39,327
edits
Badass Normal/Anime and Manga: Difference between revisions
m
Mass update links
(Import from TV Tropes TVT:BadassNormal.AnimeAndManga 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:BadassNormal.AnimeAndManga, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
m (Mass update links) |
||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
* Guts from ''[[Berserk]]'' is just about as badass as a human can be, and eventually fights demons. At one point he {{spoiler|cuts off his own arm, in the middle of battle, to keep fighting.}}
* Reiji Takayama from ''[[Witchblade (Anime)|Witchblade]]''. Stony resolve in the face of an [[Ax Crazy]] [[Psycho Lesbian]] with an [[Artifact of Doom]]-level power is impressive, but what seals it is that his only words to his assistant in regards to whether they should help [[The Hero]] Masane Amaha, or run, were this: "BACK HER UP!!!" He then proceeds to pull out a shotgun and blast away, even managing an almost [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|victory]], despite being massively overpowered. Was damn near raped at the same time, but merely stared impassively at the crazy bitch, as if daring her to actually finish the job. Later, he commands an army barely a fraction the size of the force he's fighting and manages to waste a full eighth of an enemy mere mortals should have had a bitch of time even scratching, with weaponry that was unreliable at best. After he led his team to patch a whole hangar of robot tanks knowing they're about to go haywire and started a point-blank shootout with units that gone wild before they finished.
** His assistant, Hiroki Segawa, despite being [[The Renfield]] incarnate, stands his ground with little more than a PISTOL and balls the size of small planets, especially considering said nutcase he was fighting could have killed him effortlessly, also qualifies.
* The few characters of ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'' without [[Green Rocks|devil fruit]] powers are that. Mainly the strawhats, Zoro, Sanji, Nami and even Usopp, as they beat the crap out of elite fighters with sometimes nothing more than a leg (which is mysteriously burning, at least).
Line 10:
*** Not only did she make it to single digits, but during the climax of the Alabasta Arc, she singlehandedly defeated the Mr. 7 team, while she was only ranked as part of the Mr. 9 team while she was infiltrating Baroque Works.
** Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, has no Devil Fruit Powers. Likewise, Silvers Rayleigh, the ''first mate of Gold Roger'', is shown swimming at one point (indicating he doesn't have a Devil Fruit) and can fight against an Admiral despite being [[Retired Badass|retired]] as a pirate for twenty years.
** Shanks is a [[Handicapped Badass]], able to cross blades with [[
*** Haki too.
*** The very first chapter of the manga (the second episode of the anime) has Shanks scare a Sea King (a gigantic sea serpent, which often make humans look like tiny specks by comparison) into fleeing with a [[Death Glare]].
Line 19:
* Jounouchi/Joey from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh]]!'' He's the only duelist in the core cast without a mystical Millennium item or [[Reincarnation]], but is still a pretty skilled player, regardless of what Kaiba thinks. (The only time he had a [[MacGuffin]] on his side would be during the Atlantis/Doma [[Filler]] [[Arc]].) He's also considered the third best player in the entire world by ''GX''. He would likely have defeated the [[Big Bad]] during the Battle City Arc if not for his injuries.
** That, and whereas the other prominent duelists are loaded with powerful cards, especially Kaiba, Joey's deck, ostensibly due to him being much newer to the game and a lot poorer for one, is littered with weak cards, along with chance-based cards whose effects can even things out when he gets lucky with the result. (He does get stronger cards throughout the series, most notably Jinzo.) As a result, he really has to fight for his victories, though fortunately for himself, he's one of the most driven duelists in the entire series.
** Little Yugi, when up against Atem in the Ceremonial Duel, would be another. Whereas the latter is locked and loaded with all three Egyptian god cards and by this point the ability to will his topdecks with his Millennium powers, the non-magical Yugi takes him and his gods down with much weaker monsters augmented by strategic use of spells and traps, and in spite of Atem's ability to [[Winds of Destiny Change|select what he draws every turn]], Yugi manages to stay one step ahead, culminating in his calling out Atem's final strategy of revive Osiris. (Added in the anime version was Kaiba's presence, where he offers Yugi to choose among his rarest and strongest cards for help against Atem, but Yugi chooses to rely on his own cards. Not only that, [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|he takes down all three god cards at once]]!)
