Unskilled but Strong: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Trope - Unskilled But Strong 2 6669.jpg|link=Incredible Hulk|frame|Are you really going to criticize his poor form?]]
{{quote|''[[Superpower Lottery|Your speed and your strength makes you a beast at fighting! You might even be better than me at that... but you have no experience with fighting techniques!
I'am a [[The Gift|prodigy]], I can easily read the moves of an amateur like you]]''|'''[[Big Bad|Garou]] on [[The Hero|Saitama]]''', ''[[One Punch Man]]''}}
[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|As the name implies]], this is the inverse of [[Weak but Skilled]].
A character who is '''Unskilled but Strong''' lacks the
When seen in a protagonist, their lack of skill is typically only because it's the first episode and they've only just discovered their powers. The initial stages of the series, if not the series as a whole, will then focus on improving the protagonist's innate talents. It also gives the series a justification for why a complete newbie to whatever power they've uncovered is able to fight with or against people who have more experience, or why they can come along in training relatively quickly. One common type of this is the [[Super Prototype]] that the [[Ordinary High School Student]] is [[Falling Into the Cockpit]] of.
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In an antagonist, an Unskilled But Strong character is commonly either the very first foe the protagonist faces or one of the last. In the former case, they're a [[Starter Villain]] and may be fond of [[Badass Boast]]s but prove all talk in the face of the much more skilled protagonist. In the latter, they provide a hurdle against which the protagonist must disprove the theory that [[Hard Work Hardly Works]].
Compare [[Skilled but Naive]]
{{examples}}
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* Many young heroes in the ''[[Gundam]]'' series are notably less skilled than their more experienced [[Ace Pilot]] adversaries, but manage to survive due to [[Falling Into the Cockpit]] of a [[Super Prototype]]. Generally, though, they survive enough battles through the series to become experienced and an ace in their own right.
** In a specific example, in [[Mobile Suit Gundam|the original series]], Amuro Ray (who's been piloting the Gundam for roughly a month and a half at this point) manages to defeat Ramba Ral, a veteran soldier who's been piloting a mobile suit since they were first introduced to the battlefield four years ago. Ral praises Amuro, but tells him not to get cocky, since it was the Gundam's power and not his own skill that won the day; Amuro just calls him a [[Sore Loser]].
* Similarly, Bunshichi Tawara in ''[[Tenjho Tenge]]'' is reported to be entirely self-taught, but was able to defeat a powered up Shin Natsume in a fight.
* [[Blood Knight|Kenpachi]] from ''[[Bleach]]'' relies on raw power and bloodlust, and it works out quite well. No [[Super Mode|bankai]], no functional ''shikai'', no kido, no special techniques. He acquired his position simply by [[Klingon Promotion|killing his predecessor]]. His idea of a sword technique is ''[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|using both hands to hold his sword]]''—and when he does, {{spoiler|he ''easily'' defeats an opponent who had been fighting him to a standstill for several episodes}}. However, this gets downplayed throughout the series, in particular the manga, {{Spoiler|where he learns how to properly control his power and even gets access to his bankai=}}.
** Ichigo, as well. His incredibly high spiritual power is remarked upon from the very beginning, yet he is often completely outclassed by more experienced opponents. However, he relies on being [[Taught By Experience]], something remarked on multiple times in the series.
** Wonderweiss is so fast and strong that he can take on [[Badass Grandpa|Yamamoto]]. The old man complements his power, but quickly reveals that his vastly superior skill and experience is more than enough to turn the tide.
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* ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' villains sometimes fell into this category. Pretty much all of them were highly-trained fighters, but often lacked knowledge of certain techniques. Freeza was one of the few villains who knew how to raise and lower his power level, but lacked knowledge on how to sense ki without a scouter. The over reliance on scouters caused his army to underestimate their enemies. A few like Fat Buu relied on raw power and healing to win.
** To expand, Freeza had spent so much time toying with opponents far weaker that he never learned how to stand up in a protracted battle against someone of equal strength. Once raw power was proven not to be enough, it was only a matter of time before the more highly trained (and now more powerful) Goku defeated him.
** This was also Piccolo's reasoning for training Gohan after witnessing Gohan's hidden power first hand against Radditz. Gohan gets better over the course of the series, becoming not only a powerful warrior but also an skilled martial artist.
* Yoshimori is this way in ''[[Kekkaishi]]'', although he's improving, in contrast to his [[Weak but Skilled]] counterpart, Tokine.
* Due to unusual circumstances ''[[Beet the Vandel Buster]]'' can use five of the powerful magical weapons called Saiga, when most individuals can use only one. However, early parts of the series are spent with Beet learning how to fully utilize his five Saiga and Beet has zero ability in the more basic magical skills which are supposed to be the lead up to obtaining a Saiga in the first place. One character even comments that he learns everything backwards.
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* Takeshi Sendo from ''[[Hajime no Ippo]]''. His raw power and fighting instincts are top-notch. His biggest weakness is lack of technical skill.
** Subverted and played straight with Brian Hawk. It is the very lack of skillfull boxing that makes him so incredibly dangerous. He doesn't have the limits of the textbook boxing techniques and, combined with naturally insane power, speed and reflexes, becomed completely unpredictable. His fighting style is even described by his trainer as not being boxing but "simply violence." Takamura spends the first half of their fight trying to prove that boxing skill ''is'' of use. It is eventually played straight when Hawks trainer learns how very superior Takamura is through having learned the proper technique and how much of a backbone Brian Hawk lacks because of his lack of proper training.
