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** [[spoiler:Van Augur]] ate the Warp-Warp Fruit, allowing him to teleport across vast distances. His claim that he hasn't fully mastered its power yet implies that he only ate it recently, and thus his range is limited to the island he's standing on.
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** After Kaku ate a Devil Fruit that transformed him into a giraffe or giraffe-man hybrid, he has trouble changing into the specific form he wants and, since he hadn't been able to explore his new capabilities, just makes new attacks up as he gies along. That said, because he was a skilled fighter before he ate his DF, adapts to his new powers much faster than the average DF user and thus is still a formidable opponent. Still, having a full-grown giraffe fall through the ceiling [[Funny/OnePiece made for some hilarious moments]].
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** After Kaku ate a Devil Fruit that transformed him into a giraffe or giraffe-man hybrid, he has trouble changing into the specific form he wants and, since he hadn't been able to explore his new capabilities, just makes new attacks up as he gies goes along. That said, because he was a skilled fighter before he ate his DF, adapts to his new powers much faster than the average DF user and thus is still a formidable opponent. Still, having a full-grown giraffe fall through the ceiling [[Funny/OnePiece made for some hilarious moments]].
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Whitebeard example is basically Fridge since we never see or are told of him struggling to figure out his powers.
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** Whitebeard's revealed power to make earthquakes involves punching the air as if it were a glass window. [[GuideDangIt Can you honestly say you'd figure that one out without being told?]]
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** After Kaku ate a Devil Fruit that transformed him into a giraffe or giraffe-man hybrid, he had trouble changing into the specific form he wanted and, since he hadn't been able to explore his new capabilities, just made new attacks up as he went along. That said, because he was a skilled fighter before he ate his DF, adapted to his new powers much faster than the average DF user and thus was still a formidable opponent. Still, having a full-grown giraffe fall through the ceiling [[Funny/OnePiece made for some hilarious moments]].
** Tashigi, after she [[spoiler:was body-switched with Smoker]], has a hard time [[spoiler:using the latter's Devil Fruit powers]], and has to ask how to use them.
** Tashigi, after she [[spoiler:was body-switched with Smoker]], has a hard time [[spoiler:using the latter's Devil Fruit powers]], and has to ask how to use them.
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** After Kaku ate a Devil Fruit that transformed him into a giraffe or giraffe-man hybrid, he had has trouble changing into the specific form he wanted wants and, since he hadn't been able to explore his new capabilities, just made makes new attacks up as he went gies along. That said, because he was a skilled fighter before he ate his DF, adapted adapts to his new powers much faster than the average DF user and thus was is still a formidable opponent. Still, having a full-grown giraffe fall through the ceiling [[Funny/OnePiece made for some hilarious moments]].
** Tashigi, after she[[spoiler:was [[spoiler:gets body-switched with Smoker]], has a hard time [[spoiler:using the latter's Devil Fruit powers]], and has to ask how to use them.
** Tashigi, after she
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* In ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'''s TournamentArc, One opponent managed to steal one of Recca's flame dragons. However, he had no idea which one out of Recca's eight dragons he acquired (he was hoping to get the most powerful one). This guy manages to acquire a one-eyed dragon named Setsuna who, as told by one of Recca's other dragons, is quite powerful but a rather disobedient dragon. When the opponent tries to sic Setsuna on Recca, the very annoyed dragon promptly asks why the hell he should listen to some new guy and fried him in response.
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* In ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'''s TournamentArc, One one opponent managed manages to steal one of Recca's flame dragons. However, he had has no idea which one out ''which'' of Recca's eight dragons he he's acquired (he was hoping to get the most powerful one). This guy manages to acquire As it happens, he'd acquired Setsuna, a one-eyed dragon named Setsuna who, as told by according to one of Recca's other dragons, is quite powerful but a rather disobedient dragon. disobedient. When the opponent tries to sic Setsuna on Recca, the very annoyed dragon promptly asks why the hell he should listen to some new guy and fried fries him in response.
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** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Amuro]] and [[Anime/AfterWarGundamX Garrod's]] first sortie was "Use vulcans and scare off my enemies and tank the machine gun rounds" and then "use sword to fend off enemy mobile suits". It was only after the first battle did they got the knowledge to pilot the suit. For Garrod's first experience firing the WaveMotionGun, it gives Tifa a HeroicBSOD. Lucky for them that Amuro has PsychicPowers and Garrod is a genius at improvisation.
*** Kou Uraki of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory'' was just a rookie using a captured Zaku II for testing when he's forced to take up the GP-01. His inexperience with everything leads him to getting the GP-01 getting shot up when he takes it out into space without it modified for space combat.
*** Kou Uraki of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory'' was just a rookie using a captured Zaku II for testing when he's forced to take up the GP-01. His inexperience with everything leads him to getting the GP-01 getting shot up when he takes it out into space without it modified for space combat.
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** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Amuro]] and [[Anime/AfterWarGundamX Garrod's]] first sortie was "Use vulcans and scare off my enemies and tank the machine gun rounds" and then "use sword to fend off enemy mobile suits". It was only after the first battle did that they got the knowledge to pilot the suit. For Garrod's first experience firing the WaveMotionGun, it gives Tifa a HeroicBSOD. Lucky for them that Amuro has PsychicPowers and Garrod is a genius at improvisation.
*** Kou Uraki of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory'' was just a rookie using a captured Zaku II for testing when he's forced to take up the GP-01. His inexperience with everything leads to himto getting the GP-01 getting shot up when he takes it out into space without it being modified for space combat.combat first.
*** Kou Uraki of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory'' was just a rookie using a captured Zaku II for testing when he's forced to take up the GP-01. His inexperience with everything leads to him
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** Senketsu is also an example as it starts with little idea of its own capabilities other than its need to be worn by Ryuko and all of its subsequent power upgrades come as [[EmergencyTransformation Emergency Transformations]] during battle.
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** Senketsu is also an example as it starts with little idea of its own capabilities other than its need to be worn by Ryuko and all of its subsequent power upgrades come as [[EmergencyTransformation Emergency Transformations]] {{Emergency Transformation}}s during battle.
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** Even though he had it first, Yuuno of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' never was able to properly use [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart]], only being able to fight with its crystal-like Standby Mode and [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull needing to say a really long activation phrase to do even that]]. One must wonder how he felt when the then beginner mage Nanoha was able to easily unlock a full Barrier Jacket, activate [[SwissArmyWeapon RH's alternate Modes]], and do all of that without the need of the long incantation. According to the [[AllThereInTheManual novel version and the official page]], [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart fine-tuned herself]] for Nanoha. Guess given the choice of being a tool for a Bombardment Mage or a Force Field Mage, [=AIs=] go for the path that lets it [[StuffBlowingUp blow stuff up]].
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** Even though he had it first, Yuuno of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' never was able to properly use [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart]], only being able to fight with its crystal-like Standby Mode and [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull needing to say a really long activation phrase to do even that]]. One must wonder how he felt when the then beginner then-beginner mage Nanoha was able to easily unlock a full Barrier Jacket, activate [[SwissArmyWeapon RH's alternate Modes]], and do all of that without the need of the long incantation. According to the [[AllThereInTheManual novel version and the official page]], [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart fine-tuned herself]] for Nanoha. Guess given the choice of being a tool for a Bombardment Mage or a Force Field Mage, [=AIs=] go for the path that lets it [[StuffBlowingUp blow stuff up]].
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** The protagonist Izuku Midoriya himself. Unlike his classmates, who had their Quirks since they were toddlers and thus had a lot of time to learn how to use them, Izuku only received One for All recently. Much of the beginning of the series is him figuring out how to use his god-like strength without literally destroying his body from the stress. [[spoiler:Then he [[AllYourPowersCombined starts manifesting the Quirks of previous One For All users]], and has to learn those as well]].
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** The protagonist Izuku Midoriya himself. Unlike his classmates, who had their Quirks since they were toddlers and thus had a lot of time to learn how to use them, Izuku only received One for All recently. Much of the beginning of the series is him figuring out how to use his god-like strength without literally destroying his body from the stress. [[spoiler:Then he [[AllYourPowersCombined starts manifesting the Quirks of previous One For All users]], and has to learn those ''those'' as well]].
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** This trope is specifically why the BigBad All For One doesn't [[PowerParasite take the quirks]] of people whose abilities are DifficultButAwesome because he doesn't want to waste the years on abilities to become useful when more straightforward and easy to use Quirks are more practical.
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** This trope is specifically why the BigBad All For One doesn't [[PowerParasite take the quirks]] of people whose abilities are DifficultButAwesome DifficultButAwesome: because he doesn't want to waste the years on abilities to become useful when more straightforward and easy to use Quirks are more practical.
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** Inuyasha didn't even knew about [[EmpathicWeapon Tetsusaiga's]] [[SwordBeam Kaze no Kizu / Wind Scar]] when he first got it. It took some time until he learned about it, more time to use it accidentally, even more time to use it at will and even more time to truly master it. When he gains a new power in his sword, he has to learn how to use it. Like the Wind Scar, the Dragon-Scale Tessaiga was something he struggled desperately to master and, in both situations, something his brother said was what started him on the road to mastering the power (in the case of the Wind Scar, his brother's help was accidental, in the case of the Dragon-Scale, his brother's help was deliberate, if not cryptic). In both cases, the main lesson for Inuyasha wasn't what the powers could do (which only had limited functionality) but what he could achieve when he believed in himself as a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-demon]].
** Sesshoumaru has the ability to instantly master any weapon, especially swords. He even knows how to master swords he hasn't even touched (such as Inuyasha's Dragon-Scale Tessaiga). However, when Tenseiga gained the Meidou Zangetsuha power, Sesshoumaru struggled to master the ability. When he did finally master the ability (after a humiliating encounter with an old enemy of his father), he realized that he wasn't meant to keep the power and passed it on to Inuyasha instead. It was the only sword power in the entire story that required a compassionate heart to master instead of fighting/weapon skill or instinct, and the lesson for Sesshoumaru was that he should never wield a sword without feeling fear at the possibility of losing loved ones or without feeling compassion for even his enemies.
** Sesshoumaru has the ability to instantly master any weapon, especially swords. He even knows how to master swords he hasn't even touched (such as Inuyasha's Dragon-Scale Tessaiga). However, when Tenseiga gained the Meidou Zangetsuha power, Sesshoumaru struggled to master the ability. When he did finally master the ability (after a humiliating encounter with an old enemy of his father), he realized that he wasn't meant to keep the power and passed it on to Inuyasha instead. It was the only sword power in the entire story that required a compassionate heart to master instead of fighting/weapon skill or instinct, and the lesson for Sesshoumaru was that he should never wield a sword without feeling fear at the possibility of losing loved ones or without feeling compassion for even his enemies.
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** Inuyasha didn't even knew about [[EmpathicWeapon Tetsusaiga's]] [[SwordBeam Kaze no Kizu / Wind Scar]] when he first got it. It took some time until he learned about it, more time to use it accidentally, even more time to use it at will and even more time to truly master it. When he gains a new power in his sword, he has to learn how to use it. Like the Wind Scar, the Dragon-Scale Tessaiga Tetsusaiga was something he struggled desperately to master and, in both situations, something his brother said was what started him on the road to mastering the power (in the case of the Wind Scar, his brother's help was accidental, in the case of the Dragon-Scale, his brother's help was deliberate, if not cryptic). In both cases, the main lesson for Inuyasha wasn't what the powers could do (which only had limited functionality) but what he could achieve when he believed in himself as a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-demon]].
