History TheBadGuyWins / AnimeAndManga

* When Zeke and Eren use the paths to observe their father's memories in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', it turns out that the Attack Titan can see the past ''and future'' actions of its holders. This leads to Zeke hearing from his father's memory that [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain Eren]] needs to be stopped because his dream will come true, as Eren used his presence in the paths to manipulate and ''force his father'' into killing most of the Reiss family, so that he will gain the Founding Titan's power and eventually give it to a younger Eren, creating a StableTimeLoop. Eren's plan succeeds, having gained the Attack Titan and the Founding Titan, as he wanted, and manages to obtain the ''true'' power of the Founding Titan, leading to him starting the Rumbling.

* When Zeke and Eren use the paths to observe their father's memories in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', it turns out that the Attack Titan can see the past ''and future'' actions of its holders. This leads to Zeke hearing from his father's memory that [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillainy Eren]] needs to be stopped because his dream will come true, as Eren used his presence in the paths to manipulate and ''force his father'' into killing most of the Reiss family, so that he will gain the Founding Titan's power and eventually give it to a younger Eren, creating a StableTimeLoop. Eren's plan succeeds, having gained the Attack Titan and the Founding Titan, as he wanted, and manages to obtain the ''true'' power of the Founding Titan, leading to him starting the Rumbling.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'''s anime adaptation does not end well at all for anyone except the bad guys. Griffith goes evil in a big way and becomes the fifth member of the Godhand, Femto. He throws his former friends, the Band of the Hawk, to the wolves as they get eaten by monsters straight out of nightmares, and then, as his very first act upon becoming Femto, rapes Casca to insanity right in front of Guts, with Guts losing a hand and eye to demons and being powerless to do anything about any of the above. The manga continues on from that point, and the point where the anime ends is just before the [[BigDamnHeroes Skull Knight shows up]] to pull Guts and Casca out of the fire before Griffith and the others can finish them off.

* ''Manga/{{Devilman}}''. It ends with [[HellOnEarth Hell coming to earth]], humanity being annihilated, and the hero, his love interest, and her little brother all dying.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'''s anime adaptation does not end well at all for anyone except the bad guys. Griffith goes evil in a big way and becomes the fifth member of the Godhand, Femto. He throws his former friends, the Band of the Hawk, to the wolves as they get eaten by monsters straight out of nightmares, and then, as his very first act upon becoming Femto, rapes Casca to insanity right in front of Guts, with Guts losing a hand and eye to demons and being powerless to do anything about any of the above. The manga continues on from that point, and the point where the anime ends is just before the Skull Knight shows up to pull Guts and Casca out of the fire before Griffith and the others can finish them off.

* The anime version of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade''. The protagonists (Azmaria) all die and the villain survives and partially realizes his EvilPlan.

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' ends with the eponymous character finally making a contract with Kyubey, which he made his goal from the start. [[SubvertedTrope Or so he thinks.]] Sure, he wins... but on Madoka's terms.
*** Still, getting what he always wanted, now at slower rate, but with no risk of accidentally creating a universe-destroying monster, is hardly "rough". Getting your memories, and, effectively, personality retroactively rewritten might be considered such but he didn't seem to mind.
** ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]'' has a ''[[DownerEnding much harsher]]'' variant... but rather than Kyubey, it is ''[[FaceHeelTurn Homura,]] who wins.'' She imprisons Madoka and her friends in a LotusEaterMachine ''[[UngratefulBastard after they just got her out of one]],'' erases all their memories, and [[EvilerThanThou makes the Incubators her slaves]]. This is one of the reasons [[BrokenBase some fans]] prefer to pretend [[FanonDiscontinuity this movie never happened]].

* In ''Manga/WolfsRain'', after everything the wolves and Cheza went through, Paradise starts to form, but because Darcia's freaking ''eye'' is in the water, Paradise is tainted and it turns into the modern world filled with humans and hate and war all over again. ''May'' be mitigated by the last few moments when we see Kiba, reincarnated in the modern world, starting to run after smelling Cheza's scent, [[HereWeGoAgain implying that the search for Paradise has just begun anew]].

