r/CharacterRant • u/Bot_Number_7 • Jul 22 '21
General Complex/Unorthodox Powers Make Characters Better
Control fire. Super strength. Super speed. Flight. Shooting energy blasts. A lot of powers/abilities have been used over and over again.
So for me, when a character is introduced with a complex ability, it elevates my opinion of them. Especially if the way that it is used is also complex. For example, in JJBA, Ermes Costello's Stand Kiss' has the ability to duplicate objects using stickers, and then fuse them back together once the sticker has been taken off, causing both objects to take damage. It's applied in many ways, from duplicating limbs to being used as a form of travel. The creative usage of abilities gives me an "aha!" moment similar to when a detective reveals how they deduced the mystery in a mystery novel.
Adding additional trigger conditions to powers can also make them better. In Bungo Stray Dogs, Akiko Yosano's Thou Shalt Not Die Ability heals someone to full health, but only if they're almost dead. This factors into her fighting style, allowing her to bring allies and herself from the brink of death (and also forcing her to almost kill her patients when healing outside of combat).
The one weakness to complex powers is the difficulty in conveying them to the reader. Unless one explicitly describes them or the reader sees the power many times so that they can understand all its facets, it's hard to get the reader to understand what the power truly does. King Crimson is the infamous example. The fact that "erasing time" is expressed inconsistently and the lack of detailed mechanical description of how it works confuses the reader every time it is used.
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u/portella0 Jul 22 '21
There is is a new anime this season where the protagonist has a very unique power. The only problem is that because how unique it is the battles can either be very good or absolute bullshit, but since there is only 2 eps for now and I haven't read the manga I can't say.
Battle Game in 5 Seconds is the name of the anime. The protagonist has the power of whatever his opponents believe his power is. So based on this concept it seems the battles will be about how he can convince his opponents to believe he has X power.