#and i was like UGH these cans have those STUPID superheroes on them 🙄

[livvyofthelake]

the line between superheroes i like vs superheroes i don’t like is actually so simple it would blow some people’s minds for real. the superheroes i like are all women and the ones i don’t like aren’t… and then there’s the mass of ones i don’t care about one way or another of course

[llycaons]

personally I think a magic system should also be dynamic and flexible to be engaging, especially so that fights don't turn into "no, I'm unlocking my HIGHER POWER to defeat you' and just one-upping each other with progressively increasing brute force a la the most uninspired of bleach fights, and probably super saiyan in dbz. having a threatening antagonist and straight-up powerful character is important, but I think a good fight is one where creativity and specificity of powers really matters in outcome. this is something I've really been liking in mistborn's allomancy system - complex, engaging, perfectly suited for exciting fight scenes, and with non-combat applications

this is also why I really love the nen system in hxh. along with nen having all sorts of uses beyond combat, the fighting applications are so variable and unpredictable. a powerful character going against an opponent well-suited to defeating them may well lose. gon going gon-san and absolutely destroying neferpitpu was an exception that came about due to extreme character circumstances, and the all-powerful meruem wasn't even defeated by a nen user but by the cruelty and destructiveness of the human species (and...love?)

anyway, a magic system you can really dig your teeth into is multilayered, offers chances for the characters to improve, has a cost to balance the power it affords users, often has non-combat applications, is unique, and is complex but not overly complicated and therefore easy for an audience to follow. these systems are engaging and (imo) make for fun watching/reading experiences.

something I really disliked about the hero academy show was that the big guy's power was literally 'just being super strong' which is something that bores me to tears, and it's one of the reasons I never cared about a lot of conventional superheroes. the green boy needing to be extremely careful with his stupid unoriginal power because it breaks his literal bones and incapacitates him is one of the only interesting parts of his entire character even tho its SO fucking stupid, like kid, just drop out and become a plumber your world probably needs that WAY more of those 🙄. likewise, bleach is full of unique powers that its massive cast of characters wields, and when they power up they get higher-level expansions of their regular abilities, which admittedly looks sick as HELL but when the protag does it he just gets...really fast. ugh god ichigo you fucking suck so bad

but yeah gon having enhancer abilities doesn't bother me as much because he uses them in a fun way that demonstrateshis character (rock-paper-scissors is a GAME he's a KID). I sometimes wish he got more creative with them, but killua and other characters' powers are so variable and unique it makes for a really fun fight show anyway with incredible choreography