History TheDreaded / AnimeAndManga

*** In fact, Luffy himself (and by extension, his crew) has achieved this status, especially if you account in his bounty. He would be feared in every sea in the world ''except'' the New World, and even then he's already made an impression there. Case in point: Luffy's at Corrida Colosseum for a TournamentArc while wearing a ridiculous PaperThinDisguise that manages to fool (almost) everybody. There, while speaking with one of the other competitors, Luffy ([[CannotKeepASecret being Luffy]]), forgets that he's incognito and proceeds to give out his real name. Everybody immediately freaks out, and only calm down when they see the sign on the back of his shirt say 'Lucy'... along with remembering rumors about him being an eight-meter tall giant. Luffy's become so infamous that practically anybody who isn't at the strength level of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (who are notable New World ''veterans'') instantly fears him. [[spoiler:He is even more this after being deemed the "Fifth Emperor"... and then, the Five Elder Stars confirm his Gum-Gum fruit is not what it seems, but actually a ''different'' fruit": Human-Human, model: Nika. The fruit ''itself'' is one they fear because it has a will of its own to seek freedom and liberation for all, which is anathema to the World Government's authority. Upon finding out it's Luffy who has it, knowing the man's goals and behavior align perfectly with it, he becomes target priority number one. By the end of Wano Arc, he has officially achieved this status by becoming a new Emperor who even fanatics like Sakazuki above are wary to have a direct engagement with.]]

*** In fact, Luffy himself (and by extension, his crew) has achieved this status, especially if you account in his bounty. He would be feared in every sea in the world ''except'' the New World, and even then he's already made an impression there. Case in point: Luffy's at Corrida Colosseum for a TournamentArc while wearing a ridiculous PaperThinDisguise that manages to fool (almost) everybody. There, while speaking with one of the other competitors, Luffy ([[CannotKeepASecret being Luffy]]), forgets that he's incognito and proceeds to give out his real name. Everybody immediately freaks out, and only calm down when they see the sign on the back of his shirt say 'Lucy'... along with remembering rumors about him being an eight-meter tall giant. Luffy's become so infamous that practically anybody who isn't at the strength level of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (who are notable New World ''veterans'') instantly fears him. [[spoiler:He is even more this after being deemed the "Fifth Emperor"... and then, the Five Elder Stars confirm his Gum-Gum fruit is not what it seems, but actually a ''different'' fruit": Human-Human, model: Nika. The fruit ''itself'' is one they fear because it has a will of its own to seek freedom and liberation for all, which is anathema to the World Government's authority. Upon finding out it's Luffy who has it, knowing the man's goals and behavior align perfectly with it, he becomes target priority number one.]]

** The Tokiwadai Dorm Manager in ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun''. No one dares cross her, not even the Level 5 espers. Even [[LeeroyJenkins Gunha]] [[SuperpowerLottery Sogiita]] is scared of her.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': This was originally played for laughs with Retsu Unohana, captain of the 4th Division. [[spoiler:Then it's revealed she was the original Kenpachi, Yachiru Unohana. She has mastered every sword style and was the worst criminal in Soul Society history (even '''Aizen''' doesn't have that reputation).]]

** More or less anyone that has a [[SecretLegacy D.]] in their name is guaranteed to terrify anyone within the World Government, ''especially'' the [[AristocratsAreEvil World Nobles]]. This is due to as-of-yet unrevealed prophecies and legends, and the reputation-setting individuals we actually ''have'' seen, including plenty of examples already mentioned, such as ''Gol D. Roger himself'', who was a horrifically strong OneManArmy that was only brought down by an incurable disease and managed to turn his execution into the start of the Golden Age of Piracy. Either way, just about every D is a sort of boogeyman for the World Government, as they are practically guaranteed to raise some major chaos when they decide to act up.
--->'''Trafalgar [[spoiler:D. Water]] Law''': "The D will surely bring forth another storm!"