** Later related series reveal the true winner of the manga. It's [[GodIsEvil God]], as the Earth is made as punishment for Satan to always fall in love with Akira Fudou, just for Akira to always die by his hands.
** Averted in ''Manga/DevilmanLady'', where Satan splits himself in two, [[ScrewYourself has sex with himself]], and gives birth to Akira.

* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Sensui's known goal is to open the portal to the Demon World, allowing the demons to destroy humanity. However, his true goal is to go to the Demon World in order to find a demon stronger than himself to [[DeathSeeker kill him]], to atone for all the innocent demons he's killed in the past. He achieves his true goal because of Yusuke, revived as a demon and possessed by his ancestor, Raizen. In addition, in the end of the series, it turns out that the Demon World portal is kept open, and humans and demons are actually living in peace with each other, not violently. This is even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Yusuke, who says that Sensui really did win in the end.

** ''Manga/PhantomBlood'' ends with Dio Brando succeeding in his plan to [[HeroKiller kill]] [[TheHeroDies Jonathan]] and stealing his body, though Jonathan's [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice]] results in Dio getting trapped at the bottom of the ocean until the events of ''Manga/StardustCrusaders''.

* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', at the end of Part VI: Stone Ocean, the main villain Enrico Pucci manages to fast-forward time with his new Stand Made In Heaven, [[KillEmAll slaughters every single character bar one]], including [[TheHeroDies protagonist Jolyne Kujo]], allies Anasui and Ermes, the protagonist of Part III and Jolyne's father Jotaro, and resets the universe. However, Emporio somehow manages to survive, and flying into an UnstoppableRage, kills Pucci.

** The Cell Arc - no, really. Even though Doctor Gero can only watch his triumph from Hell, he is the only villain in the entire Dragon Ball franchise to have got exactly what he wanted: the death of Son Goku at the hands of his creations.

* Near the end of ''Anime/YattermanNight'', it is revealed that the Lord Yatterman that rules the Yatter Kingdom is [[HijackedByGanon none other than Dokurobei]], the BigBad of the original Yatterman series who, after suffering countless losses, eventually [[NotSoHarmlessVillain decided to bring his A-game]] and successfully killed the original Gan and Ai, stealing their identities so that he can slander their name for all eternity.

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'', Rustal Elion, the main antagonist of season two, ends Tekkadan as an organization, wipes out [=McGillis=]' Revolutionary Fleet and succeeds in reforming Gjallarhorn into a democratic organization and further enhancing his personal reputation. Although Gjallarhorn is heavily reformed by the end of the series, there is little doubt that throughout the series they are the villains, and were fighting to remain the authority in the world. Tekkaden was simply trying to find a place to belong in the world, which put them in direct opposition to Gjallarhorn by necessity rather than any actual enmity at first. It's made clear that there are still elements of resentment on both sides by the series end though, particularly in light of the look of anger and distrust that Eugene sends Julietta's way. This makes sense when you remember Julietta, a devoted, borderline fanatical follower of Rustal Elion, is the one who murdered Mikazuki on the battlefield. Julietta doesn't miss it, or its implications, either.

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'', Rustal Elion, the main antagonist of season two, ends Tekkadan as an organization, wipes out [=McGillis=]' Revolutionary Fleet and succeeds in reforming Gjallarhorn into a democratic organization and further enhancing his personal reputation. Although Gjallarhorn is heavily reformed by the end of the series, there is little doubt that throughout the series they are the villains, and were fighting to remain the authority in the world. Tekkaden was simply trying to find a place to belong in the world, which put them in direct opposition to Gjallarhorn by necessity rather than any actual enmity at first. It's made clear that there are still elements of resentment on both sides by the series end though, particularly in light of the look of anger and distrust that Eugene sends Julietta's way. This makes sense when you remember Julietta, a devoted, borderline fanatical follower of Rustal Elion, is the one who murdered Mikazuki on the battlefield. Julietta doesn't miss it, or it's implications, either.

