10 anime characters whose abilities failed them at the most crucial moment

As most anime fans must know by now, shonen anime characters are often known for their absurd abilities. Such abilities are usually quite overpowered and make the anime character in question invincible. Unfortunately, that's not always the case as there are times that such abilities fail them when they need them the most.

There have been several moments in anime when during a fight scene, one of the two characters starts to lose after their ability either dies down or backfires at them. With those in mind, here we shall be listing 10 anime characters whose abilities failed them at the most crucial moment.

Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers from different manga.

Son Goku, Delta, and 8 other anime characters whose abilities failed them at the most crucial moment

1) Father in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Father as seen in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime (Image via BONES)

During the final fight between Edward Elric and Father, in an attempt to regain his Ultimate Shield ability, the homunucli absorbs Greed again. However, what should have worked in his favor happened to backfire after Greed used the opportunity to take down Father.

Upon being absorbed, Greed turned Father's body to graphite. This naturally turned his body into one of the weakest elements in nature. Hence, Edward Elric managed to defeat the oldest homunucli easily.

2) Son Goku in Dragon Ball Super

Son Goku as seen in Dragon Ball Super (Image via Toei Animation)

Right before the final stretch at the end of the Tournament of Power, Goku was dominating the fight against Jiren using his Mastered Ultra Instinct ability. Unfortunately, this ability came undone, failing Son Goku at the most crucial moment.

Had it not been for a team-up between Universe 7 members Son Goku, Frieza, and Android 17, Jiren might have defeated all three of them and claimed victory for Universe 11.

3) Boruto Uzumaki in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Borushiki as seen in the Boruto anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

After Boruto learned how to use karma from Kawaki, the mark started acting as a power-up for the two karma users. Unfortunately, the "power-up" later turned into a curse after Momoshiki used it to take over Boruto's body.

While Borushiki's first appearance worked in favor of the protagonist, the second appearance was a curse as Momoshiki used the opportunity to pierce Sasuke Uchiha's Rinnegan eye. With that, Sasuke got nerfed and was forced to rely only on his Mangekyo Sharingan eye.

4) Delta in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Delta as seen in the Boruto anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Delta, a cyborg created by Amado, had the ability to absorb ninjutsu with her eyes and use the same to attack her opponents. She extensively used this ability against Naruto when she invaded the Hidden Leaf Village.

Just when it seemed like there was no way to defeat the cyborg, Naruto realized that Delta must have a limit to how much chakra she could absorb using her eye. Hence, Naruto attacked her with a Rasengan, continuously channeling his chakra into it. This eventually caused Delta's eye to reach its limit and stop functioning.

5) Zamasu in Dragon Ball Super

Zamasu as seen in Dragon Ball Super (Image via Toei Animation)

As fans might remember from the Goku Black Arc, there were two Zamasu, one Zamasu was immortal, while the other Zamasu had stolen Goku's body. With this combination, the two Zamasu were highly overpowered.

Unfortunately, after witnessing Goku and Vegeta's fusion, the two Zamasu made the mistake of fusing themselves. This was a mistake because the fusion of one immortal and a mortal being caused the resulting fusion to be mortal as well. Thus, Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks were able to defeat them.

6) Juushirou Ukitake in Bleach

Juushirou Ukitake as seen in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Following the Quincy invasion of the Soul Society, Juushirou Ukitake tried to replace the Soul King using a ritual called "Kamikake." This ritual essentially saw Ukitake turn into the right arm of the Soul King.

While this move could have worked in favor of the Shinigami, it backfired after the Wandenreich King Yhwach absorbed Mimihagi (Soul King's right arm). With that, Ukitake passed away, leaving the other Shinigami to fight the Quincy on their own.

7) Super Buu in Dragon Ball Z

Super Buu as seen in Dragon Ball Z anime (Image via Toei Animation)

As fans must remember, right before Super Buu's fight against Mystic Gohan, the antagonist absorbed both Piccolo and Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks. This gave Buu a huge power-up against the Saiyan.

This move later backfired on Buu as Gotenks' fusion was undone after 30 minutes. This caused his power level to drop by a lot. With that, Goku and Gohan no longer needed to fuse and could have defeated the antagonist themselves.

8) Satoru Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen

Satoru Gojo as seen in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via MAPPA)

As fans must remember, Satoru Gojo's strongest technique was his Infinity, which allowed him to shield himself from all sorts of attacks. This was one of the biggest reasons fans thought of him as invincible as no one could harm him.

Unfortunately, this ability did not remain true to its nature during the fight against Ryomen Sukuna. This is because the King of Curses slashed the entire world and the space that existed within it using Cleave. Therefore, Infinity itself was slashed away, leading to Gojo's untimely death.

9) Gremmy Thoumeaux in Bleach

Gremmy as seen in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Gremmy Thoumeaux was a Sternritter, assigned by the schrif V: The Visionary. Using the schrift, Gremmy was able to manifest anything he could think of. As overpowered as this ability was, it was also the reason why he passed away.

During Gremmy's fight against Zaraki Kenpachi, the Sternritter thought of Kenpachi to be a true monster. Hence, in pursuit of defeating him, he imagined himself as a monster with strength considered impossible to overcome. In doing so, the Sternritter killed himself.

10) Yuta Okkotsu in Jujutsu Kaisen

Yuta Okkotsu as Satoru Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen (Image via MAPPA)

Prior to the fight against Ryomen Sukuna, Yuta Okkotsu formulated a plan alongside Satoru Gojo, which would see him obtain Kenjaku's Cursed Technique to switch bodies. Using this, Yuta took over Satoru Gojo's body and fought the King of Curses.

Unfortunately, during the fight, after Yuta used Gojo's Unlimited Void, Kenjaku's Cursed Technique burned out, causing Yuta to reach his limit mid-battle. Thus, his Copy ability failed him at the most crucial time.

These are the 10 anime characters we picked whose abilities failed them at the most crucial time. If we have missed out on any anime characters, do comment below.