History SpannerInTheWorks / AnimeAndManga

** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', Romefeller's WarForFunAndProfit scheme fell apart because of Princess Relena Peacecraft. Romefeller's leader, Duke Dermail, invaded Relena's homeland because she was espousing Total Pacifism, which started to undercut Romefeller's authority. Dermail offered to call off the invasion if Relena dissolved the nation and agreed to become the [[PuppetKing figurehead Queen of the nations unified under Romefeller's banner]], and she accepted to protect the remaining citizens. He didn't expect [[PluckyGirl Relena]] [[PoliticallyActivePrincess to reject that whole "figurehead" thing and continue advocating peace]], leading to others within Romefeller to admit they're very tired of war. [[spoiler: And when they ''did'' finally manage to checkmate her, the one who took over was... [[MagnificentBastard Treize Khushrenada]].]]

* In the second part of the ''Anime/ExplorerWomanRay'' [-OVA-]s, Ray [[spoiler: uses a crystal pendant on the Ord temple - which uses controlled light beams as a means of somehow controlling the weather - in order to stop bad guy Rieg Vader from controlling it.]]

** In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Gohan and Krillin become this to both Vegeta and Frieza on Namek. First, Gohan steals the Dragon Ball that Vegeta took and hidden. Second, Gohan and Krillin teaming up with Vegeta against the Ginyu Force kept themselves alive long enough for Goku to arrive and save them, taking out the last major force on Frieza's side. Then, their friendship with the Namekians gave them access to the Dragon Balls, allowing them to wish Piccolo back to life and bring him to Namek, on tope of denying both Frieza and Vegeta their chance at immortality.

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', the [[ArmiesAreEvil Red Ribbon Army]] is a worldwide military organisation planning to use the [[MacGuffin Dragon Balls]] to TakeOverTheWorld. Too bad they didn't expect to be dealing with a [[KidHero 12-year-old boy]] [[SimpleStaff with a stick]] after the [[OrphansPlotTrinket Four Star Dragon Ball]] left to him by his deceased grandfather. In fact, Goku may not have been inclined to attack the Red Ribbon Army's headquarters...until they sent Tao Pai Pai to kill the guy who happened to have the ball Goku wanted. This meant Goku had to make amends and that meant he now had to get ''all'' the balls...including the ones the Red Ribbons had already collected. ''[[OhCrap Their base is now a target.]]''

** [[IdiotHero Luffy]] honestly doesn't care about the [[TheGovernment World Government's]] rule, or for that matter any of the {{Big Bad}}s he faces. He just won't let anyone he cares about get hurt and will go to any lengths to protect his TrueCompanions. Hence his defeat of two of the [[PsychoForHire Seven Warlords of the Sea]],[[note]]''Three'' as of Chapter 791[[/note]] the destruction of Enies Lobby, and the assault upon the [[AristocratsAreEvil most powerful jerkasses]] in the world. Soon afterwards we add [[spoiler:the first successful mass-jail break from [[TheAlcatraz Impel Down]] and his assault upon the Marine HQ, just to save his big brother from being executed.]] The surrounding politics and larger conflict don't enter his mind at all.

** In a non-Straw Hat example, we have Trafalgar Law. The Dressrosa arc, which escalated to involve nearly every major power in the world in some form—-the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Four Emperors, the Marines, the World Government, and the Revolutionary Army-—wouldn't have even ''happened'' if it weren't for him in the first place. His alliance with Luffy really did "shake the world" as the papers said, as it put the Straw Hats in the path of the Donquixote Family, leading to all of the above, and the gradual destruction of Donquixote Doflamingo's criminal empire. The thing is, Law, much like Luffy in that regard, doesn't care about ''any'' of it. The ultimate purpose of all his actions, including continuing to live to this very day, for the last ''thirteen years'', has been to kill Doflamingo. If the world has to spiral into chaos just so he can kill the man who murdered the most important person in his life, then so be it... though it's revealed in some chapters that he also seems to want the aftershock he knows will follow Doffy's defeat.

