15. One For All (My Hero Academia)
One For Allis a Quirk inMy Hero Academiathat can be passed on from individual to individual, allowing it to be cultivated and harnessed by one person before moving on to the next.
The eighth holder of this Quirk, All Might, passes it on to our protagonist Izuku Midoriya, who was born without any Quirks. But being the inheritor of such an extraordinary ability at such a young age, his body can’t cope with its surging power.
When Izuku uses it during the entrance exam for UA, he’s rendered immobile after just one punch. With every use of One For All’s power, he takes damage—and even reaches a point where he can’t use the Quirk at all for quite some time.
During his battle with Shoto Todoroki, he sacrifices his fingers to deploy powerful smashes one at a time, giving him only a limited number of attempts to defeat his opponent. He ends up sustaining major injuries to his hand… and doesn’t even win.
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14. Izanagi/Izanami (Naruto Shippuden)
Izanagiis an ocular technique that’s unique to the Uchiha clan inNaruto Shippuden. Izanagi creates illusions and forces them to become real, allowing the user to change the fabric of reality.
Izanamiis another ocular technique of the Uchiha clan, and its purpose is to counter Izanagi users by trapping them in an infinite loop of illusionary fate: the only way to escape the loop is for the victim to realize and accept their fate.
Both Izanagi and Izanami are risky because they take away the user’s sight once they’re used. (It’s believed the lost sight can be recovered if the user evolves their Sharingan eye to a Rinnegan eye.)
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13. Indra (The Seven Deadly Sins)
Indrais one of the strongest abilities of the demon clan inSeven Deadly Sins. It’s seen during the Great Holy War, performed by Monspiet and Dereiri as their ultimate move against the more powerful foe, Ludociel of the Goddess Clan.
Indra is an ability that can only be used by the Commandments or the higher Demons, where they sacrifice six of their seven hearts to become a monster that surpasses their previous power.
According to Meliodas, once someone turns into an Indra, it’s over for them and all that’s left is for them to wreak havoc until they die.
12. Restriction & Covenant (Hunter X Hunter)
InHunter X Hunter,RestrictionandCovenantare implied rules when attaining a powerful Nen ability or enhancing one’s Nen ability.
Kurapika uses Restriction while making his chain ability: he restricts himself to only using his chains on those who aren’t members of the Phantom Troupe, otherwise he’ll die.
Gon uses Covenant while grieving to exchange a lifetime of the ability to use Nen in order to use peak-strength Nen in his fight against Pitou. By doing so, Gon temporarily gains power equivalent to a lifetime of rigorous training, but loses his Nen ability after the fight.
Strangely, his Covenant also forces him to age up into a 20-year-old man, almost as if to signify the shortcut he took.
11. Final Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer (Bleach)
You might be able to tell from the name itself thatFinal Moon Fang Heaven-Pierceris the final form of Ichigo Kurosaki’s Getsuga Tensho inBleach. The transformation allows him to use his most devastating ability, Mugetsu, but there’s a catch.
It’s called “Final” because he loses all of his shinigami powers once the transformation ends. He returns to being a normal human.
10. Sage Art: Rinne Rebirth (Naruto Shippuden)
Sage Art: Rinne Rebirthis simple: in exchange for one’s life, you can bring someone else back to life. It’s not an uncommon ability to find in shonen anime, but it’s done well inNaruto Shippuden.
There are a few other abilities like this throughout theNarutouniverse, including the reincarnation technique used by Granny Chiyo to bring Gaara back to life, as well as the bloodline technique used inNaruto the Movie: Blood Prisonto bring Naruto back to life.
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9. Self Destruct (One Punch Man)
InOne Punch Man, Genos is a cyborg who has aSelf Destructability that he can use as his final ace. It’s one that he’s contemplated using in several episodes when a villain seems otherwise undefeatable, but there comes a time when he does pull the trigger.
And when he does, the ability blows himself up and destroys the target as well, resulting in guaranteed mutual destruction.
8. C0 (Naruto Shippuden)
For Deidara, explosion is an artform. The bigger and more powerful the blast, the more beautiful it is. His ultimate art is calledC0and is by far the strongest technique in his arsenal, covering a wide area and producing a blast that can be seen from a great distance.
But C0 isn’t a created bomb. Instead, Deidara becomes the bomb after he feeds explosive clay to the mouth in his chest. When used, Deidara himself becomes the ultimate art—but he’s unable to witness the beauty of his explosion because he’s already gone.