** Sesshoumaru has the ability to instantly master any weapon, especially swords. He even knows how to master swords he hasn't even touched (such as Inuyasha's Dragon-ScaleTessaiga).Tetsusaiga). However, when Tenseiga gained the Meidou Zangetsuha power, Sesshoumaru struggled to master the ability. When he did finally master the ability (after a humiliating encounter with an old enemy of his father), he realized that he wasn't meant to keep the power and passed it on to Inuyasha instead. It was the only sword power in the entire story that required a compassionate heart to master instead of fighting/weapon skill or instinct, and the lesson for Sesshoumaru was that he should never wield a sword without feeling fear at the possibility of losing loved ones or without feeling compassion for even his enemies.
** Sesshoumaru has the ability to instantly master any weapon, especially swords. He even knows how to master swords he hasn't even touched (such as Inuyasha's Dragon-Scale
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* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', occasionally one of the heroes' Pokemon will have trouble mastering a new attack until several episodes later. One of the Sinnoh arc's running gags was Gible's Draco Meteor misfires always homing in on Piplup. Then there was Duplica's Ditto, which couldn't master transformations for a long time... it would never get the face right.
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* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', occasionally one of the heroes' Pokemon will have trouble mastering a new attack until several episodes later. One of the Sinnoh arc's running gags was Gible's Draco Meteor misfires always homing in on Piplup. Then there was Duplica's Ditto, which couldn't master transformations for a long time... it would never get the face right.
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* In ''Literature/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', this is usually {{averted}} by [[TheHero Rimuru Tempest]] thanks to the help of [[BenevolentAI Great Sage/Raphael]], whose major job is not just explaining his [[SuperpowerLottery crapton of powers]] [[TheAssimilator which he's constantly adding to and evolving]], but also teaching him how to use them to their fullest potential. Though this won't stop him from not listening to an explanation, whether due to him tuning her out due to being distracted by battle or other thoughts or [[StopHelpingMe interrupting her attempts]] (the latter of which often makes her miffed and she'll wait for him to fall on his face before he swallows his pride to listen).
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* In ''Literature/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', this is usually {{averted}} by [[TheHero Rimuru Tempest]] thanks to the help of [[BenevolentAI Great Sage/Raphael]], whose major job is not just explaining his [[SuperpowerLottery crapton of powers]] [[TheAssimilator which he's constantly adding to and evolving]], but also teaching him how to use them to their fullest potential. Though this won't stop him from not listening to an explanation, whether due to him tuning her out due to being distracted by battle or other thoughts or [[StopHelpingMe [[UnwantedAssistance interrupting her attempts]] (the latter of which often makes her miffed and she'll wait for him to fall on his face before he swallows his pride to listen).
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* In the 1979 pilot short ''Anime/UnicoBlackCloudAndWhiteFeather'' by [[Creator/{{Sanrio}} Sanrio Animation]] based on Creator/OsamuTezuka's [[Manga/{{Unico}} Unico manga series.]] [[{{Unicorn}} Unico]] befriends a rat who gives him tiny bits of crumbs since he hadn't eaten anything in a while. After Unico discovers that the crumbs the rat gave him were originally intended for his children to eat, the children resort to nibbling on his tail. [[TenderTears The little unicorn starts crying]] as he unknowingly uses the powers originating from his horn to give the rat and his children a small slice of cake. When Unico first learns this from the rat, he's completely confused and even tries hitting his head a few times for his powers to work again.
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* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':
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* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'':
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* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', the reason why Louise seems to be an IneptMage is because [[spoiler:her affinity is [[PowerOfTheVoid Void Magic]], a long forgotten art]]. Once she learns this, she becomes much more effective when she figures out the kinks. Saito's power is to become an InstantExpert with any weapon, but it takes him a while to realize that it only works with real weapons. He tries to use an ornamental sword and gets his ass kicked. He also needs to be in a real fight, as when he tried to twirl a sword around to show off, he made a fool of himself.
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* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'', the reason why Louise seems to be an IneptMage is because [[spoiler:her affinity is [[PowerOfTheVoid Void Magic]], a long forgotten art]]. Once she learns this, she becomes much more effective when she figures out the kinks. Saito's power is to become an InstantExpert with any weapon, but it takes him a while to realize that it only works with real weapons. He tries to use an ornamental sword and gets his ass kicked. He also needs to be in a real fight, as when he tried to twirl a sword around to show off, he made a fool of himself.
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* In ''LightNovel/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakareTsuzuketaShounen'', Flare initially struggles to control his hellfire with any degree of precision, burning away underbrush haphazardly and nearly burning Primavera while trying to take care of a raging giant boar. He comes up with the idea of using his shaman magic to concentrate the fire around his arms to make them easier to handle rather than shooting them everywhere.
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* In ''LightNovel/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakareTsuzuketaShounen'', ''Literature/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakareTsuzuketaShounen'', Flare initially struggles to control his hellfire with any degree of precision, burning away underbrush haphazardly and nearly burning Primavera while trying to take care of a raging giant boar. He comes up with the idea of using his shaman magic to concentrate the fire around his arms to make them easier to handle rather than shooting them everywhere.
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* In ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', this is usually {{averted}} by [[TheHero Rimuru Tempest]] thanks to the help of [[BenevolentAI Great Sage/Raphael]], whose major job is not just explaining his [[SuperpowerLottery crapton of powers]] [[TheAssimilator which he's constantly adding to and evolving]], but also teaching him how to use them to their fullest potential. Though this won't stop him from not listening to an explanation, whether due to him tuning her out due to being distracted by battle or other thoughts or [[StopHelpingMe interrupting her attempts]] (the latter of which often makes her miffed and she'll wait for him to fall on his face before he swallows his pride to listen).
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* In ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', ''Literature/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', this is usually {{averted}} by [[TheHero Rimuru Tempest]] thanks to the help of [[BenevolentAI Great Sage/Raphael]], whose major job is not just explaining his [[SuperpowerLottery crapton of powers]] [[TheAssimilator which he's constantly adding to and evolving]], but also teaching him how to use them to their fullest potential. Though this won't stop him from not listening to an explanation, whether due to him tuning her out due to being distracted by battle or other thoughts or [[StopHelpingMe interrupting her attempts]] (the latter of which often makes her miffed and she'll wait for him to fall on his face before he swallows his pride to listen).
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* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': In Usagi's first adventure as Sailor Moon, she has no idea what she is doing, not to mention she is panicking from being a young girl suddenly thrown into a life or death situation. She needs Luna to coach her through using her powers. In contrast, every other Sailor Senshi seems to automatically know how to use their powers.
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* In ''Manga/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakaReTsuzuketaShounen'', Flare initially struggles to control his hellfire with any degree of precision, burning away underbrush haphazardly and nearly burning Primavera while trying to take care of a raging giant boar. He comes up with the idea of using his shaman magic to concentrate the fire around his arms to make them easier to handle rather than shooting them everywhere.
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* In ''Manga/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakaReTsuzuketaShounen'', ''LightNovel/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakareTsuzuketaShounen'', Flare initially struggles to control his hellfire with any degree of precision, burning away underbrush haphazardly and nearly burning Primavera while trying to take care of a raging giant boar. He comes up with the idea of using his shaman magic to concentrate the fire around his arms to make them easier to handle rather than shooting them everywhere.
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* ''Anime/DigiCharat'' has Puchiko attempting EyeBeams like her sister Dejiko and... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toiuaHCI_CU not quite getting it.]]
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* ''Anime/DigiCharat'' has ''Anime/DiGiCharat'': Unlike her older sister Dejiko, Puchiko is unable to fire EyeBeams, instead usually firing strange blob creatures or other random things. An episode in both [[Anime/DiGiCharat1999 the original series]] and ''[[Anime/DiGiCharatNyo Nyo!]]'' focus on her attempting EyeBeams like her sister Dejiko and... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toiuaHCI_CU not quite getting it.]]to learn how to properly do the technique, and actually succeed, only to be unable to replicate it again afterward.
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Disambiguating Fullmetal Alchemist
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* In the 2003 anime version of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'', Ed learns of the ability to transmute without a circle by clasping his hands in frustration then grabbing a basin of water, heating it through alchemy to boiling temperature. Afterward, he has no clue how he managed to do it, and his attempts to reproduce the effect are unsuccessful until he finds himself in another emergency situation (saving someone from a collapsing structure). It was only after that he realized how he did it.
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* In the 2003 anime version of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'', ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'': Ed learns of the ability to transmute without a circle by clasping his hands in frustration then grabbing a basin of water, heating it through alchemy to boiling temperature. Afterward, he has no clue how he managed to do it, and his attempts to reproduce the effect are unsuccessful until he finds himself in another emergency situation (saving someone from a collapsing structure). It was only after that he realized how he did it.
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** Momonosuke also has a hard time figuring out how to control his transformations into a dragon and back after he ate an artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruit. Though in his defense, it could be either due to his young age, his inexperience with the fruit (and limited knowledge of Devil Fruits in general), the fact that said fruit is artificial and a failure, or all of the above.
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** Momonosuke also has a hard time figuring out how to control his transformations into a dragon and back after he ate an artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruit. Though in his defense, it could be either it's due to his young age, his inexperience with the fruit (and fruit, and limited knowledge of Devil Fruits in general), the fact that said fruit is artificial and a failure, or all of the above.general.
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* In ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'', [[TheHero Hibiki Tachibana]] had a lot of trouble in the first few episodes because she literally couldn't summon her [[WeaponOfChoice Armed Gear]] to use in battle. [[TookALevelInBadass She got better]] when they decided to have her [[BareFistedMonk focus on using martial arts]] and [[MegatonPunch channel the energy for an Armed gear into her fists.]]
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* In ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'', [[TheHero Hibiki Tachibana]] had a lot of trouble in the first few episodes because she literally couldn't summon her [[WeaponOfChoice Armed Gear]] Gear to use in battle. [[TookALevelInBadass She got better]] when they decided to have her [[BareFistedMonk focus on using martial arts]] and [[MegatonPunch channel the energy for an Armed gear into her fists.]]
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Characters [[HowDoIShotWeb struggling to figure out how their powers work]] in {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}.
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* Skuld gets this in ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' when she tries to develop her water powers. It doesn't work out, and she puts herself in danger by trying to accelerate things; this danger being caused by her proclivity for TimTaylorTechnology.
* A good amount of ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is dedicated to everyone attempting to figure out how to operate and utilize [[spoiler:Eren Jaeger's Titan-Shifting abilities]].
* ''Manga/BeetTheVandelBuster'' started off with the five ultimate weapons given to him by his dying heroes. Of course, he still had to learn how to use them, and after several years was only able to use one, the spear, effectively. He eventually learns to fire more than one shot with the gun, and comes closer to mastering the shield with training from its original owner (who was NotQuiteDead). With foresight he learned to work around the axe's twelve-second materialization time, and over time got better at the sword bit by bit if nowhere near able to master it. In fact, when the series was cut short at twelve volumes, Beet still arguably hadn't totally mastered ''any'' of his weapons!
* The Manga/BirdMen spend significant time learning the basics of how to fly, and for one particular character, it took a DieOrFly moment to learn it.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Ichigo Kurosaki accidentally sets off his [[TookALevelInBadass Getsuga Tenshou]] attack immediately following his achievement of Shikai. He doesn't learn how to fire it at will until he reaches Bankai. Much plot with Ichigo concerns the fact he has great power, but no real clue how to control it. His sword is mocked explicitly for being a "Big ball of fluff".