* Although the events of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura, Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'', and ''Manga/XxxHoLic'' are among the most complex and [[GambitPileup densely gambited]] known to man, ''none'' of the respective [[TheChessmaster chessmasters]] could anticipate the YaoiGuys of the former two. The gambit ruling the latter one ''did'' anticipate the YaoiGuys - but apparently failed to anticipate a ''heterosexual crush'' from one of them.

** In a non-Straw Hat example, we have Trafalgar Law. The Dressrosa arc, which escalated to involve nearly every major power in the world in some form—Shichibukai, Yonko, the Marines, the World Government, and the Revolutionary Army—wouldn't have even ''happened'' if it weren't for him in the first place. His alliance with Luffy really did "shake the world" as the papers said, as it put the Straw Hats in the path of the Donquixote Family, leading to all of the above, and the gradual destruction of Donquixote Doflamingo's criminal empire. The thing is, Law, much like Luffy in that regard, doesn't care about ''any'' of it. The ultimate purpose of all his actions, including continuing to live to this very day, for the last ''thirteen years'', has been to kill Doflamingo. If the world has to spiral into chaos just so he can kill the man who murdered the most important person in his life, then so be it…though it's revealed in some chapters that he also seems to want the aftershock he knows will follow Doffy's defeat.

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', the [[ArmiesAreEvil Red Ribbon Army]] is a worldwide military organisation planning to use the [[MacGuffin Dragon Balls]] to TakeOverTheWorld. Too bad they didn't expect to be dealing with a [[KidHero 12-year-old boy]] [[SimpleStaff with a stick]] after the [[OrphansPlotTrinket Four Star Dragon Ball]] left to him by his deceased grandfather.

** In ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'', Chairman Mashita of PPSE creates arcade game-like machines that [[MundaneUtility animate Gundam model kits]], which have become a worldwide phenomenon and made him a nice chunk of change. And then along comes Reiji, the prince of the otherworldly kingdom from which Mashita stole the [[MinovskyPhysics unusual particles]] which make Gunpla Battle machines work. Afraid that Reiji's victory would give him the spotlight and the opportunity to expose Mashita's theft, the Chairman begins rigging the World Tournament in the hopes of eliminating Reiji...but due to his piloting skills, the model-building talents of his partner Sei Iori, and the TrueCompanions bonds they share with each other and most of the tournament's other participants, every attempt thusfar has failed.

** In the original {{O|riginalVideoAnimation}}VA it was suggested she actually had had a mental breakdown from being overworked which turned her from a top cop into a comic ditz -- as hinted by Kagato's comment about her past exploits. (And he should know, since Mihoshi's meddling [[spoiler: led to the release of Washu, whom [[CrystalPrison he held hostage]] ''in a PocketDimension'' that no one but Kagato knew of'', and yet Mihoshi somehow got there with ease.]]) Later versions, though, lack this detail and instead are all just lucky enough to be teamed up with Kiyone, who usually can get the job done in spite of Mihoshi. Yet as evidenced by her enormous reports, Mihoshi still seems ridiculously thorough.
** In ''Anime/TenchiInTokyo'', we have ''three'' of these: Washu, because the villains always tend to underestimate her, and in this case this lets her [[spoiler: lock herself in her laboratory to decode Yugi's plans without anyone disturbing hr]]; [[spoiler: Sasami]], because [[spoiler: Yugi got distracted by her desire to keep her out of her schemes since she's her MoralityPet]] (and this is pointed out by [[spoiler: Matori]], ''twice''); and '''specially''' [[spoiler: Sakuya, who despite being Yugi's "shadow", in the end turns out to be more independent than she should've been, and ends up breaking through a LotusEaterMachine that keeps Tenchi away, and then sends him back to fight Yugi.]]

