One of the tropes discussed most among anime fans is the Power of Friendship. That power enables a ton of heroes in the shonen world to push past their limits and defeat people they otherwise wouldn't have had a shot against. Nearly everyone uses this at some point or another, and it can be a great idea in some instances.
But sometimes it just becomes a little too much. There are some heroes who don't seem to be able to make it through any problem without needing help. Others might not have ever gotten started in the first place without their friends. Without the Power of Friendship, some anime would have ended within a couple of episodes at best.
10 Alibaba Wouldn't Have Started On His Goal Without His Friends (Magi: Labyrinth of Magic)
Alibaba needed his friends to be convinced to go on a journey in the first place. Despite wanting to regain his kingdom, Alibaba seemed content to work for a small-time merchant before Aladdin came along. It’s Aladdin’s behaviors that push him into the dungeon, where he gains the first his weapons and is truly set on his path. Over time, Alibaba learns to stand on his own, but for much of the series, he needs Morgiana’s physical protection and Aladdin to motivate him to do stuff.
9 Gon Only Survives Through The Series Because Of Killua's Assistance (Hunter X Hunter)
Gon has to rely on Killua time and again throughout Hunter x Hunter. Gon isn’t the biggest or baddest, and he doesn’t have some secret hidden power locked away. Often when he runs into villains, he’s in over his head and could be killed at any moment. Without Killua around, he’d have never learned when to run away or had someone to help him survive training that was well above what he should’ve been able to deal with. And once he defeated Neferpitou, without Killua, Gon would’ve never survived what he’d done to his own body.
8 Tougo's Superpowers Work Entirely Off Of Having Friends To Work With (The Red Ranger Becomes An Adventurer In Another World)
Tougo is the main character from The Red Ranger Becomes An Adventurer In Another World, a manga series that parodies both Super Sentai and isekai. The lead character was the Red Ranger of a group whose power was derived from the power of friendship.
It doesn’t even have to be a particularly close friendship either—he was able to use his combination cannon weapon after barely getting to know people’s names in an another world, so just having a group of people deciding to work together in a dangerous situation is more than enough for his powers to work. Without friendship, Tougo would find it difficult to accomplish much of anything at all.
7 Negi Needs Training From All Of His Friends & The Students He Teaches (Mahou Sensei Negima)
In fairness to Negi, if he hadn’t relied on his friends, he never could have succeeded as much as he did. Negi gradually makes friends with all the members of Class 3-A and finds that each of them has something they can contribute to help him on his quest to find his dad, and eventually to stop the Lifemaker.
He receives martial arts training from Ku Fei, he learns magic from Evangeline, and eventually the rest of them become partners through the power of his Pactio cards, which means they all find themselves in battle against some of the powerful threats from the end of the series.
6 Krillin Barely Survives From Arc To Arc Without The Help Of Goku & Gohan (Dragon Ball Z)
Krillin is the closest character that’s actually “friends” with Goku, but in reality, it’s the entire Z Fighter group. Dragon Ball Z’s pacing is questionable at times and they never actually give their supporting cast anything to do. As a result, a lot of times it’s just the main villain appearing and easily beating everyone else while they hope Goku shows up in time. Piccolo and Vegeta are able to defend themselves somewhat, while Yamcha and Tien eventually stop showing up. But Krillin is always there and can’t keep up at all, so without Goku to defend him, he’s in huge trouble.
5 Noelle Needs The Members Of The Black Bulls Motivating Her (Black Clover)
Noelle is best friends with the Black Bulls, and it’s that friendship that brings out her hidden abilities. She has trouble controlling her incredible magic at first, both due to just how much she has as well as not wanting to hurt anyone. But over time she starts working with her friends to control her abilities and becomes one of the strongest members of the team. This works great for the Black Bulls, but her family members comparatively never needed to do any of that to learn how to use their powers.
4 Joey Couldn't Even Win His First Match Without The Help Of Yugi (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Joey needs his friends so bad in the first arc—without them, he wouldn’t have even been there. Joey has no experience dueling, so he’s only tagging along because he’s friends with Yugi. He has to split Star Chips with Yugi meaning they both start out with only one.
Later, Yugi has to coach Joey through his duel against Mai, and it’s a big deal when Joey can’t rely on Yugi’s help to beat Rex Raptor. Even in Battle City Joey seems unsure of himself without his friends backing him up. Fortunately, both Joey and Yugi are equally devoted to one another and will risk their own lives to help the other.
3 Luffy Has Often Mentioned How He Needs His Friends, & Can't Staff A Ship Without Them (One Piece)
In all fairness, it's not like Luffy doesn't know this already. The character has actually boasted about how helpless he is without his friends, often in the middle of a fight. But to Luffy’s credit, that’s how it should be in a pirate universe where everything is about being the best pirate crew. Luffy can’t run an entire ship all by himself—he needs a navigator, a cook, and fortunately for him, he draws all those kinds of people to him so he doesn’t have to figure it out.
2 Natsu Relies On His Friends To Gain Power-Ups In Fights (Fairy Tail)
This really goes for all of Fairy Tail. It’s a world where strong emotions can charge up one’s magic, and the bonds that are shared between the members of Fairy Tail are constantly boosting them up. Natsu consistently goes into battle against opponents he’s got zero chance of defeating, and while his friends aren’t responsible for saving him directly, without his desire to protect them, he’d never get anywhere. Natsu even managed to defeat someone who supposedly possessed infinite magic thanks to the belief he had in his friends.
1 Yugi Has Risked His Own Life To Save A Brainwashed Joey (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Yugi Muto counted on the bonds of his friends so much they made a card out of it, known as Yu-Jo Friendship. He dueled his friend Joey during Battle City while Joey was literally brainwashed. He trusted him so much that he was still willing to fight for Joey when the loser would find themselves sunk into the ocean. Ironically, Joey is the same person who was responsible for bullying Yugi at some point, but who cares about that when they actually both enjoy the same card game?