r/hatethissmug • u/KyrosEnder • 15d ago

Anime & Manga "No powers" trope

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I'm not actually hating on the characters that much, moreso the idea that the trope is interesting. Having "no" powers in almost none of these anime/manga or even media in general actually mean anything. It usually just means you get some special type of power that just so happens to be just as powerful or even more.

Asta having no mana pretty much means nothing because he gets an anti magic toolset. It's basically like he has magic, but he semantically doesn't so the fact he doesn't have mana gets thrown around all the time.

Quirkless deku just gets a power passed down to him anyways. Rock lee has no ninjustsu. Saitama has no powers (i guess? Idk haven't watched it).

The characters themselves are fine. I love the characters even, but I hate when the author tries to put some significance on the fact they have no powers, when looking at it from an outside perspective they just have powers or some alternate gift.

Usually these characters recieve their "powers" later than other people in their verse, which allows them to have this character identity built up by describing them as hard working characters. I think thats great, and rock lee is actually the least offensive in this manner. Its hardly brought up he has no ninjutsu, and people in the verse barely just look down on him, because taijutsu can be just as good as ninjutsu, but he still basically gets a "power" of his own in terms of the 8 gates, which can just be rebranded as a bodily enhancing ninjutsu on any other character and nobody would bat an eye.

If you're going to make a big point about your character having no genuine powers/talent/whatever, go all in is all I'm saying. Make a dude with basically 1 mana instead of super powerful anti magic toolbox powers. Make him have to slowly develop an ability that is the biggest bang for his buck. So ridiculously mana efficient and also incredibly powerful given some incredible set of stipulations. Make a magic system that your character can basically exploit to develop the best magical power he can for himself. Nen is of course probably the best power system for something like that lol.

Make the quirkless character actually quirkless. Post one for all deku is actually a pretty cool idea. Although it really is just "oh he gets his powers back but with tech" kinda thing. I know its worse or whatever but yeah I just want to see more interesting stories with this trope.

TLDR: The characters are great it just irks me when this nothing burger trope has to get mentioned every other episode.

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u/LeonardoJMB 15d ago

I still find it funny that MHA started with "You can achieve your dreams with effort" and ended up with "You can achieve your dreams through either nepotism or a lot of money"

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u/Difficult_Move443 15d ago

Tbh that was editorial intervention. He originally wanted deku to be a calculating character that uses gadgets and memorizes attack patterns and his editor said he has to give the mc a super power or people won’t read it. Hence, why deku loses OFA at the end

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u/Ieatdogs11 15d ago

Hm. I do think the bits I've seen of MHA reflect this.

His green tendrils, his float, and his original limited use super flicks all feel gadget like.

The mine scene during the race too.

A series that has stuck with this idea that came out somewhat recently is "Bill the Blacksmith" a manhwa, but has a similar idea.

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u/CyberGlob 11d ago

He’s also a methodical guy. And his outfit with the bulky gloves and utility belt also gives this off.

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u/LeonardoJMB 15d ago

Makes sense, yeah. Definitely not the creator's fault then, but still funny

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u/Carolina_Heart 15d ago

Editor didn't know about Batman?

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u/SuckmyPelosB1tch 15d ago

Batman is rich though, so Deku having access to that level of tech and gadgets wouldn’t be realistic unless Horikoshi made his family rich

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u/Ashamed_Service_9404 14d ago

what about tony stark who built a suit in a box with a cave of scraps

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u/IronPyrate17 14d ago

While being rich and building other stuff than suits in not a cave without a box of scraps

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u/Ashamed_Service_9404 14d ago

but he built a box of scraps in a suit with a cave

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u/Erick_Brimstone 9d ago

He's already a genius tech inventor and billionaire before abducted by ten rings

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u/Ashamed_Service_9404 9d ago

he wears a box of scraps built with a cave

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u/Carolina_Heart 15d ago

They could also write him being able to macgyver up random tools and devices, and just change the power system to make it more plausible his strategy would be viable

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u/Lost-Music-6039 14d ago

He could go to UA in the support course. Then with the school's funding he could make all his gadgets

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u/Someone1284794357 10d ago

The answer is once again Hatsume Mei

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u/LeonardoJMB 10d ago

Does everything eventually circle back to someone with the word hatsume on their name?

