An incredibly common issue in shonen battle anime and manga is the persistence of power creep. Through a variety of factors, characters are able to level up to such a degree that it takes viewers out of the story. While some power scaling is necessary when showing the growth of the characters and their abilities, power creep takes it to the extreme.
When writing a big action-packed story, it can be hard to stop power creep from seeping into a series, especially for longer series like Dragon Ball and Naruto. However, some examples of power creep are absolutely absurd. These instances of power creep are nearly impossible to shrug off and stand as a black mark against their respective series.
Updated on April 13, 2023 by Ajay Aravind: Power scaling is arguably the most important concept in battle-based shonen anime. As such, it’s important to get it right to keep the audience’s suspension of disbelief intact. We’ve therefore updated this list with five more anime known for notably nonsensical power creeps.
15 Dragon Ball Z
The Dragon Ball series and its spin-offs are rife with power creep. The series went from a story about martial arts and strategy to becoming human-sized planet-destroying vessels. Many of its normal human cast became obsolete once the power levels began rising to a ludicrous degree.
It seems the longer the Dragon Ball story continued with its many different series, the higher the threat level would become, and the more the protagonists would have to level up to beat them. Ultimately, the introduction of the Super Saiyan doomed the series to its continuous climb in power and scale.
14 Fairy Tail (2009)
Fairy Tail is packed with power creep from arc to arc. Foes that Natsu, Lucy, and the guild had trouble facing in the beginning now feel completely useless in the face of the villains the guild faces at the end.
It doesn’t help that there is no real way to measure how much power a single wizard has. Natsu can beat other extremely powerful Dragon Slayers with ease, but can’t take on Gildarts in a one-on-one fight. The series also relies heavily on the power of friendship trope in order to give characters a boost to beat their enemies.
13 Jujutsu Kaisen
While not the worst offender, Jujutsu Kaisen does have its own issues with power creep. For the most part, the series balances its power scaling with varied abilities, strategies, and genuinely interesting battles.
The power creep really starts setting in when it becomes clear that Satoru Gojo, The Strongest, is no longer the most powerful combatant in the series. Whether this is part of Gege Akutami’s seemingly personal vendetta against Gojo or something else entirely, making a character stronger than “The Strongest” is bound to create an ever-escalating power creep.
12 Hunter X Hunter
Hunter x Hunter is an incredibly influential shonen battle anime and manga with a very detailed power system. For the most part, the series is able to deal with power scaling well enough to create a natural flow of growth for the characters and the threats they face.
However, for all the good the series does, the Chimera Ant arc completely drops the ball in controlling its power creep. The Ant soldiers are able to take out powerful Nen users with ease and even become proficient in Nen themselves, despite what little time they had to learn it.
11 The Legend Of Korra
The Legend of Korra is an interesting case study on the power creep concept. Since Avatar: The Last Airbender established the Avatar as the strongest being in the world, Korra was particularly susceptible to power creep as they needed enemies that could realistically go against someone as overpowered as Korra.
The most egregious case of this is the fight between Unalaq and Korra. What was supposed to be a grounded battle became a wrestling match between giant spirit versions of the two characters. This battle felt completely divorced from the more martial arts-based fights the series was known for.
10 Naruto: Shippuden
Naruto is certainly not immune to power creep, with nearly all of its characters getting some incredible power-ups throughout the course of the series. This has caused the power levels of the series to creep into divine levels, further ostracizing it from its humble beginnings.
The most prominent example of this is the War Arc. The main perpetrators of power creep are Naruto and Sasuke, but many other characters get unrealistic power-ups as well. Over the course of three days, Naruto and Sasuke level up to the point of being like gods.
9 Bungou Stray Dogs
In general, Bungou Stray Dogs is very good at staving off the effects of power creep. This is in no small part due to the story’s unique and varied power system that allows for interesting strategic battles. Despite this, instances of power creep do kick in from time to time.
One example of this is the sudden introduction of vampires, thanks to Bram Stoker’s ability. This particular foe is wildly different from the usual cases the protagonists go against, and his ability is incredibly overpowered in its use.
8 Demon Slayer
The threat of the demons in Demon Slayer was overwhelming enough at the lowest level. It only gets worse as the heroes fight higher-ranked demons. There are times in the series when the demon threat seems literally impossible to defeat based on the limited skillsets of the human fighters.
