Protagonist betraying his friends

[0cean]

I'm searching for anime where the protagonist switches sides or betrays/kills his friends - permanently. Emphasis on permanently. And the anime shouldn't end pretty much after the betrayal, either. (Like in Sunabouzu, for example.) That's when things are going to get interesting, after all! It's also important that the story is told from the perspective of the traitor.

[Haak]

I think you'll love Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Granted its only a prequel to the main storyline but it's a phenomenal story in its own right. I highly recommend it. You don't need to have watched the main story to understand what's going on though certain minor scenes may appear to lack relevancy and you may find it weird why a 68 year old is voicing a teenager.

[0cean]

Will do. It's on my to watch list anyway, but it's still ongoing, so I'll wait for the last episode to be released next week.

Any other suggestions?

[cyberdemon]

Death Note

[0cean]

It's similar, but not what I'm looking for. Light never switched sides, he only deceived/infiltrated the opposing team. He also never openly betrayed anyone, just worked from the shadows against them.

[Jan-Poo]

Originally Posted by 0cean

I'm searching for anime where the protagonist switches sides or betrays/kills his friends - permanently. Emphasis on permanently. And the anime shouldn't end pretty much after the betrayal, either. (Like in Sunabouzu, for example.) That's when things are going to get interesting, after all! It's also important that the story is told from the perspective of the traitor.

Whenever that happens it's usually a huge plot twist, simply telling you in which anime that happens is already spoiling you the surprise.

If you don't mind:

Spoiler for Protagonist switches side:

Shakugan no Shana.
Protagonist becomes the leader of the enemy faction, it lasts for the whole season until the very end.

Spoiler for Protagonist kills his friends:

Higurashi no naku koro ni.
The very first arc. Unfortunately the adaption is quite rushed so it's only a few episodes. Most other arcs are focused on other MC doing pretty much the same thing, you might consider those valid since they become the protagonist of their own arc.

[0cean]

In which season of the first anime you mentioned does this happen? I remember watching the first and don't think something like that happened, though, it's been over ten years since I watched it and all I remember was, that it was the worst anime ever, so I never picked up any of the following seasons. Might have to reconsider that.

The other one I also already know. It's awesome, but not exactly what I'm looking for. The betraying parts happen more or less due to mental derangement, not because of what the characters really want.

[Jan-Poo]

Originally Posted by 0cean

In which season of the first anime you mentioned does this happen?

It's the very last season.

[0cean]

Any other suggestions on this topic?

[pervypig]

Owari no Seraph - Guren (okay, he's the protag from the LN not the anime, but that counts, cos the series is continuous right?)

[Mad Pierrot]

Kogami from Psycho-Pass doesn't hurt his friends but he leaves them because the status quo doesn't allow him to kill the biggest villain in the series in his current position.

[0cean]

Meanwhile I found the novel Reverend Insanity, where this is kind of expected behavior from the protagonist, so there's no impact. Any new anime from the past two years where this happens? Or maybe someone can now think of an older anime that fits the bill?

[wuhugm]

Kannazuki no Miko

[Tenzen12]

Alderamin and Rokka no Yuusha come to mind.

[cyberdemon]

Koibito wo netorare. He was betrayed first but ended up hunting them down. Fun read but I guess it is not an anime

[0cean]

I'm looking for a story following the one who did the betraying as the main protagonist, not the one who was betrayed.

[Mad Pierrot]

Believe it or not Judai Yuki/Jaden Yuki actually does it in the third season of Yugioh GX. At first we are supposed to believe Yuki was possessed by some sort of evil entity but instead it is Jaden himself trying to escape from reality in the form of a king.

[0cean]

But does he get away with it or is the power of friendship too strong in the end?

[Mad Pierrot]

They sure blame him but Judai is only obsessed with saving a friend named Johan. He ends up fusing his soul with that of a demon in some sort of redemption. Don't remember why. Because of this, Judai spends the final season trying to isolate himself from his friends.