** More or less anyone that has a D in their name is guaranteed to terrify anyone within the World Government, ''especially'' the [[AristocratsAreEvil World Nobles]]. This is due to as-of-yet unrevealed prophecies and legends, and the reputation-setting individuals we actually ''have'' seen, including plenty of examples already mentioned, such as ''Gol D. Roger himself'', who was a horrifically strong OneManArmy that was only brought down by an incurable disease and managed to turn his execution into the start of the Golden Age of Piracy. Either way, just about every D is a sort of boogeyman for the World Government, as they are practically guaranteed to raise some major chaos when they decide to act up.

*** Let's see who we have in the original seven: Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, one of the few characters in the entire story that has remained completely unscathed in any battle that he appears in. Crocodile, a master tactician empowered by the [[NighInvulnerability Logia-type]] Suna Suna no Mi (Sand-Sand Fruit). Gekko Moria, who commanded an army of zombies and was capable of going toe to toe with Kaido of the Four Emperors in his prime. Bartholomew Kuma, an insanely powerful cyborg who was renowned for his legendary cruelty while he was a pirate, and possesses one of the single most [[StoryBreakerPower broken]] Fruit powers in the series. Donquixote Doflamingo, involved in practically anything shady and wicked in the world and empowered with the Ito Ito no Mi (String-String Fruit), and superhuman besides. Boa Hancock, the strongest ActionGirl in the world, capable of petrifying her opponents and, like Mihawk, has yet to be injured in the present story. And last but not least, Jimbei, insanely powerful Fish-man with the power to command whale sharks and [[MakingASplash water]], and masterful in [[FantasticFightingStyle Fish-man martial arts]] besides. Post-timeskip newcomer Edward "Whitebeard Jr." Weevil keeps the tradition going; it's telling when, in spite of his [[PsychopathicManchild idiosyncrasies]], even ''Kizaru'' treads lightly around him, and Marco specifically refuses to enter the Wano Country with Weevil hunting him because he knows that if Weevil stops pursuing him, he will instead go into Whitebeard's hometown and demolish it.

** Out of all of the current members of the Four Emperors, the one that stands out the most as this trope is the one who took the longest to make an official appearance: Kaido. It's stated that he was responsible for massacring Gekko Moria's original crew, which is implied to have been composed of One-Man Armies, and he managed to scare the hell out of [[spoiler:''Donquixote Doflamingo'']], to the point that when forced to face his wrath or the wrath of the aforementioned Admirals, he chose the Admirals. When you make ''them'' look like the ''friendlier'' option, you are an exaggerated form of this trope, [[spoiler:never mind that Doflamingo [[TakeAThirdOption Took a Third Option]] to not have to face either of them. And when he does show up, we find out he has a reputation for surviving dozens of his own executions without a scratch, breaking out of prison in the bloodiest ways possible, and taking up suicide attempts for fun because he's just that NighInvulnerable. Also, while abovementioned Whitebeard was dubbed the WorldsStrongestMan, Kaido is known as a ''strongest creature'']]. To hammer home how scary Kaido is, it was heavily implied that if he and Whitebeard ever got a chance to throw down, Kaido would have a very real shot at ''winning''.

*** In fact, Luffy himself (and by extension, his crew) has achieved this status, especially if you account in his bounty. He would be feared in every sea in the world ''except'' the New World, and even then he's already made an impression there. Case in point: Luffy's at Corrida Colosseum for a TournamentArc while wearing a ridiculous PaperThinDisguise that manages to fool (almost) everybody. There, while speaking with one of the other competitors, Luffy (being Luffy), forgets that he's incognito and proceeds to give out his real name. Everybody immediately freaks out, and only calm down when they see the sign on the back of his shirt say 'Lucy'... along with remembering rumors about him being an eight-meter tall giant. Luffy's become so infamous that practically anybody who isn't at the strength level of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (who are notable New World ''veterans'') instantly fears him. [[spoiler:He is even more this after being deemed the "Fifth Emperor"... and then, the Five Elder Stars confirm his Gum-Gum fruit is not what it seems, but actually a ''different'' fruit": Human-Human, model: Nika. The fruit ''itself'' is one they fear because it has a will of its own to seek freedom and liberation for all, which is anathema to the World Government's authority. Upon finding out it's Luffy who has it, knowing the man's goals and behavior align perfectly with it, he becomes target priority number one.]]