** In JOKERS: Pythie Frederica formed an “alliance” with [[WellIntentionedExtremist Pfle]] and [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Grim Heart]] (one of the 3 leaders of the Land of Magic) died.]]
** In ACES: [[spoiler: [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Ripple]] killed [[LivingMacGuffin Premium Sachiko]] and Pythie Frederica formed an alliance with [[TheFaceless The First Lapis Lazuline]]. Downplayed on this case, since she lost Ripple, but it was her decision that [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness she didn’t need her anymore]].

* The Tower of Paradise arc of ''Manga/FairyTail''. The true objective of Ultear was completely accomplished: :the dissolution of the Magic Council, which also gave the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart the chance to acquire one of the keys to [[SealedEvilInACan Zeref's seal]]. [[DramaticIrony And only the readers know about any of this.]]

** That said, the show's ''antagonists'' seldom win. Although the crew is villainous, they usually do the job they're hired to do without fail. The closest thing the show has gotten to this trope is the Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise arc, in which Rock fails at saving Yukio, Ginji stops trying to be a better person and is subsequently killed by Revy, while Balalaika sweeps the board and dismantles the Washimine Clan and successfully backstabs her erstwhile allies, while disillusioning Rock on top of it.]] Unusual in that the 'BigBad' was still technically TheHero's ''employer''...

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'''s anime adaptation does not end well at all for anyone except the bad guys. Griffith goes evil in a big way and [[spoiler:becomes the fifth member of the Godhand, Femto. He throws his former friends, the Band of the Hawk, to the wolves as they get eaten by monsters straight out of nightmares, and then, as his very first act upon becoming Femto, rapes Casca to insanity right in front of Guts, with Guts losing a hand and eye to demons and being powerless to do anything about any of the above]]. The manga continues on from that point, and the point where the anime ends is just before [[spoiler:the Skull Knight shows up to pull Guts and Casca out of the fire before Griffith and the others can finish them off]].
* The one true constant in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', since ''[[EvilVersusEvil everybody]]'' [[EvilVersusEvil is a villain]], [[spoiler: and in Rock's case, [[StartOfDarkness becomes one]] (he still wants to help people, but technically he becomes a villain since he joins and cooperates with villains)]] .
** That said, the show's ''antagonists'' seldom win. Although the crew is villainous, they usually do the job they're hired to do without fail. The closest thing the show has gotten to this trope is the [[spoiler:Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise]] arc, in which [[spoiler:Rock fails at saving Yukio, Ginji stops trying to be a better person and is subsequently killed by Revy, while Balalaika sweeps the board and dismantles the Washimine Clan and successfully backstabs her erstwhile allies, while disillusioning Rock on top of it.]] Unusual in that the 'BigBad' was still technically TheHero's ''employer''...

** By definition, this is going to be true of Code Geass' spin-off, Akito the Exiled. [[spoiler: As Akito is part of the EU forces, which are canonically defeated and conquered by Britannia both offscreen, and quite early, in Code Geass R2. Not to mention the appearance of Suzaku.]]

