Anime’s Best Powerups That Can’t Be Beat

Anime fans always look forward to when a character, especially their favorite ones, unlocks a new form of power. Hence, if they are characters whose journey you have followed from the very beginning, it makes it more worthwhile.

Power-ups in anime are often the culmination of a character’s growth, loss, desperation, and more often than not, they usually go beyond their limits. Additionally, they serve as emotional checkpoints, and every time I watch a scene where my favorite character gains a power-up, I feel like I’m being reminded of what it means to fight for something with everything you have.

Here are some of the best power-ups in anime.

10

The Eighth Gate

User: Mighty Guy

Naruto: Shippuden

Release Date

2007 – 2017

Network

Adult Swim

Directors

Hayato Date, Masaaki Kumagai, Yasuaki Kurotsu, Osamu Kobayashi, Chiaki Kon

In Naruto, there are eight chakra gates within the human body, and each acts like a sort of limiter to regulate how much chakra and power a shinobi can access. Hence, when Might Guy opened each one in his fight against Madara, he pushed himself further and further beyond his limits.

Guy believed in the power of effort, and at that moment, he proved that hard work can rival talent. Even Kakashi was intrigued by this form, and Madara commended Mighty Guy for being one of the greatest shinobi he has ever fought.

Also, Guy reminded me that even if you are not born special, you can become something incredible.

9

Demon Slayer Mark

User: The Demon Slayers

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

Release Date

April 3, 2019

Network

Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV, Kansai TV, Tokai Television Broadcasting, Fukui TV, Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting, Iwate Menkoi Television, Sendai Television, SAGA TV, TNC, OHK, Ishikawa TV, Kochi Sun Sun Broadcasting, TV Shizuoka, UMK TV Miyazaki, Television Shin Hiroshima System, NST, NBS, Sakuranbo TV, TSK, Ehime Broadcasting, KTS, NIB, Fukushima TV, TOS, AKT, Toyama Television, TV Kumamoto, Okinawa Television Broadcasting

Directors

Hideki Hosokawa, Shinya Shimomura, Akihiko Uda, Takuro Takahashi, Shuji Miyahara, Masaru Takeuchi, Toshiyuki Shirai, Takuya Nonaka, Yuki Ito, Ken Takahashi, Takahiro Majima, Yusuke Shibata

The Demon Slayer Mark only gets activated under extreme physical and emotional conditions. According to Giyu Tomioka, the heart rate has to spike to over 200 BPM and the body temperature climbs abnormally high.

The moment the mark appears, the user’s strength increases dramatically, becoming fast enough to dodge and counter demons, having great endurance, and breathing becomes more than a technique. However, the catch to this manifestation of power is that the person with the mark will not live past the age of 25.

The mark does not appear just because you want it; it appears when the body is pushed beyond the limits. It is like trading a shot at greatness for a short life, and the demon slayers knew the cost, but they accepted it.

8

Black Asta

User: Asta

In Black Clover, Asta’s Black Asta form is a partial devil union where Asta draws power from Liebe’s anti-magic power. Asta can use his own anti-magic abilities in this form and still use his devil companion’s power.

In this vein, Asta has increased speed, strength, and can repel or nullify any magic used against him. Initially, Asta could not control the form, but he later gained more control and even learned how to channel the energy.

Asta cooperated with his inner darkness not for selfish gain, but to protect others.

7

Bankai

Users: The Strongest Soul Reapers

Bleach

Release Date

2004 – 2023-00-00

Network

TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC, BS TV Tokyo

Showrunner

Tite Kubo

For any Soul Reaper to be able to use Bankai, it takes years, sometimes decades, of training and a connection with your Zanpakuto spirit. To even begin to unlock it, the reaper has to manifest the Zanpakuto in the real world and defeat it in combat.

While Bankai is a powerful power-up, its form and effectiveness are different for each user. Hence, it is far-fetched to compare Shuhei Hisagi’s Bankai to Kenpachi Kuruyashiki’s own because the abilities and techniques that come with them are quite different.

The path to achieving Bankai is filled with pain, sacrifice, or even death. For me, the word “Bankai” always sends shivers down my spine because it is a declaration that the real fight is about to begin.

