Best plot-twist

[destiny4ever]

Best Plot Twist Announcement!

The results are in for the first Manga Awards Ceremony (2010) at long last! The moment you have been waiting for, has finally arrived! [Drum rolls]

But first, our thanks. We thank everyone for their participation in nominating, voting, discussing, critiquing, and suggesting ideas for future Awards Ceremonies. This wouldn't have been possible without the hard work of the staff and most importantly our cherished members and loyal fans of manga!

but secondly, let's review of how we got to the winner(s) of the Best Plot Twist Category.

Spoiler: The nominations and their "vote counts"

Total “Votes” = 49

1. Aizen revealed as villain from Bleach with 14 “votes”
2. The Eclipse from Berserk with 6 “votes”
3. Ace’s father revealed as Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard’s true intentions towards Ace’s futurefrom One Piece with 6 “votes”
4. Askeladd beheaded King Sweyn and his death following afterwards from Vinland Saga with 5 “votes”
5. Itachi revealed as a “good guy” from Naruto with 3 “votes”

*Zeref (Fairy Tail) suddenly appears and his/her appearance on Tenrou Island from Fairy Tail with 2 “votes”
*Cross tells Allen that he, Allen, is the 14th, and when it’s revealed Allen is the 14th Noah from D. Gray Man with 2 “votes”
*Priscilla decapitating Teresa and then Awakening from Claymore with 1 “vote”
*Ch 290 Hellhound “Guts’ inner demon” promising Guts ... etc from Berserk with 1 “vote”
*When Gildartz shows off his true power to Natsu ... etc from Fairy Tail with 1 “vote”
*When we found out that the awesome hat dude is Hazama freakin’ Tokimori from Kekkaishi with 1 “vote”
*Kanon got stabbed right after she was confirmed to possess a Goddess from Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai with 1 “vote”
*Gaara and other Sand ninja helping Konoha’s ninjas against Kimimaro and the other Sound ninja of Orochimaru’s from Naruto with 1 “vote”
*Wakaba dies from Cross Game with 1 “vote”
*When we find out that the 14th wants to kill the Earl and take over the position for himself from D. Gray Man with 1 “vote”
*The appearance of the aliens from Gantz with 1 “vote”
*Where the lead male character discovers he’s had an “oepidus rex” event, except it was with his daughter from Old Boy with 1 “vote”
*Yusuke was a half demon from Yu Yu Hakusho with 1 “vote”

and now, the winners from the Staff's choices:

Spoiler: The STARs' (Manga Editors, Translaters, Artists, and Reviewers) choice of winner(s)

It's a tie between Berserk's and Vinland Saga's

Spoiler: The Moderators' (Red, Blue, Green, and Pink) choice of winner(s)

Bleach's

and finally, what you all have been waiting for, Ladies and Gentlemen, the Members' winner choice [Drum rolls]:

Spoiler: The winner of Best Plot Twist

 

[zelllogan]

I'll give my opinion on each choice:

One piece:
As already discussed during the first round, the selected "One piece" event doesn't deserve to be among the 5 finalists. I can't vote for the one piece event when it's not even the biggest shock we had in the manga. Imo, There are at least 2-3 events bigger than that in one piece:

Spoiler

- Crew splitted by Kuma. That's the event which changed the manga the most
- Robin joining
- revelation concerning dragon & garp

Naruto :
A good plot-twist ... but a little too big for me to swallow

Spoiler

If itachi was that good, why didn't he simply pull a "coup d'etat" against the uchiha ? Why did he kill innocent girls & boys in the process ? I don't feel that his actions are coherent. Neither I understand Konoha's decision to order someone to kill everyone of his own family.

But it's a good plot-twist because sasuke's mind is fucked up by this revelation.

Berserk :

Spoiler

The manga changed so much because of this event, it wasn't even the same read. I can't think of an other manga where "before" & "after" are so different. It was not the same manga anymore. So, my vote is for this manga

Bleach :

Spoiler

Maybe the most unpredictable plot twist. So, if your definition of "best plot twist" is "most unpredictable" , then you got your winner. But that's exactly my problem with this event: it's coming out of nowhere ... and to justify this, the author had to give Aizen "sharingan" powers.

I unfortunately don't know Vinland Saga enough.