** Following [[spoiler: the Yotsuba arc, anyway. [[HeroAntagonist L]] is killed along with Watari, having been successfully tricked into thinking of the Kira as someone other than [[VillainProtagonist Yagami Light]]. Yagami Light, now with all the nuisance out of the way, begins to rule the entire world with his iron fist - until the introduction of Mello and Near, the latter of who later successfully brings about the downfall of the evil Kira after a TimeSkip in the final arc]].
** If the speculation and theories surrounding [[spoiler: the unnamed Shinigami in ''Relight'' are taken to be true, then this is the case with Light, now that he's been reincarnated as a literal god. Reasonable doubt could be cast on this, though, as the reaper appears in the animated adaptation of the series, but not the original manga or films, where CessationOfExistence is definitely in play]].
* ''Manga/{{Devilman}}''. It ends with [[spoiler:[[HellOnEarth Hell coming to earth]], humanity being annihilated, and the hero, his love interest, and her little brother all dying]].
** Later related series reveal the true winner of the manga (warning: BIG spoiler, although not that surprising in hindsight): [[spoiler:It's [[GodIsEvil God]], as the Earth is made as punishment for Satan to always fall in love with Akira Fudou, just for Akira to always die by his hands.]]
** Averted in ''Manga/DevilmanLady'', where [[spoiler:Satan splits himself in two, has sex with himself, and gives birth to Akira]].
* The Alma Karma arc in ''Manga/{{DGrayman}}''. [[spoiler: Everything went exactly as the Earl planned. Allen was stabbed by Kanda's innocence which caused the fourteenth to awaken. The death of Alma Karma ruins the third exorcist program. The third exorcists were either killed by their former allies or taken by the earl to be used as mooks.]]
* ''Manga/{{Doubt}}''. Even after the survivors have escaped, The Wolf finds a way to get rid of them without lifting a finger.

** ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' adds another one: [[spoiler: Zamasu and Goku Black, fused into Merged Zamasu, are technically defeated in the classic usage of the word, but then he becomes law itself and [[KillEmAll kills everyone]] in the BadFuture timeline save Future Trunks and Mai, Goku, Vegeta, Bulma, and the Supreme Kais. Even though [[DeusExMachina Goku calls upon Future Zen'O who obliterates Zamasu (albeit at the cost of the entire timeline itself)]], Zamasu got what he wanted: the extinction of all mortals. It's only thanks to Whis' LoopholeAbuse that Zamasu's genocide only extended to one timeline.]]

* The anime of ''Manga/ElfenLied'' ends with Lucy's fate ambiguous, Kurama blown up, and BigBad Kakuzawa laughing manically after declaring his victory. The manga features a more traditional BittersweetEnding, as [[spoiler:Lucy dies but is reincarnated as two human girls, Nana and Kurama live together happily, Kouta and Yuka have children, Nozomi starts to get her voice back, and it is implied that Lucy's childhood friend actually survived being shot.]]
* [[spoiler:The Tower of Paradise arc]] of ''Manga/FairyTail''. The true objective of [[spoiler:Ultear]] was completely accomplished: [[spoiler:the dissolution of the Magic Council]], which also gave [[spoiler:the Dark Guild Grimoire Heart the chance to acquire one of the keys to [[SealedEvilInACan Zeref's seal]]]]. [[DramaticIrony And only the readers know about any of this.]]
** By the end of the series, [[spoiler:[[BigBad Zeref]] wins as well, albeit [[DidntSeeThatComing in a way he didn't plan]]. While his attempt to [[RetGone change the past and erase the present]] fell through thanks to Fairy Tail, his two goals that the plan would have accomplished (Acnologia being defeated and his curse being broken) are achieved as a consequence regardless. He even gets to spend an eternity in the afterlife with the love of his life, Mavis, something he believed would be denied him even if his plan succeeded. The end text even lampshades it, by saying that at long last, [[EarnYourHappyEnding he's finally happy]]]]. Granted, this is one victory that the fans [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds would be satisfied in giving him]] given how it managed to occur.

