History BadassNormal / AnimeAndManga

** While ''Manga/PhantomBlood'''s Jonathan Joestar would eventually become an EmpoweredBadassNormal through use of [[ThePowerOfTheSun Ripple]], even prior to that, he was still able to hold his own against a vampiric [[BigBad Dio]]. He's also the only [=JoJo=] to never get a [[FightingSpirit Stand]], making him the most "normal" of all of them, but he's still ''miles'' ahead of all of them when it comes to physical strength.
** Robert E. O. Speedwagon. Can't use Ripple, isn't a vampire or [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Pillar Man]], and doesn't have a Stand, but still managed to be the biggest contributing ally in the series. In the interim between ''Phantom Blood'' and ''Manga/BattleTendency'', he discovers oil and uses the resulting riches to found a massive corporation that ends up providing essential assistance to the protagonists all the way to ''Manga/StoneOcean'', ''over a hundred and twenty years later'', essentially making him the GreaterScopeParagon of the entire series. It's telling that he's the only character without any of the series' supernatural powers to become playable in ''[[VideoGame/JojosBizarreAdventureEyesOfHeaven Eyes of Heaven]]''.
** According to what we learn of him from characters in ''Manga/BattleTendency'', [[PosthumousCharacter George Joestar II]] never learned how to use Ripple, but still managed to be a badass as an ace fighter pilot during World War I.
** Jotaro Kujo was a badass even prior to [[EmpoweredBadassNormal gaining a Stand]], as can be seen when he gets [[FountainOfYouth de-aged]] into a child, yet still manages to beat the absolute tar out of Alessi.
** ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'':

** ''Manga/SteelBallRun'':

** Sig proves that his muscles isn't just for show in the last arc when he [[spoiler:kills Sloth alongside Alex Louis by throwing him on a spike]].

** [[{{Samurai}} Kozuki Oden]], unlike the majority of powerhouses in the series (or even a few of his Retainers and family members), didn’t have a Devil Fruit power. Nonetheless Oden was such a MasterSwordsmen he could’ve given both Zoro and Mihawk a run for their money and so strong and tough that he put future WorldsStrongestMan Kaido on the ropes in a fight. Literally the only ones above Oden in terms of strength were Roger and Whitebeard themselves.

** Dracule Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman, seems to have no Devil Fruit Powers. Likewise, Silvers Rayleigh, the ''first mate of Gold Roger'', is shown swimming at one point (indicating he doesn't have a Devil Fruit) and can fight against an Admiral despite being [[RetiredBadass retired]] as a pirate for twenty years. Did we mention that the sea he was swimming in was infested with [[SeaMonster Sea Kings]], which are usually hostile and about fifty times the size of the average human?

** Speaking of Vice Admirals, Vergo deserves a special mention despite not possessing a Devil Fruit he infiltrated and worked as a spy for years in the Marines for Domflamingo. Vergo is also strong enough to give Law, Sanji, Tashigi and Smoker a very hard time, true Vergo was cut in half by Law but the fact Law had to use his StoryBreakerPower on him speaks volumes. Vergo is also the first character to show off full body [[InstantArmour Armament Haki]].
** Zephyr from ''Anime/OnePieceFilmZ'' does not have any powers except for Haki (which everyone Vice Admiral or up possess) and a mechanical arm, which he can fight just fine without. He '''was''' an Admiral in his youth, before losing his normal arm, meaning he was in the same position as Garp, but accepted. He is incredibly badass.

** [[{{Samurai}} Oden Kozuki]] definitely counts, unlike the majority powerhouses in the series (or even a few of his Retainers and family members) he didn’t have a Devil Fruit power. Nonetheless Oden was such a MasterSwordsmen he could’ve given both Zoro and Mihawk a run for their money and so strong and tough that he put future WorldsStrongestMan Kaido on the ropes in a fight. Literally the only ones above Oden in terms of strength were Roger and Whitebeard themselves.
* Played with with Mumen Rider from ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan''. In a practical sense, it's a subversion; In a world full of people with {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s, he's just some guy on a bike who doesn't stand a chance against the monsters most of the heroes above him have to contend with. But his sheer [[TheDeterminator heroic determination]] eventually leads him to stand up to the Sea King to protect a shelter full of civilians he was about to slaughter, even knowing his opponent (who took out multiple S-class heroes just minutes before) is leagues above him and that he doesn't stand a chance, but he has to HoldTheLine anyway because there's no-one else left. As such, he's one of the few heroes that the godly powerful Saitama shows respect for.

* ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'':
** While several of the characters are immortal beings that have drank the elixir of life, many of the most amazing fights and other feats are performed by completely normal humans such as Claire Stanfield, Chane Laforet, Jacuzzi Splot, and Ladd Russo. It's worth pointing out, however, that Ladd is AxCrazy and Claire thinks he ''is'' immortal.
** In the light novels, Claire takes this trope even further - [[spoiler:he manages to best a ''vampire'' in a fight.]] The author of the novels has even stated that, if such a situation were to come up, Claire would be able to win against all of the many characters in the series with little effort; the reason the author plans to avoid such a fight is simply because should Claire be pitted against the rest of the cast, the story would come to a swift and uninteresting end. What's more, [[spoiler:at the age of 90, Claire - still a mortal - continues his eccentric activities, traveling around the world and locating treasures ''merely to impress Chane.'']]
** The light novels themselves note that the only character that ''might'' match up against Claire in a fight is Ronnie Schiatto. [[spoiler:The resident ''demon/{{eldritch abomination}}'']] has trouble fighting Claire Stanfield.

* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'':
** Shiage Hamazura. He's normally a ButtMonkey, but he's a BadassDriver, BadassBiker, and TheGunslinger who once shot down three people while falling out of a helicopter. He [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable beat Shizuri Mugino, The Meltdowner, the 4th most powerful esper in Academy City]] '''THREE TIMES IN A ROW'''. He's also possibly the ultimate SpannerInTheWorks, since almost everybody underestimates him since he has no powers.
** The Head Resident of the Tokiwadai dorms. Despite having no powers, she administers discipline to a dorm full of Level 3+ espers, including ''two'' Level 5's, and she's [[TheDreaded feared by them all]]. To show how feared she is, she scared away ''[[HotBlooded Gunha]] [[ComboPlatterPowers Sogiita]]'', who caught [[ShockAndAwe Mikoto Misaka's]] railgun ''with his [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] teeth'', out of all people.
** Wataru Kurozuma of Skill Out. Normal guy, no superpowers, can beat up dozens of gang members without breaking a sweat, even if they have weapons.
** Amata Kihara, who beats up ''Accelerator'', of all people, with just a clever application of martial arts skills.

* ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'':
** [[spoiler:Masaomi Kida]] doesn't have any SuperStrength, KGB training, [[CastingAShadow control over darkness]], or a HiveMind army like some characters: he's just a kid that's really good at street fighting. [[OneManArmy Really, really good at it.]]
** Izaya is an even better example as he can go toe to toe with said people of abilities he lacks above and LIVE!

* Many people consider Kyon from ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' already in this trope (if you include the novels, that is), as he still kicks ''everyone's'' ass without having any power at all. Worth pointing out that it's been made more or less clear that the S.O.S. Brigade members actually seem to be more loyal to him than Haruhi. Particularly in the case of Yuki who seems to take commands from him more often than Haruhi. Inspiring that kind of loyalty is indeed all kinds of badass.
* ''Literature/HeavyObject'' has Heivia and Quensar, who manage to destroy fifty-foot-tall robots with just some heavy explosives, some weak guns and their wits.

* The Obstinate Arrow task force from ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess''. [[spoiler:Centuries ago, the Guardian Factor was seeded in human DNA to produce people with the strength and will to protect the Providence Breaker when she is born. None of these people are in the task force which confuses Zefiris when they come to the Pacifica's rescue and join her side.]]

* ''Literature/TrinityBlood'':
** Hugue de Watteau is characterized as being the only ordinary human in the main cast who can stand his ground and actually persevere in a fight against vampires, a proficiency stemming only from extreme training and fitness and reflexes honed to perfection.
** Hugue is not entirely normal ([[spoiler:he's got ArtificialLimbs]]). A better example would be Leon Garcia de Asturias aka "Dandylion".

* Captain Bravo from ''Manga/BusoRenkin'' would seem to fit this trope. Although he does have a kakugane, it is simply a metal shield, however he is able to destroy the ground and kill people with a single punch, pull out of a spinning kick in mid air, etc.

* ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'': [[spoiler:Raki, post time-skip]]. Unlike the ladies, he has no Youki to increase his strength, no ability to sense demons beyond the regular five senses, and he certainly is a lot less durable... He presumably heals at the same rate as a normal human. He's just a regular guy with seven years of sword training under his belt... And he easily kills the sort of youma that was giving Clare trouble at the beginning of the series.

** Also appears with [[spoiler: Miro]] when he loses his powers in the Shie Hassaikai arc where he is still able to stand up against one of the big bads of the arc. [[spoiler: His powers are later recovered, partially deconstructing this again]]

* ''Anime/DokiDokiPrettyCure'', but it must be seen from another perspective, considering that in a franchise where girls have almighty powers, it's ''very'' rare to bring this up:

** Also appears with [[Spoiler: Miro]] losing his powers in the Shie Hassaikai arc. [[Spoiler: His powers are later recovered, partially deconstructing this again]]

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

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':

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

* Many people consider Kyon from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' already in this trope (if you include the novels, that is), as he still kicks ''everyone's'' ass without having any power at all. Worth pointing out that it's been made more or less clear that the S.O.S. Brigade members actually seem to be more loyal to him than Haruhi. Particularly in the case of Yuki who seems to take commands from him more often than Haruhi. Inspiring that kind of loyalty is indeed all kinds of badass.
* ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'' has Heivia and Quensar who manage to destroy fifty foot tall robots with just some heavy explosives, some weak guns and their wits.

