Line #59 Main/AbsurdCuttingPower


1	[[quoteright:290:[[Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/00000966_3207.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:290:A blade made from one of [[PhysicalGod Coyote]]'s teeth. Technical analysis: "really damn sharp".]]
3
4	->''"The Sword of Heroes! Said to be so sharp you can cut yourself just by looking at -- OW!"''
5	-->-- '''Po''', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1''
6
7	Absurd Cutting Power is the ability to slice and dice things that would normally be able to resist being cut. There are any number of ways to achieve this -- technology, magic, extremely high-quality blades, or an incredibly skilled character doing the cutting are all possibilities. Usually involves lots of {{Clean Cut}}s and {{Single Stroke Battle}}s. Expect to find that LikeCannotCutLike -- something with absurd cutting power usually won't be able to cut something ''else'' with absurd cutting power.
8
9	Subtropes of absurd cutting power:
10	[[index]]
11	* AbsurdlySharpBlade
12	** AbsurdlySharpClaws
13	** SharpenedToASingleAtom
14	* CuttingThroughEnergy
15	* DimensionalCutter
16	* HotBlade
17	* LaserCutter
18	** LaserBlade
19	* PortalCut
20	* RazorFloss
21	* RazorSharpHand
22	* SoulCuttingBlade
23	* {{Vibroweapon}}
24
25	Other methods of obtaining absurd cutting power:
26	* ChainsawGood
27	* ImplausibleFencingPowers
28	* {{Magic}} (either as a spell or power on its own, or a magically-enhanced weapon)
29	[[/index]]
30
31	----
32	!!Examples:
33	%%
34	%% Please only list examples that don't fit under any of the subtropes!
35	%%
36
37	[[foldercontrol]]
38
39	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
40	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': [[EmpathicWeapon Zanpakutō]] and other EnergyWeapons can cut almost anything, even mountains and buildings. Their limitless potential is restricted by their wielder's spiritual limitations. Notable cases include Kenpachi Zaraki and Nimaiya's blades:
41	** There is nothing Kenpachi's Zanpakutō cannot cut, mostly due to his truly enormous Reiatsu and swordsmanship mastery. And its cutting power only increases further once he [[GivenNameReveal learns its name]]: ''[[spoiler:he can even cut a meteor with it]]''.
42	** Nimaiya once crafted a sword named Sayafushi. He made it too strong, however - its sharpness is so acute it cuts by accident. As a result, no sheath can contain it and it has to be stored in a special gelatinous substance. Because of this, Nimaiya had Sayafushi labelled a failure, since it fails to meet the basic definition of a sword.
43	* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'''s Z-Sword [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this. Everyone ''thinks'' the reason it's legendary is that it's impossibly sharp and unbreakable, but it turns out to be [[SealedGoodInACan something else entirely]].
44	* ''Manga/TheElderSisterLikeOne'': In the second chapter, Chiyo forms a knife from her hair-tentacles and comically slices through the cutting board.
45	* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', the homunculus Lust's "ultimate lance" ability extends her fingers into long blades which can cut perfectly cleanly through anything, even though they are clearly 3/4 of an inch thick for most of their length.
46	** Pride's shadows can cut or pierce just about anything - and under normal lighting conditions, they can reach just about ''anywhere.''
47	* Invoked in ''Manga/JoujuuSenjinMushibugyou'' by Koikawa, one of the senior members of the Mushibugyo Edo patrol. The protagonist is astonished by his ability to effortlessly slice through solid rock and giant insects' shells with what seems to be dull, half-worn out swords. Turns out, his blades are mundane swords, he can use even a bamboo reed napkin as a deadly cutting implement by simply ''imagining very hard'' that the target is as soft as konjac jelly.
48	* Kazuma in ''Literature/KazeNoStigma'' does this with RazorWind, effortlessly slicing through buildings as if he was cutting cheese with a knife.
49	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
50	** Anyone can turn any weapon into one of these by applying [[ShockAndAwe Lightning]] or [[BlowYouAway Wind]] [[RazorWind Chakra]].