* The eponymous girls in ''[[Zettai Karen Children]]'' are theoretically some of the most his powerful people in existence, but as otherwise ordinary ten-year-old girls their lack of training and experience means they sometimes struggle against [[Weak but Skilled]] opponents.
* ''[[Kinnikuman]]'s'' Buffaloman was not a great fighter at all until he made a [[Deal with the Devil]] and gained his ten million Choujin Power.
* Luffy's victory over Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold in ''[[One Piece]]'' falls into this. The sisters' mastery of [[Ki Attacks|Haki]] allows them to predict Luffy's movements and deflect his attack. Once Luffy goes into his Gear 2nd power-up, however he's able to move so fast that predicting him is useless and his attacks are powerful enough to overwhelm any attempt to block.
** In addition, Luffy doesn't really have any "training" (it's confirmed by Oda that he never actually trains outside battle) in his fighting style nor does he possess any skill with weapons or sword-fighting, he is just extremely creative with his rubber powers and makes up techniques on the spot.
** Furthermore, he has the same level of Haki that Hancock does, which is stronger than theirs, but can't control it and can't do anything more than render people without sufficient force of will unconscious. Luffy's shown occasional flashes of other types of Haki use (against Mihawk, he avoided losing a hand because he saw a flash of what Mihawk's next attack would be), but they too were uncontrolled and he didn't even seem to realize what had happened.
**Post-timeskip, Luffy has received training by Rayleigh on his haki and rubber powers, but his overall fighting style is the same.
** Of the Post-[[Time Skip]] villains, {{spoiler|Hody Jones}} gets accused of this by Jimbei, who effortlessly blocks a powerful attack from him. He's also proven to be absolutely ''no'' match for Luffy whatsoever when they finally begin to throw down.
* Takashi Kawamura from ''[[Prince of Tennis]]''. He considers himself the burden of the Seigaku team, yet can fight [[Genius Bruiser]] Kabaji to a standstill. He then does it again, but against {{spoiler|Gin Ishida from Shitenhouji}}.
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* Whenever there is a [[Batman]]/[[Superman]] face off then Bats is the [[Weak but Skilled]], with Supes this trope.
** Superman is often subject to this. Other writers recall just ''how much time'' he has spent fighting other superpowered beings as strong or even stronger than he is, and decide he would probably be long dead if he charged at them all the time. This was spelled out with a fight between Superman and [[Evil Counterpart|Ultraman]], where Superman [[Curb Stomp Battle|squashed]] him because Ultraman's method of killing his enemies as soon as he could (as well as presumably sending out his minions) meant that he got very little practice fighting beings on his level.
**Actually, and totally opposite to what many people think, Superman is not this trope (in the comics, at least). He's learned from every battle he's had with other equally-powerful supervillains, becoming an experienced and clever fighter. He's been learning his whole life how to control and use his powers efficiently, so he'd never hurt or kill any innocent bystander or enemy during his fights. Lastly, he's been trained by some of the best combatants and warriors on earth (Wonder Woman, Batman, Wildcat, among others) on hand-to-hand, so in any case he'd be depowered, he might be able to hold his own with his fighting skills alone.
*** Also Batman taught him some martial arts. And Ali gave [[Boxing Lessons for Superman]]▼
*** One story even had him learning kriptonian martial arts.
* Most of the Gauls in ''[[Asterix]]'' have shades of this, but Obelix is the only ''true'' example. Due to being permanently [[Super Strength|superpowered]], he hasn't even had the benefit of unpowered combat training the others had. This is demonstrated abundantly in the (non-canon) comic ''The Twelve Tasks of Asterix'', where one of the trials pits him and Obelix against a Germanic Judo-master. Obelix's attempts to smash through him with brute force are effortlessly redirected, and he quickly proves entirely unable to hurt the little man. Fortunately, Asterix is there to effectively ''talk'' the man into submission... or, rather, distract him with talk and an interest in the man's fighting style that gets the poor German to give Asterix instructions and allow himself to be used as a training dummy, realising he's helped Asterix subdue him only after having his arms and legs tied into knots.
* Galactus, at least in "Top Trumps". Super high stats in everything but weapon Skill. He doesn't seem to have much technique other than draining the enemy to death, but when you eat planets...
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== Western Animation ==
* Bamm-Bamm in ''[[The Flintstones]]''.
* [[Superboy]] in ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'', who has
** He is not a very good combatant neither. This is very well showed on his training fight with Black Canary, he is far stronger and faster than him, but she has far more training and ability at fighting unarmed. The fight is quick, and Superboy lands no hit on Black Canay, who doesn't even need to use her scream power to beat him up. He decides to train after that.
**
* The ''[[Superfriends]]'' episode "The Evil From Krypton" featured a General Zod [[Captain Ersatz]] called Zy-Kree. He had all of Superman's powers, but no skill. [[Aquaman]] is able to hold his own and outmaneuver him with tactics. When he and Superman clash, Superman demonstrates that he actually knows how to fight, and pwns him before sending him back to the [[Phantom Zone]].
{{quote|'''Aquaman''': You did it! You defeated him!
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{{quote|'''Katara:''' She's strong.
'''Other Master:''' She lacks restraint. }}
* In ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]'', Steve Rogers criticizes Tony Stark for this, saying Tony's primary solutions to battle include either tackling things or blasting them. Tony does not really appreciate the criticism.
== Real Life ==
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