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7. Final Explosion (Dragon Ball Z)
Vegeta is a character introduced with a heart as cold and hard as stone. That’s why his sacrifice byFinal Explosionduring his fight with Majin Buu is such a badass and emotional moment.
He converts his life force to energy, which he then releases as an explosive wave. However, this technique turns him into a stone that’s drained of life—and even though it destroys Buu, Buu ends up regenerating, making Vegeta’s sacrifice pointless.
During the Tournament of Power, he’s able to use Final Explosion without sacrificing his own life, but it leaves him drained of stamina.
6. Little War Horn (Akame ga Kill!)
Akame’s Murasame is a katana that can kill its victim in just one hit, thus gaining the name “One Cut Killer.” Once it cuts or pierces a target, a poison-like curse spreads from the point of contact and eventually stops the victim’s heart.
The trump card of Murasame is called theLittle War Horn, which grants its wielder enhanced strength and capabilities at the cost of becoming victim to the sword’s curse.
To activate Little War Horn, Akame cuts herself with Murasame and injects the curse into her body. She manages to resist the curse and gain immense strength, but she has to endure the pain brought by the curse. What’s worse, it never lifts—even after Murasame is broken.
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5. Corruption (Bungo Stray Dogs)
Chuya’s ability—called Upon the Tainted Sorrow—allows him to control the gravity of anything he makes contact with, whether it’s just a chunk of debris or even an entire person.
He can change the direction of gravitational force upon his targets, causing them to fly upwards, be hurled at great speeds, or stay pinned down to the ground.
But that’s not the true form of his powers. Chuya has an ability calledCorruption, which allows him to elevate his already-dangerous gravity manipulation to an even higher level.
When used, he loses control of himself and becomes the “destroyer” that once caused the destruction of a city. He keeps charging and destroying everything until either he dies or the ability is nullified. That’s why he needs Dazai’s nullification (and he trusts him for that role).
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4. Herculean Exodus (Record of Ragnarok)
Heracles, the champion of both gods and humans, gained superhuman strength after drinking the blood of Zeus. He later ascended to godhood after completing the 12 Labors.
The 12 Labors granted him the ability collectively known asHerculean Exodus. However, the more he uses this power, the bigger his body tattoos grow—and he will die when they cover his body.
It’s also said that even one millimeter of tattoo growth is enough to cause a god to succumb to unbearable pain. But Heracles doesn’t just endure the pain. He proudly withstands it.
3. 8th Gate of Death (Naruto Shippuden)
InNaruto Shippuden, Might Guy proves himself as one of the strongest characters in the shinobi world—so much so that even Madara Uchiha, the god of shinobis himself, recognized him as the strongest (next to his life-long rival Hashirama Senju).
With his ultimate technique called Eight Inner Gates, Might Guy is able to open his inner chakra gates and greatly enhance his Taijutsu (hand-to-hand combat) abilities.
But it comes with a steep cost: when a shinobi opens his inner chakra gates, he’s able to temporarily surpass his physical limits, but it causes immense stress and damage on the body.
The final chakra gate, located on the heart and called the8th Gate of Death, uses all of the body’s energy and kills the user.
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2. Baryon Mode (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations)
InNarutoandNaruto Shippuden, we were introduced to many forms of jinchuriki—humans who have Tailed Beasts sealed within them—that grant all kinds of powers, like Tailed-Beast Chakra Mode.
InBoruto: Naruto Next Generations, we learn of an even more powerful form:Baryon Mode. This was a last-resort power-up devised by Kurama in order to defeat Isshiki Otsutsuki.
Baryon Mode boosts Naruto’s overall capabilities including speed, strength, and reflexes while burning his life force—but doing so also burns Isshiki’s life force since their chakras are now connected.
While the power is enough to defeat the Otsutsuki, it leaves Naruto in grief over the loss of Kurama’s life.
1. Immortality (The Seven Deadly Sins)
InThe Seven Deadly Sins, Meliodas is cursed by the Supreme Deity with immortality. That might initially seem like a gift rather than a curse, but given the way it plays out, you’d agree it’s a curse.
Meliodas is cursed to witness the deaths of his lover, Elizabeth, over and over and over again. Not only is Meliodas cursed with immortality, Elizabeth is cursed with perpetual reincarnation. Every time she dies, he’s broken again—over thousands of years.
Immortalityis a double-edged sword. It gives you the ability to live as long as you want, but the cost is losing everyone around you. The pain that accumulates over centuries is enough to make any immortal being seek the sweet release of death.
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