** It got even worse when Ichigo unlocked [[spoiler:his Fullbring]]. At least with a sword you know that the basic goal is to [[BuffySpeak stick the stabby end into the bad people]], but how the heck are you supposed to fight with [[spoiler:a giant glowing swastika]]?
** And now yet another ability has come out in this way. [[spoiler:Ichigo's about to get his throat carved out, and suddenly manifests Blut Vene... a ''Quincy'' defensive technique that blocks the attack. Ichigo not only has no idea how he did this, he didn't even realize that he ''had'' done anything at all until the bad guy pointed it out. Put bluntly, until then, Ichigo didn't even know he ''had'' Quincy heritage.]]
** Making things ''even worse'', Ichigo had [[spoiler:a PowerLimiter or three he didn't know about, most of which were operating sporadically. So trial and error wasn't a reliable method of figuring out what he could do or how, either.]]
** Chad and Orihime aren't exceptions, either. They have to learn how to summon their powers at will (with fairly amusing results at first, especially when Chad tries to remember what Ichigo's younger sister Karin looks like), although Orihime manages to improve to the point where she can use her Shun Shun Rikka without calling their names. In the Bount Arc, Uryu has these issues with the artifact that he uses to fight without his powers.
** Part of the reason for Renji's loss against Byakuya is that he didn't know how to control his Bankai, enabling Byakuya to disrupt its rhythm and leave him vulnerable. Byakuya claims that mastering bankai takes at least ten years of training. Something that he has, and Renji (who had just achieved bankai ''that day'') lacks. The reason [[SubvertedTrope this didn't apply to Ichigo]] was because (1) his SuperpoweredEvilSide intervened for a while, (2) although he lacked much control over it, his bankai had more than enough ''raw power'' to compensate, and (3) it's unusual in that his power is turned ''inward'', meaning there's no new techniques or whatever to master: just everything he already knows cranked up.
* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':
** Touma Kamijou has no idea how [[AntiMagic Imagine]] [[PowerNullifier Breaker]] works. Throughout the series, he slowly learns its limitations, and eventually figures out how to pull a CatchAndReturn with it. To be fair to Touma, almost ''nobody'' knows how Imagine Breaker works. Aleister Crowley is the only one who has hinted that he knows how it really works (and he has no particular desire to explain it to anybody else).
*** Later deconstructed when Othinus reaches her full power and [[RealityWarper alters the world to her whims]]. Touma is the only one unaffected and knows Imagine Breaker can change the world back, but is unable to figure out how. [[spoiler:Fortunately, he gets her to pull a HeelFaceTurn, and she is convinced to restore the world to the way it was.]]
** Sogiita Gunha has a multitude of powers like SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, force fields, etc. While he knows how to use them, he has no understanding of the science behind them. It is pointed out that he would become ''much'' more effective if he knew how his powers worked and took better advantage of them. This is unlikely to happen as Gunha is an IdiotHero who lives by HonorBeforeReason and guts alone and [[ApathyKilledTheCat has no interest in brainy topics]].
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'' Lelouch instinctively knows the basic principle behind the Geass, (leading to the iconic "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you... Die!" scene) but he doesn't know all the specifications, and after a couple of mishaps, he takes on the task of testing it to figure out ''exactly'' what it can and can't do. The fifth episode shows just how CrazyPrepared he is by that point by having him rattle off all the things he's learned via experimentation, such as its maximum effective range of 270 meters. The audio commentary lampshades this when the voice actors (including [[Creator/JunFukuyama Lelouch's]]) muse on exactly ''how'' he discovered these things, suggesting (for the range example) that he used cell phones in walkie-talkie fashion.
* Kouya's Garuda Eagle from ''Anime/CrushGearTurbo'' was once the Gear of Kouya's deceased elder brother, who happens to be the World Champion. Apparently, said Gear has a very powerful super move. Unlocking the secret involved several episodes of having the Gear analyzed by an ultra-powerful supercomputer just to learn the underlying science for the super move, and another batch of episodes of Kouya trying to find the right conditions to use the technique, and use it reliably. Even better, the supercomputer belonged to Kouya's wealthy rival Manganji who had his men surreptitiously copy a virtual data of Garuda Eagle, and said discovery of a special ability was a complete accident.
* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
** There's a sequence involving Light Yagami learning the rules and limitations of the Death Note before he embarks on his great scheme of moral cleansing. He continues to experiment with its powers and devise loopholes throughout the series. By the end of episode three, he knows more about the thing than Ryuk, a shinigami.
** The Yotsuba executives also learn some of its rules this way, for instance, giving someone a death condition that is physically impossible will result in that person simply dying of a heart attack. The Death Note's owner, [[spoiler:Higuchi]], actually ''does'' understand the rules, but has to avoid revealing them openly to hide his identity.
* ''Anime/DigiCharat'' has Puchiko attempting EyeBeams like her sister Dejiko and... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toiuaHCI_CU not quite getting it.]]
* In ''Anime/DogDays'', each of the [[SummonEverymanHero summoned heroes]] slowly learn new techniques and get the hang of their powers. Later, during a FreakyFridayFlip, everyone has to get the hang of each other's bodies and techniques.
* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
** QuirkyMiniBossSquad leader Captain Ginyu trades bodies with Goku. This is fairly ingenious, because he waited until he was weakened and nearly defeated by Goku before trading. To make it even better, he inflicted a severe wound to his own body (punching himself through the chest) immediately before making the switch. However, he couldn't get full power out of Goku's body, because he doesn't know his powerup technique, the Kaio-ken. Unfortunately for him, Vegeta then shows up and beats the snot out of him before he gets it to work. And then when he reverses the trick so he can try the same technique to body-jack Vegeta, the trick doesn't work twice; they throw a frog in the way.
** The same thing happens with Goku Black in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': [[spoiler:Even though Zamasu was quite powerful after stealing Goku's body, he had no idea how to use Goku's abilities and only learned to do so after watching him in action.]] Even later, as his power continues to grow, he rips a hole in reality. When Vegeta asks him what exactly he just did, Black shrugs and says he has no idea: his power has grown beyond his own understanding of it.
* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', the reason why Louise seems to be an IneptMage is because [[spoiler:her affinity is [[PowerOfTheVoid Void Magic]], a long forgotten art]]. Once she learns this, she becomes much more effective when she figures out the kinks. Saito's power is to become an InstantExpert with any weapon, but it takes him a while to realize that it only works with real weapons. He tries to use an ornamental sword and gets his ass kicked. He also needs to be in a real fight, as when he tried to twirl a sword around to show off, he made a fool of himself.
** Above example is anime only. In the original light novels, Saito is capable of wielding the ornamental weapon as if it were any other and the activation of his abilities was merely dependent on being in contact with a weapon. The ornamental weapon was still meant to be a weapon, it just broke the first time Saito used it because it wasn't durable enough to withstand being used to strike stone by someone of Saito's strength. The trope is still played straight with Saito's combat abilities, though. He can swing a sword like a natural and gains incredible speed and strength, but it takes him some time and a fair bit of practice to be able to fully get a good head for actual combat.
* When Pist from ''Anime/FinalFantasyUnlimited'' steals Kaze's Magun, the device that allows him to summon powerful beings using special bullets, he tries to use it himself (including a bizarre subversion of the normal firing sequence) but the resulting summon turns on him.
* In ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'''s TournamentArc, One opponent managed to steal one of Recca's flame dragons. However, he had no idea which one out of Recca's eight dragons he acquired (he was hoping to get the most powerful one). This guy manages to acquire a one-eyed dragon named Setsuna who, as told by one of Recca's other dragons, is quite powerful but a rather disobedient dragon. When the opponent tries to sic Setsuna on Recca, the very annoyed dragon promptly asks why the hell he should listen to some new guy and fried him in response.
* In the 2003 anime version of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'', Ed learns of the ability to transmute without a circle by clasping his hands in frustration then grabbing a basin of water, heating it through alchemy to boiling temperature. Afterward, he has no clue how he managed to do it, and his attempts to reproduce the effect are unsuccessful until he finds himself in another emergency situation (saving someone from a collapsing structure). It was only after that he realized how he did it.
* In ''VideoGame/GateKeepers'', Ukiya Shun is blessed by the Gate of Wind. It took him several episodes just to properly summon the power again (which he did in the first episode on instinct), and an episode testing a new technique (which he later perfects).
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
** In an episode of ''[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam G Gundam]]'', a disgruntled fanboy steals Domon's Gundam believing that he can pilot it better. However, things go awry when he doesn't know how to properly operate the Gundam, requiring Domon to come and save him. It isn't "proper operation" so much as "any sort of physical training" -- the suit-up process is shown to be quite painful, even to a trained martial artist like Domon, so the preteen boy nearly broke several bones before Domon hit the abort. Plus, it was calibrated specifically for him. When Rain tries piloting it, she notes how tight the system compresses her but has less trouble with the Rising Gundam which was calibrated for her.
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Amuro]] and [[Anime/AfterWarGundamX Garrod's]] first sortie was "Use vulcans and scare off my enemies and tank the machine gun rounds" and then "use sword to fend off enemy mobile suits". It was only after the first battle did they got the knowledge to pilot the suit. For Garrod's first experience firing the WaveMotionGun, it gives Tifa a HeroicBSOD. Lucky for them that Amuro has PsychicPowers and Garrod is a genius at improvisation.
*** Kou Uraki of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory'' was just a rookie using a captured Zaku II for testing when he's forced to take up the GP-01. His inexperience with everything leads him to getting the GP-01 getting shot up when he takes it out into space without it modified for space combat.
** Judau Ashta of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Gundam ZZ]]'' had even less luck, despite his own considerable PsychicPowers: his first experience flying a Gundam mainly involved him clumsily crashing into things and defeating his opponent by sheer luck. Likewise Elle, who could only figure out how to move the Gundam's arms her first time, let alone make it walk or fight.
** Tobia Arronax of ''[[Manga/MobileSuitCrossboneGundam Crossbone Gundam]]'' specifically has a Worker MS license, but this isn't much help in a Combat MS. In his first sortie, he expects to only be an extra turret, and his Batara flounders around a little before righting (it ends with [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamF91 Seaboo-]], er, Kincaid bisecting it). In his second, some time after the first, he's in over his head and has to eject so Kincaid can take over. In his third, he survives largely because Barnes doesn't want to kill him. Then they give him a Pez Batara and he uses a [[AttackDrone Bit]] as a ''stepping stone'', at which point his future AcePilot status is all but confirmed.
** Seabook Arno of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamF91'' suffers from this for a bit as the only reason he pilots the titular MS is because his mother took part in its construction and he had a licence to pilot. He gets better. Much better.
** While Christina [=McKenzie=] of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0080WarInThePocket'' is a MS Test Pilot, the NT-1 "Alex" was designed for a Newtype (re: Amuro Ray), thus piloting it became a real chore because its reflexes were greater than her own.
** In ''Anime/GundamWing'', Zechs Marquise is already an AcePilot in the beginning of the series. But even he nearly dies when he gives the Tallgeese a test run. The Tallgeese is a SuperPrototype that performs far better than just about every mobile suit that followed it (it was the first one ever). Its performance was ''too'' good, since its speed (and lack of shock absorbers) transferred too much G-Force to the pilot. It takes Zechs a little while to become skilled enough to safely pilot the Tallgeese. He eventually becomes so skilled that the Tallgeese can no longer keep up with his own reflexes.
** In ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'', Reiji's first attempt at piloting the Build Strike just has him flailing the limbs around in a goofy dance. He gets the hang of it ''real'' quickly.