It is a miracle any Demon Slayer survives a battle with a demon if even the lowest of the Twelve Kizuki can cause such issues. This can make the fights in Demon Slayer feel incredibly unrealistic. Sometimes the suspension of disbelief is hanging by a thread in this series.
7 Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul‘s power creep problem is mostly caused by its lack of a well-defined power system. Main characters like Kaneki can take hit after hit and experience few consequences, while other characters like Nishki can only take one hit before they’re knocked out of the fight.
The scale of the battles in Tokyo Ghoul also rises exponentially as the series continues. Suddenly, all the ghouls battling the protagonists are incredibly powerful and can do things the audience has never seen before. With no defined power system, the series feels as if it is being driven by the mangaka’s whims.
6 Boruto
While Naruto had its fair share of nonsensical moments of power creep, its sequel Boruto exacerbates that issue ten-fold. As a successor series, Boruto falls into the trap of feeling like it needs to do more in order to be as good as the original series.
The power creep problem is a constant in Boruto, with the next generation powering up much faster and much easier than their older counterparts. Some characters in the series are even able to overpower characters like Naruto and Sasuke, who are already incredibly powerful in their own right.
5 *Bleach
Bleach is known for its vast number of characters, both heroic and villainous. With hundreds of named individuals in the series, it’s not surprising that power creep plays a significant role in the narrative. Ichigo, for example, somehow manages to defeat an eyepatch-less Zaraki Kenpachi in the first arc, while Kenpachi later obliterates Unohana Retsu after suddenly unleashing his “true” Reiatsu.
Further, Bleach had officially stated that very few warriors are capable of gaining Bankai, and that it takes Shinigami at least 5-10 years before reaching this point. And yet, so many characters start getting their Bankais in the final arc. Similarly, the Wandenreich villains are ridiculously overpowered, so much so that they make the Espada look like petulant children.
4 Gurren Lagann
Many fans argue that Gurren Lagann was designed to be an exaggerated caricature of shonen anime, an interpretation that rings true in certain ways. That said, the series can also be treated as pure shonen without a hint of satire. Gurren Lagann is all about drills and those chosen to wield them, an innuendo that makes the entire story a metaphor for anime fans’ expectations.
Simon’s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann defeats the villainous Anti-Spirals in a cosmic battle — both combatants use literal galaxies as throwing stars and nearly cause the destruction of the universe itself. This anime series doesn’t power creep as much as power sprint, and even this description is putting it lightly.
3 Yu Yu Hakusho
Yoshihiro Togashi’s Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the most iconic and influential shonen series ever created. The first two arcs of Yu Yu Hakusho are relatively balanced in terms of power creep, but the Chapter Black Saga takes things to a whole new level.
The villainous Shinobu Sensui appears out of nowhere and threatens the Human World with annihilation, forcing Yusuke to (inadvertently) channel his demonic atavism and save the day. Kazuma Kuwabara’s evolution is another notable example of power creep: a notoriously weak character who inexplicably transforms into an S-Class fighter in a matter of months.
2 My Hero Academia
Unlike several other shonen anime, My Hero Academia doesn’t focus exclusively on its protagonist. However, this doesn’t mean that Deku’s character arc is sidelined, especially after he begins unlocking his predecessors’ Quirks. The power system in My Hero Academia might be relatively simple, but this doesn’t make it immune to power creep.
Tomura Shigaraki’s successful Quirk operation gives him access to All For One’s original Quirk, but also endows him with physical strength on par with All Might. This outcome is particularly nonsensical as it doesn’t sync with previously established concepts surrounding Quirks.
1 One-Punch Man
There is no doubt that One-Punch Man is a shonen parody. Saitama’s powers are effectively limitless, allowing him to defeat almost every opponent with nothing more than a single punch. Even dangerously overpowered opponents like Boros don’t stand a chance against this bald superhero.
There is no power creep when it comes to Saitama, because he’s already invincible at the beginning of the story. Garou’s situation, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter. This formerly inconsequential villain grows ever stronger, ultimately becoming a cosmic entity before Saitama inevitably defeats him. That said, nobody’s complaining about the power creep in One-Punch Man, no matter how ridiculous.