History WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway / AnimeAndManga

** The main character is a similar case to some members of the Legion of Substitute Heroes, such as Fire Lad or Polar Lad, below. His (newly-acquired) power is not useless at all, being a ridiculous level of SuperStrength. However, as he has zero control over it, every time he uses it he cripples himself. As time goes by he finds ways to use it more effectively.

** Newly introduced character Kinemon has the ability to disguise himself or anyone else any way that he chooses. Thus far, this has only been seen by materializing clothes from nothing, that will vanish when removed, meaning that his power has no clear combat potential. Good thing Kinemon is a bad-ass {{Samurai}} that can use [[PlayingWithFire fire attacks,]] so he doesn't need a Devil Fruit power to be effective in battle.

** There's also Gan Fall's steed Pierre, a giant bird who ate the Horse-Horse Fruit, allowing him to turn into a really goofy-looking pegasus, and has no real advantages since he was already a perfectly serviceable mount as a bird.

* ''Anime/SeikonNoQwaser'': The title qwasars have the ability to control a single element - as in, elements of the periodic table, not the classical ones. The lucky ones get common, stable elements like iron. Joshua ended up with element number 111, roentgenium. Roentgenium is a synthetic element, with any naturally occurring atoms having decayed long ago, and labs can only create a few atoms at a time. If he somehow scraped together enough roentgenium to actually do something meaningful, it would quickly overreach critical mass and explode, before swiftly decaying into unusable, but still super radioactive, elements. And, as a parting gift, it would give everyone around nasty radiation poisoning. So his power is utterly useless, and in the extremely unlikely case he gets to do anything with it, he'll be shooting himself in the foot and giving himself cancer. Talk about losing the SuperpowerLottery.

* This is the premise of ''LightNovel/YokuWakaruGendaiMahou'': Koyomi can use a spell to make washbasins fall from the sky. She is very good at it, and Misa say that she does have some good potential in magic since sumoning a item out of nothing should normally be to difficult for a beginner, but this the ONLY thing she can do. Any spell she try to use, either complicated or simple will inexplicably turn into a bassin summoning spell. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Then she realise that she can also turn a enemy spell into a bassin summoning spell]]

** Flashback character Corazon ate the Nagi Nagi no Mi (Nagi, meaning "calm" in Japanese), which basically gives him the power to be a...soundless human. To be specific, he can create an invisible bubble around him from which no sound can escape- no one outside can hear him, and those inside the bubble can't hear the outside. He can also use it by touching his own body with his palm to make any of his actions soundless, or touching a thing or a person to make them soundless. While it's very good for stealth, it has no obvious combat applications. Trafalgar Law outright calls it lame. Subverted when Corazon does use it effectively for an action sequence where he effectively ambushes a pirate stronghold without making ANY sounds, including fire burning, glass breaking, gun firing or EXPLOSIONS.

*** DIO named the weakest Stand to be Survivor, an extremely short-ranged Stand that creates an electric impulse which travels through water and enters another person's brain, filling them with blind UnstoppableRage and enhancing their combat skills to an expert level. Use it on your friends and they try to kill you, use it on your enemies and they try to kill you harder, and you still have to get them wet. Still, Pucci was able to find a situation where it could be useful: [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman a high-security prison with a recently hosed floor, with Survivor's user inside a locked cell and the protagonist outside their cell with a number of prison guards]].

*** Highway To Hell is an oddball AttackReflector, which reflects the injuries the user inflicts to themselves onto another. Note that this doesn't actually stop the injury, it just means someone else gets it as well. It doesn't have any form of regeneration or protection, and it doesn't even reflect non-self-inflicted injuries--effectively, all that it does is make it so that you can [[TakingYouWithMe take someone else with you]] if you kill yourself.

*** Cheap Trick is quite possibly the only Stand in the entire series to have absolutely zero positive qualities. How it works is that it attaches itself to the User's back, and if anyone looks at their back, they will die and Cheap Trick will attach itself to the person that looked.

