Musical abilities, and a lack thereof, have been present in anime for a long time. There are characters who intentionally attack with music, using their voices or their instruments to bring their opponents down. On the other hand, there are characters with such a lack of musical talent that they can bring people an equal amount of agony.
Terrible musicians are usually played for laughs while characters with musical weapons think of creative ways to achieve victory. Both types of characters have displayed a surprising amount of talent, pulling off feats that most ordinary people would never be able to accomplish.
10 Attacks With Music: Vidaldus Taka Uses Guitar Magic (Fairy Tail)
Vidaldus is an assassin who worked under Jellal in the Tower of Heaven. His magic utilizes a guitar, which can take control of someone when played. During this time, the controlled victim dons rocker clothing and acts more aggressively.
He uses it to manipulate Juvia Lockser into attacking Lucy Heartfilia, despite having the ability to control more than one person at a time. Thanks to this, Lucy was able to best him in battle.
9 A Terrible Musician: Miyuki Shirogane Is Absolutely Terrible At Singing (Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War)
Shirogane was aware that he wasn't good at singing, but wasn't aware of just how appalling his singing voice was. Wanting to maintain his image, he chose to mouth the lyrics of the school anthem. Chika Fujiwara catches him and agrees to help him get better, but she immediately feels ill when she realizes that he sounds like he's possessed by a demon.
His singing was so frightening, but Fujiwara committed to helping him until he could sing half-decently.
8 Attacks With Music: Jigglypuff Puts People To Sleep & Draws On Their Faces (Pokémon)
Jigglypuff is a Pokémon who wants people to listen to and appreciate its music. Unfortunately, despite having a good singing voice, Jigglypuff always puts people to sleep whenever they listen to it.
This makes it puff out its cheeks in anger, revealing its microphone to also be a marker. It uses this marker to scribble on dozing victims in revenge, but its ability to put someone to sleep is actually a powerful move.
7 A Terrible Musician: Agumon Can't Sing At All (Digimon Adventure)
Tai Kamiya offers to help the Gekomon wake up their leader, ShogunGekomon, by singing in Mimi's place. He, Joe Kido, Gomamon, and Agumon take turns singing in hopes of succeeding, but none of them display any sort of musical talent. Agumon has the worst voice of all.
While Tai and Joe only made the Gekomon look disappointed, Gomamon's and Agumon's singing forced everyone to cover their ears to protect themselves.
6 Attacks With Music: Amiboshi Attacks With A Flute (Fushigi Yuugi)
Amiboshi is one of the Seiryuu warriors, who disguised himself as a Suzaku Warrior in order to infiltrate their ranks and to stop them from summoning their god, Suzaku. His flute has many uses, and he can utilize its powers as long as he holds it to the left.
He can ease the pain of others, bringing them peace with his music. On the other hand, he can use it to manipulate people, as well as kill the people who listen to it.
5 A Terrible Musician: Vegeta Can't Sing Or Dance Very Well (Dragon Ball Z)
When the god Beerus gets into a bad mood and expresses his desire to destroy Earth, Vegeta panics. He demands everyone's attention before rushing onto the stage, claiming that his performance was to be the main event.
He starts singing "Bingo" while performing dance moves just as atrocious as his singing, making everyone question whether or not he's drunk. Thankfully, his singing was enough to save the planet, which is more than what most bad singing can do.
4 Attacks With Music: Rose Otoribashi Can Create Illusions With Music (Bleach)
Rose's Bankai allows him to create illusions through the use of his music. The illusions are as real as the enemy believes them to be. If they are completely deceived, the illusions are capable of inflicting mortal damage onto them. It can even affect the opponent's surroundings.
Once hit by one of these illusions, it becomes incredibly difficult for the foe to convince themselves that it is not real. When using his Shikai, his Zanpakuto is shaped like a whip and uses sounds to create shock waves.
3 A Terrible Musician: Gajeel Is Often Booed Off Stage (Fairy Tail)
When Gajeel first joined Fairy Tail, no one wanted to see him onstage. This was mainly because Gajeel had been their enemy not long before. For his performance, he sang a song he created himself, titled "Best Friend."
Most people were completely dumbfounded when he started singing, and they hated it so much that they started throwing whatever they could get their hands on at him. Natsu Dragneel yells that Gajeel's voice is the worst thing he ever heard, leading to Gajeel throwing his guitar at him.
2 Attacks With Music: Primera's Words Appear As Giant Blocks Of Text (Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle)
Primera is a character in the Hanshin Republic with a Kudan, an entity that every inhabitant of that world possesses. Primera's Kudan is a microphone, which allows her to attack her enemies with physical blocks of text every time she speaks or sings into it.
The more she speaks, the longer the string of text is, which is why she prefers to utter tongue twisters. She can even make her Kudan change forms, allowing the text to pursue her enemy.
1 A Terrible Musician: Lucia Nanami has no sense of music Without Her Pearl (Mermaid Melody Pitchi Pitchi Pitch)
Every Mermaid Princess has a Pearl which allows them to transform into their Idol Forms. Without one, they have no sense of music.
At the start of the series, Lucia does not have her pearl. She sings a song to thank her friend Hippo, but her voice is so dreadful that she actually causes an earthquake. She can sing better once she gets her pearl back, although her voice still causes her enemies a great amount of pain when they listen to it.