"It is an essential part of worldbuilding:" Anime fans discuss which power system reigns supreme in the 2D world

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Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Jan 26, 2025 5:00 PM EST

Ahoy, there, anime fans and stans. What's your favorite part of watching anime? Many tune in for an exciting plot filled with shocking twists, satisfying arcs, and exciting adventures. Some fans care less about the story and focus more on the characters, preferring slice of life shows where not much happens or enduring countless hours of filler just to see their favorites interact. There are some anime people watch mostly for the aesthetic. Yeah, the plot is predictable and the characters are one-dimensional, but man, is it a beautiful feast for the eyes.

I personally love an anime with extensive, well-thought out world building. Give me some rich history and background lore. I want a map of the world with terrain, geography, and territorial demarcations that make sense. Most importantly, I want an intuitive power system! Scroll down to find out which anime does it best in an intriguing online discussion.

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  • 01

    What are your favorite power systems?

    Which anime has the best power system?
    via DmitriiSimakov

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Reddeater_ Enhancement Strengthening themselves. or objects Emission Detaching aura from the body Manipulation Controlling animate and inanimate things (放 発 【特 Specialization Unique effect Transmutation Changing the quality or aura to match something else Conjuration Creating objects from aura NEN my favorite, it's just so versatile and complex.
    via u/Reddeater_
  • 03
    hayashirice911 I absolutely love the mix of how structured and basic the Nen system is, while simultaneously allowing for a lot of individualism and creativity. So there are grounded restrictions like your nen compatibility, the types of nen, the amount of nen etc.
    via u/hayashirice911
  • 04
    But everyone abilities are really only limited by their creativity. When Kurapika first revealed that you can even set up rules and contracts on your abilities to make them more powerful, it blew my mind.
    via u/hayashirice911
  • 05
    Mister_Screw Ducking Alchemy
    via u/Mister_ScrewDucking
  • 06
    domicci OP thats another in my top 10
    via u/domicci
  • 07
    Hero_1337 Magoi from Magi. I genuinely think the power system is one of the most intricate systems since it connects to literally everything in the story. From magical spells, to Djinns and magical weapons, to fate and the politics of countries. All of them have their own set rules and applications of Magoi, and most importantly, the Rukh helps to form the world of Magi. The way the power system affects Magi's worldbuilding is the best thing about the series imo.
    via u/Hero_1337
  • 08
    Cursed Energy from Jujutsu Kaisen is also a very intricate and rich power system. JJK's complex system was obviously inspired by HxH and Bleach, so it's no surprise it's also got a lot of thought behind it. My favorite thing about it is how it relies on more complicated factors such as matchups and skill instead of pure power to create advantages and disadvantages between characters.
    via u/Hero_1337
  • 09
    The fear system in Chainsaw Man is also very good, I think. It's very simple, yet the simplicity makes it extremely effective. Devils embody the greatest fears of living things and get stronger the more a concept is feared. The best part about this system is seeing all the unique and terrifying Devils and their designs, and not knowing what to expect. Unpredictability is Chainsaw Man's specialty.
    via u/Hero_1337
  • 10
    Objective_Balance521 Not animanga but my favorite would be GU and Potions from Reverend Insanity and Lord of The Mysteries respectively.
    via u/Objective_Balance521
  • 11
    black-pantha Reiatsu.
    via u/black-pantha
  • 12
    Faniris What do these count as? I mean because they are not Anime or Manga are they like Novels or something
    via u/Faniris
  • 13
    Jail_Chris_Brown Nen is great because it's farily balanced and allows creativity due to versatility. It's really complicated though. Probably my favourite. Stands are great because of the crazy sh going on that makes it really hard to predict. Scaling it is hard though since there's no balancing.
    via u/Jail_Chris_Brown
  • 14
    Chakra pre war arc in Naruto was also neat. Imagine something and suddenly it's a ninja art. Besides that anything dnd.
    via u/Jail_Chris_Brown
  • 15