** Luffy slowly becomes this throughout the series, starting around the time he [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable defeated Rob Lucci]] and building up from there. After the TimeSkip, when he [[CannotKeepASecret accidentally uses his real name while going incognito]], the gladiators standing nearby crap their pants and yell at him not to scare them like that.

** The Eight Kings are terrifying by nature. They're the eight strongest beasts of their respective families in a world where some species under them can single-handedly topple civilizations. Just the hoofprint of the Horse King is enough to scare an entire crew of veteran hunters, and just his breath can affect the other side of the planet. Monkey King Bambina takes it up to eleven. Not only does he keep his entire continent-sized zone in order, because the other super-powered monkeys are [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority too scared of him to disobey]], but he causes the main character to see his entire life flash before his eyes just by losing temper for one second. From several kilometers away. The reveal of his [[spoiler:true form]] not only scares away almost every creature in the vicinity, but also makes every creature in the world eat like it's their last meal. Just by using his full power, he makes the entire world subconsciously ready to die. He also literally cuts mountains in half and sends the tops skipping like rocks along the water until eventually they come back around the world and are now hand-sized polished stones.

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'':

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':

* ''LightNovel/DirtyPair'': If there is an understandable reason why Kei and Yuri hate their titular nickname, it's because almost everybody who says it around them looks like they are expecting the world to end right after they recognize them (and considering the Pair's luck, that's not far off. Part of the reason why such shit happens is because the bad guys escalate like crazy when they find out that they are after them).

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'':

* [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in ''LightNovel/GoblinSlayer'', since the titular adventurer goes out of his way to [[LeaveNoSurvivors completely wipe out any and all goblin nests he can find]], and as such there is no goblin left alive to dread him.

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'': After the events of Volume 12, [[spoiler: ''the protagonist Issei'']] becomes this in the eyes of the Anti-Lord of Hell faction. The reason being that they've tried all sorts of possibilities of killing [[spoiler:the current Red Dragon Emperor]] to the point that [[spoiler:they had to resort using Samael, the dragon eater,]] and ''he still lived through that'' made them fear him.

* ''LightNovel/HorizonInTheMiddleOfNowhere'': P.A. ODA's [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Five Great Peaks]]; aka the Six Demon Army. As in, each one of the six [[OneManArmy is worth an entire army]].

* ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'':

* ''LightNovel/KumaKumaKumaBear'' gives an especially adorable but still frighteningly terrifying and violent example in Yuna. She was just another normal 15-year old shut-in in Japan until she was transported to another world and given a set of cute, [[EmbarrassingButEmpoweringOutfit insanely embarrassing, but insanely overpowered]] bear armor. Her strength so vastly outweighs all but the most legendary creatures and warriors of the land, leading to several {{Curb Stomp Battle}}s, her being called the "Bloody Bear", and the "Apex of the Apex Predators". For extra irony, Yuna doesn't actually want to fight or literally bloody her hands, the universe and her own desires just keep throwing her into combat with ever stronger threats.

* ''LightNovel/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation'': Rujierd is known as [[RedBaron the "Dead End"]] on the Magic Continent. He's literally the bogeyman for the Magic Races, as parents tell their children that if they don't behave the "Dead End" will get them. Towns have been known to send every available guard and adventurer to drive him off if he approaches them.

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'':

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'':

* ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'': Ryūji Takasu terrifies practically everyone he comes across due to his unnaturally menacing eyes that he inherited from his father, alienating him from a good majority of his peers. Thing is, he's actually a really NiceGuy.