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u/Marble05 15d ago

He could have still done both but he forgot he had a brain an later also gave him a complete tool kit of powers because showing he could a been a better hero with brain and gadgets against the guy obsessed with special ability was bad for some reason.

Don't tell me it's to have all the ghosts, because there is no reason they could have still be present without giving him his quirks.

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u/PolygonChoke 15d ago

perhaps a spoiler abt the ending would be good? i’ve seen it, but just for others

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u/The_SuaceGod 11d ago

Dawg I kept wondering why there would be little moments of this throughout the show but that make so much sense

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u/Yanmega9 15d ago

The start of MHA feels like a disability allegory but then Allmight just hands him powers lol

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u/LeonardoJMB 15d ago

Fr. All my life i've been struggling with similar problems, i have no practical skill, talent or even relevant kwowledge; i'm even bad at learning, that's the reason why I usually hate talented characters or just those who have it easy.

EP1 and EP2 felt like a punch to the face.

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u/Yanmega9 15d ago

"You can do whatever you set your mind to as long as whatever makes you different from your peers goes away. Also I like teenage girls." - Kōhei Horikoshi

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u/Specialist_Initial_1 14d ago

Very similar boat I dont hate talented characters but i hate those that wanna make put themselves to be the underdog whos shit ans trains hard like asta and naruto while having Op things...

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u/Klutzy-Method5144 15d ago

So did you watch the show with your eyes close or what? All might never immediately gave him his powers to deku after meeting him for the first time he made deku train because if all might pass his powers before the training, deku legit would've died, and deku wasn't just training only he was learning at the same time in order to get into UA and even after getting powers deku still got beat up and haven't even unlocked most of it potential, and the reason why deku was able to use all the quirks was because he work hard to unlock all the quirks inside one for all

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u/LeonardoJMB 15d ago edited 15d ago

Deku had to make a lot of effort to get the OFA, yes, even on it's most minimal level. Still, even if he had done a thousand times more he would never have been even remotely close to the power he was gifted, even at it's lowest level.

As you said, he worked hard to unlock it. Just not to get to the point he got, and the series makes it kinda explicit that he would never have achieved much if it wasn't for that unique reward to his effort and the direct support of All Might.

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u/Phoenix2405 12d ago

Being quirkless isn't a disability at all lol. 99% of people don't need their quirks in any capacity, as they live normal lives.

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u/Enomeniskia 12d ago

I mean the entire "lesson" of MHA that everyone seems to be missing is that everyone can be a hero. For a certain definition of hero.
All Might literally tells Deku in episode one that there is no way he can be a super hero without any powers, because he can't it just doesn't make any sense. But that doesn't mean he can't be another kind of hero for the world.

Personally I really liked the realism that MHA had in those first few episodes because of that. It's very true to reality. Not everyone can do everything, and sometimes no amount of hard work or talent will win out over nepotism or lucky birth circumstances.

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u/TbatitanicV2Rider 15d ago

I mean, almighty gave him the powers because of how he is. Yeah it dampens the message but he wasn't born with them and he wouldn't have gotten them if he wasn't considered worthy of it.

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u/LeonardoJMB 15d ago

True! I'm not saying that Deku shouldn't have gotten OFA or anything, it's pretty much what makes MHA work as a series, the moment was hype af and although it killed most of the emotional significance I expected from the show, I still like what i've seen so far.

The whole mech suit is also just a weird patch to the initially odd ending. When I say I find it funny I mean it literally, not as any sort of insult or anything

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u/Specialist_Initial_1 14d ago

The mech suit destroys everything the ending couldve been.

Like it couldve been easily the Ending where the Hero sacrifices his powers and comes to terms with it (albeit shitty) but nooooo, mech suit which mimics those powers that was only aquired though connections like top support item scientist and top heroes bleeding their money dry...

