Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Difference between revisions

** Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu also has an ultimate technique that involves putting yourself in significant danger. If you hesitate even the slightest amount, you either die or lose your leg. If you don't hesitate, you might still lose your leg.

** Sanosuke's [[Megaton Punch|Futae No Kiwami]] becomes one over time due to its overuse. His hand injury was said to be even worse than the damage Kenshin suffered against Shishio. Though his hand never really heals, he finds ways to minimize damage.

** The only time it really hurts him is when he pushes it to times four while fighting Vegeta, at which point he was apparently barely able to fight. The other times he uses it, apparently, his body's toughened enough to negate the negative effects.

*** Not quite. While his body was strong enough to withstand it after the Vegeta fight, when he used the 20x kaioken against Freiza, it ate away almost all his ki, leaving him defenseless.

** In the real game cards deemed too powerful are forbidden from official tournaments. If only they could be consistent on what overpowered means.

* Ryoga Hibiki's "Shishi Hōkōdan" in ''[[Ranma ½]]''. This [[Ki Attacks|Ki Attack]] is fueled by the user's depression and melancholy. So to acquire more power the user will purposely do things to become more depressed. When Cologne sees Ranma and Ryoga trying to out-depress each other while blasting the technique freely, she compares them to a pair of lions fighting as they roll off a precipice and to their deaths.

** The Shishi Hōkōdan is actually an interesting example on two accounts. First, Ranma tries and fails to beat Ryoga at his own game, and realizes the flaw in the principle-namely, as the tide of battle turns, the loser will gain great power for the technique by his depression at losing the fight while the winner's lightened spirits will depower the technique. So he creates his own, Not-So-Dangerous, Not-Actually-Forbidden Technique in the form of a [[Ki Attack]] fueled by boundless confidence. Second, Ryoga is baffled when the scroll he learns the technique from indicates a general sense of downwardness; it turns out that in it's purest form Shishi Hōkōdan isn't a directed beam, it's more like a weight dropping on the user from the heavens; the user is protected from his own attack because he's emotionally empty when he uses it. Ranma uses this against Ryoga by jolting him out of his reverie mid-attack with [[Panty Shot|something he knows Ryoga wants from Akane]]; the surging hope and anticipation leave Ryoga open to being clobbered by his own technique.

* ''[[Outlaw Star]]'' featured the Caster gun which fired spiritual Caster Bullets (each type represented by a number, but the differences were never fully established for most of them.) Eventually, Gene realizes that there are three numbers that never come up, so he tracks down the gunsmiths that make these bullets. Each one gives him one of these bullets (except for the #4 bullet, which he receives 2 of), but explain that they draw on the gunner's soul, so if he fires all three, he will die. Sure enough, he needs all three.

** And the ''real'' direct consequence of Dark Magic finally shows up with {{spoiler|Negi basically overdosing on magic and poisoning himself, which is now requiring him to have to battle inside himself to get an upper hand on the dark magic. Eva isn't even sure this is ''possible'' because as she noted earlier, Negi has already surpassed her in his mastery of this technique. Oh, and even if he wins he apparently won't be exactly human anymore.}}

** And even then, it's only a temporary fix.

* Suffering from [[Dating Sim]] withdrawal, Keima of ''[[The World Only God Knows]]'' resorts to "Capturing God Mode" in order to clear his backlog, playing six games at once at blinding speed while still able to react emotionally to each one, and eventually passes out under the strain.

** Actually, it was Nanoha's training regimen that resulted in her being low on energy during a battle, and the wounds she got very nearly killed her. However, the [[Deadly Upgrade]] that is the Blaster System defintely qualifies for this trope: if Nanoha's body is likened to a massive wooden building with fireplaces which supply magic to her, the Blaster System doesn't add fuel to the fire so much as it ''sets part of the building ablaze.'' In the following supplements, it's revealed that {{spoiler|her use of the Blaster System during the JS incident permanently decreased her magical potential by about eight percent.}}

*** It is, however, revealed that the [[Wave Motion Gun|Starlight Breaker]] compresses magic in such a way that when used the way Nanoha does it, compared to the way Reinforce [[Sphere of Destruction|used it]], actually does put tremendous strain on her body, when combined with her training regimen, is what caused her to get critically injured.

* [[Zoids]]: New Century has a mecha version: Among the three alternate armours available for the Liger Zero is the [[Mecha Expansion Pack|Panzer armour]]- effectively turning the Liger into a walking tank with [[Wave Motion Gun|huge guns]] and [[Macross Missile Massacre|lots and lots and LOTS of missiles]]. However, it's so [[Deadly Upgrade|heavy and power-consuming that the Liger can barely move, and quickly overheats just from wearing the armour]]. The armour is still useful, but has to be ejected on the battlefield right after each use to avoid melting the Liger Zero.

