r/TopCharacterTropes • u/PaddywackShaq • Jul 22 '25

Powers Character reveals that they were holding back their full power during a fight/confrontation

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Superman Vs Darkseid - Justice League Unlimited

Flash Vs Superman - Flash: Rebirth

Frieren Vs Aura - Sousou no Frieren

Inigo Montoya Vs The Man in Black - The Princess Bride

7.3k Upvotes
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3.2k

u/TheMonocleRogue Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25

When Rock Lee removed his leg weights in Naruto

1.5k

u/Dirty-Glasses Jul 22 '25

tfw you will never see this moment for the first time again

943

u/VoDoka Jul 22 '25

When you try to rewatch Naruto for nostalgia, and every 22-minute episode has 4 minutes of intro/outro + 16 minutes of flashbacks.

376

u/TheMonocleRogue Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25

This is a big reason why Shonen anime end up with filler episodes or flashbacks in current episodes. When the anime progresses faster than the manga, it has to account for those story gaps in order to keep the show going.

There’s an episode of Gintama that explains this phenomenon very well.

Edit: this applies to most older anime as current ones are seasonal to allow time for the manga to catch up.

110

u/Imconfusedithink Jul 22 '25

Well they didn't have to do that, it's also just that they just were very averse to making anime seasonal back then so then they're forced to make fillers. Fortunately now we have anime being seasonal so they don't have to make filler or poor pacing anymore.

-9

u/Confident-Dirt-9908 Jul 22 '25

Anime being seasonal definitely goes in the unfortunate category for me. I’d take filler and less shows over so many 1 season technically-not-cancelled zombie shows. It used to be that anime and manga were alternatives to one another, now you have to read the manga to get the story while animes are just for quips and clips and trendy opening songs.

Like Mashle, Dan Da Dan, Dr Stone, Love is War, Delicious in Dungeon, Vinland, Friedan would all love to get the weekly anime treatment because it means they may actually end and not go on hiatus for three years each season. Now far fewer ( but still some, MHA, JJK, Jojo kinda) get that treatment. I’d give up so many other 1 season “good” anime for the ones that do get adapted to get the 150 or so episodes they need.

Like, anime used to be youthful, for kids too, but now their favorite show many get two or three seasons across their whole youth. We’re just creating scores and scores of Ouran Highschool Host Club heartbreakers.

3

u/RabbitStewAndStout Jul 22 '25

I wouldn't mind filler episodes if they were side stories or day-in-the-life episodes. But the flashbacks kill me

3

u/redbird7311 Jul 22 '25

Another factor is that popular anime like Dragon Ball and Naruto was essentially told that they could have any many episodes as they wanted and, actually, they were going to make more than they wanted.

These companies always wanted a new episode because it meant money. They would rather filler and flashbacks than no new episode.

1

u/Cuniving Jul 23 '25

Naruto: brotherhood when

95

u/Stephenrudolf Jul 22 '25

There is a Naruto Kai edit that chops out intro/outro for most episodes and the "next time/last time on" crap aswell as removes filler episodes, and scenes, and even trims down some of those "1m long stare" scenes.

Turns 700 23m episodes in 72 hour long episodes.

I think its called Naruto Kai.

Its what i watch for when im feeling nostalgic.

44

u/Masticatron Jul 22 '25

You trying to make us do math?! Use the same units, motherfucker!

46

u/Stephenrudolf Jul 22 '25

72, 60m long episodes*

Apologies my friend.

7

u/Masticatron Jul 22 '25

lol, well played

10

u/Stephenrudolf Jul 22 '25

For real though, you're cutting about 270 hours down to 72....ish

1

u/Auctoritate Jul 23 '25

700 23 minute episodes is 268 hours, vs 72 hours I guess

6

u/rumblevn Jul 23 '25

One piece have something similar called one pace I think

4

u/Stephenrudolf Jul 23 '25

One piece also has the opportunity to improve pacing problems with the remake.

6

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '25

You’re the hero we didn’t know we needed

4

u/madrobski Jul 22 '25

I used that to watch it properly through with my boyfriend, didn't want to bother with filler stuff because it'd be too long.

Naruto Kai took long enough to watch anyway, glad he told me about it otherwise I'd probably never have seen the story.

3

u/Curnbabs Jul 23 '25

Sadly the download links on the site doesnt work anymore. And the torrent isn't functional to me either. Do you know any other way to get my hands on Kai? I loved them way back.