* In ''[[VideoGame/HarukanaruTokiNoNakaDe Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - Hachiyou Shou]]'' episode 4, Tenma's attempt to protect Akane from [[BigBad Akuram]] results in him activating his Hachiyou powers for the first time, nearly frying Akuram with [[ShockAndAwe lightning]]. Tenma is clearly surprised by this ability, but when he tries to repeat this move on purpose a few minutes later, it doesn't work. In the next episode, he [[LampshadeHanging complains]] about the Hachiyou powers being useless due to not working when they are needed.
* ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' has this: Endou's Seigi no Tekken and God Catch, Tachimukai's Majin the Hand and Mugen the Hand, and Kidou/Fudou's attempt to create Emperor Penguin No.3.
* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'':
** Inuyasha didn't even knew about [[EmpathicWeapon Tetsusaiga's]] [[SwordBeam Kaze no Kizu / Wind Scar]] when he first got it. It took some time until he learned about it, more time to use it accidentally, even more time to use it at will and even more time to truly master it. When he gains a new power in his sword, he has to learn how to use it. Like the Wind Scar, the Dragon-Scale Tessaiga was something he struggled desperately to master and, in both situations, something his brother said was what started him on the road to mastering the power (in the case of the Wind Scar, his brother's help was accidental, in the case of the Dragon-Scale, his brother's help was deliberate, if not cryptic). In both cases, the main lesson for Inuyasha wasn't what the powers could do (which only had limited functionality) but what he could achieve when he believed in himself as a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-demon]].
** Sesshoumaru has the ability to instantly master any weapon, especially swords. He even knows how to master swords he hasn't even touched (such as Inuyasha's Dragon-Scale Tessaiga). However, when Tenseiga gained the Meidou Zangetsuha power, Sesshoumaru struggled to master the ability. When he did finally master the ability (after a humiliating encounter with an old enemy of his father), he realized that he wasn't meant to keep the power and passed it on to Inuyasha instead. It was the only sword power in the entire story that required a compassionate heart to master instead of fighting/weapon skill or instinct, and the lesson for Sesshoumaru was that he should never wield a sword without feeling fear at the possibility of losing loved ones or without feeling compassion for even his enemies.
* ''Manga/{{Inuyashiki}}'': Both Inuyashiki and Shishigami go through this, which is justifiable considering they got their 'superpowers' by getting killed and having their [[BrainUploading minds uploaded]] into alien battle bots. It took both of them quite some time to even realize their bodies weren't their old bodies any more, nevermind figuring out they had beyond-human capabilities. Shishigami adapts and discovers his capabilities quicker, because of his youth and being a fan of superhero manga. Inuyashiki on his end needs a lot of motivation and help to reach the same level because he didn't really want to become a hero in the first place.
* In ''Manga/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakaReTsuzuketaShounen'', Flare initially struggles to control his hellfire with any degree of precision, burning away underbrush haphazardly and nearly burning Primavera while trying to take care of a raging giant boar. He comes up with the idea of using his shaman magic to concentrate the fire around his arms to make them easier to handle rather than shooting them everywhere.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** Not everyone will immediately know what their Stand is capable of when they first gain it. The protagonist of Part 3, Jotaro Kujo, has no idea what his Star Platinum can do beyond being a physically powerful humanoid. [[spoiler:When he faces Dio's The World, who can stop time, he realizes Star Platinum is the same type of Stand and learns how to stop time too.]]
** Part 4 introduces the Arrow. When it hits a person capable of using a Stand, it grants them one; otherwise it's like being shot with a regular arrow. When Koichi is struck by it, he's mortally wounded; however, Josuke saves his life with his healing powers... which acts as something of a loophole and gives Koichi a Stand. Unfortunately, because Koichi wasn't ''meant'' to have a Stand, it takes him a while to figure out how one works (those meant to have Stands innately know their powers).
* [[AllThereInTheManual Prequel stories]] of ''Anime/{{K}}'' show the original HOMRA trio figuring out their powers this way in Izumo's bar, after Mikoto first awakens as the Red King and [[SuperEmpowering makes the other two his Clansmen]]. So if you were wondering why Izumo had to replace the bar...
* Karin from ''Manga/KamichamaKarin'' wore the Goddess Ring for YEARS without having a clue that it could allow her to transform into a PhysicalGod. And even when she finds out, she struggles long and hard before even being able to transform without help, much less be any kind of useful. It probably doesn't help that she's [[ThisLoserIsYou really, really stupid]].
* Ryuko, of ''Anime/KillLaKill,'' took a while to figure out how to use [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Senketsu]] properly. Though Senketsu had [[UnskilledButStrong enough raw power]] and Ryuko [[EmpoweredBadassNormal enough talent]] to get her through her first few fights, they were badly synchronized and Senketsu [[CastFromHitPoints required a constant supply of blood]], which left Ryuko ending most fights on the verge of passing out. This is eventually revealed to be due to Ryuko's anxiety: she finds wearing [[{{Stripperiffic}} the ridiculously skimpy outfit]] to be [[ReluctantFanserviceGirl incredibly humiliating]], a mental block which she overcomes by learning to view Senketsu as a second skin rather than revealing clothing.
** Senketsu is also an example as it starts with little idea of its own capabilities other than its need to be worn by Ryuko and all of its subsequent power upgrades come as [[EmergencyTransformation Emergency Transformations]] during battle.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
** Even though he had it first, Yuuno of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' never was able to properly use [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart]], only being able to fight with its crystal-like Standby Mode and [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull needing to say a really long activation phrase to do even that]]. One must wonder how he felt when the then beginner mage Nanoha was able to easily unlock a full Barrier Jacket, activate [[SwissArmyWeapon RH's alternate Modes]], and do all of that without the need of the long incantation. According to the [[AllThereInTheManual novel version and the official page]], [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart fine-tuned herself]] for Nanoha. Guess given the choice of being a tool for a Bombardment Mage or a Force Field Mage, [=AIs=] go for the path that lets it [[StuffBlowingUp blow stuff up]].
** In Sound Stage 3 of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', Teana, having had the fourth and final stage of her device limiter removed, has a new long-range mode for Cross Mirage, but decides to work on the skills she has since there won't be enough time to master it before the final battle.
* ''Anime/{{Macross}}'':
** In ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', whenever they figured out a new thing the eponymous ship could do, trying it always led to embarrassing mistakes. The first time they tried to take off, the anti-grav units broke free of the ship. Using the fold system left them millions of miles off-course, surrounded by ''inhabited bits of the island'' they folded near, and the fold engine ''disappeared''. The first time they transformed the ''Macross'', they destroyed the entire city inside the ship. The first time they fired up an impenetrable energy shield, the shield generator overloaded and destroyed Toronto. Though they were able to use that last one to [[spoiler:take down Boddolza's flagship by using the Daedalus Maneuver to break through the hull and then activate the shield while inside]]. It nearly destroyed the ship.
*** Humorously, this is also why they survived so long against the Zentraedi attacks: whenever they pulled one of these stunts, the Zentraedi commanders were unsure of whether the humans ''meant'' to do that or not, and therefore wonder what ''other'' tricks they must have up their sleeves, leading to an overly-cautious approach on their part.
*** On a much smaller scale, Hikaru in the second episode is a very competent pilot... of airplanes. When his Valkyrie unexpectedly turns into a giant robot, he promptly tries to make it walk. He topples forward and wrecks Minmay's room in doing so, and needs a conveniently-passing-by seafood truck to right him again.
** ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' has an excellent deconstruction of this trope. Sheryl Nome received some basic training on how to operate a VF-25; when the time came to put it to the test, her eyes narrow and she even gets a ThemeMusicPowerUp, which lasts long into her glorious failure at even flying in a straight line.
* Played with in ''Manga/MadeInAbyss''. Reg has [[AmnesiacHero amnesia]], so he literally ForgotAboutHisPowers. When Riko gets carried off by a flying monster, he instinctively powers up a WaveMotionGun; right when it starts firing, he realizes he doesn't even know ''what'' he's about to do, let alone how to control it. Luckily, the [[NoKillLikeOverkill out-of-control death beam]] hits most of the monsters and barely misses Riko. He first used this weapon from offscreen in the first episode, before he lost his memories, and focused it into a narrower beam that time.
* At one point, Padudu of ''Anime/MagicalPlay'' (a.k.a. ''Magical Witchland'') saves two other characters from death via [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands suddenly being able to fly]]. When asked by Pippin why she hadn't done that in the pilot, when she fell on Pippin and cost her a tournament, Padudu says: "[[ForgotICouldFly Oh, that time, I forgot I could fly!]]"
* In the original ''Anime/MazingerZ'' manga, Kouji can't control Mazinger-Z when he first gets it and is forced to have Sayaka run out in the Aphrodite A to stop him and get him under control. The ''{{Anime/Mazinkaiser}}'' [=OVA=] takes it one step further: Kouji thinks he can control it, but it takes control of him then goes into a berserker rage.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Several characters had to practice with their Quirks in order to make something useful out of them. Standout examples include:
** The protagonist Izuku Midoriya himself. Unlike his classmates, who had their Quirks since they were toddlers and thus had a lot of time to learn how to use them, Izuku only received One for All recently. Much of the beginning of the series is him figuring out how to use his god-like strength without literally destroying his body from the stress. [[spoiler:Then he [[AllYourPowersCombined starts manifesting the Quirks of previous One For All users]], and has to learn those as well]].
** Mirio Togata, who has a [[AwesomeButImpractical difficult to use]] intangibility quirk that has the potential to [[BlessedWithSuck kill him if used incorrectly]]. By training hard to learn the intricacies of his abilities, he manages to develop his Quirk into a DifficultButAwesome StoryBreakerPower that rockets him to the #1 spot in UA's graduating class.
** This trope is specifically why the BigBad All For One doesn't [[PowerParasite take the quirks]] of people whose abilities are DifficultButAwesome because he doesn't want to waste the years on abilities to become useful when more straightforward and easy to use Quirks are more practical.
** On a different note, this trope is generally averted with hero costumes and support equipment. They normally come with ''instructions''.
* Manga/{{Naruto}} faces this difficulty with controlling the Kurama's chakra throughout the series. After the time skip it's largely a matter of not going berserk while using it, but pre-time skip his major problem is accessing the power to begin with. This led to a month of humiliating "training" in summoning tadpoles, culminating with being thrown into a ravine. And just to make it worse, when summoning really counts, he's only able to get a toad the size of his hand. Twice! Course at the time Orochimaru had hit him with a sealing spell which was throwing his Chakra out of balance. By the time Jiraya had removed that handicap, it was only a few days before Naruto had to fight in the second Chunin tournament, so he really didn't have any time to master it.
* [[spoiler:Ako Izumi]] has this problem after getting her [[spoiler:StatusBuff]] Pactio in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. She manages to get the hang of it soon, though.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': The first time Shinji Ikari tries to pilot an Eva with no training or preparation, he falls on his face. Fortunately, [[spoiler:putting him in danger this way activates the Crazy-Protective Alter-Ego of his Eva suit, who handily defeats the Angel for him.]]
