In anime, a hero typically relies on intelligence in order to defeat their villainous adversaries. Since they're usually underdogs, it makes sense that they'd have to rely on wits rather than sheer brawn. Even better, some of the best anime heroes strike a balance between cleverness and strength.
However, there are a handful of characters that throw caution to the wind and have virtually never fought with intelligence in their entire lives. Some manage to get by through the miracle of plot armor, while others aren't so fortunate. Somehow, these reckless and powerful heroes have managed to last in their respective storylines.
10 Luffy's Solution Almost Always Boils Down To Trying Harder (One Piece)
There have been few instances where Luffy has actually tried to fight with intelligence, and those that exist have always been due to his allies' suggestion. Under ordinary circumstances, he prefers to rely on dogged tenacity and overwhelming firepower in order to defeat opponents.
Against major arc villains like Doflamingo, Lucci, and Kaido, Luffy will often invent a new ability for the first time that he had been conceptualizing off-screen. As a result, he almost always defeats his opponents by having even more striking power than they do.
9 Bulat Does Not Make Full Use Of The Incursio Armor (Akame Ga Kill!)
Bulat was the first user of the Incursio armor and one of Night Raid's strongest members. Despite having the ability to turn invisible, he prefers a direct approach that best compliments his physical strength.
Though Bulat saved Tatsumi's life during one of his first missions, the man's refusal to avoid confrontation ultimately led to his death. Tatsumi learned from his aggression, deciding to use the arms' balance of stealth and resilience to last much longer than his predecessor.
8 Escanor Was Too Proud To Fight Intelligently (Seven Deadly Sins)
Obsessed with his own strength, Escanor was too proud to fight intelligently. He preferred to tank enemy attacks in exchange for his own, as seen through his battles with Estarossa, Galand, and even Meliodas.
By the end of the series, the Lion Sin was so determined to maintain his reputation that he killed himself with his own ability solely for a momentary boost of strength. Considering that the Sins were performing well against the Demon King before Escanor's duel, his intervention was more to slake his own ego than to turn the tide of battle.
7 Greed Relies On His Durability To Win (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Considering his "Ultimate Shield" ability, Greed has never bothered to hone his fighting skills into something more graceful. However, his overconfidence frequently leads to his downfall, as Edward can reverse engineer his defenses, and Bradley is fast enough to bypass them entirely.
When Greed took Ling Yao's body, they were forced together in order to survive. Greed provided a superhuman amount of resilience due to his homunculus physiology, while Yao's extensive training provided the grace and wit that his double sorely lacked.
6 Arthur Has To Make Pretend Just To Fight At All (Fire Force)
Despite being a profoundly talented soldier, Arthur's straightforward approach is to the detriment of himself and others. His only solution in defeating the White-Clad is by charging them and hoping that when he swings his blade, they'll go down.
Arthur fights even less intelligently when considering that he must force himself into a fictional scenario just to use his ability. It makes him incredibly unreliable in spite of his extraordinary power, which diminishes Company Eight's potential as a whole.
5 Inosuke Is A Berserker With No Sense Of Self Preservation (Demon Slayer)
Inosuke acts as if he's much more powerful than he actually is. He will lunge at whatever opponents he believes can challenge him, whether they be Muzan's monsters or even budding demon slayers.
In addition to fighting without a strategy, Inosuke overestimates his own durability. Since he misinterprets his ability to ignore pain as not being injured, there comes points in battles where his body will suddenly collapse. As a result, Inosuke's skills are best served in a team environment where he may be carefully monitored and used in a way that positively channels his aggression.
4 Leorio Doesn't Think Twice About Picking Fights (Hunter X Hunter)
Leorio's biggest issue is that he never thinks about how powerful his opponent might be. Whether Hisoka or Ging, he will race headfirst into a battle in order confront an opponent he's most likely incapable of beating.
Considering that Leorio only recently learned a Nen ability that is relatively weak in comparison to most, his overconfidence renders him a burden to much stronger allies. Still, Gon and Killua cannot help but be endeared by his earnestness and determination to become a doctor.
3 Choji Needs Shikamaru's Instruction To Fight Properly (Naruto)
Choji is only capable of fighting intelligently with Shikamaru's instruction. By himself, he is incredibly clumsy and cannot harness the full extent of his size-enhancing jutsu. Choji's low intelligence has oftentimes resulted in terrible judgment calls. For example, he thought he'd be immune to Dosu's sound gauntlet if he only covered his ears.
Additionally, Choji slowly took energy pills in an increasingly desperate bid to defeat Jirobo rather than using his yellow or red one immediately to prevent the villain from activating his curse mark. Nonetheless, Choji's ability to work in a team redeems his more glaring shortcomings.
2 Kirishima Recklessly Uses His Quirk Until Exhaustion (My Hero Academia)
Like Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Kirishima's defensive abilities render him overconfident in what he can do. Similarly, this makes him an unreasonably straightforward fighter whose weaknesses are bound to be exploited.
For example, Bakugo knew that Kirishima could only maintain hardening for a time, so he allowed him to exhaust himself by attacking at the Sports Festival. Once Kirishima could not optimally defend himself anymore, he was defeated with a myriad of brutal explosions. Kirishima's "Ultimate Hardening" may have increased the abuse he can take, but it weighs on his stamina even more.
1 Kenpachi Zaraki Deliberately Handicaps Himself When Fighting Opponents (Bleach)
Kenpachi Zaraki is one of the few anime characters to deliberately inhibit his own potential. By wearing his eye patch, he makes the conscious choice of limiting his spiritual pressure and fighting inefficiency.
In theory, Zaraki prolongs fights in order to enjoy them and learn more from his opponent. However, it has also led to close encounters against opponents that he would have otherwise dominated, such as Nnoitra and Ichigo. Considering that he puts personal enjoyment above duty, Zaraki remains one of the Soul Society's most contentious captains.