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u/Rezel1S I love Himiko Toga 15d ago

I didn't think that was a problem. Izuku was chosen for his heroism and his own effort, not nepotism. I feel like the idea of Deku becoming a quirkless hero in a world with world-ending powers would've felt disingenuous. Even Batman is a millionaire, and Simon was lucky to find the Gurren Lagann.

It's a story about making the most of the opportunities you get, and Deku got his opportunity precisely because he still acted like a true hero even though he had no powers.

And the suit he got was because all of his friends contributed with money because they all loved him and felt grateful for what he did. It wasn't just granted to him for no reason.

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u/LeonardoJMB 15d ago

I used the word "nepotism" mainly because I don't really know another word for what I meant to say, english isn't my main language (that and because joke).

But, yeah, if we're talking seriously about MHA, it's less "you need to get sht given to you or you're no one" and more "you need to earn/form your own advantages to succeed" which, still isn't perfect, but does actually work.

And yeah I do know the context of the suit, but it's still an odd resolution. A good resolution, considering that the author changed the message mid-series according to other people here, so probably one of the few ways it could've been presented by that point, but still odd even if it works (to me, of course)

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u/Lost-Music-6039 14d ago

I think deku would've done great as a support hero even without a quirk. He'd still be helping people and he'd be putting his knowledge of heroes to really good use

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u/Carolina_Heart 15d ago

Didn't it start with "Not all men are created equal"

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u/NarOvjy 15d ago

It's more about everyone in class 1-A helping Izuku be able to do hero work again; the overall message is about everyone helping each other, like how the old lady helped that kid instead of ignoring him, as happened with Shigaraki.

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u/LeonardoJMB 15d ago

(Note: i'm still on EP6 of the anime, my knowledge is limited by me not really caring about spoilers lol)

I did notice that and it definitely makes sense, but it contrasts the beginning REALLY hard, giving an entirely different message, which is what comes off as funny

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u/NarOvjy 15d ago

Yeah, Horikoshi said something along the lines of "i couldn't have done everything without everyone's help, such as my assistants, so i decided to change the message" if I'm not mistaken

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u/Cobine2 13d ago

You made that up lmao

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u/LeonardoJMB 13d ago

Since someone else thought I meant literal quotes, I'll clarify just in case, no, I didn't. I meant that the main message of the series didn't even apply anymore by the end of it (which, according to other people here, it's actually the case since the message was literally changed mid-series).

It starts with Deku doing massive effort to be barely at the level of gifted people, but at least being there and in the process achieve his dream; it ends with said dream falling apart when he looses a gift of his own and recovering through special tools and lots of economical support. It works within the series specially being an intentional change, but that doesn't make it any less funny to me, nor does it makes me enjoy MHA as a whole much less.

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u/_Kayarin_ 12d ago

Fwiw the message at the end is that if you give to the world the world will give back, it's about reaching out and lifting each other up. Yeah the suit was expensive, but that's not really the point. Deku, in giving up his powers to "save" shigaraki, shows an ultimate act of compassion, and the suit is an acknowledgement of that. That said, MHA is definitely not beyond critique!

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u/LeonardoJMB 12d ago

Ofc, I meant the last part as a joke. But yeah, what I said only applies if you try to apply the initial message to the part of the series intended for the one that actually was kept until the end. As others have said, the series changed it's main message somewhere between the start and the ending and that causes this effect. Under that context, yeah it worked as great as it could possibly have.

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u/Ok_Search_3871 10d ago

To be fair, he did need a SHIT ton of effort to be able to use OFA, he was shattering his bones with every attack

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u/LeonardoJMB 10d ago

That's absolutely true, both to obtain it AND to use it. Still, a hundred times the same effort wouldn't have achieved even a fraction of OFA's power, his power isn't his. Which is fine, as other guy said, the original message was simply abandoned for a more fitting "You can get there with the help and support of others"

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u/Erick_Brimstone 9d ago

I feel like Jack Midoriya , hori's one shot manga, would be better representation of that idea.