Summary
- Some anime protagonists are unaware of their true strength, like Noor, Lloyd, and Haruhi.
- Characters like Mob, who have mental blocks, only unleash their full power under pressure.
- Protagonists, like Rimuru and Goku, slowly realize their strength over time through their experiences.
One of the reasons anime caught on is that they depicted a hero or heroes who gradually grew stronger, smarter, more skilled, etc., throughout the story. They’ll know their strength because their adventures prove how far they’ve come. Like how Luffy from One Piece went from being unable to do a stretchy punch without striking himself, to beating his foes with the power of Loony Toon-like antics.
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But this isn’t the case for all anime, as some protagonists do chance upon their overpowered abilities, vastly underestimate their skills, or have some kind of mental block preventing them from tapping into their true potential. Whatever the reason, these anime protagonists are unaware of how OP they truly are for their adventures.
1 Noor
A Flunkie at Reflection Who's A Master Of Deflection
I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I'm the Strongest? I'm Not Even an Adventurer Yet!
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2024 - 2024-00-00
- Network
- Tokyo MX, BS11
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Nabeshiki
While some characters on this list doubt their abilities or are too humble to recognize how broken they are, Noor from I Parry Everything is genuinely a dunce. He’s got a good heart, as he became an adventurer so he could help people, particularly defending the weak. The guy even trained constantly in the basics of swordsmanship so he could unlock new skills.
That didn’t work, nor did he get to train under the Six Sovereigns, remaining an F-rank adventurer. But he got so good at the fundamentals, particularly parrying, that he could rival the Sovereigns all on his own. What he lacks in smarts, he makes up for in bravery, as he rushes in where angels fear to tread, and rarely comes out worse for wear, like when he made an A-rank minotaur behead itself with a single parry.
2 Lloyd
Almighty Strength In A Humble Shell
- Creator: Toshio Sako
- Studio: Liden Films
- 12 Episodes
- Available on Crunchyroll
Lloyd from Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer either. Though he isn’t exactly a dim bulb like Noor. He just had bad confidence issues, undermining himself because he was the weakest person in his home village. So, while he wants to become a soldier, he doesn’t think he has the chops for it.
But what Lloyd can’t get is that life in his village was anything but normal. He grew up handling things his rivals would’ve had trouble with at his age. Which made him strong enough to throw monsters with one arm, run non-stop for 6 days, cast all kinds of magic, including reading runes, and become a great chef too. Shame that his self-doubt is just as strong, too. Otherwise, the show would be over in a few episodes.
3 Mob
Requires Pressure To Go All-Out
Mob Psycho 100
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2016 - 2022
- Franchise(s)
- Mob Psycho 100
- Seasons
- 3
- Studio
- Bones
- Number of Episodes
- 37
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix
- Creator(s)
- ONE
Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama is a slightly different story from Lloyd. He also has an inferiority complex, though it’s more of an intentional mental block than self-doubt. When his emotional state is pushed far enough, he’ll break out of his shell and unleash the full might of his psychic powers on his foes, be it telekinesis, chlorokinesis (controlling plants), or one of his many other abilities.
Different things happen depending on which emotion drives him to the brink. But if it were up to him, he wouldn’t mess with his powers at all. He’d rather try and improve himself physically with the Body Improvement Club, or socially, so he could make friends and "read the room" better. Yet the only way he can do that is to come to terms with his powers, his mental block, and himself, which will take more than reaching 100% stress.
4 Maple
How A Dainty Shield Maiden Became The Ultimate Tank
BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2020 - 2023-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Silver Link
- Creator
- Yuumikan
- Number of Episodes
- 24
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Hulu
Maple’s big strength is spelled out in her show’s title: BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. Known in real life as Kaede Honjou, she was invited to play the VR MMORPG, NewWorld Online, by her friend Risa. She loved to have fun, but she wasn’t keen on getting hurt. So, to reduce the chances of that happening, she made her character and maxed out her defense stats.