* In ''Manga/OmamoriHimari'', Himari and other characters are confused as to why Yuuto's powers have not awakened when he turned 16 like they were supposed to. Later, he uses them by instinct during a life-or-death situation. The next episode has him trying to train to use them at will, which doesn't go anywhere. It is triggered by his will to protect others. Later on in the manga it's explained that the Twelve Families traditionally only passed on the knowledge of how their powers work through oral tradition, and since Yuuto's family didn't teach him the family secrets before they died, he honestly has no clue how the Light Ferry works, and there's nothing and no one he can consult for lessons. He has to rediscover all his family's techniques from scratch.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** Nami with the Clima-Tact in her fight with Miss Doublefinger. Unfortunately for her, half of the functions on the device are party tricks (and they're listed first in the instruction manual), and the other half are abilities that are useful, but only if used correctly, and Usopp may not have known how good they can be (he suggests playing boomerang catch with the Cyclone Tempo). Despite this, once she manages to find the right functions to use, she can win if she identifies the good moves and learns how to use them. Nami's experience with the Perfect Clima-Tact is also like this to some extent, but only because she didn't realize how powerful it was the first time she used it.
** This applies even more to the [[GreenRocks Devil Fruits]]. The average person who has absolutely no idea what their fruit even ''does'' unless they've either read a restricted access catalogue or been outright told. Even then, you'd have no idea how to activate it until you experiment. Brook's power only activated ''after he died'', meaning he could've started off simply knowing he couldn't swim. Hell, Brook takes this even further after the TimeSkip, when he develops his powers into the abilities to use AstralProjection and channel GhostlyChill into [[AnIcePerson Ice Powers.]] This means that it took Brook ''well over fifty-two years'' to realize these powers were available to him and work out how to use them. A Devil Fruit's powers aren't entirely unknown to the eater — once a person eats a Devil Fruit, they gain an awareness of the Fruit's basic ability. However, the specifics of how the ability works and any further aspects and uses of the ability often require some experimentation to figure out. In Brook's case above, he actually knew in advance that he would come back to life once he died, but spent the next fifty years following his resurrection operating under the assumption that that's all the Yomi Yomi Fruit did, before he eventually discovered other aspects of its power.
** Whitebeard's revealed power to make earthquakes involves punching the air as if it were a glass window. [[GuideDangIt Can you honestly say you'd figure that one out without being told?]]
** A flashback to [[RubberMan Luffy's]] youth showed that it was years before he could even use Gum-Gum Pistol (basically just a stretching-arm punch, which is Luffy's most basic attack in the main storyline) without hitting the ground or it rebound into his own face. Though that can be largely blamed on his youth and his relatively small body at the time.
** After Kaku ate a Devil Fruit that transformed him into a giraffe or giraffe-man hybrid, he had trouble changing into the specific form he wanted and, since he hadn't been able to explore his new capabilities, just made new attacks up as he went along. That said, because he was a skilled fighter before he ate his DF, adapted to his new powers much faster than the average DF user and thus was still a formidable opponent. Still, having a full-grown giraffe fall through the ceiling [[Funny/OnePiece made for some hilarious moments]].
** Tashigi, after she [[spoiler:was body-switched with Smoker]], has a hard time [[spoiler:using the latter's Devil Fruit powers]], and has to ask how to use them.
** Momonosuke also has a hard time figuring out how to control his transformations into a dragon and back after he ate an artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruit. Though in his defense, it could be either due to his young age, his inexperience with the fruit (and limited knowledge of Devil Fruits in general), the fact that said fruit is artificial and a failure, or all of the above.
** [[spoiler:Sabo]] had some issues with controlling the abilities of the [[spoiler:Flame-Flame Fruit]] after first eating it. While he was able to utilize its previous user's signature technique, he had trouble [[spoiler:''turning off'' the flames]]. Also, despite the Devil Fruit being a Logia and giving him "Made of Air" style NighInvulnerability, he still dodged attacks simply out of habit. Although that dodge instinct could be considered a good thing, considering most figures he'd fight against (being in the Revolutionary Army) would have some knowledge on how to combat Devil Fruits.
** Trafalgar Law's Op-Op Fruit abilities make him a borderline RealityWarper, but at the time he first ate the fruit he had no idea how to actually use its powers. Thus he was unable to help [[spoiler:Corazon/Rocinante]] after the latter was riddled with bullets.
* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', occasionally one of the heroes' Pokemon will have trouble mastering a new attack until several episodes later. One of the Sinnoh arc's running gags was Gible's Draco Meteor misfires always homing in on Piplup. Then there was Duplica's Ditto, which couldn't master transformations for a long time... it would never get the face right.
* Sort of happens to the protagonist of ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'', [[MagicalGirl Himeno Awayuki]] -- more of "How Do I Shot Wind?" It is implied that she ''should'' know instinctively how her [[ElementalPowers powers]] work, but the first time she is forced to fight a monster, she panics and can't figure out what to do. However, this wasn't enough to make her give up, and she actually demands to receive some training in order to learn to use her powers properly.
* ''Anime/PrettyCure'':
** Unlike virtually every other Precure before her, Tsubomi Hanasaki, alias Cure Blossom, of ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' has to be practically hand-held through most of her powers and abilities early on. Compare this to her teammate Erika Kurumi, alias Cure Marine, who was able to figure out everything on the word "go".
** A similar situation happens in ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'' with Miyuki Hoshizora, alias Cure Happy, though she's quicker mastering her powers than Tsubomi. And once she does, cue the pink heart-shaped [[Manga/DragonBall Kamehameha]]. Though, it's starting to seem like the rest of Miyuki's teammates are stuck in this same predicament.
** These days, any Precure fans would notice a similar pattern of a newbie main Cure, while trying to figure out how their power works, accidentally and to their shocks, [[InASingleBound jumps absurdly high]]. This maneuver is eventually nicknamed the "Holy-Crap-I-Can-Jump-This-High" Maneuver.
** In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', Hime is given a special stone that will search out her partner and allow them to become a Pretty Cure. She's never told how the stupid thing works and decides to chuck it and make the first person it hits her partner. It's a good thing the person she does hit, Megumi, does make it work.
* Season 3 ''[[Manga/Reborn2004 Reborn!]]'' spoiler'd example: [[spoiler:[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture In the Future]], when Tsuna first uses his KillItWithFire X-Burner Attack, he can't find out how to set it off without propelling himself backward into a wall. When he figures out to use his other hand to make a balancing fireball, he THEN has the limitation that he can only fire on level ground, when he gets around THAT, he needs a way to balance out the flames. Luckily, we're spared that Training episode by Spanner.]]
* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'':
** The manga has Tsukune kidnapped by a shapeshifter, who copies his form and goes out to fight Tsukune's UnwantedHarem. Unfortunately, the fellow runs into quite a few HowDoIShotWeb moments as he tries (in vain) to kill them, not realizing that he's far, far weaker than they are in human form. When he wises up and copies Moka's SuperpoweredEvilSide, he's beaten for good when the power of the rosary weakens him.
** Tsukune himself had a bit of trouble until he got some well-earned [[TrainingFromHell training]] with Inner-Moka and Touhou Fuhai.
* Not an actual superpower, but in ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'' the citizens of Paris are in trouble during the storming of the Bastille because they have no idea how to load and fire their cannons. Thankfully, [[BigDamnHeroes the French Guards show up and quickly figure how to do it]] ([[JustifiedTrope those cannons aren't too different from their muskets, after all]]), and while they aren't exactly excellent gunners the Bastille is an easy and fragile target...
* In ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', King Arthur possesses incredible powers, but he has ''no idea'' how to access them yet.
* In the world of ''Manga/SoulEater'', certain humans inherit a trait that causes them to transform into {{Living Weapon}}s. Once this ability starts to manifest (usually involuntarily, at first), they are scouted by Shinigami's school and given an education to deal with this trope. Just how far it goes is the choice of the student. Those who want to take advantage of their abilities take the [=EAT=] course and become hunters of evil (the characters of ''Soul Eater''). Those who [[IJustWantToBeNormal just want to get a hold of themselves and lead normal lives]] take the [[Manga/SoulEaterNot NOT]] course instead.
* In ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'', [[TheHero Hibiki Tachibana]] had a lot of trouble in the first few episodes because she literally couldn't summon her [[WeaponOfChoice Armed Gear]] to use in battle. [[TookALevelInBadass She got better]] when they decided to have her [[BareFistedMonk focus on using martial arts]] and [[MegatonPunch channel the energy for an Armed gear into her fists.]]
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':
** The rambunctious Kamina steals the Gurren and, confident that he has access to new powers, attempts to combine with the Lagann as the head. It fails pathetically and hilariously. They eventually get it to work through determination.
** Similarly, Simon has a few issues with Lagann's systems at first, especially the jet thruster. Quoth Yoko: "Ah, hello? We're sorta falling..."
* In ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', this is usually {{averted}} by [[TheHero Rimuru Tempest]] thanks to the help of [[BenevolentAI Great Sage/Raphael]], whose major job is not just explaining his [[SuperpowerLottery crapton of powers]] [[TheAssimilator which he's constantly adding to and evolving]], but also teaching him how to use them to their fullest potential. Though this won't stop him from not listening to an explanation, whether due to him tuning her out due to being distracted by battle or other thoughts or [[StopHelpingMe interrupting her attempts]] (the latter of which often makes her miffed and she'll wait for him to fall on his face before he swallows his pride to listen).
* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', Kaneki struggles with even the basics of his newfound powers after becoming a HalfHumanHybrid. He begins wearing an EyepatchOfPower since he's unable to control his single [[BlackEyesOfEvil kakugan]], and struggles with learning how to control his [[CombatTentacles kagune]]. Once he accepts his nature as a Ghoul, he rapidly begins to master his abilities, but continues to wear the eyepatch as an iconic look.
** In the sequel, his in-series {{Expy}}, Tooru Mutsuki, suffers the same problems. His kakugan is always active, forcing him to hide it behind an eyepatch, and he feels vastly inferior to his comrades due to his inability to use his kagune. It's only after multiple traumatic incidents and a TimeSkip spent training heavily that he's able to overcome this and begin mastering his powers.
* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', as Kuwabara is trapped inside Mitarai's water monster, he is determined to break free, and suddenly summons a special sword from his spiritual energy that can slice through dimensions, freeing himself and his friends and defeating Mitarai. The next morning, he tries to summon the same sword while fighting Sensui, but ends up getting his normal spirit sword instead.
* In ''Manga/ZatchBell'', almost every time Zatch and Kiyomaro learn a new spell, Kiyomaro still struggles to understand that the spells are powered by emotion and will. However when they learn their third spell, which magnetizes their opponent, Kiyomaro tries several unsuccessful attempts to test this spell (which he didn't know the effects of at the time), and eventually tried singing the incantation, very badly. Part of the punchline with the third spell was that he was casting it successful in his tests, just that since the spell is purely magnetic and he tested in a place with no metal around, the spell had nothing to effect. Happens again with the fourth spell as despite putting in emotion, the spell didn't work. They later learn that instead that spell works off of tension rather than will. Eventually Averted when Kiyomaro [[spoiler:dies and obtains Answer Talker,]] allowing him to know literally everything. And then used again when it turns out [[spoiler:he doesn't even know how to control it yet, needing help from Dufaux just to get it to work.]]
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Characters [[HowDoIShotWeb struggling to figure out how their powers work]] in {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}.
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* Skuld gets this in ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' when she tries to develop her water powers. It doesn't work out, and she puts herself in danger by trying to accelerate things; this danger being caused by her proclivity for TimTaylorTechnology.
* A good amount of ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is dedicated to everyone attempting to figure out how to operate and utilize [[spoiler:Eren Jaeger's Titan-Shifting abilities]].
* ''Manga/BeetTheVandelBuster'' started off with the five ultimate weapons given to him by his dying heroes. Of course, he still had to learn how to use them, and after several years was only able to use one, the spear, effectively. He eventually learns to fire more than one shot with the gun, and comes closer to mastering the shield with training from its original owner (who was NotQuiteDead). With foresight he learned to work around the axe's twelve-second materialization time, and over time got better at the sword bit by bit if nowhere near able to master it. In fact, when the series was cut short at twelve volumes, Beet still arguably hadn't totally mastered ''any'' of his weapons!