*** To that end, KAIN's own plan is derailed when he [[KickTheDog decides to toy with both Achika and Noboyuki]]. [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend Achika]] seeing Noboyuki's beaten body and the poor guy ''still'' devoted to trying to make her happy even in his state is enough to awaken her power when she goes into a TranquilFury.

* [[spoiler:Midori Sugiura]] from ''Anime/MaiHime'' threw a big wrench in the BigBad's plans to take over/destroy the world through the "winner" of the [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne battle royale]] by enlisting the help of the most unlikely of characters: [[spoiler:Miyu the RobotGirl, whom she rebooted]].

** In the WholeEpisodeFlashback of manga chapters 921-924, [[spoiler: Shinichi himself was one of these ''at the age of four''. In his attempts to befriend a just as young Ran in his new daycare, he briefly caught [[NightmareFace a weird]] [[OhCrap expression]] in the face of the daycare worker in charge. He mentioned that as well as other details in front of his parents in what seemed to be just a display of childish jealousy... but allowed his GuileHero dad Yusaku to realize that the teacher and his IllGirl wife were planning to ''kidnap Ran and raise her as their own "child"'' so she'd be the ReplacementGoldfish of their runaway daughter. Yusaku alerted the police (including Ran's father), had the wife and her brother arrested, convinced the teacher to turn himself in willingly in exchange for being reunited with the missing daughter, and Ran was ultimately saved -- all because [[ChildProdigy Shinichi]] made his first deductions right in the perfect moment.]]
* HotBlooded BadassNormal Sanosuke Sagara from ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' once threw a wrench in MagnificentBastard Shishio's plans by [[spoiler:sneaking close to his battleship and wrecking it with some bombs given by his friend Katsu, an explosives expert. This prevented Shishio from bombing Kyoto. And Shishio openly acknowledged Sanosuke's role in this.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'', Princess Oboro may not be able to fight, but she derails [[spoiler: BigBad Tenzen]]'s plans ''thrice''. First, [[spoiler: she tries to interrupt a fight between Koushirou and Gennosuke but accidentally causing Koushirou to [[EyeScream blind himself with his own powers]], limiting Tenzen's physical actions since Koushirou is his NumberTwo]]. Second, [[spoiler: she seals her own [[AntiMagic Piercing Eyes]] to avert using her powers against her clansmen again, but ''also'' preventing Tenzen from using said powers for his sole benefit.]] And third, [[spoiler: her eyes are de-sealed when ''Tenzen is reviving himself after Gennosuke kills him'', nullifying his {{Immortality}} and killing Tenzen for good]]. And in the end she also [[spoiler: derails Ofuku's plans via commiting an HeroicSuicide instead of killing a completely indefense Gennosuke, sending her into a ''mighty'' VillainousBreakdown.]]

** You can't help but pity Father. Despite being an EldritchAbomination who spent centuries erecting a [[GambitRoulette massive plan]] to gain godhood, fate sent an entire legion of fools to ruin his day. In addition to [[spoiler:Scar's brother]], you've got Ling Yao and his entourage, who can sense Homunculi and just want the secret of immortality; May Chang, who uses alkahestry instead of alchemy and is on the same quest as her half-brother Ling; and even Scar himself, whose thirst for revenge almost derails the plan several times.

** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', Romefeller's WarForFunAndProfit scheme fell apart because of Princess Relena Peacecraft. Romefeller's leader, Duke Dermail, invaded Relena's homeland because she was espousing Total Pacifism, which started to undercut Romefeller's authority. Dermail offered to call off the invasion if Relena dissolved the nation and agreed to become the figurehead Queen of the nations unified under Romefeller's banner, and she accepted. He didn't expect [[PluckyGirl Relena]] [[PoliticallyActivePrincess to reject that whole "figurehead" thing and continue advocating peace]], leading to others within Romefeller to admit they're very tired of war. [[spoiler: And when they ''did'' finally manage to checkmate her, the one who took over was... [[MagnificentBastard Treize Khushrenada]].]]

* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' '''Ahiru''' is this to Drosselmeyer. Made more ironic by the fact ''he'' was the one to bring her into the story to get it moving. It did; it the direction ''[[EarnYourHappyEnding opposite]]'' to what he wanted.

** In a non-Straw Hat example, we have Trafalgar Law. The Dressrosa arc, which now involves nearly every major power in the world in some form, wouldn't have even ''happened'' if it weren't for him in the first place. His alliance with Luffy really did "shake the world" as the papers said, as it put the Straw Hats in the path of the Donquixote Family, leading to all of the above, and the gradual destruction of Donquixote Doflamingo's criminal empire. The thing is, Law, much like Luffy in that regard, doesn't care about ''any'' of it. The ultimate purpose of all his actions, including continuing to live to this very day, for the last ''thirteen years'', has been to kill Doflamingo. If the world has to spiral into chaos just so he can kill the man who murdered the most important person in his life, then so be it…though it's revealed in some chapters that he also seems to want the aftershock he knows will follow Doffy's defeat.

** [[IdiotHero Luffy]] honestly doesn't care about the [[TheGovernment World Government's]] rule, or for that matter any of the {{Big Bad}}s he faces. He just won't let anyone he cares about get hurt and will go to any lengths to protect his TrueCompanions. Hence his defeat of two out of [[PsychoForHire Seven Warlords of the Sea]], the destruction of Enies Lobby, and the assault upon the [[AristocratsAreEvil most powerful jerkasses]] in the world. Soon afterwards we add [[spoiler:the first successful mass-jail break from [[TheAlcatraz Impel Down]] and his assault upon the Marine HQ, just to save his big brother from being executed.]] The surrounding politics and larger conflict don't enter his mind at all.

* In ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', the Zentradi plans to capture the SDF-1 ''Macross'' would have succeeded without a hitch were it not for the unpredictable fighting methods of the defenders, as well as the GlamorousWartimeSinger Lynn Minmay who is ''insanely'' good at rising the heroes's morale.

*** If it wasn't for Rain "borrowing" the Rising Gundam during the Finals, [[spoiler:Wong's plan to kill Domon and install ''Allenby'' in the Devil Gundam might well have succeeded. Instead, Rain took her down without killing her and removed the DG cells, which later allowed Allenby to help Domon free Rain from the Devil Gundam.]]
** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', Durandal ends up throwing a spanner towards himself and his Destiny Plan by trying to assassinate Lacus Clyne. Had he not decided that Lacus had to die, then Lacus's boyfriend Kira and the ''Archangel'' crew wouldn't have gotten back together to stop the new war that just started, and may had even ''accepted'' the Destiny Plan.

** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', Romefeller's WarForFunAndProfit scheme fell apart because of Princess Relena Peacecraft. Romefeller's leader, Duke Dermail, invaded Relena's homeland because she was espousing Total Pacifism, which started to undercut Romefeller's authority. Dermail offered to call off the invasion if Relena dissolved the nation and agreed to become the figurehead Queen of the nations unified under Romefeller's banner, and she accepted. He didn't expect [[PluckyGirl Relena]] [[PoliticallyActivePrincess to reject that whole "figurehead" thing and continue advocating peace]], leading to others within Romefeller to admit they're very tired of war.

* In ''Manga/AnatoliaStory'', Queen Nakia needs a special girl's blood to perform a powerful BloodMagic that will kill her stepson Kail and give her the chance to make her own son Juda the heir to the Hitite Empire. Too bad that the girl she brought into Hattusa as her prospect HumanSacrifice, Yuri Suzuki, turned out to a PluckyGirl who decided to fight back to protect herself, the became the concubine of the same prince Nakia wanted to murder, and she not only ended up becoming Nakia's strongest rival but also one of the most influential people in the nation.

