Many anime heroes are adored by audiences for their ability to overcome massive adversity and personal flaws from the beginning of the story until its conclusion. Through courage and the friends they’ve made along the way, they fearlessly pressed forward to save the day without succumbing to despair.
However, there are more than a few characters who suffer from unique (and sometimes, oddly specific) challenges. By identifying the most bizarre weaknesses that anime heroes suffer from, we can better understand the conditions holding them back and appreciate the ways they have succeeded in their trials.
10 Luffy’s Devil Fruit Makes Him Vulnerable To Drowning (One Piece)
As a devil fruit user, Luffy is unable to swim or use his powers in the water. Considering that this curse is well known across the One Piece universe, his adversaries are provided a weakness that they can exploit.
An example comes from his battle against Arlong, where the villainous Fish-Man ripped up the concrete floor and threw him into the ocean with it still attached to his feet. Because Luffy couldn’t access his Gum-Gum abilities underwater, he was too weak to save himself.
9 Escanor Is Weak To Darkness (Seven Deadly Sins)
Escanor’s Grace grants him strength proportionate to the current time of day. At noon, he becomes the strongest human in existence, capable of evaporating entire lakes and even defeating an enhanced Meliodas.
However, when the spell’s power is disabled at night, he is a sniveling and indecisive man even weaker than Hawk. The only way he can defend himself in this state is if he harnesses the sunlight stored in his divine ax, Rhitta. Nonetheless, it only affords him a limited supply of strength nowhere near the capacity of his usual form.
8 Arthur Becomes Weakened When He Doesn’t Feel Knightly (Fire Force)
Arthur struggled through a traumatic childhood of poverty and abandonment. The only way he got by was by imagining that things were much better than they really were.
He became addicted to this fantasy, carrying it into his service of Company Eight. Although he is capable of defeating some of the White-Clad’s strongest members, he completely breaks down and becomes demoralized if he doesn’t “feel knightly.” This almost cost Vulcan his life during Giovanni’s assault on his hideout and would have deprived the heroes of Tokyo’s finest engineer.
7 Shikamaru’s Shadow Possession Is Limited Based On His Surroundings (Naruto)
Shikamaru is one of the most situationally useful shinobi of the Naruto universe. Although the shadow possession allows him to entangle powerful adversaries of the Leaf, it is highly conditional based on his ability to establish a physical link to his target.
If it’s currently nighttime – or if the terrain is uneven, like it was in his battle with Tayuya – it will be extremely difficult for Shikamaru to use his jutsu properly. These conditions force him to employ his tactical mind in order to subdue threats and protect his friends.
6 Kurapika’s Nen Condition Only Works On Members Of The Phantom Troupe (Hunter X Hunter)
Kurapika’s “Emperor Time” is one of the most potent Nen abilities of the series. It allows him to access all branches of Nen and use them simultaneously, providing a versatile number of options in defeating his enemies.
However, it has a rigid condition that must be followed in order to work. If Kurapika uses his skills against anyone aside from Phantom Troupe members, he will die. In this regard, the young man’s drive for revenge leaves him vulnerable to most of the series’ other villains.
5 Mine Is Fairly Weak When She Isn’t In Danger (Akame Ga Kill!)
Mine was Night Raid’s sniper and one of its most experienced members. Her Imperial Arms allowed her to tear through even the most resilient adversaries, as proven through her victory over Seryu Ubiquitous.
However, her rifle is only as powerful as the danger she believes herself to be in. Therefore, if she’s properly concealed and takes opponents by surprise (as a proper marksman should), her capacity for damage is limited. The only way to optimize Mine’s offense was to put her life at risk, forcing her into a situation that got her killed.
4 Ryuko Is Only Weak Against Scissor-Like Weapons (Kill La Kill)
As a half-human half-life-fiber hybrid, Ryuko’s anatomy is distinctly unique. She was durable enough to survive having her heart gouged from her chest by Ragyo, much to everyone’s surprise.
The only way to cause serious damage against her is to apply cutting pressure against both angles of her body simultaneously like the blades of scissors. As a result, Ryuko’s weakness is well defined albeit extremely implausible to encounter in most combat scenarios.
3 Miroku Suffers Serious Harm If His Wind Tunnel Vacuums Poisonous Bees (Inuyasha)
Although Miroku’s wind tunnel was initially a curse given to him by Naraku, it quickly became one of the strongest weapons in the heroes’ arsenal. To counteract this, Naraku created a special type of poisonous bee that would infect the monk and widen the rift in his palm if suctioned inside.
Consequently, Miroku was forced to use his power intelligently since it put him at significant risk. The bees proved to be the only monsters capable of stopping the wind tunnel’s potent vacuum, succeeding where even Inuyasha himself could not.
2 Tokoyami Can’t Control His Own Quirk Without A Sufficient Amount Of Light (My Hero Academia)
While Dark Shadow remains one of the strongest quirks in Class 1-A’s arsenal, it has a serious stipulation that can turn it into a possible detriment. In the absence of any light or heat, it can dominate its user and become a threat to everything in the immediate area.
This portended disaster for heroes and villains alike during the League’s attack on the forest camp, where Tokoyami went berserk and defeated Moonfish with a single deadly blow.
1 Jonathan Joestar’s Hamon Doesn’t Work If He Can’t Breathe (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Jonathan Joestar’s Hamon can only be channeled while he is in control of his breathing. If it is compromised by extremely cold temperatures like freezing (proven through his fight against Dio) or being pulled underwater (as seen in his battle against Bruford), he is unable to use it.
It also means that his chest and neck are his most prominent weaknesses. When Dio exploited his vulnerabilities on the cruise ship, Jonathan could no longer protect himself from his treachery.
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