* The Manga/BirdMen spend significant time learning the basics of how to fly, and for one particular character, it took a DieOrFly moment to learn it.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Ichigo Kurosaki accidentally sets off his [[TookALevelInBadass Getsuga Tenshou]] attack immediately following his achievement of Shikai. He doesn't learn how to fire it at will until he reaches Bankai. Much plot with Ichigo concerns the fact he has great power, but no real clue how to control it. His sword is mocked explicitly for being a "Big ball of fluff".
** It got even worse when Ichigo unlocked [[spoiler:his Fullbring]]. At least with a sword you know that the basic goal is to [[BuffySpeak stick the stabby end into the bad people]], but how the heck are you supposed to fight with [[spoiler:a giant glowing swastika]]?
** And now yet another ability has come out in this way. [[spoiler:Ichigo's about to get his throat carved out, and suddenly manifests Blut Vene... a ''Quincy'' defensive technique that blocks the attack. Ichigo not only has no idea how he did this, he didn't even realize that he ''had'' done anything at all until the bad guy pointed it out. Put bluntly, until then, Ichigo didn't even know he ''had'' Quincy heritage.]]
** Making things ''even worse'', Ichigo had [[spoiler:a PowerLimiter or three he didn't know about, most of which were operating sporadically. So trial and error wasn't a reliable method of figuring out what he could do or how, either.]]
** Chad and Orihime aren't exceptions, either. They have to learn how to summon their powers at will (with fairly amusing results at first, especially when Chad tries to remember what Ichigo's younger sister Karin looks like), although Orihime manages to improve to the point where she can use her Shun Shun Rikka without calling their names. In the Bount Arc, Uryu has these issues with the artifact that he uses to fight without his powers.
** Part of the reason for Renji's loss against Byakuya is that he didn't know how to control his Bankai, enabling Byakuya to disrupt its rhythm and leave him vulnerable. Byakuya claims that mastering bankai takes at least ten years of training. Something that he has, and Renji (who had just achieved bankai ''that day'') lacks. The reason [[SubvertedTrope this didn't apply to Ichigo]] was because (1) his SuperpoweredEvilSide intervened for a while, (2) although he lacked much control over it, his bankai had more than enough ''raw power'' to compensate, and (3) it's unusual in that his power is turned ''inward'', meaning there's no new techniques or whatever to master: just everything he already knows cranked up.
* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':
** Touma Kamijou has no idea how [[AntiMagic Imagine]] [[PowerNullifier Breaker]] works. Throughout the series, he slowly learns its limitations, and eventually figures out how to pull a CatchAndReturn with it. To be fair to Touma, almost ''nobody'' knows how Imagine Breaker works. Aleister Crowley is the only one who has hinted that he knows how it really works (and he has no particular desire to explain it to anybody else).
*** Later deconstructed when Othinus reaches her full power and [[RealityWarper alters the world to her whims]]. Touma is the only one unaffected and knows Imagine Breaker can change the world back, but is unable to figure out how. [[spoiler:Fortunately, he gets her to pull a HeelFaceTurn, and she is convinced to restore the world to the way it was.]]
** Sogiita Gunha has a multitude of powers like SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, force fields, etc. While he knows how to use them, he has no understanding of the science behind them. It is pointed out that he would become ''much'' more effective if he knew how his powers worked and took better advantage of them. This is unlikely to happen as Gunha is an IdiotHero who lives by HonorBeforeReason and guts alone and [[ApathyKilledTheCat has no interest in brainy topics]].
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'' Lelouch instinctively knows the basic principle behind the Geass, (leading to the iconic "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you... Die!" scene) but he doesn't know all the specifications, and after a couple of mishaps, he takes on the task of testing it to figure out ''exactly'' what it can and can't do. The fifth episode shows just how CrazyPrepared he is by that point by having him rattle off all the things he's learned via experimentation, such as its maximum effective range of 270 meters. The audio commentary lampshades this when the voice actors (including [[Creator/JunFukuyama Lelouch's]]) muse on exactly ''how'' he discovered these things, suggesting (for the range example) that he used cell phones in walkie-talkie fashion.
* Kouya's Garuda Eagle from ''Anime/CrushGearTurbo'' was once the Gear of Kouya's deceased elder brother, who happens to be the World Champion. Apparently, said Gear has a very powerful super move. Unlocking the secret involved several episodes of having the Gear analyzed by an ultra-powerful supercomputer just to learn the underlying science for the super move, and another batch of episodes of Kouya trying to find the right conditions to use the technique, and use it reliably. Even better, the supercomputer belonged to Kouya's wealthy rival Manganji who had his men surreptitiously copy a virtual data of Garuda Eagle, and said discovery of a special ability was a complete accident.
* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
** There's a sequence involving Light Yagami learning the rules and limitations of the Death Note before he embarks on his great scheme of moral cleansing. He continues to experiment with its powers and devise loopholes throughout the series. By the end of episode three, he knows more about the thing than Ryuk, a shinigami.
** The Yotsuba executives also learn some of its rules this way, for instance, giving someone a death condition that is physically impossible will result in that person simply dying of a heart attack. The Death Note's owner, [[spoiler:Higuchi]], actually ''does'' understand the rules, but has to avoid revealing them openly to hide his identity.
* ''Anime/DigiCharat'' has Puchiko attempting EyeBeams like her sister Dejiko and... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toiuaHCI_CU not quite getting it.]]
* In ''Anime/DogDays'', each of the [[SummonEverymanHero summoned heroes]] slowly learn new techniques and get the hang of their powers. Later, during a FreakyFridayFlip, everyone has to get the hang of each other's bodies and techniques.
* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
** QuirkyMiniBossSquad leader Captain Ginyu trades bodies with Goku. This is fairly ingenious, because he waited until he was weakened and nearly defeated by Goku before trading. To make it even better, he inflicted a severe wound to his own body (punching himself through the chest) immediately before making the switch. However, he couldn't get full power out of Goku's body, because he doesn't know his powerup technique, the Kaio-ken. Unfortunately for him, Vegeta then shows up and beats the snot out of him before he gets it to work. And then when he reverses the trick so he can try the same technique to body-jack Vegeta, the trick doesn't work twice; they throw a frog in the way.
** The same thing happens with Goku Black in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': [[spoiler:Even though Zamasu was quite powerful after stealing Goku's body, he had no idea how to use Goku's abilities and only learned to do so after watching him in action.]] Even later, as his power continues to grow, he rips a hole in reality. When Vegeta asks him what exactly he just did, Black shrugs and says he has no idea: his power has grown beyond his own understanding of it.
* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', the reason why Louise seems to be an IneptMage is because [[spoiler:her affinity is [[PowerOfTheVoid Void Magic]], a long forgotten art]]. Once she learns this, she becomes much more effective when she figures out the kinks. Saito's power is to become an InstantExpert with any weapon, but it takes him a while to realize that it only works with real weapons. He tries to use an ornamental sword and gets his ass kicked. He also needs to be in a real fight, as when he tried to twirl a sword around to show off, he made a fool of himself.
** Above example is anime only. In the original light novels, Saito is capable of wielding the ornamental weapon as if it were any other and the activation of his abilities was merely dependent on being in contact with a weapon. The ornamental weapon was still meant to be a weapon, it just broke the first time Saito used it because it wasn't durable enough to withstand being used to strike stone by someone of Saito's strength. The trope is still played straight with Saito's combat abilities, though. He can swing a sword like a natural and gains incredible speed and strength, but it takes him some time and a fair bit of practice to be able to fully get a good head for actual combat.
* When Pist from ''Anime/FinalFantasyUnlimited'' steals Kaze's Magun, the device that allows him to summon powerful beings using special bullets, he tries to use it himself (including a bizarre subversion of the normal firing sequence) but the resulting summon turns on him.
* In ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'''s TournamentArc, One opponent managed to steal one of Recca's flame dragons. However, he had no idea which one out of Recca's eight dragons he acquired (he was hoping to get the most powerful one). This guy manages to acquire a one-eyed dragon named Setsuna who, as told by one of Recca's other dragons, is quite powerful but a rather disobedient dragon. When the opponent tries to sic Setsuna on Recca, the very annoyed dragon promptly asks why the hell he should listen to some new guy and fried him in response.
* In the 2003 anime version of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'', Ed learns of the ability to transmute without a circle by clasping his hands in frustration then grabbing a basin of water, heating it through alchemy to boiling temperature. Afterward, he has no clue how he managed to do it, and his attempts to reproduce the effect are unsuccessful until he finds himself in another emergency situation (saving someone from a collapsing structure). It was only after that he realized how he did it.
* In ''VideoGame/GateKeepers'', Ukiya Shun is blessed by the Gate of Wind. It took him several episodes just to properly summon the power again (which he did in the first episode on instinct), and an episode testing a new technique (which he later perfects).
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
** In an episode of ''[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam G Gundam]]'', a disgruntled fanboy steals Domon's Gundam believing that he can pilot it better. However, things go awry when he doesn't know how to properly operate the Gundam, requiring Domon to come and save him. It isn't "proper operation" so much as "any sort of physical training" -- the suit-up process is shown to be quite painful, even to a trained martial artist like Domon, so the preteen boy nearly broke several bones before Domon hit the abort. Plus, it was calibrated specifically for him. When Rain tries piloting it, she notes how tight the system compresses her but has less trouble with the Rising Gundam which was calibrated for her.
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Amuro]] and [[Anime/AfterWarGundamX Garrod's]] first sortie was "Use vulcans and scare off my enemies and tank the machine gun rounds" and then "use sword to fend off enemy mobile suits". It was only after the first battle did they got the knowledge to pilot the suit. For Garrod's first experience firing the WaveMotionGun, it gives Tifa a HeroicBSOD. Lucky for them that Amuro has PsychicPowers and Garrod is a genius at improvisation.
*** Kou Uraki of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory'' was just a rookie using a captured Zaku II for testing when he's forced to take up the GP-01. His inexperience with everything leads him to getting the GP-01 getting shot up when he takes it out into space without it modified for space combat.
** Judau Ashta of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Gundam ZZ]]'' had even less luck, despite his own considerable PsychicPowers: his first experience flying a Gundam mainly involved him clumsily crashing into things and defeating his opponent by sheer luck. Likewise Elle, who could only figure out how to move the Gundam's arms her first time, let alone make it walk or fight.
** Tobia Arronax of ''[[Manga/MobileSuitCrossboneGundam Crossbone Gundam]]'' specifically has a Worker MS license, but this isn't much help in a Combat MS. In his first sortie, he expects to only be an extra turret, and his Batara flounders around a little before righting (it ends with [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamF91 Seaboo-]], er, Kincaid bisecting it). In his second, some time after the first, he's in over his head and has to eject so Kincaid can take over. In his third, he survives largely because Barnes doesn't want to kill him. Then they give him a Pez Batara and he uses a [[AttackDrone Bit]] as a ''stepping stone'', at which point his future AcePilot status is all but confirmed.
** Seabook Arno of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamF91'' suffers from this for a bit as the only reason he pilots the titular MS is because his mother took part in its construction and he had a licence to pilot. He gets better. Much better.
** While Christina [=McKenzie=] of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam0080WarInThePocket'' is a MS Test Pilot, the NT-1 "Alex" was designed for a Newtype (re: Amuro Ray), thus piloting it became a real chore because its reflexes were greater than her own.