** In the WholeEpisodeFlashback of manga chapters 921-924, [[spoiler: Shinichi himself was one of these ''at the age of four''. In his attempts to befriend a just as young Ran in his new daycare, he briefly caught a weird expression in the face of the daycare worker in charge. He mentioned that as well as other details in front of his parents, which allowed his GuileHero dad Yusaku to realize that the teacher and his IllGirl wife were planning to ''kidnap Ran and raise her as their own "child"'', trying to get her to become the ReplacementGoldfish of their missing daughter. Yusaku soon confronted the teacher, told him that he knew everything, convinced him to turn himself in, helped him find the daughter, and Ran was saved... all because [[ChildProdigy Shinichi]] made his first deductions right in the perfect moment.]]

** Smith sending a helicopter to shoots down the truck delivering GSX to Team Sugo gets sabotaged by a 14-year-old boy on a motorcycle who gets unhurt and capable or driving the car to safety.
** A sabotage on Hayato before Niseko GP gets ruined when Ohtomo Johji, a veteran friendly driver, happens to be out to practice that night as well.

** [[spoiler:The Second Greed]] to Father, who certainly wasn't expecting him to [[spoiler:regain his old memories and betray him a second time]]. Not only does [[spoiler:Greed betray Father]] but he also [[spoiler:joins the heroes to fight against him]]. [[spoiler:Greed]] managed to weaken Wrath (greatly helping Scar) and helped the Briggs soldiers hold the Central fort. He was also crucial in the final battle as he managed to [[spoiler:absorb some of Father's souls and distracted him long enough for the heroes to make him use up his Philosopher's Stone shield]]. Most importantly, after [[spoiler:being [[YouWillBeAssimilated absorbed]] by Father (who at this point, still couldn't die due to his regeneration abilities), Greed '''greatly''' [[AssimilationBackfire damages him]] by using his carbonization powers to turn Father's shell into [[MadeOfPlasticine charcoal]], thereby rendering Father unable to regenerate. All that was needed left to destroy Father afterwards was a single punch from Edward]].

** On a Niseko GP, Bootsvorz's first attempt to crash out the car gets ruined by Hayato's sudden pit entry for a set of rain tire. An unexpected rainfall that follows causes him - running on slick - to spin out.

** In Brazillain GP, Bootsvorz gets into a perfect spot to take down GSX, but he doesn't expect a rival driver Knight Shoemach to [[HeroicSacrifice deliberately crash him out at the last second]] to protect it.

* ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'': [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Smith]] and [[PunchClockVillain Bootsvorz]]'s plans to steal [[SuperPrototype Asurada GSX]] get folded multiple times of time due to random mishaps:
** Smith sends a helicopter to shoots down the truck delivering it to Team Sugo gets sabotaged by a 14-year-old boy on a motorcycle who gets unhurt and capable or driving the car to safety.
** A sabotage on Hayato before Niseko GP gets ruined when Ohtomo Johji, a veteran friendly driver, is also out to practice that night.

** His second attempt also gets ruined because a random car gets out of a mud trap and block the gap between to two machine. The heavy rain causes him and the said car to crash each other out.
** In Brazillain GP, Bootsvorz almost gets takes GSX when a rival driver Knight Shoemach [[HeroicSacrifice deliberately crashes him out at the last second]] to protect it.

* ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'': [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Smith]] and [[PunchClockVillan Bootsvorz]]'s plans to steal [[SuperPrototype Asurada GSX]] get folded multiple times of time due to random mishaps:

* ''FutureGPXCyberFormula'': [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Smith]] and [[PunchClockVillan Bootsvorz]]'s plans to steal [[SuperPrototype Asurada GSX]] get folded multiple times of time due to random mishaps:

** Smith sends a helicopter to shoots down the truck's delivering it to Team Sugo gets sabotaged by a 14-year-old boy on a motorcycle who gets unhurt and capable or driving it to safety.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', one of the main reasons [[ManipulativeBastard Izaya]] hates Shizuo so much is because his emotional volatility, TooDumbToFool nature, and firmly sustained belief that Izaya is responsible for 99.9% of everything that goes wrong in Ikebukuro makes him liable to become one at any moment. [[spoiler:Shizuo ends up doing exactly this in volume 6, when Izaya's attempt to frame Shizuo and get him out of the way for the moment doesn't go quite as planned and instead brings even ''worse'' people down on Izaya's head]].