** To a lesser extent, you also have Mai Valentine in the Battle City arc. We only see her duel twice, but she defeats [[Prince Charming Wannabe|Jean-Claude Magnum]] pretty easily, and engages [[Super
* Crow from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh 5 Ds]]'' was arguably badass right from his introduction. However, {{spoiler|his recent defeat of a Dark Signer (even when faced with a [[Eldritch Abomination|Jibakushin]]), despite not being a [[Chosen One|Signer]] himself}}, proves that he is definitely qualified for this trope. He also has the series's only Riding Duel First-Turn Win under his belt, and has survived a day and a half inside an old fridge.
** {{spoiler|However with the Second Season Finale, the Crimson Dragon, probably wondering why the hell it didn't choose him in the first place, has given him the [[Power Tattoo|Tail Birthmark]] and made him into a [[Chosen One|Signer]], which sadly means [[Badass Abnormal|he can't be classified]] as a Badass Normal anymore.}}
Line 48:
* Ein and the adult version of Bat from ''[[Fist of the North Star]]''. While they don't have same [[Charles Atlas Superpower|martial arts training]] as Kenshiro and other martial artists in the series, they're capable on holding their own against the bad guys. The two of them working together managed to punch an entire fortress filled with goons to death. Some of the bad guys, like Jackal, may qualify for this trope as well.
* Kai, David, and Lewis from ''[[Blood Plus|Blood+ ]]'' could fit the bill, seeing as they are ordinary humans who regularly wade into battle with powerful Chiropterans armed only with simple firearms (which the series establishes as being next-to-useless against them), and emerge almost unscathed every time. Out of all them, Lewis and Kai probably emphasize the "normal" aspect the most, since one is a fat, awkward slob, and the other is an ordinary teenage boy. David definitely fits the "badass" part, since he survives being shot, getting slashed by monsters, and jumping out of a helicopter moments before it exploded, despite requiring realistic medical treatment in each case, and when he infiltrated a secret research facility and found himself surrounded by armed guards, he escaped by grabbing a hostage and threatening to kill him with ''a ballpoint pen''.
* Limelda Jorg in ''[[Madlax]]'' is an ordinary military officer positioned as [[The Rival]] to the eponymous [[Extraordinarily Empowered Girl]], who is [[Cursed With Awesome]], [[Immune to Bullets]], sports [[Gun Kata]], and stacks up [[Theme Music Power
* Daisuke Ido from ''[[Gunnm]]'' is likely the only Hunter-Warrior in the Scrapyard who is ''not'' a cyborg.
** You can't mention ''[[Gunnm]]'' in this trope without bringing up Figure 4 - He frequently takes down cyborgs, and often times does it unarmed
* [[Colonel Badass|Colonel]] Shikishima from ''[[Akira (Manga)|Akira]]''. While [[Adaptation Distillation|perhaps more impressive overall in the manga]], {{spoiler|surviving not one but two [[The End of the World As We Know It|apocalypses]]}}, the film's image of him facing down a rapidly mutating [[Big Bad|Tetsuo]] with nothing but a .45 Automatic and a grunted "Come on!" exemplifies the trope.
** Kaneda himself is another example. Anyone who can face down a superpowered psychic psychopath with nothing but a laser rifle without getting splattered definitely qualifies.
* In a school inhabited by super-powered [[Magical Girl|Magical Girls]], Haruka Suzushiro from ''[[Mai-HiME (Anime)|Mai-HiME]]'' counts, if only for the fact that as the head of Fuuka Academy's Executive Committee, she has a whole legion of students at her direct command, and her utter refusal to take "no" for an answer {{spoiler|even when faced with death after Yukino's CHILD is instantly destroyed by a freshly [[Face Heel Turn|Face Heel Turned]] Shizuru, whom she [[What the Hell, Hero?|chewed out]] and gave a very nasty headbutt just before she disappeared}}.
