History SealedEvilInACan / AnimeAndManga

* As discovered in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler:The Walls themselves are stuffed with dormant Colossal Type Titans. How they got there and why is still a mystery.]]
** [[spoiler:Following the Return to Shinganshina arc, the origins of the Wall Titans are finally revealed: It turns out that the people of the Walls are amnesiac refugees from the Marleyan Empire's attempted genocide of their people, the Eldians. The last king of Eldia and first King of the Walls, Karl Fritz, fled the mainland to Paradis Island with a contingent of Eldians, and used the Titan-controlling abilities of the Founding Titan to have several Colossal Titans crystallize themselves into the Walls, both as a defense against a potential invasion by the Marleyan Empire and as a seal to keep the largest surviving group of free Eldians away from the rest of the world. He then proceeded to brainwash his people into forgetting their history and threaten the countries outside of Paradis with complete and utter destruction if they ever dared set foot on the island. [[GambitPileup It's complex, to say the least...]]]]

* In ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'' the "evil" are people affected by the "Branch of Sin" [[spoiler:dangerous blood-manipulating powers]] who are secretly hidden deep in the "can", a maximum security prison/publicly open ''amusement park''. [[spoiler:Later {{subverted|Trope}} since it was revealed that many of them did not actually commit any crime, and were kept there solely for the study of their powers.]]

* In ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'', [[BigBad Lucemon]] was sealed away in the Digital World's core. [[spoiler: Some time later, he ends up using the Royal Knights to scan the entire Digital World and its three moons, effectively vaporizing them, to break free. ]]

* In the Gonzo version of ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', the final episode reveals that Incognito plans to [[spoiler: release the Egyptian god Set in order to]] destroy the world. [[spoiler: Alucard defeats the released Set, it is left ambiguous if Set was really destroyed or just resealed]].

* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', there are the Pillar Men, powerful vampires that were trapped in stone and left inside of ancient temples until they were freed.

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' features two examples, one completely straight and the other a little bizarre. First, as the straight example we have Ryomen Sukuna no Kami, a gigantic four-armed two-faced demon god sealed in the Kansai region of Japan; releasing and controlling him was the motivation for the villains of the Kyoto arc. Second, and rather more unusual, we have the ancient and legendary vampire sorceress Evangeline A.K. [=McDowell=]. While she ''was'' a wanted magical criminal, responsible for multiple heinous crimes and with a huge bounty on her head, her sealing was based less on her evil and more on her [[StalkerWithACrush obsession with the main character's father]], who made sure she would NOT get out of a certain BoardingSchool... And, once you get to know her, she's not really [[NobleDemon as evil as she liked to claim]]... to the point that when the aforementioned demon god is released, the protagonists defeat it by breaking the seal on Evangeline and letting her [[CurbStompBattle deal with it]].
** Played straight again with [[spoiler:the Lifemaker, the ultimate BigBad of the setting,]] who is sealed [[spoiler:inside the Sacred Tree of Mahora Academy.]]

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', [[TheAlcatraz Impel Down]], the world's most secure prison has a level that most people don't even know exists, Level 6 the "Eternal Hell" which contains at least two ex-Warlords of the Sea, [[spoiler: former BigBad Sir Crocodile and Jinbe]], [[spoiler:Luffy's brother and Whitebeard Division leader Ace]], and Shiryu, the insane ex-Head Jailer who was a match even for Warden Magellan. And with the exception of [[spoiler:Ace]], all of these and more are free thanks to Luffy and Blackbeard.

* Most of the villains in ''Anime/SailorMoon'' were sealed until recently, except for the last season. In the first season, inside the can (the Dark Kingdom/Negaverse) was ''another'' can, with another, bigger Sealed Evil (Metallia/Negaforce) inside it; the forces of the Dark Kingdom spent most of their time draining energy from people in order to charge the metaphorical can opener needed to release her.

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', the SealedEvilInACan is the Kishin, an insane creature who wreaked havoc upon the world until being sealed. The people working for the Shinigami do so to prevent the creation of another Kishin, which would occur if someone consumed a large number of human souls. It is not until half-way through the series that the main characters discover that the "original" Kishin is still alive, and imprisoned underneath their city.
** [[BodyHorror In a bag made out of his own skin]]. [[{{Squick}} Ew]].
*** Not only does said Evil get out, but the manga later reveals that there are [[EldritchAbomination similar]] creatures trapped elsewhere, although the Great Old One in Eibon's book has more in common with Shinigami than their estranged comrade Asura.