* In ''[[Soul Eater]]'', using Tsubaki's {{spoiler|Fey Blade}} mode takes a toll on Black☆Star's health. Early on, he can only maintain it for a short duration before passing out. At one point, the normally [[Yamato Nadeshiko|submissive]] Tsubaki refuses to use it out of fear for her partner's well-being.

* Parodied in [[Ninin ga Shinobuden]], where the technique that has been "banned ten years ago because it was so dangerous" is...duct tape underpants.

* In ''[[Code Breaker]]'', Toki Fujiwara's usage of his Gauss Cannon will damage whatever arm that he uses to fire. Thus meaning he can't fire more than twice overall in a fight. Every code breakers are in danger of suffering "after effects" when they overexceed usage of their powers.

* Only two attacks are explicitly called thus in ''[[Saint Seiya]]'': the Bronze Dragon Saint's "Rozan Kou Ryu Ha," which grasps the enemy from behind in a crushing bearhug and launches both user and target into outer space, where either air friction during the ascent or exposure to outer space will kill both people. Dragon Shiryu specifically noted how his master, Dohko, had banned this technique, and he only ever used it against the otherwise unbeatable Capricorn Gold Saint, Shura.

* In ''[[Inazuma Eleven]]'', {{spoiler|Teikoku}} has some hissatsu techniques, explicitly called "forbidden techniques", which are extremely powerful but strain the user's body; a single use is enough to cause searing pain, and three uses in a single match is liable to send the user to the hospital with the possibility of permanent injuries.

* ''[[Prince of Tennis]]'' has the technique "Dash Hadoukyuu", [[The Big Guy|Kawamura's]] most powerful shot {{spoiler|until final hadoukyuu}}. The original hadoukyuu already puts a great deal of strain on the arm, while the Dash Hadoukyuu is restricted to once per match. {{spoiler|naturally, he breaks this rule against Gin Ishida}}.

* The use of "balefire" in Robert Jordan's ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' is forbidden by the magic users of the world, and when people use it anyway, they're exceedingly careful with it - because balefire doesn't just obliterate its target, it goes ''back in time'' to do so, with all the potential paradox that implies. Entire cities and their recent histories disappeared from the face of the earth before the mages, good ''and'' evil, decided that maybe gratuitous use of balefire wasn't such a good idea... When Rand begins using it for more than minute uses it is seen as a sign of his rapidly deteriorating mental state impacting his judgement, though he is technically correct that balefire is the only way to ensure enemies such as the Forsaken are not ressurected by the Dark One.

** It wasn't just the cities disappearing that almost broke reality, but also having them reappear again as the destroyers were killed with balefire, and then having them vanish ''again'' if the person who did that ''also'' got killed with balefire. (Though Robert Jordan waffled on this a bit, at one point saying that the effects of balefire couldn't be undone by more balefire.)

*** And a lasting "fallout" effect that makes it difficult to cast spells in the entire region or a year or more.

* [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s ''[[Heralds of Valdemar|Last Herald Mage]]'' trilogy mentions the "Final Strike", in which a mage uses up all his energy in an offensive spell, thus killing himself along with whatever is aimed at. It works, too, in the [[Downer Ending|tragic]] ending of the trilogy.

* In ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'', there exist two magic staffs, the ''staff of power'' and the artefact ''staff of the magi'' which, while very powerful items in themselves, can be broken for a "retributive strike" which releases every spell inside the staff at once, centred on the caster. Given that the [[Squishy Wizard]] is the norm in D, anyone attempting this strategy had better hope that the 50% chance of getting sent to another dimension comes up.

** There also exists an incredibly powerful dispel spell called ''Mordenkainen's Disjunction'', which can destroy just about any magic effect, even those created by gods. If it is used for this purpose, however, the caster may permanently lose all his magic abilities and/or anger the effect's creator. And he is no slouch, believe us.

* In the [[Dragonlance]] setting, Wizards of High Sorcery view Primal/Wild Sorcery this way. It was three Sorcerers who, fighting an army of Dragons at the end of the Second Dragon War, caused magical storms that wracked Ansalon. These three Sorcerers ended up becoming the first Wizards after being taught High Sorcery by the gods of magic.

* In the [[Mystara]] setting, Glantrians' use of the Radiance is considered this trope even by the Alphatians, who normally consider even the darkest sorts of magic to be permissible. This isn't because it's dangerous to the wielder (which it is), but because {{spoiler|using the power of the Nucleus of the Spheres threatens to drain all magic from the world, bit by bit}}.

* In the Sorcerer game from the ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'' line, there is one Path that can have this effect: Cursing, which is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]. Specifically, you can create an absolutely ''vicious'' curse rather than the normal version. The problem is, though, that it renders the caster a vegetable.

* In [[Diablo]] III, the Wizard differs from the Sorcerer and Sorceress of the previous two games in that s/he practices "dangerous and forbidden magics", which eventually caused him/her to be voluntarily exiled from his/her homeland. This explains why the Wizard has a greater array of [[Elemental Powers]] than either of its predecessor classes, including [[Mana|Arcane]] and [[Time Master|Time]].

