Manga with really unexpected plot twists.

cotyy

cotyy

Well-Known Member
I have to write a story for class, so I want some inspo for plot twists. I want to feel like "Holy shit how did not see this coming" if that makes sense lol.
 
Hmm. Well, you could make it that someone dies due to the main character being confused into killing them by their lover whose really not? Or maybe there's some kind of weird catch that the MC has to do something in a limited amount of time but then turns out they're the one who originally caused it to turn out that way? I like making plot twists, they're super fun. :D
 
Hmm maybe you could write something about a really close childhood friend who blackmails/betrays the main character
 
Easiest way to twist a story around is to subvert expectations. A couple off the top of my head that do this well:
Bokurano: Ours - Even though it is clear that this isn't going to be a light-hearted mecha story, it still punches you in the gut.
As the kids are celebrating their first successful battle, in the background Waku just silently drops off the top of the robot. It's chilling stuff.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica - Mami vs. Charlotte.
Magical girls aren't supposed to die! Especially in such a horrible way.

Akumetsu - The main plot of "plucky vigilante wrecks corrupt bureaucrats" and learning about Japanese politics is fun and all, but it obscures a big question: Who the hell is Akumetsu anyway?
Wrong question. More like, how MANY Akumetsus are there? Turns out, the origin story is sci-fi and clones all the way down.

Another good way of surprising your reader is to change the perspective from one character to another. Hibari no Asa does this pretty well:
The first volume or so is spent on people talking or thinking about Hibari. They see her as a threat, or sexually attractive, or lovable depending on their gender.
Then it shifts to Hibari's perspective to see that she blames herself for all the unwarranted sexual advances, harassment and bullying that she faces. On top of that, she feels incredibly alone in a hostile world, and finds it difficult to reconcile with the sexual abuse she's faced at the hands of her father. She contemplates suicide so that she doesn't have to face anyone anymore.

There's also School-Live!, which uses a perspective change for both subversion and world building early on.
The majority of the first chapter seems like a sweet story about cute girls doing cute things. Until it switches out of Yuki's perspective to show that the world has been devastated by zombies, and you realise this poor girl has been so heavily traumatized by it all that her brain is actively blocking out anything bad.

Alternatively, you can always resort to a Delusion Conclusion (it was all a dream/hallucination/psychotic episode). It'll piss your teacher off though - and for good reason, because they completely undermine everything that came before it. Example:
Juror 13. Everything the protagonist experiences from a certain point is inside his head. He's hooked up to a machine that is basically using him as a big ol' simulator for the court to examine the case with. Probably the most realistic part is they give him no hazard pay for absolutely destroying his perception of reality.
 
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