Intense power ups and training are common in anime, mainly to showcase how a protagonist grows and succeeds in different hardships! But with strength also comes weakness – here are some of the most popular weaknesses that mess up an anime character’s life!
Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
Potentially the king of the pirates and one of the most memorable characters for the past decade (it’s been more than that since the manga was first released!), Luffy’s story is one amazing ride that continues even today! His growth as a protagonist shows just how deserving he is to lead all sorts of characters in the story.
Unfortunately (and ironically, considering he wants to be the Pirate King), Luffy’s consumption of a Gum-Gum fruit did let him gain some amazing powers (his rubber-like body texture) at a cost – anyone who ate these magical fruits will lose their ability to swim! Still, it’s quite interesting how Luffy sidesteps this weakness, showing how creative and innovative he is!
Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)
As one of the strongest characters in the Fairy Tail world, Natsu has tons of moves on how to take down all sorts of foes. His dragonfire is a whole new level of magic to behold, with this wizard essentially coming up with new ways to always defeat his enemies.
Lo and behold, his weakness is actually really funny – he has wicked motion sickness! Natsu just can’t seem to keep his composure if he’s in a vehicle! Whether it be on a boat or simply a car, this really strong wizard will more often than end up throwing up! It’s comic relief, actually, but it’s a rather sad fate considering this dragon warrior’s weakness is riding on all sorts of vehicles!
Escanor (Seven Deadly Sins)
Known as the strongest among the Seven Deadly Sins, Escanor’s weakness sadly rears its ugly head at night! His power, dubbed as Sunshine, allows him to be massively strong throughout the day. But come night, both his strength and personality ends up submissive, a real painful blow especially going up against foes in the dark!
Although it can be argued that Escanor simply needs to beat enemies during the day (he is that strong, blowing away demons and armies with his sheer physical strength alone), this bizarre weakness of his can be manipulated by smarter enemies!
Ranma (Ranma 1/2)
As the happy-go-lucky kung fu master of this iconic 90’s anime, Ranma definitely has all the moves to beat up his foes! From his inherent physical prowess (which levels up in his female form) to the quick and smart way to make use of all sorts of fighting styles, Ranma can truly be a fighting master! Except, he has this really quirky weakness – he’s afraid of cats!
Considered as trauma from learning the Nekoken (Cat Fist, which surprisingly, isn’t a real or effective fighting art in this universe), Ranma ended up with a troubling phobia of anything to do with cats. As such, when exposed to these felines, this once brave martial artist ends up paralyzed in fear!
Considered as a wild card sorcerer, Toge’s cursed speech technique may probably be one of the strongest moves in this universe! By simply speaking out commands, he can turn the tides of any battle, by either immobilizing his demons or simply tearing them apart. This massive power does have a catch – the more demanding the command he dishes out, or if his target ends up more powerful than him, then the cursed command may backfire on him instead!
Also, another limitation that the cursed speech technique has on him is that Toge has limited vocabulary. This is because he’d need to prevent any accidents from happening when speaking out his thoughts – as such, he can only interact by speaking out rice ball ingredient words, such as salmon and kelp!
As the Hokage’s chief aide in the latest arcs (primarily, Boruto), Shikamaru is a highly respected shinobi. With a deep and keen intellect (being able to create strategies that can beat all sorts of enemies) and a smart way of using his clan’s abilities and techniques, Shikamaru is truly someone to fear when going up against in any battle. It can be funny though that his main weakness (if it can be considered as such) are strong women!
Take it as a hereditary trait (his mother himself can be considered as having a strong personality!), Shikamaru may be intimidating – but one word from his wife, the beautiful and powerful Temari, and he’ll cower in fear! Comic relief, maybe, but this weakness also shows a nice side of this awesome character’s personality in this iconic anime!
As the Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang’s fighting and leadership abilities are known far and wide in the FMA universe. Coming off as having an arrogant personality, Mustang is actually a very calculating and smart individual, able to think steps ahead to achieve his goals. His flame alchemy is a wonder to behold, coupled with his custom-made gloves that rub sparks to work in conjunction with his flame transmutation circles.
Although as effective and powerful these may seem, Mustang does have a rather bad weakness – he can’t use his alchemy efficiently in rainy situations! Although he’s smart enough to still make use of flame alchemy through the use of combustible fuel, his maximum output can never be achieved just because of some rain!
As one of the highest-ranking heroes in the One Punch Man world (A-Class Rank 1!) Sweet Mask doesn’t only have the means to beat up monsters with his powerful physical fighting skill, he is also dazzlingly handsome (he’s a model!). And in that sense, his narcissistic side is his major weakness – “ugly” beings make him lose composure, efficiently making him detrimental on the hero side! A pity, considering his potential as possibly surpassing S-Class heroes!
Overcome Your Weakness!
No matter what the weakness is, anime does help you identify your trouble areas! And in doing so, can help you overcome any challenges that may come your way! We hope that the characters listed above will not only give you a laugh when it comes to their weaknesses, but serve as inspiration in overcoming whatever problems you are facing. Joy to anime!
Related: Other Shonen (Manga & Anime) Topic Random Anime Stuff: Cream of the Crop Anime LGBT+ Characters!
