History TheReveal / AnimeAndManga

** In Chapter 30; it is revealed that [[spoiler:''all'' of West Yomogi is a ''literal'' simulation, given the fact that no accidents and deaths were reported.]] ** In the same chapter; [[spoiler:the Gardener is responsible for having the town being [[NobodyCanDie free of deaths and incidents]], given that she is the town's overseer.]]

* In ''LightNovel/IzureShinwaNoRagnarok'', Raika's goal is to take revenge on the gods and rescue his sister from the one that kidnapped her. [[spoiler:In the epilogue of Volume 1, it's revealed that his hyperactive classmate, Tenka, is his sister and the current host of the kidnapper.]]

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' -- The Rail Tracer is Claire Stanfield/Vino, AKA the young conductor supposedly killed in the second episode.

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': Zigzagged all over the place. Earthworm captures [[spoiler:Izaya Orihara]] and keeps his head under a bag. For the entire episode/volume, he does not speak even as she tries to question him. The whole time, we are lead to believe that it is [[spoiler:Izaya]] who's been captured as the captive is wearing his clothes. However, when Shijima and Heaven's Slave go to negotiate with Amphisbaena, both he and Earthworm get a call from someone using a voice modifier. Said person tells them he is [[spoiler:Izaya Orihara]] and begins to allude to the idea that the leaders' [[spoiler:shared boss (neither of them know they have the same boss), who they both use as a puppet leader, is actually the captive]]. Both start to panic and the audience is then under the impression that [[spoiler:it isn't Izaya who has been captured]]. Once the person on the other end starts making references to physical characteristics of [[spoiler:the boss]], Shijima, afraid he'll be found out by his gang, tries to stab the captive, only for the captive, who should've been bound to use his knife to cut open the bag. Finally, it is revealed that [[spoiler:it really was Izaya who had been captured, and that he had orchestrated the entire thing as his own group busts in]]. ''Then'', we find out the boss is actually [[spoiler:Nakura, Izaya's old classmate who started both gangs, however has been under Izaya's thumb since grade school]].

** [[spoiler:It's impossible to bring someone back to life.]] For anyone who sees [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]] first and then either reads the manga or watches ''Brotherhood'', the shock is increased several-fold; [[spoiler:in the 2003 anime, they're transformed into homunculi]].

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' combines this with TheRashomon, with Yuki, Mikuru, and Itsuki each explaining Haruhi's true nature and their own.

* ''LightNovel/HensukiAreYouWillingToFallInLoveWithAPervertAsLongAsShesACutie'': The end of Volume 3 reveals Mizuha is Cinderella and is not blood-related to Keiki. While this revelation ends the mystery of searching for the sender of the love letter, it doesn't end Keiki's search for a girlfriend, since he later discovers that Mizuha is just as perverted as the rest of his UnwantedHarem.

* ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess'' has a final twist reveal based on a single character's name: that [[spoiler:Seria]]'s last name is [[spoiler:Mauser]].

** ''Anime/ElCazadorDeLaBruja'': Ellis is the only successful result of a CIA-funded program to artificially recreate a dying WitchSpecies. She did not kill her handler and father figure with her powers (as she believes), but was framed for it by the real murderer -- the director of said program, who wanted to use her powers for his own goals.

* Midway through ''Anime/YourName'', it turns out that the FreakyFridayFlip [[spoiler: is not in timed sync, and Mitsuha has been DeadAllAlong for three years after Itomori was destroyed in a meteor strike, killing five hundred people]]. The rest of the movie follows Yuki and Mitsuha as they attempt to [[spoiler: avert this disaster]].

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', Sakonji Urokodaki, the mater Water Breathing cultivator who first trained the series’ protagonist Tanjiro Kamando, is always seen wearing a tengu mask, with his face remaining a mystery throughout the entire series, it is never revealed through its course, the only description it is ever given is that Sakonji’s face was so friendly and gentle that he as a demon slayer wouldn’t be taken as a threat by demons, so he started wearing the rough looking tengu mask to change that image. One full year and 5 months after the manga ended, Sakonji’s face is revealed on October 2021, in a art exhibition, his face is just like it was described, too friendly for a demon slayer.

*** In the light novels, it is confirmed he survived.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': Once the Magic World Arc starts, reveals are dropped left and right, ''especially'' once [[WildCard Kurt Godel]] shows up. The most important one is probably that Negi's mother is Queen Arika of Vesperina, making Negi a WarriorPrince. This is subverted when the girls discover that the Magic World is Mars and get excited, only to realize that it's just a useless bit of trivia. Then it becomes a double subversion when it turns out to be important after all.

* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'' has a number of them, the biggest one probably being the reveal that the woman in Prague is really [[CreepyCrossdresser Johan]].

*** Kawamatsu [[spoiler:introduces himself as a [[{{Kappa}} kappa]] shortly after making his on-screen appearance. This doesn't seem out of place in Wano, the {{Wutai}} of ''One Piece'' and this series was already full of several different races, so what's one more? However, he later reveals that he's a Fish-man. When he was a boy, he and his mother (who was a mermaid) faced discrimination in Wano. Before she died, Kawamatsu's mother told him to pretend to be a kappa in order to survive. It's also revealed that like Wadatsumi, he is also a tiger puffer Fish-man.]]

** Two dramatic [[spoiler:TomatoInTheMirror]] examples: [[spoiler:Elliot,]] obsessed with the finding the true identity of the man [[spoiler:slowly killing off the Nightray family,]] is finally given the answer. [[spoiler:It's him. Well, he's one of them, anyway -- the other is his older adoptive brother.]] As for the second example, [[spoiler:Oz]] finds out ''he's'' the [[spoiler:B-Rabbit, not Alice.]]

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' does this with ''Pokemon's [[AmbiguousGender genders]]''. For example, Pikachu, after ten years of debating, is proven to be male.
* In ''Anime/PokemonSpecial'', [[{{Bifauxnen}} Yellow]] is revealed to be a girl at the end of the Yellow Chapter (though Red doesn't find out until the Gold/Silver Chapter).

* ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'':.

%%Please refrain from using first-person wording, whether singular or plural, when adding examples. Don't speak from the reader's perspective.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' has one in Season 2 Episode 14, when the identity of the 0 Gundam's pilot, as well as the reason/s for that scene in the prologue of Episode 1, is revealed to be none other than the BigBad of the entire series, and that the armed intervention in question helped motivate his plans in the Second Season.
* ''Anime/PrettySammy'', ''Anime/MagicalProjectS'': The whole show being a parody of the magical girl genre, you wouldn't expect much in the way of plot twists. Cue [[WhamEpisode Episode 19]]- Sammy's ShrinkingViolet best friend, Misao is really the sadistic DarkMagicalGirl, Pixy Misa. More so, Pixy Misa is her ''default'' form; the shy and demure Misa was only a result of repressing her negative traits.

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' combines this with TheRashomon, with Yuki, Mikuru, and Itsuki each explaining Haruhi's true nature and their own.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' has been rather reveal-happy in recent years: we've gotten the true identity of both Akatsuki's leader and its ManBehindTheMan, Kisame and Itachi's true motivations (including the real reason the Uchiha Massacre happened), the identities of Naruto's parents (everyone (and by everyone: the audience) knew about the father-it's the mother and her baggage that shocks everyone), the fact that [[spoiler:Naruto is not the first host of the Nine-Tailed Fox]], [[spoiler:Madara really IS dead and Tobi's impersonating him]], [[spoiler:Tobi's current Sharingan sharing the same dimension as Kakashi's Kamui due to it being the right eye of Obito Uchiha]], etc. And Tobi himself is later revealed to be [[spoiler:Obito Uchiha]]. And now that [[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMan There is a Man Behind the Man Behind the Man]] in the form of Black Zetsu, who finally succeeds to revive Kaguya Ootsutsuki, the mother of the Rikudo Sennin]].

* Usagi[=/=]Franchise/SailorMoon is Princess Serenity. Although it could be made obvious over time--there are glimpses of the princess and she has the same voice actor--the original Japanese [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] and [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]] didn't truly reveal this until well into the first season. The North American Creator/DiC dub, on the other hand, revealed this in the very first episode (or figured no one would put two and two together with the identical princess in a bubble and Serena).
* Hagino's obsession with Mari in ''Manga/BlueDrop'' gets explained by revealing that Hagino saved Mari from drowning during the catastrophe caused by her space ship.
* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'': Dok was actually using the remains of '''Mina Harker''' as a template for all of Millennium's vampire soldiers. Turns out that since Alucard wasn't destroyed when he lost to Abraham Van Helsing, Mina wasn't completely purified of Alucard's curse. Thus all of Millenium's soldiers are poor copies of Alucard's power.
* A ''big'' dose is revealed near the end of ''Anime/SpiderRiders'' when the series BigBad admits that he's a [[spoiler: human. Not only that, he reveals that like Hunter, he was a hero chosen to protect the Inner World before he went nuts after his wife was killed]].
* ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'':.
** First, Syaoran is a clone created by the BigBad, and meet the real one.
** [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Fai/Fay]] has a depressing backstory, he's faking his personality, is working for the villain, and he killed his brother. Then it's revealed that his memories were false, he ''didn't'' kill his brother, and he switches sides.
** The whole goal up till that point, collecting the princess' feathers, was the BigBad's EvilPlan to have her develop "physical memories".
** ''The princess'' is a clone.
** The original Syaoran is actually the son of an alternate version of the protagonist and love interest of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', and is using his father's name as a pseudonym. Then it's learned that the protagonist of ''Manga/XxxHolic'' is a time-travel duplicate of "Syaoran".
** And that the creation of said duplicate messed up the ''entire space-time continuum''.
** Then that "the country of Clow" is really Acid Tokyo in the far future.
** Then that Yuko was DeadAllAlong, and her revival was the whole purpose of the BigBad's GambitRoulette. Then that she was preserved from going to the other side by an inadvertent [[RealityWarper reality warp]] from Clow, giving a Reveal as to why he was so desperate to get rid of his powers and set off the plot of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura''.
** And ''then'' it's revealed that Syaoran is the clone of ''[[MyOwnGrampa his biological son]]'', who is the "real Syaoran". This means he took the name from somebody who [[StableTimeLoop took the name from him]]. And at the same time it's told that the mother of Original Syaoran is [[OedipusComplex his girlfriend's clone]]!
** The [[BigBad Fei Wong Reed]] is actually Clow Reed's clone (sort of) created from his accidental Reality Warping.
** Then, finally, it turns out that the feathers were actually soul fragments of the clones!
** Both the Syaoran and Sakura's real names are Tsubasa!
* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' -- The Rail Tracer is Claire Stanfield/Vino, AKA the young conductor supposedly killed in the second episode.

** Chapter 550 made another reveal. A reveal that doesn't make the plot take a new direction, but explained everything that has happened since chapter 1. [[spoiler:Portgas D. Ace is not Luffy's biological brother; he's the son of ''Gold Roger, '''the Pirate King'''''.]]