* In ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' [[spoiler:at the end of the Shogun Assassination Arc, the Tendoshu not only succeeded in swaying Nobunobu to sell out the Kihetai as the new Shogun and have the Harusame betray Kamui but they even succeeded in having Shigeshige assassinated even when the heroes and allies kept him safe and in hiding. More so that while Takasugi was the main antagonist of the arc, he ends up in a coma after a long battle against Gintoki and the ambush by the Tendoshu's enforcers the Naraku. This makes the Tendoshu as a whole show themselves why they are the GreaterScopeVillain of the series.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', [[spoiler:[[BigBad the Major]] succeeds in defeating Alucard, even though [[ActionGirl Integra]] [[ShutUpHannibal kills]] him in the end. The Major went into this whole thing wanting a great war, and he was happy that he got one before he died]].
** [[spoiler:Millenium as a whole, really. The number of survivors in London total 2, Integra, and Heinkel. All they wanted was to die in glorious battle, and that's exactly what they got.]]
** [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]: Alucard comes back.]]
* In ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', every [[GroundhogDayLoop possible world]] [[HappyEnding except one]] ends in a victory for the [[MilkmanConspiracy leader of the conspiracy]] [[spoiler:Miyo Takano]]: Tomitake is killed, Rika is dissected, Hinamizawa is sterilized, the leader escapes, and no one ever discovers the truth about what happened. The only exceptions (besides the HappyEnding) are the Watanagashi and Meakashi chapters, but even those are an incredible DownerEnding. Hinamizawa is unsterilized, but only because Rika was killed by Shion; the infamy of Shion's murder-spree shrouds Hinamizawa and the few characters that did survive either move away or are missing in action.
* The Hunter Election arc of ''Manga/HunterXHunter''. While Pariston isn't really a villain, he's still an aggravating {{Troll}} who infuriates the other Zodiacs, who try to stop him from using his massive connections to easily dominate the chairman election. They ultimately fail, only for it to be revealed that [[spoiler: Pariston's actions were to pay tribute to Netero, the previous chairman, and he quickly resigns the position to Cheadle, who had come in 2nd.]]
* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', [[spoiler: at the end of Part VI: Stone Ocean, the main villain Enrico Pucci manages to fast-forward time with his new Stand Made In Heaven, [[KillEmAll slaughters every single character bar one]], including [[TheHeroDies protagonist Jolyne Kujo]], allies Anasui and Ermes, the protagonist of Part III and Jolyne's father Jotaro, and resets the universe. However, Emporio somehow manages to survive, and flying into an UnstoppableRage, kills Pucci.]]

** In limited itself: [[spoiler: Pythie Frederica escaped prison, brainwashed [[{{Deuteragonist}} Ripple]] turning her into her slave, indirectly destroyed B-City, and with Pukinˈs sword on her hand, now she can brainwash anyone on her way.]]
** In JOKERS: [[spoiler: Pythie Frederica formed an “alliance” with [[WellIntentionedExtremist Pfle]] and [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Grim Heart]] (one of the 3 leaders of the Land of Magic) died.]]
** In ACES: [[spoiler: [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Ripple]] killed [[LivingMacGuffin Premium Sachiko]] and Pythie Frederica formed an alliance with [[TheFaceless The First Lapis Lazuline]]. Downplayed on this case, since she lost Ripple, but it was her decision that [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness she didn’t need her anymore]].]]
** In QUEENS: [[spoiler: Puk Puck (the most important out of the 3 leaders of the Land of Magic) died, Pythie Frederica herself sent [[BenevolentAI Fal]] (the one that kept [[AntiHero Snow White]] sane) to the space, but most importantly, she turned into the only one [[OverlyLongName Ratsumukanahonomenokami]] (the last of the 3 leaders of the Land of Magic) trusts, leaving her closer than ever to her goal.]]
* In ''Manga/MermaidSaga'' [[spoiler: During the Village of the Fighting Fish arc, the villain Isago achieved her goal by having manipulated the Sakagami pirates into finding a mermaid for her so she could eat the flesh for her unborn baby's development.]]
* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'', Rustal Elion, the main antagonist of season two, [[spoiler:ends Tekkadan as an organization, wipes out [=McGillis=]' Revolutionary Fleet and succeeds in reforming Gjallarhorn into a democratic organization and further enhance his personal reputation.]] Although Gjallarhorn is heavily reformed by the end of the series, there is little doubt that throughout the series they are the villains, and were fighting to remain the authority in the world. Tekkaden was simply trying to find a place to belong in the world, which put them in direct opposition to Gjallarhorn by necessity rather than any actual enmity at first. It's made clear that there are still elements of resentment on both sides by the series end though, particularly in light of [[spoiler:the look of anger and distrust that Eugene sends Julietta's way. This makes sense when you remember Julietta, a devoted, borderline fanatical follower of Rustal Elion, is the one who murdered Mikazuki on the battlefield. Julietta doesn't miss it, or it's implications, either.]]