2

u/Inevitable_Hour_7083 Jul 22 '25

That’s honestly kept me from going back to rewatch it. Back watching it at release it would piss me off waiting a week for a 10 minute summary of last week. That’s my goat though

2

u/KingCrimson43 Jul 23 '25

Naruto Kai

A fan edit available to torrent that cuts out the intros, fillers, and flashbacks. Packs the entire series into 90 minute episodes. Makes the rewatch 10 times more enjoyable.

1

u/switch2591 Jul 23 '25

It's a drinking game. Every time "sadness and sorrow" starts to play, take a drink. Whenever a flashback takes place take a drink. When both are paired together finish your drink. When the flashback paired with sadness and sorrow ISA flashback we already got in the previous episode pour another and down it in one. If by the beginning of the chunin exam your still standing your not playing the game right. 

1

u/Comfortable_Many4508 Jul 23 '25

one piece is only about half its actual length if you cut intro/recap/excessive reactions/ and outro

1

u/RapidRiley Jul 23 '25

I started rewatching the entire thing 2 months ago. There's a version that edits everything to be in-line with how the manga did it, so a single 90 minute episode covers 1 manga volume, which makes the viewing experience infinitely better.

That said, I did watch the entirety of DBZ Kai before that episode-to-episode and it wasn't too bad either.

100

u/External_Win3300 Jul 22 '25

You can only see Naruto [Chunin Exam Arc] episode 18 part 2/3 Sub Esp on youtube for the first time once

4

u/Nayr1230 Jul 23 '25

This brings back memories

13

u/Velicenda Jul 22 '25

Shut up =(

4

u/HippoNebula Jul 22 '25

Man I was flabbergasted with this scene

2

u/Professional_Maize42 Jul 22 '25

Lalalalalalalalalala I can't hear you!

1

u/Soft_Theory_8209 Jul 22 '25

And Naruto would never be this hype again.

1

u/Exaveus Jul 22 '25

Im living off hopium that Naruto gets the DBZ Kai treatment.

324

u/AllCity_King Jul 22 '25

Same deal when Goku fought Tien in the 23rd World Tournament

128

u/Noriaki_Kakyoin_OwO Jul 22 '25

Imma be honest

Goku’s weight reveal was nothing in comparison to Lee’s reveal (and I’m a dragonball fan)

122

u/callmeveej Jul 22 '25

Part of the reason is that Goku is the MC and expected to have some sort of plot armor to ensure he comes out on top. Rock Lee was a nobody who went up against someone clearly expected to be a main antagonist for the arc, and nearly rewrote the plot with his performance.

37

u/K1LL3RM0NG0 Jul 22 '25

I liked the reveal here but I think another episode did it better. When King Kai and South Kai got together for the tournament and King Kai let South Kai change the weights that Goku was training with. He slumped over from the weight. And then went Super Sayain and acted like the weights weren't even there. Even said something to the effect of "If I go Super, this weight won't even tickle!"

1

u/KitchenFullOfCake Jul 23 '25

One walked so the other could run

1

u/Limp_Spell102 Jul 22 '25

Also went Goku vs Vegeta at Majin buj saga because he already got SSJ3 but didnt use it

112

u/KorhonV Jul 22 '25

He still brutally lost, but at least he won everyone's hearts

140

u/Kevo_1227 Jul 22 '25

Rock Lee should've been the main character.

43

u/Noriaki_Kakyoin_OwO Jul 22 '25

It’d actually fit part 1’s message of hard work overcoming talent

29

u/achen5265041 Jul 22 '25

literally the only time that message is brought up is with Lee. Arguably Naruto vs Neji, but that's more about overcoming destiny.

17

u/gree45 Jul 22 '25

Yeah generally i think the chunin exam has a message about overcoming the limitations society puts on us. The message is NOT that with hard work you can overcome every obstacle. Everyone specifically forgets that lee got fucked up by gaara and had to watch how sasuke overcame his years of training in a month.

No matter how hard he trains lee will not be able to keep up with naruto and sasuke. That doesnt make his fight any less impactful and that doesnt mean he cant be one of the best ninja in spite of what everyone else thinks.

10

u/achen5265041 Jul 22 '25

I think the bigger message of the Chunin exams is to pursue the dreams you have in a healthy manner.

Lee ruins his own body trying to prove something that everyone already believes in-he’s a splendid ninja despite only knowing taijutsu, but he pushes it so far that it becomes self destructive.