As a result, Maple is slow as molasses, not very strong, and takes ages to develop new skills. But as a result, she can tank all damage in the game or even negate it completely. That’s without considering the additional magic and counterattacks she gains along the way. Kaede had no experience playing MMORPGs, VR or otherwise, so she just found this exploit by chance.
5 Yor
When Even Using A Fraction Of Her Strength Is Too Much
Spy x Family
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2022 - 2025-00-00
- Franchise(s)
- Spy X Family
- Seasons
- 3
- Studio
- Wit Studio, CloverWorks
- Creator
- Tatsuya Endo
- Number of Episodes
- 37
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Hulu
Between heroes wracked with self-doubt, heroines who became OP by luck, and nice-but-dim parry masters, some protagonists don’t know their own strength outside combat. Like Get Backers’ Ban smashing stuff by accident when he’s in a bad mood, or Goku sending Chichi through the wall after trying to give her a hearty pat on the back.
One of the more famous and recent examples of this trope is Yor from Spy X Family. As the "Thorn Princess," her strength is more than enough to assassinate her targets. But when it comes to using it undercover as a homemaker, she has trouble. What she considers "delicate" could be strong enough to crack ribs or chop up a chopping board with the veg. It just goes to show that being the strongest can come with its own struggles.
6 Goku
The Strongest Bumpkin In The Universe
Dragon Ball
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 1986 - 1989
- Franchise(s)
- Dragon Ball
- Seasons
- 1
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Number of Episodes
- 153
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Hulu
- Creator(s)
- Akira Toriyama
Speaking of Goku, while he became combat-smart to some degree, knowing the ins and outs of his different Saiyan transformations and how to temper them, he didn’t start that way. Back when he was a kid, all he knew about the world came from his countryside upbringing with his grandpa Gohan. He didn't even know about his Oozaru form until years after everyone else saw it firsthand.
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So, when he started traveling the world in search of the Dragon Balls with Bulma, he slowly began to realize he was tougher than the average person. Like when he shrugged off getting shot in his first appearance or beat a larger opponent by poking them in the leg. He’s pretty much been OP since day one. Every obstacle he's faced since then has just made him stronger, even when he's occasionally been defeated.
7 Rimuru Tempest
Took Some Time To Figure Out How Powerful They Were
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- October 5, 2018
- Seasons
- 3
- Studio
- 8bit
- Creator
- Fuse
- Number of Episodes
- 72
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
Some anime protagonists remain oblivious to their powers, intentionally or otherwise, until the end. Rimuru Tempest from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is a different story. They eventually got the hang of how their new abilities worked and used them to set up their own kingdom, where they’d have to test their wits as well as their strength.
But for the first 90 days of their new life as a slime, they did nothing but blindly move around a cave, eating grass. Then they learned how to absorb the skills of whatever they ate, which they demonstrated by accidentally blitzing some goblins with a bat-like super shriek. Once they figured out Aura Vision and used it on themselves, they realized their limitless potential and gradually put it into practice.
8 Haruhi Suzumiya
A Schoolgirl Unaware She Could Play God
The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2006 - 2009
- Seasons
- 2
- Studio
- Kyoto Animation
- Creator
- Nagaru Tanigawa
- Number of Episodes
- 24
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
Noor, Maple, and Lloyd don’t know their own strength. Rimuru and Goku slowly realized their potential over time. Haruhi Suzumiya, the title character (and lead dancer) in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, is actively kept from knowing her strength. She thinks she’s an ordinary schoolgirl heading up the SOS Brigade, an unofficial club dedicated to paranormal phenomena like aliens and espers, etc.
But if she was left to her own devices long enough, she could summon celestials, create new dimensions, and cause all sorts of calamity across the cosmos. Which is why many of her friends, like the alien Yuki and esper Itsuki, were sent in to join her Brigade, so they could keep her occupied long enough to avoid her cottoning onto that fact and preserve the universe.
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