History UnderestimatingBadassery / AnimeAndManga

* ''Manga/DragonBall'':
** Several characters underestimated Goku when he was a child, thinking there was no way such a small child could be strong.
** When Yamcha faced Bandages the Mummy, he assumed that as a mummy, Bandages would [[ZombieGait logically be slow]] and thus he would easily win. Bandages shocks him by being exceedingly fast and beats the crap out of him, then asks where in the world he got the idea that he was slow.
* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
** When Videl first meets Gohan, she assumes he's weaker than her father, aside from the fact that he knows how to fly and shoot energy beams. Gohan even lampshades in an internal monologue that Videl is stronger than her own father and simply doesn't realize it. This ends up being shattered when the rest of the Z-Fighters show up for the World Martial Arts Tournament and casually outshine Mr. Satan.
** Supreme Kai Shin both underestimates and overestimates badassery. He overestimates his enemies and is repeatedly surprised by how freakishly strong the Saiyans are. Had he come to Earth with a rational assessment of their power, rather than a poor assumption, things would have gone a lot better, something that he lampshades after Buu's awakening. Deconstructed as this led to Vegeta and some of the others underestimating the threat of Majin Buu, especially once revealed.
** Majin Buu really gets this a lot, because it's easy to ignore that the cheerful silly pink bubblegum monster is an EldritchAbomination with monstrous strength, the ability to return to perfect health shortly after being reduced to smoke, copy techniques perfectly after seeing them once, turn people into candy, and absorb others to gain their powers. It starts with the Z Fighters, as said above, but then Babidi and Dabura join in on the act and think the unsealing has gone wrong (It has not, as Dabura finds out [[EyeScream painfully]] when he insults Buu), and then Van Zant and Smitty, two ''completely normal humans'', think they can take Buu on (spoiler alert: it ends really badly). Shin is the only one to never underestimate Buu, because Buu either killed and/or absorbed his fellow Kais in front of him eons ago.
*** Special mention should be made of Buu's true and final form Kid Buu. After barely defeating Super Buu, [[TheDreaded who Goku and Vegeta clearly feared]], Buu, at the end of his transformation, shrinks to the size of a little kid, the duo start ''LAUGHING'', [[TemptingFate clearly it will be easy as pie, right]]? [[EarthShatteringKaboom No]].
*** Underestimation of Buu continues into Super's Universe Survival Saga during the prelims, where both his opponent Basil and Universe 9's Supreme Kai, Roh, think of Buu as a weakling that Basil can easily toss around. Then Basil hurts [[MoralityPet Mr. Satan]], and [[LetsGetDangerous Buu gets mad]]. Not only does he heal a hole in his torso in an instant (Showing that Basil had actually been doing ''jack squat'' to Buu the whole time), he completely ''manhandles'' Basil until he gets a temporary power-up that allows them to fight on even terms, and even then he [[VictoryByEndurance won once the power-up wore off]]. Interestingly enough, Frieza averts this, as he mentions that Majin Buu was one of two beings his father told him ''never'' to fight (the other being Beerus, below), though the two never meet.
** Several bad guys end up underestimating the power of the Z Fighters due to being over-reliant on using their scouters to read their PowerLevel, unaware that they can increase their strength in battle and keep it low when not fighting. Android 17 and 18 can't sense energy, so they cannot tell that Cell is much more powerful than they are, and their future counterparts likewise can't tell that Future Trunks has become powerful enough to beat them. Babidi can't sense energy, so he does not understand the significance of going [[SuperMode Super Saiyan]] and mocks Goku for such a "useless transformation".
*** Double subverted in the confrontation between Goku and Ginyu. Ginyu immediately realizes that Goku is a much more formidable fighter than it seems (of course, Goku effortlessly beating Recoome and Burter was already a big clue), but estimates Goku's PowerLevel to be around 60-80 thousand. He [[FreakOut completely freaks out]] when Goku shows that he's much, much stronger than that.
** Probably the most spectacular example in the whole series was Pui Pui. To say that he underestimated Vegeta would be an {{Understatement}}. Put this way: when he realizes he's outmatched, Babidi uses magic to transport them to Pui Pui's home planet, which has 10x Earth's normal gravity -- Vegeta fails to take the opportunity to point out the coincidence that ''his own homeworld'' had that level of gravity, but does point out, to Pui Pui's horror, that he's long been training in conditions which are ''hundreds of times'' Earth's gravity. Vegeta effortlessly blows the clown away and he doesn't even need to go Super Saiyan for it.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' and the adaptation arc in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', all the characters underestimate Beerus and Whis, two gods of such unfathomable power that pretty much everyone are ants before them. This is because, as gods, they use godly ki, which is different from the normal ki that mortals use, and can't be sensed without special training. Much like the issue with scouters, this is a case where the characters' power sensing backfires on them.