** [[spoiler: Despite Obito/Tobi not possessing Naruto and Bee, he and Madara ''[[ForWantOfANail still]]'' resurrect the [[EldritchAbomination Ten-Tails]], thus technically, Obito had won the Fourth Shinobi World War despite the protagonist's best efforts.]]
** [[spoiler: And despite being powered up by the Sage himself, Madara, upon resurrection, becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, and finally retrieving his left Rinnegan casts Mugen Tsukuyomi. The entire world except for Team 7 is trapped in it.]]
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' ends with [[spoiler: Seele successfully starting [[AssimilationPlot the Human Instrumentality Project/Third Impact]]]]. Although it's arguable if the end result is what they wanted. In any case, [[spoiler:Shinji's decision to restore individuality]] seems to strongly indicate that it all was ultimately a MeaninglessVillainVictory.

* An episode in the Hoenn arc of the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' had this with a Team Magma agent named Brodie, who is notorious for his many disguises. He disguises himself as a researcher at the Weather Institute named Millie (think Millibar) to steal data on Groudon, and succeeds. Should we mention that his Ditto is formidable?

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' ends with the eponymous character [[spoiler: finally making a contract with Kyubey,]] which he made his goal from the start. [[SubvertedTrope Or so he thinks.]] Sure, he wins... but on Madoka's terms.
** [[LaserGuidedKarma And her terms are pretty rough for him in the long run]].
*** Still getting what he always wanted, now at slower rate, but with no risk of accidentally [[spoiler: creating a universe-destroying monster,]] is hardly "rough". Getting [[spoiler: your memories, and, effectively, personality retroactively rewritten]] might be considered such but he didn't seem to mind.
** ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]'' has a ''[[DownerEnding much harsher]]'' variant... but [[spoiler: it's not Kyubey, but ''[[FaceHeelTurn Homura,]] who wins.'' She imprisons Madoka and her friends in a LotusEaterMachine ''[[UngratefulBastard after they just got her out of one,]]'' erases all their memories, and [[EvilerThanThou makes the Incubators her slaves.]]]] This is one of the reasons [[BrokenBase some fans]] prefer to pretend [[FanonDiscontinuity this movie never happened.]]

** Brought upon us by the reboot, and only noticed through FridgeBrilliance: [[spoiler:the Anti-Unification League, whose goal was to conquer Earth through any means and had used terror tactics before being forced to lie low, is actually in control of Earth after the REF leaves and through the whole "Masters" saga thanks to Anatole Leonard, supreme commander of the Southern Cross and the man who actually calls the shot, being one of their members that escaped identification]]. Thankfully, by the time this happens their last leader is a WellIntentionedExtremist who has more common sense than the civilian government and not the power-hungry ones of the old days...

* ''Manga/SilentMobius'' — episode 20 of the anime concludes with the total victory for the villain, Ganossa Maximillian. [[spoiler: First, Ganossa beautifully forces Katsumi Liqueur to admit her love for Roy Device. Then, the morning after they get engaged and spend their first night together, he kills Roy in a bloody way while Katsumi is showering. When Katsumi discovers the dying Roy covered in blood, she goes insane with grief, unleashing a flood of power and vaporising her apartment building]]. It ends with Ganossa standing in the ruins, bowing to the viewer...
* Suitengu of ''Anime/SpeedGrapher'' [[spoiler: succeeds in his ultimate goal. He gathers all of the yen in Japan in a skyscraper, and burns it all, plunging Japan into an economic crisis, kills all the members of the Ropongi club, and his main rival goes blind from overuse of his powers. Suitengu dies, but he dies the winner. (Though at least Saiga manages to fulfill ''his'' own purpose: saving Kagura, who [[EarnyourHappyEnding can finally have a happier life]]).]]