51	** And then there's Raikiri, which we've seen cut through even a Bijuu's chakra like a hot knife through butter- something not even Orochimaru's legendary {{Kusanagi}} blade could do. Raikiri also supposedly cut through lightning, hence its name ('Lightning Blade')
52	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', this is true for almost all swordsmen. For example, Mihawk can do this, partly because he is the best swordsman in the world and also because his sword is absolutely huge. Later arcs show that swordsmen can channel [[SuperToughness Armament Haki]] into their blades, letting them cut through nearly anything. [[spoiler:Zoro demonstrates this by cutting a [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever living mountain]] in half.]]
53	* In ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', Shura's Excalibur (the strongest weapon of the saints, which can cut through anything, be it flesh, armor, attacks, or dimensions) consists of.... his limbs, most frequently his arm. Yes, it is imbued with cosmos, but it's still an arm.
54	* Many swords in ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'' are really, really sharp. Justified, because they're magical.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Comic Books]]
58	* ''Media/XsOmnibus'': X's Absolute Harboring allows him to slice ''anything'' into two halves. It takes a second to power up, having a "before-effect" as an absolute prediction as to which path he will take to slice the object or being. The attack cuts down to the atomic level and is hard to dodge due to distraction. However, it has a lengthy cooldown of ''three days.''
59	* ''ComicBook/{{Annihilators}}'': Dr. Dredd is surrounded by a magical field that acts as a universal cutting edge. Anyone who tries to touch him will get sliced to ribbons, and he can cut things--even the NighInvulnerable skin of the Silver Surfer--without needing to make physical contact. The edge also functions as a DimensionalCutter and is capable of CuttingThroughEnergy.
60	* In one ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' comic, rebel general Crix Madine refers to Mara Jade's lightsaber as a UCT - Universal Cutting Tool.
61	* In Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} story ''Comicbook/DemonSpawn'', villain Nightflame's flaming sword is imbued with magic which allows it to slice through anything: cars, buildings, dimensional barriers...
62	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Nikos Aegeus fled to Olympus and was gifted the knives of Vulcan, which can magically cut through anything even magically "indestructible" items. He stabs Steve Trevor with one and manages to cut Diana's indestructible lasso, but is disarmed in short order.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Fan Works]]
66	* In ''Fanfic/ThievesCanBeHeroes'', [[VideoGame/Persona5 Ann's]] [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Quirk]] is "Razor Teeth", which makes her teeth inhumanly strong and gives them a visible cutting edge, making her able to bite through almost anything, even metal with enough effort.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
70	* In ''Film/IronMan2'', Ivan Vanko's electric whips can slice through cars. Tony's do-it-yourself particle accelerator emits a LaserCutter beam that slices through his lab wall and some shelving and cabinets as he's aligning it. [[note]]The laser thing IS TruthInTelevision. High-powered lasers will cut through anything, including you if you aren't careful. Because they actually work by melting the substance, they'll leave an annoyingly thin clean cut behind. RealLife Physicists use computer models based on complicated math to align their lasers correctly ''before'' turning them on. However, if Ivan Vanko had an electric whip powerful enough to go through a car, he would not be able to hold it. Electricity tries to find the shortest path to the ground. If you are holding an electric item, the shortest path is through you. ouch.[[/note]]
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Literature]]
74	* ''Literature/BewareOfChicken'': Imbuing [[KiManipulation qi]] into his tools allows Jin to saw hardwood timber like paper and plough ground like a knife through butter, without ever having to manually sharpen the metal. It's just one of the ways that [[MundaneUtility being a cultivator makes farming easy]].
75	* Literature/TheBrightestShadow: Reasonably competent warriors using sein can cut through iron, strong warriors can cut through armor, and it's unclear what the limits would be in the hands of a master.
76	* ''Literature/BruceCovillesBookOf Magic'': ''The Wonderworm'' tells of the Shomir, or Wonderworm, which has diamond legs and can cut anything, including an otherwise impenetrable glass and the stones used to build the Temple of Jerusalem.
77	* Creator/LarryNiven's short story "Literature/NotLongBeforeTheEnd" features Glirendree, "the most powerful sword in the world". It can cut through anything and makes its wielder immune to all magic. On the other hand, it is also a parasitic demon forced into the shape of a sword that leeches its user's life away, giving him no more than about a year of glorious victory before killing him of old age.
