One of the issues that writers face when trying to establishing a power system is how strong should your character be. It’s a balancing act. If your main character is too strong they’ll have no challenge. If they’re too weak how can they win? If you want to have a series that’s entertaining you need to carefully consider this balance. Often creators will put some limitation, weakness or even depower characters. It can be clunky or convoluted. Ultimately, the “story breaker” power hinges mostly on the story told and not just the power itself. With the in mind, what are the top 5 story breaker powers in anime and manga:
I’m leaving Saitama (One Punch Man) out because his powers are suppose to be ridiculously strong.
5. Androids 17 and 18 have infinite energy (DBZ)
The two cyborgs have “infinite energy reactors” the give them limitless stamina. Furthermore they don’t age normally and can increase their strength through training. Furthermore they don’t use ki, making it impossible to detect them through normal means. The pair often let their opponents tire themselves out before defeating them.
4. Trafalgar Law’s Devil Fruit Ability (One Piece)
Law’s Room ability allows him to “control anything inside the sphere’s he creates.” He can “cut people to bits and rearrange them as he likes with the person still alive, swap around people and objects instantly, cut through whatever he wants including armored Haki and whole mountains, rip out organs, swap souls, and inflict an unhealing wound.” Law’s devil fruit drains his stamina, but it’s often to powerful to counter.
3. All For One (My Hero Academia)
All For One’s Quirk can “take, steal, mix, give, amplify and force others to use their quirks.” It’s suggested that he’s also immortal. While he can be defeated (Only All Might) he survives. All For One has it’s a weakness but they are mostly indirect. If he gives someone a quirk they may not be able to handle the power of becoming a mindless doll. The effectiveness of the quirk depends on the user. He can’t steal One For All, as it “can only be passed on if the present wielder wills it.”
2. Yhwach the Almighty (Bleach)
The King of the Quincies, Yhwach possesses “all Quincy powers, as well as the ability to give people power by lending them pieces of his soul.” He can “call back the soul shards at will, depriving the recipient of their power and life, to increase his strength.” He is able to steal the ” life and power from both Quincies and their enemies.” This power also allows him to choose who lives and dies. He also has a “Schrift ability,” the Almighty. This ability allows him “to change the entire future.” He can see and alter ALL possible futures. It should be noted that Beach has a number of broken characters and it takes three of them to kill Yhwach (Ichigo, Aizen, and Uryuu).
1. Madara (Naruto)
With his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he can all the “convenient abilities in the series.” Then he gets the Rinnegan, which is considered “the most exalted eye among the “Three Great Dōjutsu.” The Rinnegan contains “extraordinarily powerful chakra and boasts enormous ocular power.” Those in possession of the Rinnegan “allows one to easily master any Jutsu as well as all five basic nature transformations.”
Furthermore, they can “wields the Rinnegan can utilize six abilities collectively known as the Six Paths Technique: controlling attractive and repulsive forces with the Deva Path; mechanically altering one’s body with the Asura Path; extracting souls through the Human Path; summoning various creatures through the Animal Path; absorbing chakra through the Preta Path; and access to the King of Hell through the Naraka Path. A seventh ability, called the Outer Path, is said to allow the user to preside over life and death, granting them the ability to revive the dead. Madara is shown to “summon meteors,” use “Wood Release.” At the time of the great ninja war, he was an immortal zombie with unlimited chakra.
Sources: Narutopedia & TV Tropes
Great post! I really like the inclusion of Androids 17 & 18. Their “infinite energy reactors” are an underrated hax ability. Great #1, as well. If Naruto and Sasuke hadn’t gotten Sage of Six Paths chakra, Madara would’ve steamrolled their planet. My personal #1 is Naruto’s Shadow Clone ability. If the writers took it to it’s fullest extent, that ability would completely shatter the story. Awesome work!
Thank you. I think most people forget that Android 17 & 18 have infinite energy because they’re often written out of the story. Madara was just too broken.
Majin Buu post Z is the most broken character. He’s got infinite stamina, he can survive most anything. He can use magic; healing people of any ailment or turning them into something else. The only real way to beat him is to have a massive strength advantage. The only reason he hasn’t broken everything and made the Tournament of Power trivial is because of how astoundingly incompetent he is.
Thinking about it, a lot of the characters introduced in Super are kind of broken. Jiren’s raw power being able to simply defy logic and Moro’s energy draining power making him an opponent that’s essentially impossible to fight for our heroes.
At this point I think the Dragon Ball series has so many broken characters it’s hard to pick one. I do agree that Majin Buu is the most broken, but his incompetent nerfs him somewhat.