** The manga has subverted this recently. [[spoiler:It's been revealed that the tailed beasts aren't inherently evil, it's just that most of them hate humans due to (repeatedly) being used by them throughout history. Killer Bee, and later on Naruto, eventually get the beasts sealed in them to make a HeelFaceTurn by actually respecting them as sentient beings rather than treating them like mindless monsters.]]

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', [[TheAlcatraz Impel Down]], the world's most secure prison has a level that most people don't even know exists, Level 6 the "Eternal Hell" which contains at least two ex-Warlords of the Sea, [[spoiler: former BigBad Sir Crocodile and Jinbe]], [[spoiler:Luffy's brother & Whitebeard Division leader Ace]] & Shiryu, the insane ex-Head Jailer who was a match even for Warden Magellan. And with the exception of [[spoiler:Ace]], all of these and more are free thanks to Luffy and Blackbeard.

* ''Manga/InuYasha'':

** In the third movie ''[[Anime/InuYashaTheMovieSwordsOfAnHonorableRuler Swords Of An Honorable Ruler]]'', the evil sword Sou'unga was also sealed away for a few hundred years, only to break the seal while in Kagome's time and go about trying to kill everyone.

%%* ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh'': Soushu is Sealed Evil in [[FourIsDeath four]] Boxes.

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' has Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo, which was broken into seven pieces and sealed in humans (and gets out every now and then), Zanafar, and for good measure Shabranigdo's lieutenant Chaos Dragon Gaav.

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', the original BigBad, Emperor Pilaf, uncorks Piccolo Daimaō ("Great Demon King Piccolo"), the Sealed Evil In a Can who had previously been trapped in a Denshi Jar by Mutaito-sama centuries before the start of the series. (The Denshi Jar gets bonus points for strangeness; it is, in fact, an electric rice cooker with a holy seal glued to it.) Piccolo is revealed to be a Gnostic version of {{Satan}}, being the pure evil that the current God expelled to get "pure" enough to get his position in the first place (oh, and God is a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien). The trope is somewhat subverted, however, in that, one {{reincarnation}} and one HeelFaceTurn later, Piccolo joins the good guys. And eventually even [[FusionDance fuses with his "good" half]] when they desperately need a power boost. Interestingly enough though King Piccolo aged while he was in the rice cooker, so eventually he (or God and therefore him) would have died, making eventually a permanent solution.

* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'' There are the Pillar Men; powerful vampires that were trapped in stone and left inside of ancient temples, until they were freed.
** In the third part of the series: ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' Dio Brando is released from imprisonment in a casket at the bottom of the sea by some unwitting seamen, where he'd spent the last 100 years since the end of [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood part one]].

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', [[TheAlcatraz Impel Down]], the world's most secure prison has a level that most people don't even know exists, Level 6 the "Eternal Hell" which contains at least two ex-Warlords of the Sea[[spoiler: former BigBad Sir Crocodile & Jinbe]], [[spoiler: Luffy's brother & Whitebeard Division leader Ace]] & Shiryu, the insane ex-Head Jailer who was a match even for Warden Magellan. And with the exception of [[spoiler:Ace]], all of these and more are free thanks to Luffy and Blackbeard.

* After "Him" in ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'' is defeated horribly by [[MagicalGirl a bunch of girls]], he is contained in a tomb in an abandoned museum until the present day at which point he sends out a mummy to find the means to release him from his prison. His main goal is to conquer the world and destroy the Powerpuff Girls for their resemblance to the Ōedo Chakichaki Musume, the first three to defeat him.

* Near the end of ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'', [[spoiler: we find out Acacia has been using [[SealedInAPersonShapedBottle himself as a vessel]] to keep NEO from running rampant and consuming everything. He does this, along with fostering enough hate towards himself to get Toriko, Starjun, and Midora strong enough to kill him and defeat NEO, as NEO's influence turns him into a monster.]]

* After "Him" in ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'' is defeated horribly by [[MagicalGirl a bunch of girls]], he is contained in a tomb in an abandoned museum until [[ExtyYearsFromNow the present day]] at which point he sends out a mummy to find the means to release him from his prison. His main goal is to conquer the world and destroy the Powerpuff Girls for their resemblance to the Ōedo Chakichaki Musume, the first three to defeat him.

* ''Anime/TheUltraman'' has a monster made of sentient purple gunk capable of taking over machinery, where it's sealed deep in the Himalayas until a human construction project released it from it's subterranean prison.