** Rat completely averts this trope due to [[{{Seer}} his ability]] giving him foreknowledge of what every other participant is capable of, and as such, knew to stay out of everyone else's way. [[spoiler:This ultimately wins him the Zodiac War.]]

** Anyone who ever thought that fighting [[MemeticBadass Jack]] "[[RedBaron Thousand Blades]]" [[CrazyAwesome Rakan]] is a good idea. Like Fate's minions believing they could take him on a 4 on 1 fight. He's the personification of awesome for a reason, people.

* A recurring problem in ''LightNovel/GoblinSlayer''. Goblins are seen as a low priority, domestic threat by the adventurers. Frequently leaving the job of killing them to newbie adventurers looking for an "easy" first quest. Many of these newbies learn, [[RealityEnsues if they survive in tact]], that the Goblins are [[ItCanThink smarter than people give them credit for]]. Not by much, but clever and devious enough to tear inexperienced adventurers to bits.

** Damien, a {{Jerkass}} of a trainer, abandoned his Charmander for thinking it was too weak and not up to snuff. Later, witnessing Charmander demonstrate his power to save Ash's Pikachu from Team Rocket, Damien would try to get Charmander back. Fortunately, Charmander, previously a paragon of UndyingLoyalty, [[BrokenPedestal finally saw Damien for what he truly was]], and chases him off with a powerful Flamethrower, and then join Ash's team.

** Shamus left Tepig for being weak and tied it to a stick as he let it starve to death. However, Shamus was proven wrong about Tepig when Ash took him in and battle against him as it evolved into Pignite. Seeing this, Shamus tried to win Pignite back but he refuse to go back as it saw him for who he truly is.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order.

* When the Noah's Ark Circus launches an attack on Phantomhive Manor in ''Manga/BlackButler'', they completely write off [[spoiler:the household staff]]. Turns out [[spoiler:Ciel didn't hire his staff for their household abilities - he has Sebastian, after all - but as ''security'']]. None of the circus crew survive the attack.

** Probably the most spectacular example in the whole series was Pui Pui. To say that he underestimated Vegeta would be an {{Understatement}}. Put this way: when he realizes he's outmatched, Babidi uses magic to transport them to Pui Pui's home planet, which has 10x Earth's normal gravity - Vegeta fails to take the opportunity to point out the coincidence that ''his own homeworld'' had that level of gravity, but does point out, to Pui Pui's horror, that he's long been training in conditions which are ''hundreds of times'' Earth's gravity. Vegeta effortlessly blows the clown away and he doesn't even need to go Super Saiyan for it.

* ''Manga/{{Kingdom}}'': Minor antagonist Rinbukun cleaves his way through a few generals from the once-Ouki Army until he comes face-to-face with [[TheLancer Tou]]. He mocks Tou for being someone who hides behind the name of Ouki, who is now dead and cannot save him. Tou acknowledges that he was just the second-in-command to Ouki for his entire career - but points out that someone who was the Number Two to a man ''whose name was feared across the nation'' must be pretty badass himself. Tou then kills Rinbukun [[OneHitKill in a single strike.]]

** Upon arriving in a Magic world bar, Negi is attacked by a random thug because he resembles a guy who beat him sorry many years ago - actually Negi's infamous father "[[WorldsStrongestMan The Thousand Master]]". In retrospect that should got him thinking...

** The arc before this, Punk Hazard, had both his subordinates, Monet and Vergo, thinking they could take the Straw Hats and Law easily. Monet likewise taking care to not to underestimate them. Granted she gives Luffy, Nami, Chopper and Robin a hard time. But when came time to fight Zoro, she instantly fell prey to this as she figured he WouldntHitAGirl. Zoro proved her dead wrong after letting Tashigi have a go at her, revealing he was holding back and could've killed her - a logia user mind you - ''at any time''. As for Vergo, he takes on both Law and Smoker back to the back. He does seem to have the upper hand but only because he had Law's heart at the time and Smoker throwing his fight to get it back. Once Law does get his heart back, he ends the fight in one hit ''and Vergo was fully Haki covered at the time''. What makes it even more satisfying? Doflamingo is listening in on a Den Den Mushi gloating how badly Vergo beat him up the last time and how "traumatized" Law is to face him. Yeah Doffy really doesn't know his enemies well.