*** Bepo [[spoiler:was originally thought to be a polar bear. It was odd enough that he could speak, so some thought it was because he ate a Devil Fruit, much like Chopper after eating the Human Human Fruit. Many arcs later, it's revealed that he's one of the minks, a group of [[BeastMan Beast Men]] based on all sorts of mammals (excluding humans, of course). Bepo just happen to be based on an animal that can stand on its hind legs like a human.]]
*** Sanjuan Wolf [[spoiler:is currently the largest character in ''One Piece''. He's so damn huge that he was nearly the same size as [[BigFancyCastle Marine HQ]] at Marineford. Because he was always seen submerged in water, fans thought he might have been a gigantic fish-man or merman. An official [[AllInTheManual databook]] reveals he is a giant (AKA the same species as Dorry, Broggy, Jaguar D. Saul, etc.) and does indeed have legs. Not only that, Wolf ate a Devil Fruit that can [[{{Sizeshifter}} make him grow even larger]]! This growth ability allows him to casually walk around ''on the ocean floor''!]]
*** Wadatsumi [[spoiler:looks like a huge hairy giant. He was originally referred to as an umibōzu, a type of giant {{Youkai}}. Not only did Usopp think he was one, Wadatsumi's own crewmates just happen to jokingly call him that too. Eventually, he was revealed to be a tiger puffer fish-man. By always drawing him with his fists clinched or fingers together, Oda was careful not to show the webbing between his fingers, which is a species-wide trait of the fish-men. He also has a long dorsal fin extending from the top of his head to his lower back, but before his racial reveal, he was always drawn from a front view so that the fin wasn't visible. While fish-men [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation came in all sorts of colors]], Wadatsumi stood out with a more human-like skin tone that nearly no other member of his race has. Lastly, his enormous size is very unique among his race, as they're usually taller than humans on average, but Wadatsumi not only dwarfs the regular giants, he even dwarfs the ancient giants, such as Oars and Little Oars Jr.! The only other character larger than him is the aforementioned Wolf with his growth ability.]]

*** Dellinger [[spoiler:has horns like a few other humans. Not a big deal, right? Well, they're the result of him being the son of a fighting fish fish-man. Fish-men have always been based on real world marine life. However, the fighting fish seen in ''One Piece'' are a fictional species consisting of huge, crazed-looking fish with bull-like horns. There was no reason to think Oda would've created a fish-man based on a fictional species. In addition, Dellinger's other parent was a human, so he's a HalfHumanHybrid. He also ''doesn't'' have webbing between his fingers, unlike full-blooded fish-men. Lastly, he has a retractable dorsal fin that was hidden until he started fighting Blue Gilly and usually has human teeth, but can grow out much sharper ones when he's in BloodKnight mode.]]
*** Kawamatsu [[spoiler:introduces himself as a [[{{Kappa}} kappa]] shortly after making his on-screen appearance. This doesn't seem out of place in Wano, the {{Wutai}} of ''One Piece'' and this series was already full of several different races, so what's one more? However, he later reveals that he's a fish-man. When he was a boy, he and his mother (who was a mermaid) faced discrimination in Wano. Before she died, Kawamatsu's mother told him to pretend to be a kappa in order to survive. It's also revealed that like Wadatsumi, he is also a tiger puffer fish-man.]]
* Several in ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'':
** The Witch Queen is TheFaceless until the penultimate episode of the series (and only one or two hints are given to her true identity in the final season). She was watching the girls the entire time as Yuki-sensei, the school nurse.
** Akatsuki is the prince of the Wizard World. This was so secret that even his best friends didn't know.
** Ojamajo Doremi 16/17 reveals that Hana has a twin sibling. On top of that, Majo Rika and Majo Ruka are also twins, which makes their rivalry SiblingRivalry.
* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'' has a number of them, the biggest one probably being the reveal that the woman in Prague is really [[CreepyCrossdresser Johan]].
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Aizen didn't die. He faked his death, was the BigBad behind the Soul Society arc and Tousen and Gin were his accomplices.
** The Quincies still exist and have created a fully functional society living in the shadow of Seireitei. ''Literally''. The two cities share the same space by virtue of a dimensional trick using Seireitei's shadows.
** Masaki being a Quincy had been guessed by the fandom years ago, but she also turned out to be one of Aizen's Hollowfication victims. Ichigo inherited his inner hollow from her.
** The name Yachiru means 'master of all known sword styles' and was taken by the monstrous First Kenpachi, creator of the 11th division, who is these days better known as ''Retsu Unohana'', Captain of the Fourth Division [[TheAtoner Medical Squad]].
** The Quincies in the living world were wiped out in ThePurge, TheEmperor's attempt to destroy every "impure" Quincy. Ichigo and Uryuu's mothers were both victims of this purge and Yhwach's power flows through every Quincy alive, making all of them vulnerable to his whim.
** Uryuu joins the Vandenreich, and is given the rank of Prince. Yhwach also tried to purge him but failed, making Uryuu the only impure Quincy alive and the only Purge survivor in history. Yhwach makes him his UnexpectedSuccessor because he wants that power, knows Uryuu is capable of surpassing his strength, and [[KickedUpstairs suspects]] Uryuu wants to avenge his mother's death.
** Old Man Zangetsu was only pretending to be Ichigo's zanpakutou. He's Ichigo's Quincy power, has been suppressing Ichigo's real Shinigami power, and is the image of Yhwach from a thousand years ago.

* In ''Anime/UmiMonogatari'' it is revealed that Sedna is formed from the combined sorrow that the inhabitants of the island committed to the sea.

* In ''Manga/TonaGura'', Kazuki remembered that, even as a little boy, Yuuji was playful, and his 'perverted nature' is mainly him still acting like a little boy around his best friend. When he realizes that she * seriously* does not like it, and she stops romanticizing their childhood, things finally begin to move for them.
* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': Once the Magic World Arc starts, reveals are dropped left and right, ''especially'' once [[WildCard Kurt Godel]] shows up. The most important one is probably that Negi's mother is Queen Arika of Vesperina, making Negi a WarriorPrince. This is subverted when the girls discover that the Magic World is Mars and get excited, only to realize that it's just a useless bit of trivia. Then it becomes a double subversion when it turns out to be important after all.