* Soushu from ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh'' is Sealed Evil in [[FourIsDeath four]] Boxes.
* In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'', the Book of Darkness regenerates every ten years, sealing its programs (the Wolkenritter) inside of itself until then. Also, [[spoiler:Gil Graham plots against both the heroes and Wolkenritter to allow for the Book, Wolkenritter and their [[TheKidWithTheRemoteControl innocent mistress]] to be sealed in the space between dimensions forever, because the Book would just keep regenerating. He is stopped and regrets ever deciding to put these lives at risk.]]
* The Panthalassa and the real Michel in ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch''.
* In Anime/MonsterRancher, Moo's draconic body is sealed away in ice. Finding it is one of his major goals.

* It’s revealed at the start of the second season of ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'' that Daimaou is unable to leave his castle because Chacha's grandfather, Genius, put a circle of crystals around it that shock him if he tries to pass them. This conveniently happens just as he's trying to kill his minion Sorges for continually failing him and learning his true nature, allowing Sorges to escape. Episode 25 reveals that this was an odd case of a double sealing, as Genius himself was sealed in the ruby in Chacha's medallion just after, which was snatched up by Seravy as he fled from Daimaou.

* It’s revealed at the start of the second season of ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'' that Daimaou is unable to leave his castle because Chacha's grandfather, Genius, put a circle of crystals around it that shock him if he tries to pass them. This conveniently happens just as he's trying to kill his minion Sorges for continually failing him and learning his true nature, allowing Sorges to escape. Episode 25 reveals that this was an odd case of a double sealing, as Genius himself was sealed in the ruby in Chacha's medallion.

* It’s revealed at the start of the second season of ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'' that Daimaou is unable to leave his castle because Chacha's grandfather, Genius, put a circle of crystals around it that shock him if he tries to pass them. This conveniently happens just as he's trying to kill his minion Sorges for continually failing him and learning his true nature, allowing Sorges to escape. The episode following his defeat reveals that this was an odd case of a double sealing, as Genius himself was sealed in the ruby in Chacha's medallion.

* It’s revealed at the start of the second season of ''Manga/AkazukinChacha'' that Daimaou is unable to leave his castle because Chacha's grandfather, Genius, put a circle of crystals around it that shock him if he tries to pass them. This continently happens just as he's trying to kill his minion Sorges for continually failing him and learning his true nature, allowing Sorges to escape. The episode following his defeat reveals that this was an odd case of a double sealing, as Genius himself was sealed in the ruby in Chacha's medallion.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' features two examples, one completely straight and the other a little bizarre. First, as the straight example we have Ryomen Sukuna no Kami, a gigantic four-armed two-faced demon god sealed in the Kansai region of Japan; releasing and controlling him was the motivation for the villains of the Kyoto arc. Second, and rather more unusual, we have the ancient and legendary vampire sorceress Evangeline A.K. [=McDowell=]. While she ''was'' a wanted magical criminal, responsible for multiple heinous crimes and with a huge bounty on her head, her sealing was based less on her evil and more on her [[StalkerWithACrush obsession with the main character's father]], who made sure she would NOT get out of a certain BoardingSchool... And, once you get to know her, she's not really [[NobleDemon as evil as she liked to claim]]... to the point that when the aforementioned demon god is released, the protagonists defeat it by breaking the seal on Evangeline and letting her [[CurbStompBattle deal with it]].
** Played straight again with [[spoiler:the Lifemaker, the ultimate BigBad of the setting,]] who is sealed [[spoiler:inside the Sacred Tree of Mahora Academy.]]

* The {{Hentai}} ''Bible Black,'' features the titular Black Bible, a spell book that the protagonists have at some point used to conjure [[LovePotion love spells,]] and other minor hexes for fun and profit, but also features an incantation to summon demons via VirginSacrifice. One Character learned the hard way [[NaughtyTentacles what happens when you don't use a human sacrifice.]]
* Near the end of ''{{Manga/Toriko}}'', [[spoiler: we find out Acacia has been using [[SealedInAPersonShapedBottle himself as a vessel]] to keep NEO from running rampant and consuming everything. He does this, along with fostering enough hate towards himself to get Toriko, Starjun, and Midora strong enough to kill him and defeat NEO, as NEO's influence turns him into a monster.]]

* After "Him" in ''Anime/DemashitaPowerpuffGirlsZ'' is defeated horribly by [[MagicalGirl a bunch of girls]], he is contained in a tomb in an abandoned museum until [[ExtyYearsFromNow the present day]] at which point he sends out a mummy to find the means to release him from his prison. His main goal is to conquer the world and destroy the Powerpuff Girls for their resemblance to the Ōedo Chakichaki Musume, the first three to defeat him.