** The most exemplary moment of Haruka's Badass Normal tendencies is during the Searrs invasion where she uses her brute strength to take out a pair of fully armed soldiers... and also kicking one of their ''tanks'' and somehow not breaking her foot. Wow.
* While several of the characters in ''[[Baccano (Light Novel)|Baccano]]!'' are immortal beings that have drank the elixir of life, many of the most amazing fights and other feats are performed by completely normal humans such as Claire Stanfield, Chane Laforet, Jacuzzi Splot, and Ladd Russo.
Line 60:
** The light novels themselves note that the only character that ''might'' match up against Claire in a fight is Ronnie Suchiart. To clarify, {{spoiler|the resident ''demon/[[Eldritch Abomination|eldritch abomination]]''}} has trouble fighting Claire Stanfield.
* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]!'', most of the characters at the least use some kind of given [[Hermetic Magic|magic]] or [[Ki Attacks|Ki]]. But some of them are at least able to touch ground with the more powerful people. Asakura showed sly cleverness -- enough to manipulate anyone in the class -- long before she got her {{spoiler|spying device pactio weapon}}. Kuu Fei in particular was only recently able to properly utilize Ki, and even then hold her own against the more magically capable opponents. Although she rarely gets placed in a situation where it would become applicable due to her "clueless [[Muggle]]" status, Ayaka also proved herself capable of holding her own in battle during the school trip arc.
** Negi's father also counts; even without his magic {{spoiler|charging into an [[Anti
** Even without magic Evangeline can still kick Grade-A [[Badass]] Setsuna's ass all day with nothing more than [[Razor Floss|some string]], iron fans, and 100 years of Aikido practice.
* Rosette from the ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' manga is the only one in her group that doesn't have any magical or spiritual energy, just some [[Depleted Phlebotinum Shells|special bullets]], but she's still ''easily'' the biggest badass of her group. She's defeated countless demons with powers that make them much stronger than her, and in the final volume even {{spoiler|shoots the horn on her brother's head}}, even though those horns give him superhuman speed and strength and the ability to stop time. All this while a demon is [[Deadly Upgrade|draining away her soul]] to supply his power. In the anime she eventually undergoes [[Chickification]], but still manages to have some badass moments.
* In the anime version of ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', Nagisa, despite being a [[Dogged Nice Guy]] with little to no knowledge of the [[Masquerade]], has a few moments of his own... like resisting a spell to immobilize humans, attacking the person responsible and destroying the item he was using to do it, despite being one of {{spoiler|the only two}} normals in the entire cast, simply because Hanon was in pain.
* The ''[[Gundam]]'' multiverse is a difficult issue, as it depends on the universe, what you consider a super power. ''UC'' would go with psychic Newtypes and ''SEED'' with coordinators, G-verse is full of people with [[Charles Atlas Superpower|Charles Atlas Superpowers]] beating the crap out of others. Also in a mecha anime, you might consider fighting with a normal suit with or against way superior opponents a Badass Normal action. Examples (and also note that these characters also have to be directly compared to a newtype or coordinator, not just have them exist somewhere in that [[Alternate Universe|universe]]:
** Garrod Ran of ''[[After War Gundam X (Anime)|After War Gundam X]]''. A kid who [[Falling Into the Cockpit|Fell Into The Cockpit]], he practically survives his first few battles only by way of his [[Humongous Mecha]]'s [[Wave Motion Gun]] and [[The Power of Love]] coming from [[Shrinking Violet]] Tiffa. After being stripped of the former thanks to a premature [[Mid
** In a war where Newtypes are the only ones getting a hit on the enemy, ''[[Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (Anime)|Zeta Gundam]]'''s Jerid Massa and Yazan "I'm gonna violate you" Gable are at least able to put up a fight with their opponents, though they hardly if ever succeed.
** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (Anime)|Gundam ZZ]]'' is more difficult in the beginning, since much was just comedic and no [[Serious Business]], but one person should be given credit: Masai, a young woman living in a desert, laying out some traps and fighting the whole Gundam team with an near ancient Gelgoog.