78	* In Creator/LinCarter's ''Dragonrogue'', the hero, Kesrick, has a sword that, because of the magical gem in the pommel, can cut anything -- even adamantium.
79	* The eponymous Literature/SwordOfTruth can cut through anything that its wielder perceives as an enemy -- and unless you can find the strength to kill something you love will not touch an ally. Here, at least, it's explicitly magical. Needless to say, it's dangerous in the wrong hands.
80	* In Literature/TheTaleOfTheFive novels by Creator/DianeDuane, when Segnbora is literally at death's door, she acquires a sword made by her ancestor from a fragment of that door, named Skadhwe. Skadhwe can literally cut through anything and lacks both a hilt and a flat (and is implied to have a will of its own), which would be a problem in wielding. So Duane adds the exceptions of "not its current owner", and "not anything its owner doesn't want it to cut", making Skadhwe probably the most convenient and least scary example of this trope.
81	* In the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms there is the sentient sword Khazid'dhea, a blade that wants nothing more than to be wielded by the greatest swordsman there is (and to prove this by having said swordsman kills every other swordsman in the world). It is telepathic and can reshape its hilt to its owner's desires and incidentally inspire its wielder into a berserker frenzy if it gets bloodthirsty enough. It can also take chunks out of stone and never needs sharpening. Its name means, in the Drow tongue, "Cutter".
82	* The three Swords of the Cross in the ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' are absurdly sharp, on top of being indestructible, having incredible holy power, and being the focus of the Knights' even stronger abilities. At one point Dresden decides to test out one of the Swords by dropping drinking straws on it; their own weight makes it shear cleanly through them.
83	** {{Exaggerated\|Trope}} now that [[spoiler: ''Fidelacchius'' is now a LaserBlade and, essentially, a lightsaber of the Lord]].
84	** Also displayed by the Warden's swords - Warden Ramirez cleanly cuts the throat of one villain, and it takes a moment before the damage is even visible. They are also used a couple of times to cut through magic, but this seems to be a separate ability, only employable by the person the sword was made for, and, in any case, seems to be more of the order of disruption than actual cutting.
85	* The Subtle Knife from ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials''. One side is so sharp it can slice through any matter effortlessly, including [[ThunderboltIron Sky Iron]]. The other side is so sharp it can slice through the boundaries separating other dimensions. Both edges are so thin and sharp that the end of it can't be seen with the naked eye. It also comes with a special scabbard, which really just holds the grip well.
86	* In ''Literature/{{Wintersmith}}'' the sword Roland uses to kill the bogles is literally made out of sharpness.
87	* Shardblades in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' can cut through anything non-living except [[LikeCannotCutLike other Shardblades]] and [[PoweredArmor Shardplate]] as easily as passing through air. It doesn't cut through living flesh, but instead "kills" any extremity it passes through by severing its connection with the rest of the body, making it paralyzed and useless. If it passes through a vital part of the body, the victim is killed instantly -- [[EyeScream burning out their eyes]] in the process. The exact mechanism for this is as of yet unclear, but it's implied that Shardblades [[SoulCuttingBlade cut the soul]] instead of the flesh.
88	* In Neal Stephenson's ''Literature/TheDiamondAge'', the nanosword that Nelly, the female protagonist, creates. It is capable of cutting through almost any material.
89	* ''Literature/TheHeritageOfShannara'' introduced The Stiehl, a magic knife that can cut through anything. Stone, metal, even magic, there is nothing that The Stiehl cannot penetrate.
90	* In ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheLimelight'', Vidre can produce glass daggers that will slice through a falling hair.
91	* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' turning a sword into a [[PowerCrystal sunucle]] magically increases its cutting power, resulting in swords that can cleave through any physical substance that isn't [[LikeCannotCutLike also a sunucle]], made of [[PowerNullifier darkstone]], or part of a [[OurWightsAreDifferent Shade's]] body.