* ''LightNovel/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'' has Yoruka, formerly a legendary assassin known as the Empire's Assassin Blade. She decides to demonstrate her strength by defeating the elite knights of the New Kingdom in the tournament, and not only curbstomps them all, she considers them too weak to properly show her strength. Later on in the light novels, she's singled out as one of the most dangerous enemies by [[spoiler:the Lords]], and proves this to be justified when she singlehandedly distracts [[spoiler:all seven Ragnarok]] for several minutes, ''while exhausted and injured from previous fighting''.

* ''LightNovel/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation'': Rujierd is known as [[TheRedBaron the "Dead End"]] on the Magic Continent. He's literally the bogeyman for the Magic Races, as parents tell their children that if they don't behave the "Dead End" will get them. Towns have been known to send every available guard and adventurer to drive him off if he approaches them.

* ''Manga/BlackClover'': Zenon. If Luck, who loves fighting strong enemies, doesn't want to fight him out of feeling pure fear for the first time, you know he is this. He terrifies Sylph, an ancient elemental spirit, when she sees him, with her urging Yuno to use Spirit Dive immediately to stand a chance against him.

* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the main villain himself, Muzan Kibutsuji, has one in a heroic figure of old that still torments him over the centuries, as Yoriichi was the demon slayer who almost killed him. Even as an old man on death's door, Kokushibo knew he stood no chance of defeating him. Muzan's sheer terror of the man is such that when [[AllLovingHero Tanjiro]] ends up resembling him through a combination of his Sun Breathing technique and his sheer rage towards demons who disrespect the sanctity of life, the cells he implanted in the 12 moons cause them to experience vivid flashbacks of Muzan's encounter with him-- to repeat, ''Muzan's very cells carry his deep terror'' for the man who came closest to inflicting death upon him despite all his precautions and abilities. Muzan even went out of his way to destroy any record of the Sun Breathing style and killed most of the inheritors of the technique himself, despite his usual paranoia with being identified, out of fear of another like Yoriichi appearing before him again--which lead to Tanjiro's family massacre and him [[CreateYourOwnHero embarking on the role of a demon hunter]].

** Evangeline A. K. [=McDowell=] qualifies. She has a bounty of millions upon her head, and most people are terrified by her to the point that she's treated as the boogieman in the Magical World. An example can be seen in Anya's reaction to discovering that Evangeline, [[IHaveManyNames the Queen of the Night, the Doll Master, the Maga Nosferatu, the Apostle of Destruction]], is teaching Negi magic. "She's gonna eat me alive!"

* ''Anime/PumpkinScissors'': The anti-tank troop known as ''Gespenst Jager'' (roughly translating to "Ghost Hunters") are heavily implied to be this to all who are aware of their existence. A troop of genetically-altered foot soldiers designed to take out enemy tanks ''in close-quarters combat'', they have each been programmed with a hypnotic trigger that turns them into single-minded, unstoppable killing machines when activated. There's even a motto regarding them that basically amounts to "they are not your allies, and God help you if you make them your enemies."

** Post-series, [[TheHero Naruto]] and [[TheRival Sasuke]] are known as the two most powerful ninja in the world, and similarly feared as such. More than once during the light novels and even during Boruto’s own series, an enemy ninja ends up crapping their pants at the mere possibility of having to take one of those two on.

** The original Gotei 13 generation that Unohana and Yamamoto used to be part of also had this reputation when they were still active. They were so feared and ruthless in fact that Yhwach himself considers them, who he sees as less than "defenders" and more like a bunch of deranged killers, as the strongest version of Gotei 13 even when compared to the already badass current generation.