** On the flipside Vinsmoke Yonji has this moment when he meets his brother Sanji again after 13 years, Yonji having easily thrashed his non-SuperSoldier brother for most of his childhood assumes he'll still be able to push [[TookALevelInBadass a full grown Sanji]] around. [[CurbStompBattle Boy was he mistaken]]. After getting his skull reset, Yonji blusters over how a "good for nothing" like Sanji could kick his ass so hard.
** This trope keeps happening throughout the Totto Land Arc to varying degrees; Vinsmoke Judge figures he can use Big Mom's name to intimidate his enemies easily by giving his estranged son as a bridegroom, never taking into account of just ''how'' unreliable and two-faced Big Mom is, when in fact she just wants to kill his family and take his army's technology. Capone "Gang" Bege cooks up a plan to kill Big Mom by pushing her TraumaButton and firing several poisoned missiles at her -- ''one'' missile could kill a man easily, but why take chances? --only to be shocked when her hysterical screams have enough force to destroy the missiles easily. The Big Mom Pirates are so used to dealing with pesky rookies entering their territory, so while they get a good start against the Straw Hats, they write them off on vague reports despite having NeverFoundTheBody, allowing the heroes to regroup and plan a counterattack. After the Straw Hats ruin the Tea Party assassination, the Charlotte Family abandons this attitude and send all of their forces to where they expect the Straw Hats to be, as, after so many near misses, they can no longer takes chances and give Luffy and co. even the slightest hope of escaping. And even ''then'' they keep underestimating the Straw Hats, thinking Luffy couldn't ''possibly'' have [[spoiler:beaten their strongest brother and paragon fair and square, one on one]].
** This keeps happening in the Wano Arc; After Luffy gets beat and captured by Kaido, the guards of the Udon prison-mine assume he's just a small-fry they can push around with ease, even though Luffy resilience had won ''Kaido's'' respect. In the third act, a bunch of Animal Kingdom Pirates attack Luffy, Kidd, and Law's crews all at once, believing that since all three captains were captured by Kaido at one point, they must be a bunch of pushovers. The three captains get vexed by this disrespect and proceed to ''obliterate'' one of their ships in a matter of seconds.

* In ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'', nearly (particularly his fellow Legendary Heroes) looks down on Naofumi Iwatani, the Legendary Hero of the Shield, because his shield makes him weak at fighting. That shield actually turns him into a StoneWall capable of tanking pretty much any attack, allows him to become an excellent support for his party and gives him the means to support himself, becoming the strongest of the Legendary Heroes soon enough - and that's without taking into account the [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Cursed Shield]]...

** In ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' and the adaptation arc in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', all the characters underestimate Beerus and Whis, two gods of such unfathomable power that pretty much everyone are ants before them. This is because, as gods, their power is literally unfathomable to mere mortals, so only other gods can tell just how powerful they are. Much like the issue with scouters, this is a case where the characters' power sensing backfires on them.

* In ''Manga/BlackLagoon'',

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''

* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'':
** In the Mahora Tournament Arc, several of the adult fighters underestimate the main characters because they are children, only to get creamed. One man, upon facing Evangeline, who looks like a small child, declared he will not make the mistake of underestimating her and goes into a battle ready stance. It does him no good because as soon as the match starts, she goes up to him with a FlashStep and takes him out with one blow while barely paying attention to him.
** Upon arriving in a Magic world bar, Negi is attacked by a random thug because he resembles a guy who beat him sorry many years ago - actually Negi's infamous father "[[WorldsStrongestMan The Thousand Master]]". In retrospect that should got him thinking...
** For the record, that "random thug" is Vargas, one of the baddest guys in town, and pretty much [[OvershadowedByAwesome everyone who's not Negi (or Kotaro, or Chachamaru, who were with him)]] would do well not to underestimate ''him''. More importantly, Vargas, his little brother Tohsaka, and their friend Mama Bear become plot-relevant [[MauveShirt Mauve Shirts]] later.
** Interestingly enough, [[spoiler: Nodoka]] pulls this on the one of Fate's associates.
--->"You made the mistake of thinking of me as a mere powerless girl, Mr. Mage."
** Anyone who ever thought that fighting [[MemeticBadass Jack]] "[[RedBaron Thousand Blades]]" [[CrazyAwesome Rakan]] is a good idea. Like Fate's minions believing they could take him on a 4 on 1 fight. He's the personification of awesome for a reason, people.

* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'': Several characters made the mistake of underestimating a certain blonde haired gentleman by the name of Johan Liebert.

* Happened all over the place in ''Manga/OnePiece''. The [[BigBad villains]] and minor [[JerkAss assholes]] often underestimated [[TheHero Straw Hat Luffy]], [[TheLancer Zoro]] or [[TheBigGuy Sanji]] when they first meet, but sometimes the Straw Hats themselves fall prey to this. Somewhat justified since this series is filled with [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Cloudcuckoolanders]] and [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Crouching Moron Hidden Badasses]].

* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

%%* North Italy/Feliciano in ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia.'' This could arguably apply as well to Austria and Finland, given their histories.

