he got the Knightmare.<br />'''Instead:''' He just ignores her and leaves. Villetta ends up being a factor in much of his troubles later on.

*** And speaking of Villetta... so, Lelouch wakes up and realises, with [[The Chessmaster|his typical genius]] barring [[Idiot Ball|situations like this]], that two people have seen him unmasked, thus uncovering his true identity, and that one has shot the other.<br />'''You'd Expect:''' That Lelouch would immediately search the area for the shot party, on the basis that they're unlikely to have gotten far with a gunshot wound, just in case they're still alive. Which, as it happens, they are.<br />'''Instead:''' Lelouch just goes home, devoting all his time and effort towards finding the shooter rather than the shootee (despite the fact that the shooter almost certainly has some sympathy or affection for him, having protected his identity and not revealed it yet), letting the badly wounded but still very much alive Villetta be discovered by Ohgi instead. Admittedly she has [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]] when she first recovers, but nevertheless...<br />'''Result:''' This event ultimately sets in motion a chain of events that not only help to doom the First Black Rebellion by causing chaos in the Black Knights' headquarters, aiding V.V. in his abduction of Nunnally, but later on led to the Black Knights ''betraying Zero and driving him over the [[Despair Event Horizon]]''. Yeah.

* In ''[[Ookamikakushi]]'', Hiroshi isn't exactly known to make intelligent decisions. To list a few examples:

** He has befriended Sakaki, who confides to him that he lost his fiancee to the mysterious group murdering people around town, and is seeking the truth. Hiroshi knows who the leader of this group is: Someone from his own school.<br />'''You'd Expect''': Hiroshi would realize Sakaki is probably murderously furious towards the person who killed his fiancee and keep his mouth shut until he knows more about the group, or the person's reasons for doing it.<br />'''Instead''': He tells Sakaki the name of the leader in the group. Not surprisingly, Sakaki uses this little bit of information to set a trap.

** Said trap involves kidnapping the girl ( {{spoiler|Nemuru}}), calling up Hiroshi, and taking him out in the middle of the night to an abandoned barn with the claim that he will show him "the truth".<br />'''You'd Expect''': Hiroshi would see something suspicious in being called up at night, realize he might potentially be in danger if he were to go inside, and not go into the barn.<br />'''Instead''': He walks into the barn, runs into {{spoiler|Nemuru}}, and realizes the danger he might be in...just in time for Sakaki to leave him a knife as a parting gift and lock him up inside.

** During the night, {{spoiler|Nemuru}} finally tells Hiroshi everything, including that he is in danger of being attacked if she loses control of her impulses, and must be left tied up.<br />'''You'd Expect''': He would take into account what almost happened with Issei and follow her advice and leave her tied up until morning.<br />'''Instead''': He unties her, and she nearly attacks him. Nothing bad happens, but still...

** And then there's Sakaki in episodes ten and eleven. We will start with the end of episode ten, which is when he begins to latch on to the [[Villain Ball]]: He stabs his accomplice and lets him know of his real plan to destroy the city.<br />'''You'd Expect''': He would stab him one last time to kill him, thus unable to tell anyone of his plans.<br />'''Instead''': He leaves him to die alone. When someone else comes across the wounded man, he uses his last breath to warn the village of Sakaki's plan.

** And speaking of Sakaki's plan...his plan is to basically open the dam and destroy the village. After managing to open the dam itself...<br />'''You'd Expect''': He would stay at the station to guard it, or otherwise break the dam controls before leaving.<br />'''Instead''': He not only leaves the station, but he also leaves the controls perfectly intact for the heroes to come along and undo the damage.

** While heading back through the forest, Isuzu notices Sakaki, someone who holds a grudge against the entire village and hates everyone in it, walking by, not to mention someone whom she ''knew'' was a genuine threat.<br />'''You'd Expect''': She would get out of there and alert the attention of the police, or the extermination group.<br />'''Instead''': She follows him into the forest alone, loses sight of him, and gets shot.

** Last but not least, Sakaki is just about ready to take his revenge and is presented ''several'' oppurtunities to shoot {{spoiler|Nemuru}} and/or Hiroshi.<br />'''You'd Expect''': He wouldn't wait for them to finish monologing and [[Just Shoot Him|just shoot them.]]<br />'''Instead''': He stands around waiting for them to finish talking before ranting about his revenge, and how they're all monsters...''but never actually shoots anyone.'' By the time he ''does'' try to get a shot, {{spoiler|Kaori shows up, takes the bullet instead, and drags him down to his demise. }}