* The Obstinate Arrow task force from ''LightNovel/ScrappedPrincess''. [[spoiler:Centuries ago, the Guardian Factor was seeded in human DNA to produce people with the strength and will to protect the Providence Breaker when she is born. None of these people are in the task force which confuses Zefiris when they come to the Pacifica's rescue and join her side.]]

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

* ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'':

** Kamina as well. It turns out he cannot generate Spiral Power himself, because it relies on the user being able to believe in themselves; [[HiddenDepths Despite his constant hammy shouting and showboating, Kamina does not believe in himself]]. However according to WordOfGod, if Yoko did not intervene in the first episode, Kamina would have ''won'' against the [[HumongousMecha Gurren]], alone with only his ordinary steel nodachi. [[spoiler:When he was killed, he also willed himself back to life for long enough to give Simon a pep talk, invent the Gurren Lagann's [[FinishingMove signature Giga Drill Break]] and ''take out the guy who killed him'' before finally dropping, so there's that.]]

** Kallen Kouzuki is one of the few major characters without a Geass or some sort of inhuman skill, and yet she's arguably the best pilot in the series. She's able to pilot the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. after its creator stated that even Suzaku shouldn't be able to, then [[spoiler:narrowly defeats Suzaku in his own custom built Lancelot Albion, despite him using his [[SuperMode "live on"]] command through all of their fight]].

* Hareta from ''Manga/PokemonDiamondAndPearlAdventure''. He's abnormally athletic, and unusually strong, which blends well with his HotBlooded personality. He's fought against Pokemon essentially trying to murder him on various occasions.

* ''Anime/BlackLagoon'': Pretty much the entire cast is this, [[WorldOfActionGirls although the women in particular]] Revy, Roberta, Eda, Balalaika and Shenhua are extra badass. Revy especially is a GunsAkimbo SheFu expert able to send men twice her size flying with kicks and is only truly rivalled by Roberta an Implacable Woman who at point breaks one of Shenhua‘s blades with her teeth while on a UnstoppableRage. Even Rock a NonActionGuy knocked down a yakuza with a bowling pin while royally pissed off and overall is the most dangerous main character in the series due to his BatmanGambit [[TheChessmaster strategies]].

** Other than Guts, the only other members of the cast fit this category (who don't use magic like Schierke and Farnese) are:

** Ash himself, as well, if [[spoiler: his ability to use Aura, [[ForgotAboutHisPowers which he never uses anyway]]]] is ignored. With his personality and young age, it's very easy to forget that he's faster and more agile than a lot of his Pokemon and has a tendency to jump into the action himself when things start getting rough and come out little the worse for wear. However, many agree he was at times inhumanly adept prior Sinnoh, what with being able to toss large logs across the river and pulling off huge jumps towards Team Rocket's balloon. Afterwards, though, his badassery takes a hit [[DependingOnTheWriter in various degrees]]. Jumping down from atop a tower to save a falling Pikachu without a plan to survive said fall is just dumb (later on he repeats the same mistake, except this time he is falling ''into a volcano''). Ironically, in ''Sun & Moon'', he tries lifting a log and is utterly unsuccessful at budging it. By that point, anyone is just as good as (or better than) he is, though it isn't saying much. This last part then goes out of the window, since in ''Journeys'', in Episode 38, he's able to throw ''a freaking boulder as big as his torso'' in the air! And he's also able to motivate Pokémon enough to make them evolve. That's something worthy of respect.

* ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'': In a series where almost all of the characters have a special talent, Kyosuke Munakata's talent is Student Council President; associated with leadership skills and not inherently associated with combat. Despite this, Munakata is a phenomenally skilled swordsman shown to be just as competent (if not more so) than characters whose talents ''do'' revolve around combat. He is shown to be able to stand his ground against a swordswoman and a wrestler.

** Wrath is the only one of the Homunculi who doesn't possess their HealingFactor, nigh-immortality, or any real superpowers, yet he still manages to be one of the most dangerous characters in the entire series.

* Limelda Jorg in ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'' is an ordinary military officer positioned as TheRival to the eponymous ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl, who is CursedWithAwesome, ImmuneToBullets, sports GunKata, and stacks up {{Theme Music Power Up}}s like no tomorrow. That Limelda survives the show where AnyoneCanDie also speaks a lot about her skills.