** Similarly, Zorin disobeys orders and attacks the Hellsing mansion, assuming it was helpless without Alucard around. She ends up killing and insulting Seras' LoveInterest, leading her to evolve into an actual vampire and granting Zorin a death that would have made Alucard proud. The Major even tried to warn her about it beforehand, saying that while he himself isn't certain why, Alucard had to have chosen Seras for a reason, and if Alucard sees something in her, then she's not to be taken lightly.

** In the spinoff ''Manga/ACertainScienticRailgun'', Kuroko Shirai has clearly never heard of Shizuri Mugino, the Meltdowner and the fourth strongest esper in Academy City. When she meets her, she dismisses her as an ordinary citizen and [[MyDadCanBeatUpYourDad gets into a childish argument with Frenda Seivelun where she says Mikoto would easily defeat Mugino]]. In reality, Mikoto and Mugino had fought earlier and Mugino almost killed her if it wasn't for dumb luck. Kuroko was really lucky that Mugino was more embarrassed about Frenda than her, or else she probably would have attacked her.

** There are only seven Level 5 espers in Academy City. Each is a OneManArmy and the stronger ones like Accelerator, Dark Matter, Railgun and Meltdowner are an outright [[PersonOfMassDestruction Persons of Mass Destruction]]. One would think that punks would get their photographs and avoid any of them at all costs but no, if you thought trying to punch out [[ShockAndAwe Mikoto]] was bad, there are [[TooDumbtolive idiots]] who try to attack [[AxCrazy Accelerator]]!

** Shamus left Tepig for being week and tied it to a stick as he let it starve to death. However, Shamus was proven wrong about Tepig when Ash took him in and battle against him as it evolved into Pignite. Seeing this, Shamus tried to win Pignite back but he refuse to go back as it saw him for who he truly is.

** Dr. Colress believed that no Pokémon could resist his perfected mind control device. However, after taking control of Ash's Pikachu for the third time in the Adventures in Unova and Beyond series, Dr. Colress was in shocked as he not only underestimated his [[HeroicWillPower strong willpower]] but also his bond towards Ash, even Ghetsis Team Plasma leader was shocked by the turn of events.

** Lysandre overconfidently thought he could control Ash and his Greninja the same way he control the Legendary Pokémon Zygarde through his Mega Evolution energy machine. However, after Ash and his Greninja resist his control, Lysandre realized that he not only underestimated their [[HeroicSpirit Fighting Spirit]] but also the bond they share for their friends and each other, due to those feeling being [[ThePowerofLove unbreakable]].

** Paul abandoned Chimchar for not meeting his expectations but was proven wrong about its strength overtime when Ash took it in.
** Shamus left Tepig for being week but when Ash took him in and battle against him as it evolved into Pignite he was proven wrong as he tried to win him back but he refuse.

** Dr. Colress believed that no Pokémon could resist his mind control device but he was proven wrong when he witness Ash's Pikachu [[HeroicWillPower resting]] his control.
** Lysandre overconfidently thought he could control Ash and his Greninja the same way he control the Legendary Pokémon Zygarde through his Mega Evolution energy machine. However, Lysandre truly underestimated them when they resist his control as their [[HeroicSpirit Fighting Spirit]] along with the [[ThePowerofFriendship bond]] they share for their friends and each other was [[ThePowerofLove unbreakable]].

** In the Japan arc, [[JerkAss Chaka]] thinks that [[BewareTheNiceOnes Rock]] is perfectly safe to abuse and mistreat, even though he's part of the [[TheMafiya Hotel Moscow]] delegation and his [[DarkActionGirl bodyguard]] is right there. To top it off, he thinks that wantonly messing about with the heiress of the Washimine-gumi, toward whom both Rock and a true {{Samurai}} on par with Revy herself have a protective streak, is a good idea.

* In ''Manga/SangatsuNoLion'', this is one character's fatal mistake during a shogi tournament semi-final match that results in that character's loss. He initially writes him off as just another opponent (reducing him down to just his rank) in his fervor to go up against another character in the finals, not realizing the accomplishments under his semi-final opponent's belt would indicate the true strength in his abilities.

* In the early volumes of ''Manga/{{Gunnm}}'', Alita/Gally was underestimated by many of her enemies and paid the price, starting with the arrogant bounty hunter named Zapan. In the sequel Manga, ''Last Order'', her reputation as one of the strongest warriors in the universe precedes her.

* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Damien, a {{Jerkass}} of a trainer, abandoned his Charmander for thinking it was too weak and not up to snuff. Later, witnessing Charmander demonstrate his power to save Ash's Pikachu from Team Rocket, Damien would try to get Charmander back. Fortunately, Charmander, previously a paragon of UndyingLoyalty, [[BrokenPedestal finally saw Damien for what he truly was]], and chases him off with a powerful Flamethrower, and then join Ash's team. Two other Trainers, Paul and Shamus, did the same thing and they were proven wrong about their strength when Ash took them in.