** In ''Anime/GundamWing'', Zechs Marquise is already an AcePilot in the beginning of the series. But even he nearly dies when he gives the Tallgeese a test run. The Tallgeese is a SuperPrototype that performs far better than just about every mobile suit that followed it (it was the first one ever). Its performance was ''too'' good, since its speed (and lack of shock absorbers) transferred too much G-Force to the pilot. It takes Zechs a little while to become skilled enough to safely pilot the Tallgeese. He eventually becomes so skilled that the Tallgeese can no longer keep up with his own reflexes.
** In ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'', Reiji's first attempt at piloting the Build Strike just has him flailing the limbs around in a goofy dance. He gets the hang of it ''real'' quickly.
* In ''[[VideoGame/HarukanaruTokiNoNakaDe Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - Hachiyou Shou]]'' episode 4, Tenma's attempt to protect Akane from [[BigBad Akuram]] results in him activating his Hachiyou powers for the first time, nearly frying Akuram with [[ShockAndAwe lightning]]. Tenma is clearly surprised by this ability, but when he tries to repeat this move on purpose a few minutes later, it doesn't work. In the next episode, he [[LampshadeHanging complains]] about the Hachiyou powers being useless due to not working when they are needed.
* ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' has this: Endou's Seigi no Tekken and God Catch, Tachimukai's Majin the Hand and Mugen the Hand, and Kidou/Fudou's attempt to create Emperor Penguin No.3.
* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'':
** Inuyasha didn't even knew about [[EmpathicWeapon Tetsusaiga's]] [[SwordBeam Kaze no Kizu / Wind Scar]] when he first got it. It took some time until he learned about it, more time to use it accidentally, even more time to use it at will and even more time to truly master it. When he gains a new power in his sword, he has to learn how to use it. Like the Wind Scar, the Dragon-Scale Tessaiga was something he struggled desperately to master and, in both situations, something his brother said was what started him on the road to mastering the power (in the case of the Wind Scar, his brother's help was accidental, in the case of the Dragon-Scale, his brother's help was deliberate, if not cryptic). In both cases, the main lesson for Inuyasha wasn't what the powers could do (which only had limited functionality) but what he could achieve when he believed in himself as a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-demon]].
** Sesshoumaru has the ability to instantly master any weapon, especially swords. He even knows how to master swords he hasn't even touched (such as Inuyasha's Dragon-Scale Tessaiga). However, when Tenseiga gained the Meidou Zangetsuha power, Sesshoumaru struggled to master the ability. When he did finally master the ability (after a humiliating encounter with an old enemy of his father), he realized that he wasn't meant to keep the power and passed it on to Inuyasha instead. It was the only sword power in the entire story that required a compassionate heart to master instead of fighting/weapon skill or instinct, and the lesson for Sesshoumaru was that he should never wield a sword without feeling fear at the possibility of losing loved ones or without feeling compassion for even his enemies.
* ''Manga/{{Inuyashiki}}'': Both Inuyashiki and Shishigami go through this, which is justifiable considering they got their 'superpowers' by getting killed and having their [[BrainUploading minds uploaded]] into alien battle bots. It took both of them quite some time to even realize their bodies weren't their old bodies any more, nevermind figuring out they had beyond-human capabilities. Shishigami adapts and discovers his capabilities quicker, because of his youth and being a fan of superhero manga. Inuyashiki on his end needs a lot of motivation and help to reach the same level because he didn't really want to become a hero in the first place.
* In ''Manga/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakaReTsuzuketaShounen'', Flare initially struggles to control his hellfire with any degree of precision, burning away underbrush haphazardly and nearly burning Primavera while trying to take care of a raging giant boar. He comes up with the idea of using his shaman magic to concentrate the fire around his arms to make them easier to handle rather than shooting them everywhere.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** Not everyone will immediately know what their Stand is capable of when they first gain it. The protagonist of Part 3, Jotaro Kujo, has no idea what his Star Platinum can do beyond being a physically powerful humanoid. [[spoiler:When he faces Dio's The World, who can stop time, he realizes Star Platinum is the same type of Stand and learns how to stop time too.]]
** Part 4 introduces the Arrow. When it hits a person capable of using a Stand, it grants them one; otherwise it's like being shot with a regular arrow. When Koichi is struck by it, he's mortally wounded; however, Josuke saves his life with his healing powers... which acts as something of a loophole and gives Koichi a Stand. Unfortunately, because Koichi wasn't ''meant'' to have a Stand, it takes him a while to figure out how one works (those meant to have Stands innately know their powers).
* [[AllThereInTheManual Prequel stories]] of ''Anime/{{K}}'' show the original HOMRA trio figuring out their powers this way in Izumo's bar, after Mikoto first awakens as the Red King and [[SuperEmpowering makes the other two his Clansmen]]. So if you were wondering why Izumo had to replace the bar...
* Karin from ''Manga/KamichamaKarin'' wore the Goddess Ring for YEARS without having a clue that it could allow her to transform into a PhysicalGod. And even when she finds out, she struggles long and hard before even being able to transform without help, much less be any kind of useful. It probably doesn't help that she's [[ThisLoserIsYou really, really stupid]].
* Ryuko, of ''Anime/KillLaKill,'' took a while to figure out how to use [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Senketsu]] properly. Though Senketsu had [[UnskilledButStrong enough raw power]] and Ryuko [[EmpoweredBadassNormal enough talent]] to get her through her first few fights, they were badly synchronized and Senketsu [[CastFromHitPoints required a constant supply of blood]], which left Ryuko ending most fights on the verge of passing out. This is eventually revealed to be due to Ryuko's anxiety: she finds wearing [[{{Stripperiffic}} the ridiculously skimpy outfit]] to be [[ReluctantFanserviceGirl incredibly humiliating]], a mental block which she overcomes by learning to view Senketsu as a second skin rather than revealing clothing.
** Senketsu is also an example as it starts with little idea of its own capabilities other than its need to be worn by Ryuko and all of its subsequent power upgrades come as [[EmergencyTransformation Emergency Transformations]] during battle.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
** Even though he had it first, Yuuno of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' never was able to properly use [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart]], only being able to fight with its crystal-like Standby Mode and [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull needing to say a really long activation phrase to do even that]]. One must wonder how he felt when the then beginner mage Nanoha was able to easily unlock a full Barrier Jacket, activate [[SwissArmyWeapon RH's alternate Modes]], and do all of that without the need of the long incantation. According to the [[AllThereInTheManual novel version and the official page]], [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart fine-tuned herself]] for Nanoha. Guess given the choice of being a tool for a Bombardment Mage or a Force Field Mage, [=AIs=] go for the path that lets it [[StuffBlowingUp blow stuff up]].
** In Sound Stage 3 of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', Teana, having had the fourth and final stage of her device limiter removed, has a new long-range mode for Cross Mirage, but decides to work on the skills she has since there won't be enough time to master it before the final battle.
* ''Anime/{{Macross}}'':
** In ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', whenever they figured out a new thing the eponymous ship could do, trying it always led to embarrassing mistakes. The first time they tried to take off, the anti-grav units broke free of the ship. Using the fold system left them millions of miles off-course, surrounded by ''inhabited bits of the island'' they folded near, and the fold engine ''disappeared''. The first time they transformed the ''Macross'', they destroyed the entire city inside the ship. The first time they fired up an impenetrable energy shield, the shield generator overloaded and destroyed Toronto. Though they were able to use that last one to [[spoiler:take down Boddolza's flagship by using the Daedalus Maneuver to break through the hull and then activate the shield while inside]]. It nearly destroyed the ship.
*** Humorously, this is also why they survived so long against the Zentraedi attacks: whenever they pulled one of these stunts, the Zentraedi commanders were unsure of whether the humans ''meant'' to do that or not, and therefore wonder what ''other'' tricks they must have up their sleeves, leading to an overly-cautious approach on their part.
*** On a much smaller scale, Hikaru in the second episode is a very competent pilot... of airplanes. When his Valkyrie unexpectedly turns into a giant robot, he promptly tries to make it walk. He topples forward and wrecks Minmay's room in doing so, and needs a conveniently-passing-by seafood truck to right him again.
** ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' has an excellent deconstruction of this trope. Sheryl Nome received some basic training on how to operate a VF-25; when the time came to put it to the test, her eyes narrow and she even gets a ThemeMusicPowerUp, which lasts long into her glorious failure at even flying in a straight line.
* Played with in ''Manga/MadeInAbyss''. Reg has [[AmnesiacHero amnesia]], so he literally ForgotAboutHisPowers. When Riko gets carried off by a flying monster, he instinctively powers up a WaveMotionGun; right when it starts firing, he realizes he doesn't even know ''what'' he's about to do, let alone how to control it. Luckily, the [[NoKillLikeOverkill out-of-control death beam]] hits most of the monsters and barely misses Riko. He first used this weapon from offscreen in the first episode, before he lost his memories, and focused it into a narrower beam that time.
* At one point, Padudu of ''Anime/MagicalPlay'' (a.k.a. ''Magical Witchland'') saves two other characters from death via [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands suddenly being able to fly]]. When asked by Pippin why she hadn't done that in the pilot, when she fell on Pippin and cost her a tournament, Padudu says: "[[ForgotICouldFly Oh, that time, I forgot I could fly!]]"
* In the original ''Anime/MazingerZ'' manga, Kouji can't control Mazinger-Z when he first gets it and is forced to have Sayaka run out in the Aphrodite A to stop him and get him under control. The ''{{Anime/Mazinkaiser}}'' [=OVA=] takes it one step further: Kouji thinks he can control it, but it takes control of him then goes into a berserker rage.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Several characters had to practice with their Quirks in order to make something useful out of them. Standout examples include:
** The protagonist Izuku Midoriya himself. Unlike his classmates, who had their Quirks since they were toddlers and thus had a lot of time to learn how to use them, Izuku only received One for All recently. Much of the beginning of the series is him figuring out how to use his god-like strength without literally destroying his body from the stress. [[spoiler:Then he [[AllYourPowersCombined starts manifesting the Quirks of previous One For All users]], and has to learn those as well]].
** Mirio Togata, who has a [[AwesomeButImpractical difficult to use]] intangibility quirk that has the potential to [[BlessedWithSuck kill him if used incorrectly]]. By training hard to learn the intricacies of his abilities, he manages to develop his Quirk into a DifficultButAwesome StoryBreakerPower that rockets him to the #1 spot in UA's graduating class.
** This trope is specifically why the BigBad All For One doesn't [[PowerParasite take the quirks]] of people whose abilities are DifficultButAwesome because he doesn't want to waste the years on abilities to become useful when more straightforward and easy to use Quirks are more practical.
** On a different note, this trope is generally averted with hero costumes and support equipment. They normally come with ''instructions''.
* Manga/{{Naruto}} faces this difficulty with controlling the Kurama's chakra throughout the series. After the time skip it's largely a matter of not going berserk while using it, but pre-time skip his major problem is accessing the power to begin with. This led to a month of humiliating "training" in summoning tadpoles, culminating with being thrown into a ravine. And just to make it worse, when summoning really counts, he's only able to get a toad the size of his hand. Twice! Course at the time Orochimaru had hit him with a sealing spell which was throwing his Chakra out of balance. By the time Jiraya had removed that handicap, it was only a few days before Naruto had to fight in the second Chunin tournament, so he really didn't have any time to master it.