Line 98:
*** By following the above example, Lulu would have counted...at least until halfway through the first episode.
* The Obstinate Arrow task force from ''[[Scrapped Princess]]''. {{spoiler|Centuries ago, the Guardian Factor was seeded in human DNA to produce people with the strength and will to protect the Providence Breaker when she is born. None of these people are in the task force which confuses the hell out of Zefiris when they come to the Pacifica's rescue and join her side.}}
* Demon slayer Sango is ''[[Inuyasha]]'''s resident Badass Normal. Of the main [[Five
{{quote| '''Miroku:''' You're truly a fearsome opponent... I'm just glad you're usually on our side!}}
* ''[[Mx 0]]'': Taiga. Despite having [[Muggles|no magical powers]] ''whatsoever'' (and later on, a very limited [[Anti
* Even ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' has a few of these, particularly Kino Makoto/Sailor Jupiter, who established her badass credentials in her debut episode by smacking around a bunch of thugs who were harassing Usagi, then doing it again later in the episode to ''[[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Zoicite]]''. This was ''before'' she awakened as Sailor Jupiter, mind you, and for that matter it was before Sailor Moon even knew she was an unawakened Senshi. When she ''did'' awaken and turned into a [[Badass Abnormal]], she was one of the only Senshi to ever kill a [[Monster of the Week]] ''without'' the use of Sailor Moon's [[Finishing Move]].
** Actually, Sailor Mars destroyed one in her debut episode.
Line 113:
** Bad girl Domino in ''[[Pokémon Mewtwo Returns]]'' held off and pushed a Scyther away herself among other things. She was one of the few human characters who did not have a Pokémon and did things herself quite well, of course, she was [[Crazy Prepared]].
** Looker and Domino both impressed in their worlds, but it's more common in the ''[[Pokémon Special]]'' manga for trainers to fight against Pokémon on their own, usually out of necessity. You could easily expect such out of Bruno and Chuck, but then there's Sapphire, who is first seen fighting a Seviper ''alongside her Torchic'', and later has her Aron chew off a bit of a fountain ''before breaking it off herself to save another Pokémon trapped inside''!
** And in ''Best Wishes'' both of Ash's traveling companions, [[Little Miss Badass|Iris]] and [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|Cilan]] prove that they can battle a Pokémon without the need of using one. Iris has demonstrated many ninja-like movements being incredibly fast compared to other Pokémon, has shown to dodge many attacks coming to her and was able to {{spoiler|befriend Drilbur that later evolved into her powerful Excadrill because of it}}. As for Cilan, while he does more thinking than actual battling, he's shown to be a pro at fishing. He battled a Stunfisk just using his fishing rod {{spoiler|and caught it after Ash caught his Palpitoad.}}
* Hareta from ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure]]''. He's abnormally athletic, and unusually strong, which blends well with his [[Hot Blooded]] personality. He's fought against Pokemon essentially trying to murder him on various occasions.
* Yumi of ''[[Saki (Manga)|Saki]]''. She entered the last match of the finals without any of the insane hacks most other characters have ([[Evil Eye]], [[Photographic Memory]], [[Invisibility|Stealth Mode]], etc), so many people assumed that she'd get steamrollered since her table included Saki and Koromo, two characters with the [[Born Lucky|supernatural luck of a god or demon]]. Instead, we have Yumi being [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] enough to realize that supernatural stuff was going on, whereupon she not only stops Saki's third [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Mahjong_yaku#Going_out_on_a_supplemental_tile_from_the_dead_wall Rinshan Kaihou] [[Finishing Move|in a row]] by changing her strategy to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Mahjong_yaku#Robbing_a_quad_to_go_out rob Saki out of her kan] even if she knows that the chance of that happening is usually a [[Million
* Jubei of ''[[Ninja Scroll]]'', facing various mutants and mystical opponents with nothing but a sword and his skill with it.