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', the original BigBad, Emperor Pilaf, uncorks Piccolo Daimao ("Piccolo, King Of The Demons"), the Sealed Evil In A Can who had previously been trapped in a Denshi Jar by Mutaito-sama centuries before the start of the series. (The Denshi Jar gets bonus points for strangeness; it is, in fact, an electric rice cooker with a holy seal glued to it.) Piccolo is revealed to be a Gnostic version of {{Satan}}, being the pure evil that the current God expelled to get "pure" enough to get his position in the first place (oh, and God is a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien). The trope is somewhat subverted, however, in that, one CloningBlues and one HeelFaceTurn later, Piccolo joins the good guys. And eventually even [[FusionDance fuses with his "good" half]] when they desperately need a power boost. Interestingly enough though King Piccolo aged while he was in the rice cooker, so eventually he (or Kami and therefore him) would have died, making eventually a permanent solution.
** Later, Kami, the good half of Piccolo, tries to use the spell to seal him again in a bottle, but Picollo reflects the spell, traps Kami instead and eats the bottle, Kami is quickly released later.
** Later, in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', the five-million-year-old sorcerer Babidi comes to Earth seeking energy to power Buu, the Sealed Evil In A Can that ate God's superiors (sort-of explaining why none of these guys ever bothered to stop Freeza).
** Toriyama acknowledges his reliance on the Sealed Evil In A Can formula in the ''Neko Majin Z'' parody comic, in which the titular "hero" keeps a powerful demon sealed in a small rock balanced on top of a boulder by the side of a road. If anyone picks up the rock, the demon is released, requiring Neko Majin to step in and re-seal the demon... for a fee.
** In the 1st movie, ''[[Anime/DragonBallZDeadZone Dead Zone]]'', Kami reveals that a rival he competed with while becoming Earth’s God named Garlic became so angered that he was not chosen that he attempted to take the title by force. Kami responded by sealing Garlic in the titular Dead Zone. Uniquely, Garlic is still stuck there- it’s his son Garlic Jr. that serves as the movie’s villain. Come the end of the film, Garlic Jr is sent into the Dead Zone as well, escaping for a FillerArc in the series and being sent right back inside at the end of it.
** In the 9th movie, ''[[Anime/DragonBallZBojackUnbound Bojack Unbound]]'', the titular BigBad Bojack was sealed inside a star by the four Kais along with his Galaxy Soldier followers and presumably would have remained there for all eternity. But due to North Kai's death by Goku's sacrifice with ready-to-explode Cell, Bojack was freed from his imprisonment and headed towards Earth where Cell fought.
** In ''Anime/DragonballSuper'', the Denshi Jar is again [[spoiler:attempted]] with Zamasu.
** In the 13th movie, ''[[Anime/DragonBallZWrathOfTheDragon Wrath of the Dragon]]'', the monster Hirudegarn is split in two and [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan sealed inside Tapion and Minosha]]. Hoi breaks him free and rejoins the two halves... [[spoiler: You guessed it, Hirudegarn stomps on Hoi and kills him. And Hirudegarn is eventually killed by Goku (who at that point used a technique that could have defeated it right from the start).]]

** [[spoiler:Following the Return to Shinganshina arc, the origins of the Wall Titans are finally revealed: It turns out that the people of the Walls are amnesiac refugees from the Marleyan Empire's attempted genocide of their people, the Eldians. The last king of Eldia and first King of the Walls, Karl Fritz, fled the mainland to Paradis Island with a contingent of Eldians, and used the Titan-controlling abilities of the Founding Titan to have several Colossal Titans crystallize themselves into the Walls, both as a defense against a potential invasion by the Marleyan Empire and as a seal to keep the largest surviving group of free Eldians away from the rest of the world. He then proceeded to brainwash his people into forgetting their history. [[GambitPileup It's complex, to say the least...]]]]

** [[spoiler:Following the Return to Shinganshina arc, the origins of the Wall Titans are finally revealed: It turns out that the people of the Walls are amnesiac refugees from the Marleyan Empire's attempted genocide of their people, the Eldians. The first King of the Walls, King Fritz, fled the mainland to Paradis Island with a contingent of Eldians, and used the Titan-controlling abilities of the Coordinate to have several Colossal Titans crystallize themselves into the Walls, as a defense against a potential invasion by the Marleyan Empire. He then proceeded to brainwash his people into forgetting their history. [[GambitPileup It's complex, to say the least...]]]]

** Later, Kami, the good half of Piccolo, tries to use the spell to seal him again in a bottle, but Picollo reflects the spell, traps Kami instead and eats the bottle, he is quickly released later.