* [[spoiler:Ako Izumi]] has this problem after getting her [[spoiler:StatusBuff]] Pactio in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. She manages to get the hang of it soon, though.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': The first time Shinji Ikari tries to pilot an Eva with no training or preparation, he falls on his face. Fortunately, [[spoiler:putting him in danger this way activates the Crazy-Protective Alter-Ego of his Eva suit, who handily defeats the Angel for him.]]
* In ''Manga/OmamoriHimari'', Himari and other characters are confused as to why Yuuto's powers have not awakened when he turned 16 like they were supposed to. Later, he uses them by instinct during a life-or-death situation. The next episode has him trying to train to use them at will, which doesn't go anywhere. It is triggered by his will to protect others. Later on in the manga it's explained that the Twelve Families traditionally only passed on the knowledge of how their powers work through oral tradition, and since Yuuto's family didn't teach him the family secrets before they died, he honestly has no clue how the Light Ferry works, and there's nothing and no one he can consult for lessons. He has to rediscover all his family's techniques from scratch.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** Nami with the Clima-Tact in her fight with Miss Doublefinger. Unfortunately for her, half of the functions on the device are party tricks (and they're listed first in the instruction manual), and the other half are abilities that are useful, but only if used correctly, and Usopp may not have known how good they can be (he suggests playing boomerang catch with the Cyclone Tempo). Despite this, once she manages to find the right functions to use, she can win if she identifies the good moves and learns how to use them. Nami's experience with the Perfect Clima-Tact is also like this to some extent, but only because she didn't realize how powerful it was the first time she used it.
** This applies even more to the [[GreenRocks Devil Fruits]]. The average person who has absolutely no idea what their fruit even ''does'' unless they've either read a restricted access catalogue or been outright told. Even then, you'd have no idea how to activate it until you experiment. Brook's power only activated ''after he died'', meaning he could've started off simply knowing he couldn't swim. Hell, Brook takes this even further after the TimeSkip, when he develops his powers into the abilities to use AstralProjection and channel GhostlyChill into [[AnIcePerson Ice Powers.]] This means that it took Brook ''well over fifty-two years'' to realize these powers were available to him and work out how to use them. A Devil Fruit's powers aren't entirely unknown to the eater — once a person eats a Devil Fruit, they gain an awareness of the Fruit's basic ability. However, the specifics of how the ability works and any further aspects and uses of the ability often require some experimentation to figure out. In Brook's case above, he actually knew in advance that he would come back to life once he died, but spent the next fifty years following his resurrection operating under the assumption that that's all the Yomi Yomi Fruit did, before he eventually discovered other aspects of its power.
** Whitebeard's revealed power to make earthquakes involves punching the air as if it were a glass window. [[GuideDangIt Can you honestly say you'd figure that one out without being told?]]
** A flashback to [[RubberMan Luffy's]] youth showed that it was years before he could even use Gum-Gum Pistol (basically just a stretching-arm punch, which is Luffy's most basic attack in the main storyline) without hitting the ground or it rebound into his own face. Though that can be largely blamed on his youth and his relatively small body at the time.
** After Kaku ate a Devil Fruit that transformed him into a giraffe or giraffe-man hybrid, he had trouble changing into the specific form he wanted and, since he hadn't been able to explore his new capabilities, just made new attacks up as he went along. That said, because he was a skilled fighter before he ate his DF, adapted to his new powers much faster than the average DF user and thus was still a formidable opponent. Still, having a full-grown giraffe fall through the ceiling [[Funny/OnePiece made for some hilarious moments]].
** Tashigi, after she [[spoiler:was body-switched with Smoker]], has a hard time [[spoiler:using the latter's Devil Fruit powers]], and has to ask how to use them.
** Momonosuke also has a hard time figuring out how to control his transformations into a dragon and back after he ate an artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruit. Though in his defense, it could be either due to his young age, his inexperience with the fruit (and limited knowledge of Devil Fruits in general), the fact that said fruit is artificial and a failure, or all of the above.
** [[spoiler:Sabo]] had some issues with controlling the abilities of the [[spoiler:Flame-Flame Fruit]] after first eating it. While he was able to utilize its previous user's signature technique, he had trouble [[spoiler:''turning off'' the flames]]. Also, despite the Devil Fruit being a Logia and giving him "Made of Air" style NighInvulnerability, he still dodged attacks simply out of habit. Although that dodge instinct could be considered a good thing, considering most figures he'd fight against (being in the Revolutionary Army) would have some knowledge on how to combat Devil Fruits.
** Trafalgar Law's Op-Op Fruit abilities make him a borderline RealityWarper, but at the time he first ate the fruit he had no idea how to actually use its powers. Thus he was unable to help [[spoiler:Corazon/Rocinante]] after the latter was riddled with bullets.
* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', occasionally one of the heroes' Pokemon will have trouble mastering a new attack until several episodes later. One of the Sinnoh arc's running gags was Gible's Draco Meteor misfires always homing in on Piplup. Then there was Duplica's Ditto, which couldn't master transformations for a long time... it would never get the face right.
* Sort of happens to the protagonist of ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'', [[MagicalGirl Himeno Awayuki]] -- more of "How Do I Shot Wind?" It is implied that she ''should'' know instinctively how her [[ElementalPowers powers]] work, but the first time she is forced to fight a monster, she panics and can't figure out what to do. However, this wasn't enough to make her give up, and she actually demands to receive some training in order to learn to use her powers properly.
* ''Anime/PrettyCure'':
** Unlike virtually every other Precure before her, Tsubomi Hanasaki, alias Cure Blossom, of ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' has to be practically hand-held through most of her powers and abilities early on. Compare this to her teammate Erika Kurumi, alias Cure Marine, who was able to figure out everything on the word "go".
** A similar situation happens in ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'' with Miyuki Hoshizora, alias Cure Happy, though she's quicker mastering her powers than Tsubomi. And once she does, cue the pink heart-shaped [[Manga/DragonBall Kamehameha]]. Though, it's starting to seem like the rest of Miyuki's teammates are stuck in this same predicament.
** These days, any Precure fans would notice a similar pattern of a newbie main Cure, while trying to figure out how their power works, accidentally and to their shocks, [[InASingleBound jumps absurdly high]]. This maneuver is eventually nicknamed the "Holy-Crap-I-Can-Jump-This-High" Maneuver.
** In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', Hime is given a special stone that will search out her partner and allow them to become a Pretty Cure. She's never told how the stupid thing works and decides to chuck it and make the first person it hits her partner. It's a good thing the person she does hit, Megumi, does make it work.
* Season 3 ''[[Manga/Reborn2004 Reborn!]]'' spoiler'd example: [[spoiler:[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture In the Future]], when Tsuna first uses his KillItWithFire X-Burner Attack, he can't find out how to set it off without propelling himself backward into a wall. When he figures out to use his other hand to make a balancing fireball, he THEN has the limitation that he can only fire on level ground, when he gets around THAT, he needs a way to balance out the flames. Luckily, we're spared that Training episode by Spanner.]]
* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'':
** The manga has Tsukune kidnapped by a shapeshifter, who copies his form and goes out to fight Tsukune's UnwantedHarem. Unfortunately, the fellow runs into quite a few HowDoIShotWeb moments as he tries (in vain) to kill them, not realizing that he's far, far weaker than they are in human form. When he wises up and copies Moka's SuperpoweredEvilSide, he's beaten for good when the power of the rosary weakens him.
** Tsukune himself had a bit of trouble until he got some well-earned [[TrainingFromHell training]] with Inner-Moka and Touhou Fuhai.
* Not an actual superpower, but in ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'' the citizens of Paris are in trouble during the storming of the Bastille because they have no idea how to load and fire their cannons. Thankfully, [[BigDamnHeroes the French Guards show up and quickly figure how to do it]] ([[JustifiedTrope those cannons aren't too different from their muskets, after all]]), and while they aren't exactly excellent gunners the Bastille is an easy and fragile target...
* In ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', King Arthur possesses incredible powers, but he has ''no idea'' how to access them yet.
* In the world of ''Manga/SoulEater'', certain humans inherit a trait that causes them to transform into {{Living Weapon}}s. Once this ability starts to manifest (usually involuntarily, at first), they are scouted by Shinigami's school and given an education to deal with this trope. Just how far it goes is the choice of the student. Those who want to take advantage of their abilities take the [=EAT=] course and become hunters of evil (the characters of ''Soul Eater''). Those who [[IJustWantToBeNormal just want to get a hold of themselves and lead normal lives]] take the [[Manga/SoulEaterNot NOT]] course instead.
* In ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'', [[TheHero Hibiki Tachibana]] had a lot of trouble in the first few episodes because she literally couldn't summon her [[WeaponOfChoice Armed Gear]] to use in battle. [[TookALevelInBadass She got better]] when they decided to have her [[BareFistedMonk focus on using martial arts]] and [[MegatonPunch channel the energy for an Armed gear into her fists.]]
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':
** The rambunctious Kamina steals the Gurren and, confident that he has access to new powers, attempts to combine with the Lagann as the head. It fails pathetically and hilariously. They eventually get it to work through determination.
** Similarly, Simon has a few issues with Lagann's systems at first, especially the jet thruster. Quoth Yoko: "Ah, hello? We're sorta falling..."
* In ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', this is usually {{averted}} by [[TheHero Rimuru Tempest]] thanks to the help of [[BenevolentAI Great Sage/Raphael]], whose major job is not just explaining his [[SuperpowerLottery crapton of powers]] [[TheAssimilator which he's constantly adding to and evolving]], but also teaching him how to use them to their fullest potential. Though this won't stop him from not listening to an explanation, whether due to him tuning her out due to being distracted by battle or other thoughts or [[StopHelpingMe interrupting her attempts]] (the latter of which often makes her miffed and she'll wait for him to fall on his face before he swallows his pride to listen).
* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', Kaneki struggles with even the basics of his newfound powers after becoming a HalfHumanHybrid. He begins wearing an EyepatchOfPower since he's unable to control his single [[BlackEyesOfEvil kakugan]], and struggles with learning how to control his [[CombatTentacles kagune]]. Once he accepts his nature as a Ghoul, he rapidly begins to master his abilities, but continues to wear the eyepatch as an iconic look.
** In the sequel, his in-series {{Expy}}, Tooru Mutsuki, suffers the same problems. His kakugan is always active, forcing him to hide it behind an eyepatch, and he feels vastly inferior to his comrades due to his inability to use his kagune. It's only after multiple traumatic incidents and a TimeSkip spent training heavily that he's able to overcome this and begin mastering his powers.
* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', as Kuwabara is trapped inside Mitarai's water monster, he is determined to break free, and suddenly summons a special sword from his spiritual energy that can slice through dimensions, freeing himself and his friends and defeating Mitarai. The next morning, he tries to summon the same sword while fighting Sensui, but ends up getting his normal spirit sword instead.
* In ''Manga/ZatchBell'', almost every time Zatch and Kiyomaro learn a new spell, Kiyomaro still struggles to understand that the spells are powered by emotion and will. However when they learn their third spell, which magnetizes their opponent, Kiyomaro tries several unsuccessful attempts to test this spell (which he didn't know the effects of at the time), and eventually tried singing the incantation, very badly. Part of the punchline with the third spell was that he was casting it successful in his tests, just that since the spell is purely magnetic and he tested in a place with no metal around, the spell had nothing to effect. Happens again with the fourth spell as despite putting in emotion, the spell didn't work. They later learn that instead that spell works off of tension rather than will. Eventually Averted when Kiyomaro [[spoiler:dies and obtains Answer Talker,]] allowing him to know literally everything. And then used again when it turns out [[spoiler:he doesn't even know how to control it yet, needing help from Dufaux just to get it to work.]]
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