Part 2: Super-Powered!
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The titles in this installment are all about super powers! Some series have actual superheroes, while others are about regular people with special abilities. But, whatever the reason, these are series you won’t want to stop watching!
Super Heroes
Tiger and Bunny is one of my favorite superhero anime. In a world where super-powers are common, many use their abilities as crime fighters on reality TV shows–tracking down criminals (and advertising for their sponsors). Kotetsu is a hero known as Wild Tiger, fighting crime with his “hundred power”, which increases his speed, strength, and agility 100 times over for a short period of time. But, when Kotetsu’s job is threatened by a younger, flashier hero with the same power, this lone wolf has to swallow his pride and learn to work on a team, even if that means he’s stuck as sidekick.
Saitama, the protagonist of One Punch Man, wants to be a hero for fun. After saving a boy from a hideous crab monster, he decides that he just might have what it takes. But, after putting his body through an insane training regime, he becomes too powerful. Like, WAY too powerful. Now, he can defeat any foe with just one punch. Fighting crime may be easy, but now it’s boring as heck, and Saitama’s new quest is to find a foe that proves an actual challenge.
Decades ago, certain people began to develop weird powers, called quirks. Now, about 80% of the world’s population have some sort of quirk, whether that allows them to become invisible, create explosions, or levitate. Izuku Midoriya has always wanted to be a hero, just like his idol All-Might, but he’s one of the quirkless 20%. However, that doesn’t stop him from striving for his dreams, and he joins the prestigious Hero Academy anyway. But, can a quirkless nobody still be a hero? You’ll have to check out My Hero Academia to find out!
Super-Powered
Just because a story has super-powered characters, doesn’t mean they’re superheroes. The titles listed here are all about characters with incredible abilities, who use them in very different ways.
Saiki is probably the most powerful being in the universe…but he’s also a (mostly) normal high school student who just wants to fly under the radar. However, things aren’t easy when you’re a psychic who can destroy an entire city without thinking. Despite his standoffish nature and desire to be left alone, Saiki somehow keeps attracting an increasingly eccentric group of friends, including a dimwitted thug, a teen who think’s he’s a superhero, the most popular girl at the school! This is The Disastrous Life of Saiki K!
K is a fresh take on gangs and superpowers. Yashiro Isana is a normal high school student who finds his life in danger when a video surfaces of him supposedly killing a member of the Red King’s clan. On the run from the Red Clan, a gang with dangerous fire powers, and hunted by an assassin known as the “Black Dog”, Shiro soon learns that this misunderstanding goes far deeper than he could have ever imagined. K is a three-part series, and really needs to be watched in order. Start with K, then the movie K: Missing Kings, and finally, finish up with K: Return of Kings.
One Piece is one of those series that so many people shy away from (because it’s HUGE). But, it’s also amazing. This is probably the most binge-worthy anime I can think of, and since there’s currently over 900 episodes, even the most die-hard binge-watcher will have plenty to keep them occupied. The story follows Luffy, a teen who wants to be King of the Pirates. But, this is easier said than done. The world is full of rare fruits, called Devil Fruit, which give the person who eats them incredible powers, but also takes away their ability to swim. Thanks to eating the Gum-Gum fruit, Luffy can stretch his entire body like rubber, but he won’t let his inability to swim (or lack of a crew) stop him from achieving his dreams.