* ''Manga/{{Teppu}}'' is a {{Deconstruction}} of Shonen sports/martial arts manga told from the perspective of a girl named Natsuo, who is basically the JerkAss [[TheRival Rival]] character seen in so many of those series. [[spoiler: The series ends with Natsuo being defeated by Yuzuko, a kindhearted young GenkiGirl who fits the mold of the traditional Shonen [[TheHero Hero]]. So basically, it's The Good Guy Wins.]]
* Emperor Dornkirk/[[spoiler:Isaac Newton]] gets everything he sets out to get in ''Manga/TheVisionOfEscaflowne''. It takes him awhile but he does eventually activate the Atlantean machine that creates the Zone of Absolute Fortune where everyone's wishes are granted. It turns out badly and threatens to destroy Gaea just as it did Atlantis forcing Van to destroy it but [[{{Foreshadowing}} who didn't see that coming?]]

* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', the original series concludes with this implication. Anteiku has been destroyed, many prominent Investigators have either been [[CareerEndingInjury maimed]] or killed, Kaneki has been defeated and possibly even killed, and [[BigGood Yoshimura]] has been captured by Aogiri so they can use him to create new {{Half Human Hybrid}}s. The survivors of Anteiku and CCG are all left emotionally broken, realizing that no one really won in the end while [[ManipulativeBastard The Clowns]] celebrate having the "last laugh". Good thing a sequel came along, providing a second chance.

** In the Century Soup arc, Toriko loses his battle against Tommyrod, along with [[spoiler:his hand]], while [[spoiler:another villain sneaks past him, knocks out Komatsu and steals the soup]]. Teppei swoops in and defeats the heavily-injured villain... and then a bigger and stronger villain comes in. At this point, only the conveniently-timed arrival of [[spoiler:Setsuno]] prevents him from finishing off the heroes, but the soup is destroyed, and the only chance to restore him - [[spoiler:lies on Komatsu, who manage to taste the last droplet]]. This makes things a little better, but doesn't change the fact that the villains manage to win and get exactly what they wanted.
** The Cooking Festival practically ends in this - by the end [[spoiler:only one out of Four Kings is able to fight]], the main character is [[spoiler:on the brink of death]], many chefs (including [[spoiler:Komatsu]]) are kidnapped by Gourmet Corp, all of the 0th biotope workers are simultaneously intercepted and destroyed ([[spoiler:some of them get better]]), [[spoiler: President Ichiryu is defeated by Midora and finished off by a blue nitro]], and, on top of all that, the BigBad bombards the world with Meteor Spice, killing and injuring billions and creating a world wide famine. The only thing, that makes the bad guys victory incomplete is the reveal of the [[spoiler:even bigger bad, who manipulated them from start]].
** The NEO organization ends up on top in the Cooking Festival - they left both IGO and Gourmet corp in shambles, finished their [[spoiler:spaceship]] and found a substitute for [[spoiler:Komatsu]], the one target that they don't get in the end. Basically everybody, except good guys won the Cooking Festival.
* In ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'', [[TheDragon Legato Bluesummers']] [[spoiler:[[ThanatosGambit death]]]] IS his victory. [[spoiler:His goal was to make TechnicalPacifist Vash suffer and forcing Vash to kill him causes Vash [[HeroicBSOD to break down]] afterwards and it takes months for him to recover. Legato's boss wasn't nearly as successful.]]
* ''Manga/WolfsRain'' - [[spoiler:after everything the wolves and Cheza went through Paradise starts to form, but because Darcia's freaking ''eye'' is in the water, Paradise is tainted and it turns into the modern world filled with humans and hate and war all over again.]] ''May'' be mitigated by the last few moments [[spoiler:when we see Kiba, reincarnated in the modern world, starting to run after smelling Cheza's scent, [[HereWeGoAgain implying that the search for Paradise has just begun anew]]]].
* Near the end of ''Anime/YattermanNight'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:the Lord Yatterman that rules the Yatter Kingdom is none other than Dokurobei, the BigBad of the original Yatterman series who after suffering countless losses eventually decided to bring his A-game and successfully killed the original Gan and Ai, stealing their identities so that he can slander their name for all eternity]].
* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Sensui's known goal is to open the portal to the Demon World, allowing the demons to destroy humanity. [[spoiler:However, his true goal is to go to the Demon World in order to find a demon stronger than himself to kill him, to atone for all the innocent demons he's killed in the past.]] He achieves his true goal because of [[spoiler:Yusuke, revived as a demon and possessed by his ancestor, Raizen]]. In addition, in the end of the series, it turns out that [[spoiler: the Demon World portal is kept open, and humans and demons are actually living in peace with each other, not violently]]. This is even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Yusuke, who says that Sensui really did win in the end.