** While ''Manga/PhantomBlood'''s Jonathan Joestar would eventually become an EmpoweredBadassNormal through use of [[PowerOfTheSun Hamon]], even prior to that, he was still able to hold his own against a vampiric [[BigBad Dio]]. He's also the only [=JoJo=] to never get a [[FightingSpirit Stand]], making him the most "normal" of all of them, but he's still ''miles'' ahead of all of them when it comes to physical strength.
** Robert E. O. Speedwagon. Can't use Hamon, isn't a vampire or [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Pillar Man]], and doesn't have a Stand, but still managed to be the biggest contributing ally in the series. In the interim between ''Phantom Blood'' and ''Manga/BattleTendency'', he discovers oil and uses the resulting riches to found a massive corporation that ends up providing essential assistance to the protagonists all the way to ''Manga/StoneOcean'', ''over a hundred and twenty years later'', essentially making him the GreaterScopeParagon of the entire series. It's telling that he's the only character without any of the series' supernatural powers to become playable in ''[[VideoGame/JojosBizarreAdventureEyesOfHeaven Eyes of Heaven]]''.
** According to what we learn of him from characters in ''Manga/BattleTendency'', [[PosthumousCharacter George Joestar II]] never learned how to use Hamon, but still managed to be a badass as an ace fighter pilot during World War I.

** Chi-Chi counts, alongside Yajirobe she’s the only main human fighter in the series who doesn’t display any KiManipulation (barring a PlayedForLaughs Kaioken-esque BattleAura when she’s pissed off in the Garlic Junior FillerArc). Yet as expanded material like the [[Anime/DragonBallZLordSlug fourth movie]] shows, Chi-Chi is powerful enough to NoSell Ki blast explosions and take down two alien soldiers (who could BeamSpam her HalfHumanHybrid son out of the sky) with a single kick. In the aforementioned Garlic Junior arc she’s presented as a genuine threat while BrainwashedAndCrazy and when training her other son Goten [[MadeOfIron Chi-Chi takes a kick from him]] when he accidentally goes [[SuperMode Super Saiyan]], considering even casual hits from a Super Saiyan can knock out {{Muggles}} and seriously injure someone like Frieza -- this is extremely impressive. Only reason Chi-Chi doesn’t train to become even stronger is that [[RefusalOfTheCall she hates fighting]].
** Jaco the Patrolman while an alien cop with rocket boots and blasters, his strength utterly pales in comparison to even the likes of Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Master Roshi. He is unable to use any Ki attacks and flat states he would get steamrolled by any of Frieza’s EliteMooks. This doesn’t stop Jaco from being [[WeakButSkilled skilled enough]] to take down entire squads of troops and fight aliens much larger than himself however.

* Many people consider Kyon from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' already in this trope (if you include the novels, that is), as he still kicks ''everyone's'' ass without having any power at all. In the 4th novel, he [[spoiler:courageously '''pwns''' the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Data Overmind]], threatening to use Haruhi to recreate the universe, should anything happen to Yuki Nagato.]] Badass Normal, yeah. Worth pointing out that it's been made more or less clear that the S.O.S. Brigade members actually seem to be more loyal to him than Haruhi. Particularly in the case of Yuki who seems to take commands from him more often than Haruhi. Inspiring that kind of loyalty is indeed all kinds of badass.

* Genjuro Kazanari of ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'' is just a regular dude. He eats, sleeps, and watches movies...and he's ''easily'' capable of handing the uber powerful Gear users their asses, without breaking a sweat.

*** Look further and you'll find [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Ramba Ral]] and his Earth-bound expy [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam Norris Packard]], who will show the difference between a merely good pilot and an AcePilot, and they won't be doing them in Zakus. Then there are Kou Uraki and Anavel Gato, from a [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Newtype-less show]], they show off the power of growth and CharacterDevelopment, and of nukes. The Universal Century is teeming with awesome normal guys, to the point where even the faceless {{red shirt}}s get a representative in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn Gundam Unicorn]]'', the Londo Bell veteran known only as [[FanNickname Godspeed]] (technically two, if you count ex-Titans veteran Robin Diez/[[FanNickname Kobe Byarlant]], whose name and face are only revealed in a side-story manga).

** The rest of the [[FanNickname Inner Senshi]] also became this trope for a brief period during the FillerArc of ''Sailor Moon R''. Sailor Moon got her powers and memories reawakened in the first episode, but the other four Senshi still just think they're normal girls, because Luna and Sailor Moon wanted them to be able to live normal lives. When the MonsterOfTheWeek shows up, they [[JumpedAtTheCall jump into the fight without any powers or knowledge of their nature.]] And while they aren't perfect, they do better than the solo Usagi.

* Genjuro Kazanari of ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' is just a regular dude. He eats, sleeps, and watches movies...and he's ''easily'' capable of handing the uber powerful Gear users their asses, without breaking a sweat.