6

Full Cowling

User: Deku

Full Cowling is a controlled form of One For All power that Deku developed. Instead of dumping One For All’s overwhelming power into a single limb, which breaks every time, Full Cowl allows Deku to spread that power evenly throughout his body, thus balancing the power.

When Deku activates the Full Cowling power, it enhances his speed, reflexes, and strength, and it also helps to minimize damage to his body. While Full Cowl is more about control, Deku mastered and wielded it responsibly, and he used it against the likes of Shigaraki and Overhaul.

5

The Founding Titan

User: Eren Jaeger

The Founding Titan is the original and most powerful of the Nine Titans, possessing the ability to reshape the world. It can manipulate memories, rewrite history, command titans, and start an apocalyptic nightmare called the Rumbling.

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Eren used the full power of the Founding Titan in a desperate attempt to protect his people and break the cycle of hatred. The Founding Titan Power has godlike abilities, and in Eren’s hands, it did not just liberate the Eldians; it was used as a weapon of genocide.

Even with the Founding Titan’s skeletal and helpless form, it had other titans wired around it for protection. The power-up wiped off 80% of humanity, as it was Eren’s way of making the world feel Eldian people’s pain in the most irreversible way possible.

4

Limitation Transformation

User: Gon Freecss

Genre

Action, Adventure

Number of Seasons

6

Gon’s greatest power in the series came from the rage and pain of Kite’s death. He made a vow to give up everything, even his own future potential, for a shot at avenging his friend.

The Limitation Transformation ability bypassed the slow progression of Gon’s abilities and forced his body to grow into what he might have become at the peak of his life. This transformation was Hon’s last hope to defeat Neferipitou, but it came at a cost that affected his power.

The aftermath of this transformation prevented Gon from manipulating his Nen, but he could still use it. Even though Gon was able to defeat Neferipitou, it came at an irreversible cost.

3

Gear 5

User: Monkey D. Luffy

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

• 

  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

• 

  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)

• 

  Akemi Okamura

  Nami (voice)

• 

For over 1000 episodes, we were led to believe Luffy had the Gomu Gomu no Mi, a simple Paramecia-type fruit that made his body rubbery. However, Eiichiro Oda threw the entire fanbase off balance when he revealed that the Straw Hat captain ate a mythical fruit, the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika.

Gear 5 is the awakened state of Luffy’s devil fruit, and he awakened it in Wano in a fight against Kaido. This awakening gave him freedom like no other, and his body is limited only by his imagination.

He can bend physics, turn the environment into rubber, distort his own form to absurd levels, and even pull off feats like grabbing lightning or light like he did against Kizaru. Even till now, I believe we have not seen the array of tricks and power Gear 5 has to offer.

2

Sage of the Six Paths Mode

User: Naruto

Naruto: Shippuden

Release Date

2007 – 2017

Network

Adult Swim

Directors

Hayato Date, Masaaki Kumagai, Yasuaki Kurotsu, Osamu Kobayashi, Chiaki Kon

This mode was gifted to Naruto by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of the Six Paths, during the Fourth Great Ninja War. As the child of prophecy, this mode feels natural to Naruto, like he was meant to possess the power.

In this form, Naruto gains access to incredible abilities like truth-seeking orbs, great sensory, and immense chakra. Also, when he uses this mode with his nine-tails chakra mode, he pushes his abilities further so that he can even heal and levitate.

This mode means everything to Naruto, as it represents acceptance of his past burden and his role as a peacemaker in the ninja world. The Six Paths Mode is one of the rare power-ups that feels emotional because I knew all Naruto went through to get to that point.

1

Super Saiyan Mode

User: Goku

Dragon Ball

Release Date

1986 – 1989

Directors

Minoru Okazaki, Daisuke Nishio

Writers

Akira Toriyama

Goku transformed into the Super Saiyan mode on Planet Namek in a fight against Frieza. The unbearable pain of watching Krillin die at the hands of Frieza pulled him into this mode.

The Super Saiyan transformation is unique to the Saiyan race, and the power-up does not come from training or effort but from an emotional threshold. In the fight against Frieza, the transformation boosted Goku’s strength, speed, and agility to unimaginable levels.

Goku’s hair always turns gold in this mode, and he has an aura that makes him look infinite and legendary.

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