** In chapter 72; Kid is said to be a fragment of Shinigami, who turns out to be one of a group of entities called the Great Old Ones. Making the Super OCD boy a Humanoid Abomination (currently) minus the evil and his 'illness' impliedly the result of the fact he/his father is an anthropomorphic personification of the 'madness of the rule of law'. Then in Chapter 108, it's revealed that Asura is also a fragment of Shinigami, effectively making him Kid's ''older brother.''
* In ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'', the Jovians are exiled humans victimized by Earth's government and who use the SuperRobot series loved by the protagonists to justify destroying Earth. Also, the little girl the protagonist is shown with at the beginning is Inez Fressange, who is older than the protagonist due to a time paradox.
* In ''Manga/GameXRush'', Yuuki's Mom/Yuki-san is Memori's presumed-dead birth-mother, who murdered Memori's father and supposedly died in the fire that Memori accidentally started (hence explaining both Memori's adopted status), but Miyuki did NOT die, instead wandering off with semi-amnesia to save a young Yuuki who was then raised as Memori (explaining how he knows so much about the REAL Memori). Bizarrely enough, due to the compressed storytelling and the changes forced by the same, it's possible for this to be not much of a Reveal after all.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** The identity of Pride was revealed to be [[spoiler:Selim Bradley]].
** Edward's automail arm isn't revealed until he foils an attack that would have destroyed a flesh-and-blood arm.
** The Fuhrer [[spoiler:is a Homunculus]].
** [[spoiler:It's impossible to bring someone back to life.]] For anyone who sees [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]] first and then either reads the manga or watches ''Brotherhood'', the shock is increased several-fold; [[spoiler:in the 2003 anime, they're transformed into homunculi]].
* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers''. Protagonist Subaru, who has been a regular narrator ever since episode 1 (where as a little girl she is rescued by Nanoha and decides to become a hero too), finally battles the combat cyborgs but fails to rescue her sister and is seriously injured. Then her arm is seen. Along with the blood, [[RoboticReveal metal and cables are seen]]. Subaru ''is a combat cyborg, too''.
* In ''Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa'', there's a relatively minor one, compared to what's going on all around, but a reveal nonetheless. For 99% of the series, the Holy Nightmare Salesmen always appeared on the big screens in King Dedede's palace from the waist up. When Dedede and Escargo(o)n meet the Salesman face to face in Nightmare's fortress, there's the awful truth- All that's at the bottom are just kirby-like feet, no legs, nothing else.