 

[Koen]

I'll add for zellogan

Spoiler: vinland saga

In this plot twist: King Sweyn is partying the come back of his youngest son Knud (note that he previously planned assaults on his youngest son). This is also the stage in which a take over is planned. Sweyn unexpectedly announces an attack Wealas/Wales, country in which Askeladd (who supports Knud) has been born. Askeladd didn't expect this and he tries to convince Sweyn to refrain himself from his initial plans or to send him over there. Sweyn knew about Askeladd's roots and he comes very close to Askeladd and whispers: wales or Knud, choose? Askeladd pulls out his sword and he announces his true name and roots, beheading king Sweyn afterwards.

-> unexpected royal/political/strategical schemes, the death of the famous king Sweyn, etc

It also leads to the death of Askeladd since it is ordered by Knud. He was vowed to be killed by the hands of the main character, Thorfinn, because Akeladd killed latter one's father. Thorfinn swore to kill Askeladd but his nemesis was killed by Knud who takes over the crown of his father. It changes Thorfinn at lot afterwards.

For me the best plot twist, I read since years

 

[zelllogan]

Koen gave me this link:
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/vinland_saga/v07/c051/

I read that chapter & the next one ... I'm pretty sure that if I knew vinland saga better, I would have given my vote to Vinland Saga.

The way it's happening is just awesome. The best thing about this plot twist is that the character Askeladd probably took the right decision. I stopped reading vinland saga mainly because I don't like this kind of graphics but now I'm sure I missed something.

 

[shinsengumi]

berserk's plot was so twisted that it broke off : ) obviously #1

other than that , bleach is better than OP and naruto imo . what i call a good twist is considerable change of events , preferably unpredictable and unexpected

Spoiler

at first aizen turned out to be the main villian and now its proven wrong . we are about to find out the real plot and we simply have no clue about it

 

[Jaymie]

Spoiler

Kubo doesn't have any idea what the real plot is either.

I liked the plot twists in Fullmetal Alchemist more than all of those.

Spoiler

The entire country was a giant transmutation circle, and Father founded Amestris hundreds of years ago for the very purpose of creating a giant Philosopher's Stone.

Later on, he succeeds in absorbing millions of souls, and he uses the Philosopher's Stone to open the Earth's Gate and make God's power his own.

Oh, and the classics - King Bradley is Wrath and Selim Bradley is Pride.

But I'll have to give it to One Piece. I'm sorry Vinland Saga, but I haven't read enough of you!

 

[Roflkopt3r]

berserk's plot was so twisted that it broke off : ) obviously #1

That plot twist of Berserk is awesome indeed, but that one of Vinland saga is at least on par with it imo!

Spoiler

After all, the reader already knew that Gatsu would somehow lose an eye and an arm and would turn all dark and twisted, this was the flashbacked explanation to it.
In Vinland Saga, the element of unending surprise adds to it and also makes it an "WTF?" moment par excellence. It's totally unsuspected and turns the whole story upside down, while it's plausible in itself as well.

That of Bleach... ok, it's interesting, but actually that plot twist marks the moment when Bleach became totally uninteresting to me. It was too twisted so to say

Spoiler

I don't like it when first everything appears normal and then all of the sudden such an explanation is given later on. To me it often is less surprising then more like "yeah, cmon, this feels so made up, did the author even plan this?"

Wasn't it even the way that Kubo planned to end Bleach after Soul Society arc and only continued because he recieved great feedback to the - even I have to admit that - so far great content?
Did he possibly even plan to end Bleach without Aizen's betrayal and then just scripted that afterwards to have a point of where to continue?

About that one of Naruto

Spoiler

What I have to add to it as a pro argument: It's not one of those "ultimate world fate of doom" twists, it's a rather slight one actually, still having a tremendous effect though. And beeing center of one of the most awesome stories of Naruto - first the revenge, then the sudden realisation of truth, the sadness, and then rage.
And it turned Itachi into a really epic character once and for all.

A vote almost isn't enough for me for this awesome category, I'ld rather have to make it a ranking
Vinland Saga >/= Berserk > Naruto > Bleach > OP

 

[Hystzen]

bleach

Spoiler

thats what like bout it .kubo admitted he didnt have Aizen as a villain or even alive but he needed to end the saga with a shock to keep the plot moving forward. he did good job he could easily brought in a new character or even just have the whole ss as evil no he came up with idea the man they trusted most as a villain..a good plot twist

 

[Riku]

OP certainly has many greater twists than that one.