    hemanshoe Personally, I think stands are balanced because in any match up, the opposing stands will have weaknesses and strengths that they must play to in order to beat the other
    via u/hemanshoe
  • 16
    Ferrel_Agrios Of this list. I would say either Nen or magic system in Freiren's world. At least for these two, power is learned. While there are a few that are talented but even irl has those. Because it is learned, you can create your very own form and style.
    via u/Ferrel_Agrios
  • 17
    If it's triggers in general then I would put them side by side with Freiren's system. Since it's learned. If it's the abilities, then while cool not really on top of the list of power systems I like.
    via u/Ferrel_Agrios
  • 18
    Though I'm leaning towards Freiren's system more than nen. Since as far as I know, While you can learn any form or style you want you still have a base or main nen that makes it easier for you to control, while the other attributes are difficult or simply impossible. As for world trigger idk what you mean here, whether you meant triggers in general or abilities like Yuma's or that guy with future site.
    via u/Ferrel_Agrios
  • 19
    domicci OP triggers is the power system i was thinking of and it doesnt have to be on this list these are just my top 5
    via u/domicci
  • 20
    Remnant55 Meet my stand, "Blondie" and it's power, "Heart of Glass!" Kira, meet my stand, "Theory of a Dead Man", and it's power, "Ambulance!" Stands, because they're just fun.
    via u/Remnant55
  • 21
    Shiro_no_Orpheus Nen is amazing, everyone agrees. I really like devil fruits and haki, because each is neat in their own way.
    via u/Shiro_no_Orpheus
  • 22
    Devil fruits are a way to have well defined rules and types while still being increadibly versitile and enabling really fun and interesting fights in the early parts of One Piece. Their connecting weakness of water and the well built up mystery about what they actually are and where they come from make them
    via u/Shiro_no_Orpheus
  • 23
    an essential part of the worldbuilding. The sheer danger of a logia type devil fruit was definetly felt during pre-timeskip One Piece. They felt like end- boss abilities and made characters an instant threat. Zoans make for great and unique beatdown fights and paramecias add a different layer of strategy to many fights.
    via u/Shiro_no_Orpheus
  • 24
    That being said, haki is the answer to the problem of logia types being basically undefeatable superhumans. Haki is basically the rule of cool but as a power system. Your haki is a direct extension of your willpower that allows you to do all the cool anime stuff, that is being super good at dodging,
    via u/Shiro_no_Orpheus
  • 25
    being super tuff and for some people, having mad aura. There is more to it, but Haki exists more as an explanation for all the superhuman stuff going on in the series while having massive lore implications and when being used actively, it becomes a cool part of the power system that massively changed the fights in later One Piece. I dislike that in most fights, Haki
    via u/Shiro_no_Orpheus
  • 26
    is more important than the devil fruits these days, but some of the greatest moments stem from haki enabling amazing storytelling, like Luffy vs Katakuri, Luffys growth on top of Onigashima or manga events from egghead. Haki makes the fights go way beyond what was possible before and does that while keeping the worldbuilding intact, in contrast to other power systems that break more and more the longer the series goes on.
    via u/Shiro_no_Orpheus
  • 27
    Gokudomatic Magic from Slayers. It's just channeling power from stronger beings, but the concept is the use of power words (incantations) that I like. Those incantations are providing power but at the cost of enduring the channeling of power in the body. Man must concentrate to channel properly the power without damage. Also the power varies depending on the
    via u/Gokudomatic
  • 28
    mastery of the caster. A beginner will need to recite a very long spell, but with little risk, whereas an expert can cast with few words the same spell, but where mistakes/lack of concentration are more deadly. So, anyone can learn an incantation, but casting it is a whole different topic. Also, people need mana to cast, which not everyone has. Pretty old fashioned, very inspired of DnD, but I like it.
    via u/Gokudomatic

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anime hunter x hunter fandom discussion Dragon Ball Z naruto JoJo's Bizarre Adventure japanese entertainment jujutsu kaisen Japan manga reddit thread Reddit one piece television
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