* ''Anime/ImGonnaBeAnAngel'':
** In the last episodes, it was revealed that the [[spoiler: BigBad Silky who hates angels, is a 1/3 angel herself and has her fallen halo hidden in the drawer]].
** It was revealed that [[spoiler: Mikael who was supposed to be an angel-in-training, lost his qualifications to become one and also hid his fallen halo in the boxes]].
** In the last episode, it was revealed that [[spoiler: the whole plot of the show revolved around Mikael and not Noelle]].
* Tons of information revealed in ''Anime/EurekaSeven''. Eureka's identity as a [[spoiler: human Coralian]], what really happened to Renton's father and sister, the origin of the 3 kids, the history of the Scab Coral which reveal that [[spoiler: all along the planet was Earth which got covered up by a living planet-size alien]]. [[spoiler: Gonzy was another hidden human Coralian.]]
* ''Anime/EurekaSevenAO'', gets its own reveals. There's the fact that Eureka has been [[spoiler: {{Time Travel}}ing, and that Ao was conceived in the future]]; that the discrepancies with the original series [[spoiler: [[CosmicRetcon are the result of history actually being altered]]]]; the one no-one was expecting happened when [[spoiler: [[KidFromTheFuture Ao met a pregnant Eureka from the past.]]]] Most viewers and even Ao himself thought that [[spoiler: Eureka was pregnant with him, but it turns out her baby ''is a girl'' - meaning Ao may have an older biological sister]].
* The true identity of the Red Man being [[spoiler: Shiro]] all along in ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'' is going to setup a BittersweetEnding.
* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' has several. [[Anime/DigimonAdventure Hikari]] being the 8th Child and Tailmon being her partner, the fact that [=BelialVamdemon=] was behind everything in ''[[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 02]]'', Juri, after returning to the Real World, being an ADR, Duskmon being Kouichi, Kouji's long-lost twin brother, Kurata being a jackass and a MagnificentBastard and that old guy being the head of DATS.
* ''Anime/MasterOfMartialHearts'':
** According to the ''Platonic Hearts'' rulebook, unknown and unmentioned until the very end, [[spoiler:all losing contestants have their vocal cords removed and MindRaped into idiocy before they get sold into slavery. Even the sympathetic ones. And you're shown the whole supporting cast in that pitiful state.]]
** The almost unseen CuteMute mom of Natsume? [[spoiler: She's actually a StepfordSmiler, and a past [[ActionGirl contestant]] in the ''Platonic Heart'' martial arts tournament who managed to escape slavery and rebuild a semblance of normalcy before she hatched a complex RevengeByProxy plan involving her offspring organizing the current edition of the ''Platonic Heart'' tournament to lure the daughter of the (still living) past winner and the (now dead) past promoter of the contest so Aya can relive every bit of her experience, including the defeat, maiming and slavery.]] She's also the daughter of the original organizer.
** Natsume herself, and Miko, Aya's [[HeterosexualLifePartners Heterosexual Life-Partner]] and [[AFriendInNeed resident friend in need]] [[spoiler: are actually cousins, [[BitchInSheepsClothing in league together with Aya's love interest to get Aya defeated and enslaved in the current tournament]]]].
** Aya's caring mom and her dead loving father? [[spoiler: According to Miko and Natsume a sadistic DarkActionGirl and a sadistic rapist who had his way with the Action Girls defeated by his wife.]].
* Although spoiled for U.S. audiences thanks to the fact that ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' almost entirely aired first barring a few episodes, in Japan ''Manga/DragonBall'' dropped a big one. In the manga, after Goku's big defeat of Piccolo, the following chapter features a mysterious character crashing to earth looking for someone named "Kakarot". And in the very last page of the chapter, Kakarot is revealed to be Goku. Then 2 chapters later it turns out that armored man is Goku's brother and Goku is revealed to be an alien. Piccolo and Kami get this same revelation not long after when they're revealed to be Nameks, which was foreshadowed as early as the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai when the two spoke to each other in a strange language. It's done with Trunks as well. After his first appearance he's revealed to not just be another Saiyan, but a ''Super Saiyan as well'', and just a few chapters later it's discovered that he's Bulma and Vegeta's son from the future.
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' becomes very reveal-heavy (combining them with a WhamLine, usually) from about the 4th-8th episode onvard.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' has many of these.
** Some of these examples are [[spoiler:Eren being the Rogue Titan, the walls containing Titans, Annie being the Female Titan, Ymir being the Dancing Titan, Historia/"Krista" being related to a secret cult that knows about the walls, Reiner being the Armored Titan, and Bertolt being the Colossal Titan. Or the fact the basement contains proof that humanity was never wiped out and still exists.]]
** Hilariously, one of the biggest reveals, the identities of [[spoiler:the Colossal and Armored Titans]], was revealed in just about the most casual manner possible, as part of a ''background conversation''. Many readers (and watchers of the anime once it got that far) admitted to doing a DoubleTake as it took them a moment to process what they'd just read.
** In Chapter 88, [[spoiler:the Name of Eren's Titan is the [[TitleDrop Attack Titan]] (or the ''Shingeki No Kyojin'').[[note]]The official Translation Attack "on" Titan is not entirely accurate. The translators were probably confused about that.[[/note]]]]
* ''Manga/BlackButler'': There are several regarding the character [[spoiler:Angela Blanc]]. Firstly, they are not human, instead they are an [[spoiler:[[AngelUnaware Angel incognito]]]], and a very evil one to boot. Also, a character that at first appears to be separate turns out to also be them, just in another form. Finally, they are responsible for the [[spoiler: Phantomhive manor's]] destruction in the anime, and the deaths of [[spoiler:Ceil's parents]].
* ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'': Emeraude didn't summon the Magic Knights to save her...she summoned them to ''kill'' her.
* ''Anime/KillLaKill'' has enough reveals to turn the fandom over its head and then back again.