Naruto one...Felt bit forced, and way too many people was this coming, for it to really surprise. Not than surprise is everything in a plot twist, in that case Bleach would win with that one. Also, Naruto one didn't impact the overall plot that much, only our view on a certain character, and how an other acts. The latter however doesn't feel too natural. This is what I dislike in Naruto, the displaying of rival and heros stories isn't in balance.

Bleach one was a shock, but nothing more.

Now, I really need to catch up with Berserk.

Vinland saga's is the best. It was shocking, surprising, well executed and really had a great impact on the story and the characters. It's really in it's own league.

 

[CBlitz]

Berserk yet again would take the cake IMO, my mind was blown so hard that I put the manga on-hold because of the shock. So traumatic

Naruto's plot-twist was also pretty good, it wasn't delivered so well yet it still was a large shock and made plenty of sense. Not to mention it completely changed the view some of us had of ninja villages, politics and countries within the manga. Brilliant in that regard

Vinland Saga & OP also have some nice ones. Bleach's is epic for sure and widely recognized by everyone but I'd say it was more of a wtflol moment than actually shocking

 

[M3J]

Finding out whose Ace's father was was a great plot-twist! Not only did we find out Ace's true heritage, but it set in motion for what's happening now. I doubt Ace would have been executed had his heritage not been what it is.

 

[zelllogan]

M3J >> I'm sorry but that's just blind fanboyism. Among the 5 choices, it's the weakest by far.

Spoiler

Ace would have died anyway:he was the man chosen by the strongest man in the world to become pirate king ... Ace being HIS son doesn't change anything at all. That's not a great plot-twist. That's not even a plot-twist ... it's just a WTF, nothing more.

I'm going to feel sick if one piece win this poll ...

 

[M3J]

Spoiler

It set in motion for the events that came. Sengoku himself used Gol D. Rogers as a reason as to why Ace had to be executed. I don't remember him saying it's because of Whitebeard and Ace's future in the crew that Ace was executed, but because his blood contained notoriety. If it weren't for Ace having had to be hidden due to his bloodline, who knows how Luffy would have grown up to be like?

At least it's a better choice than revelation of Duvall's identity. <_<

While it may be blind fanboyism, I've only read OP and Naruto, and the nominated plot-twist was already hinted at when he met with Naruto.

Call it fanboyism, but I'm merely picking the better choice out of the two that I do know.


If anyone saw that, sorry for the spoiler tag fail.

 

[ashher]

Haven't read Vinland Saga....

of the rest 4 i feel fairly justified in my choice of Naruto.

---

How the berserk's event of choice could even be considered a plot twist is beyond me.

i always thought plot twist are mostly equivalent of a magician's trick. there should be distraction and misleading from the actual event. and inside them there should be the things that ppl will overlook because of the mislead. and when finally the twist is revealed,ppl should be able to go back and feel like "why the hell i missed that?"

of course the effect of the said event would have to have a great impact on the plot...changing its flow.

naruto does well on both accounts.

Berserk:

Spoiler

The eclipse and its outcome has been hinted since the very beginning of the manga and there was no change of direction,not misleading. the impact of it on storyline is great..but it was hardly revelation or unforseen outcome.

Bleach:

Spoiler

it was more like the classical "bolt form the blue". there was some mislead yes...but it was minimal, and the hidden clues were minimal as well. it was more like leaving a huge gap in the story and then filling it in a non-linear story telling. which sort of had an impact similar to a twist...but its not what i would use as an example of perfect twist.

 

[Roflkopt3r]

How the berserk's event of choice could even be considered a plot twist is beyond me.

i always thought plot twist are mostly equivalent of a magician's trick. there should be distraction and misleading from the actual event. and inside them there should be the things that ppl will overlook because of the mislead. and when finally the twist is revealed,ppl should be able to go back and feel like "why the hell i missed that?"

of course the effect of the said event would have to have a great impact on the plot...changing its flow.

Berserk:

Spoiler

The eclipse and its outcome has been hinted since the very beginning of the manga and there was no change of direction,not misleading. the impact of it on storyline is great..but it was hardly revelation or unforseen outcome.

Quoting from Wikipedia:

A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot (...).It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation. Some "twists" are foreshadowed and can thus be predicted by many viewers/readers, whereas others are a complete shock.

