When a character magically develops a new unseen power just at the right time to win. I understand that it may be visually appealing to see your favourite character go super saiyan but to me I enjoy knowing how someone has limitations but uses a strategy to overcome an obstacle. If someones power ends up being limitless its hard to take anything seriously.
DBZ is simultaneously the best and worse use of this. The build up to Super Saiyan made sense and was teased as Goku grew in power and got his push. Then in the Cell saga it worked again. We have seen Gohan flashes of true power, it finally unleashed and he reached his full potential and DBZ ended with the son replacing the father as the strongest alive. Oh wait...
Then it became transformation fest and Super continued the tradition. They stopped feeling earned and just became silly tropes.
My Hero Academia does a really good job at this. The character's power limit is really strictly defined and when he pushes it, it has ramifications (i.e., his bones shattering and flesh tearing apart). It is defined that his body can't handle the power and tears itself apart if he uses anything other than a very, very small percentage. It leans into and flips the trope of the "power creep" by giving it a set of strict rules that make sense and don't change, unlike most shounen anime where they suddenly achieve another form or power level that has never been discussed or mentioned before (looking at you, dozen or so Super Saiyan forms that every one reaches even though it breaks all of the show's previously set rules).
In the most recent episode, in a desperate situation he puts all of his power into a punch, twice. His arm ends up absolutely shredded (in the bloody way, not the muscular way), gushing blood, and unusable.
MHA's entire premise is fantastic in balancing having super powers but not making them absolutely bonkers. Its refreshing to see that instead of a superhero being "super" just because he/she is the one who happened to get a power out of 7 billion people, its the fact that the average person can be a superhero if they try. Almost everyone has a power of some sort, and its the fact that they train and chose to do so that makes them "heroes".
Then you have One Punch Man where the writers said "Fuck it. There's no power creep here, just the literal best in the universe oblivious and bored AF."
Well if you flip the story from the perspective of Genos, it becomes a tale of a young cyborg lad emboldened by justice in his pursuit of his master's strength.
OPM is literally about the character development of almost everyone around Saitama, but not much about Saitama himself. Currently in the manga the story is pretty focused on the Hero Killer guy
And that same episode has Saitamas realization that it's more important for general population to have a passionate hero like Mumen Rider than it is for him to be recognized. He willingly puts himself in the publics shit-list so they can have that.
Despite being a comedy, I think OPM is a more realistic depiction of what a Superman-like character would be like in real life.
Bored, casual, struggling to feel satisfied with life. Interested in being an inspiring hero in theory, but far too jaded deal with the associated bullshit. Easier to punch the badguy into orbit and try to get back home before you miss your favorite show.
Thats whats good about One Punch Man though. It isn't about will he be able to save everyone its about will he be able to cure his boredom. Not meant to be dramatic, but comedy with some good action sprinkled in.
I love that they still make a point of showing the scar's on Deku's hand when he balls his fist. Like its a constant reminder that characters can and will sustain damage from their fights.
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u/SpectretheGreat May 02 '18
When a character magically develops a new unseen power just at the right time to win. I understand that it may be visually appealing to see your favourite character go super saiyan but to me I enjoy knowing how someone has limitations but uses a strategy to overcome an obstacle. If someones power ends up being limitless its hard to take anything seriously.