** Satsuki didn't kill Ryuko's father and played absolutely no role in his death. The real perpetrator is [[spoiler:Nui Harime, who not only works for Satsuki's mom, Ragyo, but also killed Ryuko's father with the other half of the scissor blade, which she uses as her own weapon]].
** Life Fibers are actually [[spoiler:sentient beings from somewhere in the universe and are the reason for why humanity has evolved from typical primates. And while the Life Fibers provide great intelligence and power, it turns out that inserting Life Fibers into a host would kill them painfully. However, the fibers can be ''worn'', leading to the creation of clothing. Now, they are currently at rest under Revocs HQ, waiting for the time they can fully take over humanity and Ragyo has always been working toward that goal]].
** Satsuki and the Elite Four are actually [[spoiler:working against Ragyo and her plans, meaning that they have been on Ryuko and Nudist Beach's side all along and simply kept to their own agenda.]]
** Ryuko is actually [[spoiler:Ragyo's daughter and Satsuki's younger sister. They both thought she was killed in Ragyo's failed attempt to fuse her with Life Fibers and was literally thrown away as a result. However, it turns out that the experiment ''did'' work and Ryuko's heart is completely made of Life Fibers. Not only that, but the reason that Ryuko survived being thrown away was because her and Satsuki's father managed to find her and escape from Ragyo. Ragyo tried to kill him, but he tricked her into thinking he was dead before changing his name and his appearance into the old man that Ryuko and the audience recognize as the father she's been fighting for]].
** Nui is [[spoiler:also a human who was successfully fused with Life Fibers and her heart is shown to look just like Ryuko's. However, unlike Ryuko, Nui wasn't born in a mother's womb like a regular human but instead came directly from an artificial womb made of Life Fibers. So the reason she doesn't need to wear Life Fibers to be as powerful as she is is because she is entirely ''made'' of them]].
* ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'' had episode 20 and the reveal that [[spoiler:Hime was the one who opened up the [[SealedEvilInACan Axia Box]], releasing the Phantom Empire]]. Two episodes later, it turns out that Iona's motive for revenge against [[TheDragon Phantom]] was horribly skewed: [[spoiler:her sister, a Precure before Iona, had been captured by Phantom only because Iona followed her into battle. And her capture was something she also blamed Hime on!]]
* Each installment of Creator/BeeTrain's GirlsWithGuns trilogy is built around a series of reveals concerning the DarkAndTroubledPast of its (anti-)heroines, spread across its mid-to-late episodes:
** ''Anime/{{Noir}}'': "Noir" is the {{legacy c|haracter}}odename passed down by various pairs of female assassins trained from birth by an AncientConspiracy to become perfect killers. Kirika was a member of the current generation's Noir before her amnesia. Mireille is a failed Noir candidate, whose parents refused to give her up for training and were murdered for it--by none other than Kirika herself.
** ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'': "Madlax" was the codename of Margaret's father, whom she murdered in self-defense after he was driven insane by his arch-nemesis. However, Margaret possesses RealityWarping powers, which she instinctively used just before her patricide to create a LiteralSplitPersonality--another seven year-old girl who pulled the trigger for her, so her primary self would remain "innocent". This other girl grew up to become the Madlax seen in the series, although neither she, nor Margaret retained any memories of these events.
** ''Anime/ElCazadorDeLaBruja'': Ellis is the only successful result of a CIA-funded program to artificially recreate a dying WitchSpecies. She did not kill her handler and father figure with her powers (as she believes), but was framed for it by the real murderer--the director of said program, who wanted to use her powers for his own goals.
* ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'':
** There were several reveals in regards to Ugo. He was actually Solomon's djinn, not Aladdin's and his head wasn't missing like he had told Aladdin. He was unable to leave the "Room of Solitude". And as the flashback of Alma Torran revealed, Ugo [[spoiler: wasn't a djinn at all but a genius magician, Solomon's closest friend and later became one of Solomon's three Magi]].
** Ren Gyokuen was the magi that betrayed Solomon. [[spoiler: And she was Arba, Solomon's beloved friend and closest thing he and his lover Sheba had to a mother.]]
** Aladdin is [[spoiler: Solomon and Sheba's son]].
* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'':
** Anthy and Akio's true nature are major ones: [[spoiler:They are in an [[BrotherSisterIncest incestuous relationship]] that resembles DomesticAbuse. Akio used to be Dios, a heroic prince that fell from nobility and became a ManipulativeBastard. He's also the prince from Utena's past as well as [[BigBad End of the World]], the person organizing the duels. Anthy is a witch that was horrifically attacked for denying the world her brother and suffers constant torment as a result. She's an integral part of Akio's plans.]]
** The castle in the sky where "eternity" dwells [[spoiler: doesn't exist. It's an illusion created by Akio's planetarium projector as part of his hook to get people to participate in the duels]]. In fact, [[spoiler:the entire hook is a lie: The duelist who wins the Rose Bride and the duels won't obtain the Power of Dios. The true purpose of the duels is for Akio himself to regain the Power of Dios, which he lost when he ceased to be Prince Dios. He just needs a powerful sword in order to break the seal on it- the winner's sword. To that end, he manipulated the young Utena into wanting to become a prince and gave her a duelist ring, hoping she would one day become noble enough to produce a sword that could break the seal.]]
** From the Black Rose arc: [[spoiler: Mikage/Nemuro's memories are fake- he's the one that burned down Nemuro Hall, not Mamiya. Also, the real Mamiya died years ago- the Mamiya we've seen with Mikage in the present is actually Anthy in disguise manipulating Mikage on Akio's behalf.]]
* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
** Lumen Histoire, Fairy Tail's secret weapon, is [[spoiler:a girl encased in crystal. More specifically, she's ''Mavis Vermillion, '''the First Guild Master of Fairy Tail''''']].
** E.N.D., the guild master of Tartaros and the strongest of the demons from the Books of Zeref, is [[spoiler:the amnesiac Natsu Dragneel]].
** Chapter 436: an entire chapter on Zeref's past. [[spoiler:His full name is Zeref '''Dragneel''', and he's Natsu's older brother.]]
** Chapter 444: Emperor Spriggan, leader of the super-militarized magical empire of Albareth, is [[spoiler:none other than '''''Zeref''''' under an alias]].
* ''Manga/SchoolLive'':
** It starts out as a fairly run-of-the-mill slice of life show, albeit with a few odd details (who let someone keep their dog at school?). At the end of the first episode, we discover that [[spoiler: the characters are in the midst of a horrible zombie apocalypse, and everything we've seen so far has been the product of Yuki's delusional [[LotusEaterMachine lotus-eating]]. The strange details and inconsistencies are just side effects, and the other characters play along because they don't have the heart to tell her otherwise.]]
** The reveal that [[spoiler:Megu-nee has been DeadAllAlong]] is very different between the manga and anime. In the manga [[spoiler:Yuki gets a massive headache and faints after being reminded of sometimes Megu-nee told her before her death. We're shown a flashback to Megu-nee's death and the next chapter confirms she's dead.]] In the anime the reveal happens chronologically later due to the series being InMediasRes. [[spoiler:Miki is confused about who Megu-nee is so she innocently asks. This causes a creepy sequence where the background music is slowly warping and the scene pans out to show Yuki was talking to thin air.]]
** In the manga Yuuri [[spoiler:remembers she had a younger sister]] and goes hysterical with worry. She ends up risking her life to save a girl from an elementary school full of zombies however [[spoiler:over the chapters it's shown that Yuuri is suffering from similar psychological issues to Yuki--the girl is really a teddy bear.]]
* ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess'' has a final twist reveal based on a single character's name: that [[spoiler:Seria]]'s last name is [[spoiler:Mauser]].