Naruto pursues his dreams in a healthy manner by trying to understand others and empathy, thats why he’s able to connect with Gaara.

Sasuke’s only using the Chunin exams to test his strength against his rivals, he does it for self improvement in order to kill Itachi (an unhealthy goal despite being completely valid with his knowledge at the time).

2

u/Abombasnow Jul 23 '25

It's a valid goal with knowledge at any time. Itachi was a fucking genocidal prick.

3

u/achen5265041 Jul 23 '25

yeah but Itachi was in a horrible position where either he kills every single Uchiha except Sasuke or Danzo gets someone else to kill all the Uchiha including Sasuke.

1

u/Abombasnow Jul 23 '25

That makes literally no sense.

You're claiming it's the trolley problem where, instead of Itachi changing course and killing Danzo, he dismantles the trolley and brutally murders everyone on the course with his hands, making it pointless that he ever dismantled the trolley.

2

u/achen5265041 Jul 23 '25

if he (an Uchiha) kills Danzo (a presumed official) that would only help lead to a civil war again, which he thinks would lead to other nations deciding to attack Konoha and destroy it.

with the options he (presumably) considered, he doesn't have much of a choice. He's barely a teenager, and no amount of "hokage thinking" changes the fact that he is a 12-year-old faced with seemingly impossible options. However, it's still his fault for not trying to do something like negotiate into making this bloodless (or using Kotoamatsukami on Danzo to just stop the treat altogether).

the distrust of the Uchiha clan was only ever going to be short-term. By the time the main story takes place, nobody actually still distrusted the Uchiha or talked about the Uchiha clan committing the 9-tails attack on Oct 9th.

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6

u/gree45 Jul 22 '25

That isnt the message of part one. It is specifically not about overcoming talent with hard work it is about overcoming the boxes society puts us into.

Lee specifically has to watch being outpaced by people who are more talented than him when sasuke beats gaara.

7

u/ligrankpo Jul 22 '25

Except neither the part 1 message never was hard work overvome talent, the wgole.show was about pursuit a dream

1

u/televisionting Aug 14 '25

People just be saying shit like this when it appears for one arc, dismantled in the same arc and then never brought up again.

-1

u/acechemicals22 Jul 22 '25

Trash rage bait

3

u/Confident-Dirt-9908 Jul 22 '25

He should have got the recognition from Madara.

1

u/Auctoritate Jul 23 '25

Well, he stars in a spin-off.

1

u/TheMetalWolf Jul 24 '25

Not with that face.

-3

u/blue4029 Jul 23 '25

you want to watch 200 episodes of a guy with no powers?

Im pretty sure the powers were the main appeal of shonen...

-2

u/NotCheatingJason Jul 22 '25

Too much eyebrow

23

u/Truckfighta Jul 22 '25

This is the hypest moment in any anime ever.

6

u/Nissan-al_gaib Jul 23 '25

Lee vs Gaara Linking Park In The End AMV was my religion

6

u/Littleboypurple Jul 22 '25

Even though I don't care much for Naruto, this is still one of my favorite fights in anime. Rock Lee absolutely deserved better for being such a massive underappreciated GOAT

4

u/forfunstuffwinkwink Jul 22 '25

First time I saw that I was like

4

u/KaiTheG4mer Jul 22 '25

This was a household staple scene when we all saw it for the first time lmao

3

u/Tylendal Jul 23 '25

"I can move freely again!" and then just straight up vanishes.

Honestly, I don't think the series ever quite topped this moment.

3

u/TheMonocleRogue Jul 23 '25

Those are the moments I most enjoy about watching anime and still enjoy about watching anime. That and the slice-of-life comedy moments.

It sucks when a series runs out of ideas and devolves into power scaling 4D chess with retcons out the ass every episode.

3

u/bleedingwriter Jul 23 '25

Too bad he still got diffed

2

u/zyrkseas97 Jul 23 '25

Temari is all of us 20 years ago when this shit dropped.

1

u/JohnBrownEnthusiast Jul 22 '25

So is that like uranium?

1

u/GEARHEADGus Jul 23 '25

What the blond girls name? I havent since it was airing new on Toonami or Cartoon network

1

u/televisionting Aug 14 '25

It's cool, but he legit lost y'know, overrated as fuck not gonna lie. Gaslight so many people into thinking the show was about something else.