Overpowered Gamer-Esque Powers

[CarlManvers2019]

My question is, how long do you guys think this’ll remain popular?

Because I’m being reminded of all those Bleach, Harry Potter, High School DxD, Naruto fanfics

Written by authors who more or less bash the original protagonists for NOT gaining thousands of seperate powers from the start or not learning and gaining everything super early and calling them “weak” for NOT being overpowered

These powers aren’t like say One Piece or JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure wherein you mostly have a single power and try finding out as many possible uses for it

Instead these ones seem more like becoming your own Dovahkiin and actually canonically having every single spell and weapon and armor and skill

Not to say I’m against having extra abilities or skills and equipment, but if the author’s gonna boast about how smart the MC is, may as well show it by them operating from a position of “weakness” and finding out enemy strengths & weaknesses and whatever they can improvise

Sword&Sorcery Protagonists are essentially Polymaths, but far from overpowered or able to have the right thing quickly for every situation

Admittedly, I think this is in part because the authors who write their stuff are just doing it on their spare time and not really making big plans or want to spend much time on say, making an epic battle that’s not just a curbstomp

 

[GoldRanger]

My question is, how long do you guys think this’ll remain popular?

Because I’m being reminded of all those Bleach, Harry Potter, High School DxD, Naruto fanfics

Written by authors who more or less bash the original protagonists for NOT gaining thousands of seperate powers from the start or not learning and gaining everything super early and calling them “weak” for NOT being overpowered

These powers aren’t like say One Piece or JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure wherein you mostly have a single power and try finding out as many possible uses for it

Instead these ones seem more like becoming your own Dovahkiin and actually canonically having every single spell and weapon and armor and skill

Not to say I’m against having extra abilities or skills and equipment, but if the author’s gonna boast about how smart the MC is, may as well show it by them operating from a position of “weakness” and finding out enemy strengths & weaknesses and whatever they can improvise

Sword&Sorcery Protagonists are essentially Polymaths, but far from overpowered or able to have the right thing quickly for every situation

Admittedly, I think this is in part because the authors who write their stuff are just doing it on their spare time and not really making big plans or want to spend much time on say, making an epic battle that’s not just a curbstomp

Why don't people in real life just learn every single skill? Why doesn't every plumber also highly knowledgeable in quantum physics and neuroscience?

 

[CarlManvers2019]

Why don't people in real life just learn every single skill? Why doesn't every plumber also highly knowledgeable in quantum physics and neuroscience?

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
— Lazarus Long

I call bullshit

To answer that question, I guess lacking that grinding gamer esque stuff and who the fuck’s actually interested in being able to do all that

 

[GoldRanger]

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
— Lazarus Long

I call bullshit

To answer that question, I guess lacking that grinding gamer esque stuff and who the fuck’s actually interested in being able to do all that

The real answer is that learning skills and knowledge in depth is hard work that takes a shitload of time, and will usually degrade if not regularly practiced and maintained, which takes yet more time and effort. I don't see why this fact of life shouldn't equally apply to anime worlds. If learning a jutsu was so damn easy, then literally every single human being would learn it, not just the protagonist.

 

[CarlManvers2019]

The real answer is that learning skills and knowledge in depth is hard work that takes a shitload of time, and will usually degrade if not regularly practiced and maintained, which takes yet more time and effort. I don't see why this fact of life shouldn't equally apply to anime worlds. If learning a jutsu was so damn easy, then literally every single human being would learn it, not just the protagonist.

In my opinion, even the clever or use their head sort of protagonists are a sort of "Boring Yet Very Practical" sort

Sure they could innovate with their abilities and spot weaknesses, but they're not gonna go out of their way to learn a long list of words and such, hell last I read My Hero Academia, I was of the opinion that note taking aside Deku's sort of intelligence was still very much the "clever" sort that even "Idiot Heroes" got and people forget they have it