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Walpurgisnacht, although only Homura [[spoiler:(and, in some timelines, Mami)]] knows how terrifying it is. Despite having apparently won the SuperpowerLottery, Homura recruits Kyouko to help fight it. [[NothingIsScarier She tells us very little about it]]--only that it's some kind of super-witch, so powerful it doesn't need to hide behind a [[PocketDimension barrier]], and the {{muggles}} will think it's some sort of natural disaster. It finally appears in episode 10, [[spoiler:in a flashback to an earlier timeline where it killed Mami and Madoka. It turns out the "dream" in the beginning of the series was Walpurgis clobbering Homura in another timeline. She loses to it yet again in the current time, and it's only destroyed when Madoka remakes ''the entire universe'' to get rid of witches entirely. Tellingly, for its [[FinalBoss battle]] in the series' [[VideoGame/MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory official mobile game]], it took ''[[GondorCallsForAid almost the entire cast]]'' to kill it, and even then, without a blessing from Madoka, they wouldn't have pulled it off.]]

* ''Manga/MyMonsterSecret'': Parodied. Kuromine is terrified of Shirayuki, the former principal of Morobare High, simply because [[IdiotPlot she's the only character in the story who's not a complete idiot]]. Admittedly, she is a genuinely dangerous opponent with some disturbing plans, but the main reason Kuromine is scared is because he's never had to deal with someone who doesn't sabotage themselves every five seconds.

* ''Literature/MyInstantDeathAbilityIsSoOverpowered'': Before being teleported to other worlds, Yogiri was [[BigBrotherIsWatching constantly monitored]] by [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction organizations]] that were extremely terrified of its existence. When he disappeared, everyone who knew the truth about him sighed with relief that he was no longer on the planet.

* ''Literature/InstantDeath'': Before being teleported to other worlds, Yogiri was [[BigBrotherIsWatching constantly monitored]] by [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction organizations]] that were extremely terrified of its existence. When he disappeared, everyone who knew the truth about him sighed with relief that he was no longer on the planet.

** [[spoiler: Eren has absolutely become this by pretty much everyone save for his own faction and much of Paradis who follows him and reveres him. He is treated as a god by the Yeagerist faction, by much of the Paradisians who approve of his actions, and by Zeke's followers. He is so intimidating at this point that his old friends and allies from the 104th and Survey Corps alike have trouble and fear talking to him. Marleyans fear him and believe him to be the devil with the Tybur family even painting him as such. One of the best examples of his status as TheDreaded is Gabi who displays nothing but TranquilFury normally at Paradisians is paralyzed in fear and unable to move when confronted by Eren despite the fact that he should supposedly be the FinalBoss for Marley and her prior war experience where she was always extremely confident of herself.]]

** MaxTac and Trauma Team are particularly feared due to them being elite paramilitary units that are better off avoided. MaxTac in particular are specifically tasked with taking down cyberpsychos and rogue cyborgs. Edgerunners are also wary of taking jobs against the megacorps like Arasaka and Militech, since they have the money and resources to easily retaliate against edgerunners if they prove to be a large enough nuisance.

** Shanks is another of the Four Emperors who commands utter respect. All we know about his past is that he served on Roger's crew, even having lost his arm, and having not been seen fighting in the series yet at all, his appearance at the battle of Marineford, a war that involved everyone on this list except for three or four, and his threat to turn it into a free for all between the Red-Haired Pirates, other pirates and Marines ''immediately causes the war to end'', even ''[[KnightTemplar Akainu]]'' agrees out of apparent fear of going against Red-Haired Shanks, and this was ''after'' he had forced Kaido to back off and abandon his plan to intercept Whitebeard on his way to Marineford. [[spoiler: In the follow-up of the Wano arc, Admiral Ryokyogu, who up to that point had been confident in taking on the entire Wano Alliance who toppled ''Kaido and Big Mom at the same time'', to get to the Straw Hats, immediately freezes up in terror and leaves when Shanks - from islands away - uses his haki to threaten to come after him and the Marines for trying to pick the Straw Hats off while they're weak. That's the level of respect Shanks demands when you get on his bad side, and even a vicious person like Ryokyogu knows that.]]