Yes, it was "foreshadowed", or even more due to the introduction of volumes 1&2. But it turned everything upside down in a single event, it definitly deserves to be called a plot twist.

Now Bleach's plot twist is something special, after all it seems not even the author knew it would happen

 

[ashher]

Ahh...you've gotta love wiki...one can fit in almost anything in that 'definition' starting from berserk to bleach. The thing is...lit is always more about feeling rather than grammer, or so i believe. 'twist' is something that twists what a readers feeling/perception about the work. Clues should be hidden and the 'apparent' foreshadowing should be misleading in case of twist...till its time of revelation where the reader suddenly sees the hidden clues which, if noticed earlier, would've acted as foreshadowing for the real event. another type of 'foreshadowing' associated with plot twist would be keep pointing at a certain point when something of great importance will happen, but when that point comes something happens which was unexpected by the reader. That is not foreshadowing of the actual outcome of the twist, rather its a foreshadowing of 'something of importance to happen at that point' and that something turning out to be a twist. I believe that was what meant by the wiki definition. it was not exactly defining the effect of twist when it was talking about 'foreshadow or shock'...i think it was more commenting on the way the effect is delivered. In case of 'foreshadowed twist' you expect something to happen and yet get surprised, while in case of 'shock twist' you expect nothing at that point but get a totally unexpected surprise.

---

So i would rather term 'Berserk twist' a 'defining development' whereas the 'Bleach twist' would be more appropriate to term as a 'shocking development'. A twist should be suprise+retrograde effect+change in 'anticipated' course of plot. 'Eclipse' gets none of them ticked, it has great importance on plot development, but it neither surprises,nor changes the readers' perception of previous proceedings of the manga, nor it takes the plot to direction that was unforeseen. 'Aizen' at least gets the 'surprise' and 'unexpected change' correct...but retrogade build up is what is missing. Also the 'unexpected change'...though unexpected, is rather shallow.

 

[Nii]

Bleach one was a shock, but nothing more.

Vinland saga's is the best. It was shocking, surprising, well executed and really had a great impact on the story and the characters. It's really in it's own league.

I would say it's a close call. Bleach was a shock, I didn't find a more unexpected plot-twist than this one. It may be true that Kubo pulled it out of nowhere (as he's always doing) but still he did a great job with that. I never thought that it looked unnatural or forced, Kubo could have made a great story from this point.

At last, my vote goes to Vinland because it has the same great impact on the story and was completely unexpected. It's above Bleach because I really love Askeladd's character, because it's a far better executed story than Bleach and maybe because it's more fresh in my head.

 

[shinsengumi]

by the way ; the real plot-twist in naruto should be this one in addition to whats written in the opening post imo ;

Spoiler

tobi was madara and pain was just a pawn .we got too used to seeing madara now but remember the time when tobi-the-silly first appeared as madara. it was a good surprise , wasnt it ?

 

[predsfan]

I have to vote for Bleach's in this category ( or at least I think that's the one hit ). I pretty much based this on two things, I am familiar with the series and it was pretty unpredictable:

Spoiler

The Gin betrayal (well at the time) of Soul Society was clearly going to happen, but Aizen's and the other dude's (forget his name) betrayal couldn't bee seen coming

One Piece's didn't really effect the plot (especially considering the main character already knew).

Spoiler

I probably would've voted for Robin joining the crew, though

I haven't read Berserk in such a long time I'm not even sure what's being referenced there so I couldn't vote for it.

I haven't read enough of Vinland Saga to understand the significance of that plot twist so I also couldn't vote for it.

I really couldn't vote for Naruto's. Honestly, I found it very cliche.

Spoiler

Oh, the super duper bad guy actually turns out to have been on the good side the whole time. I've seen that sort of thing done to death in various media, Severus Snape for example. I suppose it was important to the plot but unpredictable it certainly was not, imo.

 

[destiny4ever]

My vote was between Bleach’s and Berserk’s, but in the end I decided to vote for Bleach’s. Why? Because I wasn’t expecting

Spoiler

for Aizen to be the villain at all. I was so sure he had died that I was in fact trying to figure out who had killed him instead of considering the possibility of him being the real “culprit” and the one behind it all.

It was a super cool plot twist and one of the reasons why the SS arc is the best, at least IMHO.