92	* Dawn, the sword of House Dayne in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' was said to be made of ThunderboltIron, and was so sharp, when [[KnightInShiningArmor Arthur Dayne]] knighted Jaime Lannister, the sword cut Jaime's shoulders.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Live-Action Television]]
96	* ''Series/Babylon5'': Shadow ships are armed with a "Molecular Slicer Beam" as their main weapon. These beams will carve up opposing vessels effortlessly, even slicing whole battlecruisers in half with one shot.
97	* ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'': The eponymous Rider's signature sword, the Medajalibur, only cuts what he wants it to cut. So he could slice through entire buildings, which them reset themselves as if nothing happened, but also destroy the monster of the week in seconds.
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Video Games]]
101	* The ''VideoGame/{{Exile}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'' games have the Blessed Athame, a small magical knife that can cut through anything. It's to small to be used as a weapon but it's ability to cut through anything includes cutting through certain types of magical wards and seals which means that in most of the games your party needs to acquire it for that reason.
102	* The Keyblade in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. Even the Kingdom Key, which has a blunt edge, can cut through buildings in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. The explanation is that the actual blade is [[AWizardDidIt the magic around it]], thus, no matter how blunt it may look, the weapon cuts like a well-crafted sword. Some keyblades, though, have explicitly sharp heads and are basically fancy axes (and the original InfinityPlusOneSword, Ultima Weapon, was a sword with a strange guard around the blade).
103	* Anna's {{BFS}} from ''VideoGame/ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlRevis'' can somehow cut open ''reality'', allowing her to enter other dimensions for her special attacks.
104	* Sanger Zombolt's Zankantou from ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' can cut through pretty much anything. Mechs of both human and alien origin, giant flying battleships, even a mountain formed for the purpose of pulling off a CombinationAttack. The man said it himself, there is nothing his blade cannot cut.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Webcomics]]
108	* ''Webcomic/TheGodOfHighSchool'' has Yoo Mira, who can turn anything remotely resembling a sword into this, cleaving through steel like a knife through butter. Give her a ''real'' sword and she's cleaving through mountains, skyscrapers, and clouds even when they're not her actual target!
109	* In ''Webcomic/{{Gosu}}'', any gosu wielding a bladed weapon fits this, with these gosu being able to cleanly slice through thick trees, boulders and cliff faces easier than pulling a hot knife through butter.
110	--->''"In the hands of a gosu with great inner Ki, even a dead leaf can become a weapon that can pierce iron plates."''
111
112	* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', the Coyote Tooth. "The keenest blade you will ever find! Be careful with it, because it could cut the very earth!". Annie and Kat "[[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=966 did some tests on it]] and found it to be '''really''' damn sharp". That is, they sliced through a steel beam like it was butter, and dropped a steel bearing on the edge and it continued the fall in two pieces. [[spoiler:After Parley accidentally cuts Robot in two with it, it peels Shadow off the floor when she drops it]].
113	* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons:'' Understanding the principle art of Cutting involves taking this trope to the logical extreme, in which the act of 'cutting' is disconnected entirely from needing a physical focus (i.e. a sword) [[EnlightenmentSuperpower and becomes an act of pure will itself]] to which the contents of whatever you are Cutting is completely immaterial. The MasterSwordsman Mathangi ten Meti uses the Maybe Sword, allowing her to cut an angel clean in two, and then ''continues'' cutting through [[https://killsixbilliondemons.com/comic/wielder-of-names-6-112/ the floor, the back wall, the ceiling...]] using only the hilt of a broken sword. She later demonstrates the technique on the corpse of an old god, slicing it in half from kilometres away. Her master, Meti ten Ryo, at one point unconsciously decapitated fifteen men with [[ImprovisedWeapon a piece of driftwood]] and is implied to have been so beyond Maya she Cut herself free of all attachments to the physical realm and became true Royalty.
114	--->''Beware the swordsman who carries no blade.''
115
116	* ''Webcomic/RiceBoy'': In the fourth act, Rice Boy learns a Word of Power that allows him to cleanly bisect anything by shouting at it. [[OffWithHisHead Which includes necks]].
117	[[/folder]]
118

Context Main / AbsurdCuttingPower