** In a non-Straw Hat example, we have Trafalgar Law. The Dressrosa arc, which now involves nearly every major power in the world in some form, wouldn't have even ''happened'' if it weren't for him in the first place. His alliance with Luffy really did "shake the world" as the papers said, as it put the Straw Hats in the path of the Donquixote Family, leading to all of the above, and the gradual destruction of Donquixote Doflamingo's criminal empire. The thing is, Law, much like Luffy in that regard, doesn't care about ''any'' of it. The ultimate purpose of all his actions, including continuing to live to this very day, for the last ''thirteen years'', has been to kill Doflamingo. If the world has to turn to shit just so he can kill the man who murdered the most important person in his life, then so be it.

** In the Dressrosa Arc, Donquixote Doflamingo hatches what looks like the perfect trap to destroy the Straw Hats with, knowing that he can't underestimate Luffy's crew. However, outside factor after outside factor helps the Straw Hat Pirates out, rendering it all moot. The Tontattas, whose people were enslaved by the Donquixote Family, provide intel on the location of the Smile Factory and the identity of the power-user maintaining control over the country's LivingToys. A familiar face from the past shows up at the colosseum (and he probably wouldn't have shown up without the tournament Doflamingo created to trap Luffy) to switch places with Luffy, allowing him to attack Doflamingo's castle undetected. But the biggest spanners came from Doffy's own crew: his officer Violet, who maintained a façade of loyalty since the time she was blackmailed into joining, falls for Sanji's chivalry and switches sides. Jora, on the tail-end of her capturing the ''Thousand Sunny'', lets her guard down long enough for Brook to pull a YouAreAlreadyDead. Bellamy helps Luffy escape the colosseum because Doffy decided to have him killed. And most of all, there's Sugar, the one turning people into toys. Her being knocked unconscious is the only way for the guise over Dressrosa to be lifted, but no one can get near her. Usopp is captured, but instead of turning him into a toy like the others, she feeds him a grape she believed to be poisoned… which was actually hellishly spicy, and the resulting JumpScare / NightmareFace causes her to faint in shock. Consequently, Doflamingo's precious {{Masquerade}} is shattered, the country sees him for the evil person he truly is, and he's forced to take the most drastic measures that he can.

** In the Dressrosa Arc, Donquixote Doflamingo hatches what looks like the perfect trap to destroy the Straw Hats with, knowing that he can't underestimate Luffy's crew. However, outside factor after outside factor helps the Straw Hat Pirates out, rendering it all moot. The Tontattas, whose people were enslaved by the Donquixote Family, provide intel on the location of the Smile Factory and the identity of the power-user maintaining control over the country's LivingToys. A familiar face from the past shows up at the colosseum (and he probably wouldn't have shown up without the tournament Doflamingo created to trap Luffy) to switch places with Luffy, allowing him to attack Doflamingo's castle undetected. But the biggest spanners came from Doffy's own crew: his officer Violet, who maintained a façade of loyalty since the time she was blackmailed into joining, falls for Sanji's chivalry and switches sides. Jora, on the tail-end of her capturing the ''Thousand Sunny'', lets her guard down long enough for Brook to pull a YouAreAlreadyDead. Bellamy helps Luffy escape the colosseum because Doffy decided to have him killed. And most of all, there's Sugar, the one turning people into toys. Her being knocked unconscious is the only way for the guise over Dressrosa to be lifted, but no one can get near her. Usopp is captured, but instead of turning him into a toy like the others, she feeds him a grape she believed to be poisoned…which was actually hellishly spicy, and the resulting JumpScare / NightmareFace causes her to faint in shock. Consequently, Doflamingo's precious {{Masquerade}} is shattered, the country sees him for the evil person he truly is, and he's forced to take the most drastic measures that he can.