* In ''LightNovel/IzureShinwaNoRagnarok'', Raika's goal is to take revenge on the gods and rescue his sister from the one that kidnapped her. [[spoiler:In the epilogue of Volume 1, it's revealed that his hyperactive classmate, Tenka, is his sister and the current host of the kidnapper.]]
* From [[spoiler:volume fifteen]] onwards, ''Manga/PandoraHearts'' is just a bunch of reveals.
** The earliest example is the mysterious young man Raven turning out to be Gilbert, ten years older from when Oz last saw him. The reason this is not put as a spoiler is because it's extremely obvious, unlike every other reveal in the series.
** Two dramatic [[spoiler:TomatoInTheMirror]] examples: [[spoiler:Elliot,]] obsessed with the finding the true identity of the man [[spoiler:slowly killing off the Nightray family,]] is finally given the answer. [[spoiler:It's him. Well, he's one of them, anyway--the other is his older adoptive brother.]] As for the second example, [[spoiler:Oz]] finds out ''he's'' the [[spoiler:B-Rabbit, not Alice.]]
** [[spoiler:Jack Vessalius]] is a lovely, charismatic man dubbed and worshiped for being the [[spoiler:hero of the Tragedy of Sablier.]] [[spoiler:Except that he's actually the one who caused the Tragedy in the first place, and he's a manipulative sociopath trying to drag the entire world into the Abyss.]] This particular reveal made the fandom go ''berserk.''
* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': Zigzagged all over the place. Earthworm captures [[spoiler:Izaya Orihara]] and keeps his head under a bag. For the entire episode/volume, he does not speak even as she tries to question him. The whole time, we are lead to believe that it is [[spoiler:Izaya]] who's been captured as the captive is wearing his clothes. However, when Shijima and Heaven's Slave go to negotiate with Amphisbaena, both he and Earthworm get a call from someone using a voice modifier. Said person tells them he is [[spoiler:Izaya Orihara]] and begins to allude to the idea that the leaders' [[spoiler:shared boss (neither of them know they have the same boss), who they both use as a puppet leader, is actually the captive]]. Both start to panic and the audience is then under the impression that [[spoiler:it isn't Izaya who has been captured]]. Once the person on the other end starts making references to physical characteristics of [[spoiler:the boss]], Shijima, afraid he'll be found out by his gang, tries to stab the captive, only for the captive, who should've been bound to use his knife to cut open the bag. Finally, it is revealed that [[spoiler:it really was Izaya who had been captured, and that he had orchestrated the entire thing as his own group busts in]]. ''Then'', we find out the boss is actually [[spoiler:Nakura, Izaya's old classmate who started both gangs, however has been under Izaya's thumb since grade school]].
** Also, in the first season, there is a girl walking around with what appears to be Celty's head attached to her. Seiji, who was obsessed with the head before it had a body dates the girl after his classmate, Mika, broke into his home while stalking him and was apparently murdered by Seiji after seeing the head. Afterwards, Anri meets the girl that looks like Celty as she mistakes her for Mika, but then runs away after realizing it wasn't. Mikado is put under the impression that Seiji killed Mika and had Namie attach Celty's head to her corpse. When Celty talks to Shinra, he gives her a similar story and says that the head may have tried to find a body. When Celty finally goes to meet with the girl to confirm whether or not it is her head, the girl merely says [[spoiler:'Celty', which causes Celty to think it is her head]]. However, when Seiji angrily tries to stab Mikado, Celty intervenes and attempts to slice him with her scythe but is stopped when the girl runs out in front to save him. She then [[spoiler:confesses that she is Mika Harima and the night Seiji tried to kill her, Namie convinced her to have Shinra do plastic surgery on her face to look like the head so Seiji would love her. She escaped after Namie wanted her to get surgery and do drugs to alter her memories, and had been lying to Seiji ever since]].
** Things get a little hectic with Saika, as for some reason, someone has been going around slashing people. Previously, there had been slasher attacks, but they abruptly stopped. One night, a girl named, Haruna Niekawa, in love with the teacher, Takashi Nasujima, pays Anri a visit. She reveals herself [[spoiler:as a Saika wielder who has gained control of the blade]]. She tries attacking Anri and eventually [[spoiler:summons a horde of Saika zombies to deal with her]]. However, Anri escapes the ordeal unharmed. Later, Anri confronts her and [[spoiler:shows Haruna she has the original Saika and uses it to cut her and stop the slasher attacks]]. It is also revealed that [[spoiler:Anri's mother was the original slasher and the attacks stopped because she used the blade to save Anri by killing her self and her husband. Anri then took the blade and kept it at bay as she was unable to love anyone]]. It is ''then'' revealed that [[spoiler:the reason her mother, Sayaka, obtained it in the first place was because Kasane Kujiragi, who had the blade, had broken into two and then sold one of the swords to Shingen who then sold it to Anri's parents. Later, Kasane makes a deal with Shinra, but it isn't shown until later when he uses the sword, which he had been loaned to sever Celty's head]].
** A much more coherent example. When Izaya is in the hospital after [[spoiler:being stabbed]], the event is broadcasted in the news, telling anyone watching his current condition and where he is. He then spends the entire day wondering who will come to kill him. However, the Awakusu leader, Mikiya, whose daughter had been manipulated by Izaya, completely misses the story. Shizuo doesn’t see it either as he had been working while it was on, and even Shinra doesn't notice and later doesn’t even care. Izaya stays awake all night waiting for someone to attack him until finally, at around three AM, someone enters his room. Izaya gets excited, wanting to see which one of his enemies has come to kill him and watches as... a girl he doesn't remember walks in. She then goes on about how Izaya ruined her life and how she has spent a year preparing to kill him and finally tells him about [[spoiler:how Izaya had invited her to kill herself with him and then mocked her desire to die and drugged her]].
** In the beginning of the series, it is unknown who the boss of the Dollars is. Kyohei speculates that it's Izaya, however it is actually revealed to be [[spoiler:Mikado]].
** In the final arc, Izaya spends most of his time waiting around, preparing for something. Celty asks Namie, who refuses to divulge what Izaya is planning and not even Mika knows. Izaya is seen playing with tarot cards and picks a few to represent the 'non-humans', who he says should sit 'it' out and burns them. He heads out and tells Mikage to come with him so she can fight an unspecified opponent who, supposedly should prove challenging. Izaya then goes to a building under construction where he surveys the situation before [[spoiler:having the equipment fall onto Shizuo and Vorona]]. He calls Shizuo who comes up the building after him to kill Izaya and has more equipment rain down on him, as well as lights the floor on fire. Finally, Shizuo is shown on his knees, gasping as Izaya reveals his [[spoiler:real plan was to use carbon dioxide to suffocate Shizuo and finally blow it up]]. However, [[spoiler:Celty interferes and Izaya is beaten by Shizuo and shot by Vorona. His fate is unknown until the very end, where it's revealed that he is still alive, but may not be for very long]].
*** In the light novels, it is confirmed he survived.
* ''LightNovel/HensukiAreYouWillingToFallInLoveWithAPervertAsLongAsShesACutie'': The end of Volume 3 reveals Mizuha is Cinderella and is not blood-related to Keiki. While this revelation ends the mystery of searching for the sender of the love letter, it doesn't end Keiki's search for a girlfriend, since he later discovers that Mizuha is just as perverted as the rest of his UnwantedHarem.