* Kodachi Kuno from ''[[Ranma One Half]]'', who is considered one of the most dangerous characters, despite being arguably the weakest character of the semi-regular cast as it comes to martial skill (even Akane is regularly able to divert her direct attacks). She combines levels of [[Manipulative Bastard]], [[Fighting Dirty]] and [[Crazy Prepared]]. Often she makes use of her [[The Dragon|pet alligator]] and [[Faceless Goons|fellow St. Hebereke Gymnasts]] to wear down Ranma and others and keep them running around in her [[Batman Gambit|plots]]. Usually, she gets out of her storylines with little to no damage to herself and Ranma and Akane feel lucky to be alive.
Line 125:
* Minamoto from ''[[Zettai Karen Children]]'' is this trope. The protagonist of the series, he's the head of a level 7 three-person esper(ESP user) team. Not to mention he has to go up against freakishly strong espers every mission. Some of the things the espers can do is levitate fire trucks like they were nothing, ward off bullets, and read/screw up your mind. Despite this, he manages to constantly even the odds with superior tactics, usage of technology, and plain old kindness and understanding. No wonder he's respected by espers on both sides.
* Domyouji from ''[[Kurogane no Linebarrel]]'' is a common human being who can fight toe-to-toe with nanomachines-enhanced individuals (who can easily punch normal people unconscious in a single blow, and have repeatedly done that).
* In ''[[Durarara]]'', {{spoiler|Masaomi Kida}} doesn't have any [[Super Strength]], KGB training, [[Dark Is Edgy|control over darkness]], or a [[Hive Mind]] army like some characters: he's just a kid that's really good at street fighting. [[One
* In ''[[Soul Eater]]'', Mifune is one of the few characters who is neither a witch, a magical weapon, or the wielder of a magical weapon. He's just really really [[Charles Atlas Superpower|impossibly]] good at swordfighting.
* Bardroy of ''[[Black Butler (Manga)|Black Butler]]'' is the most normal out of the whole house staff. He isn't a super competent badass like [[Battle Butler|Sebastian,]] doesn't have {{spoiler|super strength}} like Finny, and isn't {{spoiler|a ridiculously skilled sniper}} like Mey-Rin. He gets by on his apparent [[The Strategist|strategical know-how]] and skill with a rifle.
Line 133:
<!-- %% Do not include Rock Lee. Just because he doesn't have ninja magic doesn't mean he's normal. He's got superspeed and superstrength. He's a full-fledged Charles Atlas Superpower. -->
* Fans of ''[[Voltron]]'' would know that Sven, the original Blue Lion pilot, is one. He survives being nailed in personal combat by a robeast, {{spoiler|and survived a plunge from the heights of Castle Doom}}. Even after that, he was in good enough condition to fly Blue Lion again.
* Makoto's father in ''[[Sacred Seven]]'' is a ([[Battle Butler|sorta]]) ordinary butler in a series populated by extremely powerful monsters called Dark Stones. Any character who has ever fought one needed special powers of their own, a [[Mini Mecha]], or a [[Frickin' Laser Beams|big laser]] [[BFG|gun]]. Yet, he managed to hold his own against one, however briefly, with only his barehands and two [[Hidden Weapons]]. {{spoiler|He later managed to defeat it by [[Heroic Sacrifice|blowing himself up]].}}
* In the manga ''[[Medaka Box]]'', Zenkichi Hitoyoshi, one of the normal main characters, is able to hold own his against an Abnormal(one who has a special ability caused by their personality) and a Minus(similar to an abnormal but a minus is morally corrupt).
* Yahiko Myojin from ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]''. While his idol, Kenshin is a master of a Sword Style that grants both [[Super Speed]] and [[Super Strength]] to the user and is a [[Shell
* Mizushima Toru, protagonist of ''[[Iris Zero]]''. Interestingly, he lives in a setting where amongst his age group, having eye powers is the norm. His lack of iris earns him the titular nickname. He manages to get by through [[Awesomeness By Analysis]], and utilizing his friends abilities more skillfully.
* Similar to the Captain Bravo example above, Erza from [[Fairy Tail]] is considered one of the strongest mages in her guild, despite the fact the only magic she can do is to summon the swords and armour with which she fights.
Line 142:
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Badass Normal]]
[[Category:Anime And Manga]][[Category:Pages with comment tags]]
| |||