** Later related series reveal the true winner of the manga (warning: BIG spoiler, although not that surprising in hindsight): [[spoiler:It's [[GodIsEvil God]], as the Earth is made as punishment for Satan to always fall in love with Akira Fudou, just for Akira to always die by his hands.

* ''Manga/{{Doubt}}'', and ''how''. Even after the good guys have escaped, [[spoiler:Rei]] finds a way to get rid of them without lifting a finger.

** Later related series reveal the true winner of the manga (warning: BIG spoiler, although not that surprising in hindsight): [[spoiler:It's [[GodIsEvil God]]], as the Earth is made as punishment for Satan to always fall in love with Akira Fudou, just for Akira to always die by his hands. Averted in "Manga/{{DevilmanLady}}, where Satan splits himself in two, has sex with himself, and gives birth to Akira]].

** That last implied possibility [[spoiler: may in fact be a scanlation error. Most sources I've seen say the poster Wanta passes is for Aiko's mother.]]

* In ''Manga/MermaidSaga'' [[spoiler: During the Village of the Fighting Fish arc, the villain Isago achieved her goal by having manipulated the Sakagami pirates into finding a mermaid for her so she could eat the flesh for her unborn baby's development.]]

** Anime/DragonBallSuper adds another one: [[spoiler: Zamasu and Goku Black, fused into Merged Zamasu, are technically defeated in the classic usage of the word, but then he becomes law itself and [[KillEmAll kills everyone]] in the BadFuture timeline save Future Trunks and Mai, Goku, Vegeta, Bulma, and the Supreme Kais. Even though [[DeusExMachina Goku calls upon Future Zen'O who obliterates Zamasu (albeit at the cost of the entire timeline itself)]], Zamasu got what he wanted: the extinction of all mortals. It's only thanks to Whis' LoopholeAbuse that Zamasu's genocide only extended to one timeline.]]

* ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' love this one. For example:

** [[spoiler:Millenium as a whole, really. The number of survivors in London total 2, Integra, and Heinkel. All they wanted was to die in glorious battle, and that's exactly what they got.]]
** [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]: Alucard comes back.]]

** In Century Soup arc Toriko, loses battle against Tommyrod, along with [[spoiler:his hand]], while [[spoiler:other villain sneaks past him, knocks out Komatsu and steals the soup]]. Teppei swoops in and defeats the heavily-injured villain... and then bigger and stronger villain comes in. At this point, only conveniently-timed arrival of [[spoiler:Setsuno]] prevents him from finishing off heroes, but soup is destroyed, and only chance to restore him - [[spoiler:Komatsu, who manage to taste the last droplet]]. This makes things a little better, but doesn't change the fact, that villains manage to win and get exactly what they wanted.