* Similar to his [[Sonic X|anime counterpart]], [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Shadow the Hedgehog]] can gain an extreme power boost whenever he removes the bracelets from his arms. Unlike the [[Sonic X]] version, however, it doesn't appear to drastically drain his energy. He only used this power once in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (video game)|Sonic the Hedgehog 2006]]'' to save himself, Rouge and Omega from [[Big Bad|Mephiles the Dark]], who used two of the Chaos Emeralds to create an army of clones of himself.

** In Heaven's Feel, projection {{spoiler|(more specifically, projection using Archer's arm)}} becomes this for Shirou. While it puts a strain on him in all three paths, this path spesifically gives him a clear limit on usage, and overuse will kill him. {{spoiler|Which it eventually does.}}

* In ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'', the sage Tellah is seeking the ultimate magic spell, Meteo(r), so that he can seek revenge on Golbez (the game's [[Big Bad]]) for the death of his daughter Anna. Sure enough, Tellah eventually learns the spell from his [[Forgotten Superweapon|repressed memory]], and uses it against Golbez, killing himself in the process. Other, more youthful mages, as well as an eternal precursor, can cast it without side effects. In gameplay terms, this means that he never ends up getting the required amount of MP to cast it.

** In the DS remake, thanks to the [[New Game+]] mode the game has, you can easily subvert this: while the items to raise your max MP wouldn't normally be accessible until after his death, they can be carried over from your previous playthrough and indeed, using one on Tellah will allow him to cast Meteor as many times as you want with no ill effects.

** And really, with the Rune influencing events so that, for instance, {{spoiler|a young boy has to choose between using its power or watching his village get burned to the ground by his own countrymen}}... It's pretty much damned if you do, damned if you don't.

** Compare the Soul Eater Rune in the first [[Suikoden I|Suikoden]] game, which...[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|eats souls]].

* In the ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' games, the Dark Chips are extremely powerful, but that permanently reduce your max HP by 1 with each use. Also, each use drops your [[Karma Meter]], and enough uses will disable Soul Unisons.

** Battle Network 5 also has Chaos Soul Unisons, which allows you to use a Dark Chip as your charged shot for one round of battle without any of the permanent negative side effects. However, there is a 50-50 chance ([[Game Breaker|game-breaking glitch]] notwithstanding) that the charged shot will fail and backfire, instead summoning an invincible shadow copy of Mega Man to join the enemies and attempt to beat the crap out of you.

* In ''[[Zettai Hero Project]]'' Dangerama's entire skillset is composed of these. As a [[Death Seeker]], this makes sense.

* The "Mortal Draw" in ''[[Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]''. The attack involved sheathing your sword and untargeting the enemy. As soon as the enemy is within range you quickly pull out your sword and deliver a powerful attack able to one-shot most enemies. However, if you screw up the timing you're going to get hit.

** Though the [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Grey]] [[Knight Templar|Wardens]] don't forbid blood magic.

* In ''[[Trauma Center]]: Under the Knife'' Derek's senior surgeon forbids him from using the [[Bullet Time|Healing Touch]] after his first intentional use of it makes him collapse after the operation... with the caveat he's completely aware Derek will merrily ignore this instruction if he thinks the Healing Touch will mean the difference between life and death.

** Although not considered forbidden, Black Mage is only able to cast that spell once a day, and it makes a cute little [[Nuke'Em|nuke-sized]] crater wherever he aims it.

** Spells that drain the net amount of love from the universe with each use and require the sacrifice of orphans to gain in the first place tend to have a bit of a social stigma against them. Black Mage seems to find an excuse to use it nearly every day...but then again, this is [[Complete Monster|Black Mage]] we're talking about here.

** [[Word of God]] implies that abusing the form does have plenty of consequences, but it depends on how she uses it / how much damage she sustains, not necessarily how often.

* In ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'', magic apparently drain users at various rates. Spells too powerful to handle may overtax even well-trained magic users, possibly even [[Brought Down to Normal|removing their magic for months at at a time.]]

 

== Real Life ==

* In soccer, the awesome techniques of jumping up in the air and trying to hit a ball next to another player is usually forbidden, because it could hurt the other player if he'd get hit by a flying boot. A little more mild, but still similar is the "scissors" technique of scoring.

* [[Nuke'Em|Nuclear weapons]]. Nukes are capable of great destruction, but actually using one comes at a hefty price. Large nuclear detonations release irradiated material into the surrounding environment that remains dangerous long after the explosion is over. In a more immediate sense, several nations have active nuclear weapons that are kept ready for launch at all times. Since there is currently no viable way to defend against a nuclear weapon after it's been launched, the target has no reason not to fire all its weapons at the aggressor. This is the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD,) and it effectively makes using nukes suicidal. Note that in World War II, this was not an issue; with no other nuclear-capable countries to provide the "Mutual" portion of MAD, the United States was free to attack Japan without fear of a similar retribution.