** This is even done with certain characters' [[spoiler:races. Among humans alone, [[BizarreHumanBiology they can be over 8 feet tall (and beyond, although not as huge as giants) and some are even born with horns]]. Initially, viewers assume which race characters are from and think nothing of it. Eventually, the narrative reveals their lineage through different means, such as demonstrating the distinctive traits of their respective races or a simple conversation:]]

*** Sanjuan Wolf [[spoiler:is currently the largest character in ''One Piece''. He's so damn huge that he was nearly the same size as [[BigFancyCastle Marine HQ]] at Marineford. Because he was always seen submerged in water, fans thought he might have been a gigantic fish-man or a merman. An official [[AllInTheManual databook]] reveals he does have legs and is a giant. Not only that, Wolf ate a Devil Fruit that can [[{{Sizeshifter}} make him grow even larger]]! This growth ability allows him to casually walk around ''on the ocean floor''!]]
*** Wadatsumi [[spoiler:looks like a huge hairy giant. He was originally referred to as an umibōzu, a type of giant {{Youkai}}. Not only did Usopp think he was one, Wadatsumi's own crewmates just happen to jokingly call him that too. Eventually, he was revealed to be a tiger puffer fish-man. By always drawing him with his fists clinched or fingers together, Oda was careful not to show the webbing between his fingers, which is a species-wide trait of the fish-men. Also, while fish-men [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation came in all sorts of colors]], Wadatsumi stood out with a more human-like skin tone that nearly no other member of his race has. Lastly, his enormous size is very unique among his race, as they're usually taller than humans on average, but Wadatsumi not only dwarfs the regular giants, he even dwarfs the ancient giants, such as Oars and Little Oars Jr.! The only other character larger than him is the aforementioned Wolf with his growth ability.]]

*** Dellinger [[spoiler:has horns like a few other humans. Not a big deal, right? Well, they're the result of him being the son of a fighting fish fish-man. Fish-men have always been based on real world marine life. However, the fighting fish seen in ''One Piece'' are a fictional species consisting of huge, crazed-looking fish with bull-like horns. There was no reason to think Oda would've created a fish-man based on a fictional species. In addition, Dellinger's other parent was a human, so he's a HalfHumanHybrid. He also ''doesn't'' have webbing between his fingers, unlike full-blooded fish-men. Lastly, he usually has human teeth, but grows out much sharper ones when he's in BloodKnight mode.]]

* In ''Anime/KirbyOfTheStars'', there's a relatively minor one, compared to what's going on all around, but a reveal nonetheless. For 99% of the series, the Holy Nightmare Salesmen always appeared on the big screens in King Dedede's palace from the waist up. When Dedede and Escargo(o)n meet the Salesman face to face in Nightmare's fortress, there's the awful truth- All that's at the bottom are just kirby-like feet, no legs, nothing else.

* ''LightNovel/KawaikerebaHentaiDemoSukiNiNatteKuremasuka'': The end of Volume 3 reveals Mizuha is Cinderella and is not blood-related to Keiki. While this revelation ends the mystery of searching for the sender of the love letter, it doesn't end Keiki's search for a girlfriend, since he later discovers that Mizuha is just as perverted as the rest of his UnwantedHarem.

*** In the light novels, it is confirmed he survived.

** A much more coherent example. When Izaya is in the hospital after [[spoiler:being stabbed]], the event is broadcasted in the news, telling anyone watching his current condition and where he is. He then spends the entire day wondering who will come to kill him. However, the Awakusu leader, Mikiya, whose daughter had been manipulated by Izaya, completely misses the story. Shizuo doesn’t see it either as he had been working while it was on, and even Shinra doesn't notice and later doesn’t even care. Izaya stays awake all night waiting for someone to attack him until finally, at around three AM, someone enters his room. Izaya gets excited, wanting to see which one of his enemies has come to kill him and watches as... a girl he doesn't remember walks in. She then goes on about how Izaya ruined her life and how she has spent a year preparing to kill him and finally tells him about [[spoiler:how Izaya had invited her to kill herself with him and then mocked her desire to die and drugged her]].

* Also, in the first season, there is a girl walking around with what appears to be Celty's head attached to her. Seiji, who was obsessed with the head before it had a body dates the girl after his classmate, Mika, broke into his home while stalking him and was apparently murdered by Seiji after seeing the head. Afterwards, Anri meets the girl that looks like Celty as she mistakes her for Mika, but then runs away after realizing it wasn't. Mikado is put under the impression that Seiji killed Mika and had Namie attach Celty's head to her corpse. When Celty talks to Shinra, he gives her a similar story and says that the head may have tried to find a body. When Celty finally goes to meet with the girl to confirm whether or not it is her head, the girl merely says [[spoiler:'Celty', which causes Celty to think it is her head]]. However, when Seiji angrily tries to stab Mikado, Celty intervenes and attempts to slice him with her scythe but is stopped when the girl runs out in front to save him. She then [[spoiler:confesses that she is Mika Harima and the night Seiji tried to kill her, Namie convinced her to have Shinra do plastic surgery on her face to look like the head so Seiji would love her. She escaped after Namie wanted her to get surgery and do drugs to alter her memories, and had been lying to Seiji ever since]].
* Things get a little hectic with Saika, as for some reason, someone has been going around slashing people. Previously, there had been slasher attacks, but they abruptly stopped. One night, a girl named, Haruna Niekawa, in love with the teacher, Takashi Nasujima, pays Anri a visit. She reveals herself [[spoiler:as a Saika wielder who has gained control of the blade]]. She tries attacking Anri and eventually [[spoiler:summons a horde of Saika zombies to deal with her]]. However, Anri escapes the ordeal unharmed. Later, Anri confronts her and [[spoiler:shows Haruna she has the original Saika and uses it to cut her and stop the slasher attacks]]. It is also revealed that [[spoiler:Anri's mother was the original slasher and the attacks stopped because she used the blade to save Anri by killing her self and her husband. Anri then took the blade and kept it at bay as she was unable to love anyone]]. It is ''then'' revealed that [[spoiler:the reason her mother, Sayaka, obtained it in the first place was because Kasane Kujiragi, who had the blade, had broken into two and then sold one of the swords to Shingen who then sold it to Anri's parents. Later, Kasane makes a deal with Shinra, but it isn't shown until later when he uses the sword, which he had been loaned to sever Celty's head]].

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