* Though the Stands in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' are famous for being utilized in creative and effective ways, despite their unconventional nature, a few just aren't particularly impressive:
** Cheap Trick and Superfly's users are outright BlessedWithSuck, dying if they let someone see their back or leave a radio tower. They're dangerous in the story only because they both have the potential to jump onto other people (and Cheap Trick does so by killing the user).
** Hey Ya, Pocoloco's Stand, might be the most passive Stand in the franchise, to the point that it was commonly theorized to be a figment of his imagination. Its power is simply a steady stream of positive encouragement and occasional advice, making it exactly as powerful as having a cheerleader. Pocoloco being on the world's [[BornLucky hottest hot streak though]], means [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower he gets a lot of mileage out of positive thinking]], especially when Hey Ya's advice depends on information that Pocoloco doesn't know.
** DIO named the weakest Stand to be Survivor, an extremely short-ranged Stand that creates an electric impulse which travels through water and enters another person's brain, filling them with blind UnstoppableRage and enhancing their combat skills to an expert level. Use it on your friends and they try to kill you, use it on your enemies and they try to kill you harder, and you still have to get them wet. Still, Pucci was able to find a situation where it could be useful: [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman a high-security prison with a recently hosed floor, with Survivor's user inside a locked cell and the protagonist outside their cell with a number of prison guards]].
** Kenzo's Stand, Dragon's Dream, uses Feng Shui to point out physical locations of either [[BornLucky good]] or [[DoomMagnet bad]] luck [[note]][[ComboPlatterPowers It can also detach and launch the limbs of people who touch it, for some reason]][[/note]]. Unfortunately for him, it's also an extreme FairPlayVillain that insists on explaining how it works and how to beat Kenzo. As he's [[EmpoweredBadassNormal already a master martial artist,]] it frequently does more to hinder him than help.
** StarterVillain Ojiro's Stand is Fun Fun Fun. Its ability (PeoplePuppets) definitely sounds useful, and it is. However, it has two limitations: it can only puppeteer people if they've been injured, and more importantly, [[SituationalSword it can only puppeteer people who are physically beneath Ojiro.]] This means his targets are basically restricted to the people in the floor below him in a multi-story building. Later on, he manages to at least solve the first weakness.
** Blackmore's Catch The Rainbow is an incredibly versatile form of MakingASplash, allowing him to run across raindrops, create giant water blades, freeze rain to make shields, travel at remarkable speeds, and even meld with rainwater to become an IntangibleMan. The problem? All his abilities ''only'' work with rainwater, meaning if it's not raining, he's completely useless. And unlike Weather Report, he has no ability to actually make it ''start'' raining.

* Essentially, whether or not a Devil Fruit power is useful comes from a combination of what the power is and who's using it. A 'good' power can be utterly wasted to the point of becoming this trope if its user is uncreative and doesn't come up with new ways of using it. Mr. 5 had the power to use any part of his body into a bomb (including his breath), but was ultimately more or less a joke as far as the Strawhats were concerned as he wasn't all that creative or skilled with it. In comparison, Mr. 3 is a master of his wax generating Devil Fruit power, meaning he was not only higher ranked, but nearly succeeds in killing the Strawhats and considers Mr. 5 'an idiot with a Devil Fruit.'

** Hey Ya, Pocoloco's Stand, might be the most passive Stand in the franchise, to the point that it was commonly theorized to be a figment of his imagination. Its power is simply a steady stream of positive encouragement and occasional advice, making it exactly as powerful as having a cheerleader. Pocoloco having been BornLucky, though, means [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower he gets a lot of mileage out of positive thinking]], especially when Hey Ya's advice depends on information that Pocoloco doesn't know.

** Hey Ya, Pocoloco's Stand, might be the most passive Stand in the franchise, to the point that it was commonly theorized to be a figment of his imagination. Its power is simply a steady stream of positive encouragement and occasional advice, making it exactly as powerful as having a cheerleader. Pocoloco having been BornLucky, though, means [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower he gets a lot of mileage out of positive thinking.]]

** Kenzo's Stand, Dragon's Dream, points out the perfect places to strike an opponent. Unfortunately for him, it's also an extreme FairPlayVillain that insists on explaining how it works and how to beat Kenzo. As he's [[EmpoweredBadassNormal already a master martial artist,]] it frequently does more to hinder him than help.

** StarterVillain Ojiro's Stand is Fun Fun Fun. Its ability (PeoplePuppets) definitely sounds useful, and it is. However, it has two limitations: it can only puppeteer people if they've been injured, and more importantly, [[SituationalSword it can only puppeteer people who are physically beneath Ojiro.]] This means his targets are basically restricted to the people in tbe floor below him in a two-story building. Later on, he manages to at least solve the first weakness.

* Some Stands in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' are not particularly impressive:

* Some Stands in''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' are not particularly impressive:

* Some Stands ''Manga/JoJo'sBizarreAdventure'' are not particularly impressive:

* Some stands ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' are not particularly impressive :
** Cheap Trick and Superfly are outright Blessed with Suck, killing the user if they let someone see their back or leave a radio tower. They're dangerous in the story only because they both have the potential to jump onto other people (and Cheap Trick does so by killing the user).
** Hey Ya does nothing but provide constant positive encouragement to its user. The only reason why it is useful to its user, Pocoloco, is because he was Born Lucky and can accomplish nearly anything if he puts his mind to it.
** DIO named the weakest Stand to be Survivor, an extremely short-ranged Stand that creates an electric impulse which travels through water and enters another person's brain, filling them with blind Unstoppable Rage and enhancing their combat skills to an expert level. Use it on your friends and they try to kill you, use it on your enemies and they try to kill you harder, and you still have to get them wet. Still, Pucci was able to find a situation where it could be useful: a high-security prison with a recently hosed floor, with Survivor's user inside a locked cell and the protagonist outside their cell with a number of prison guards.

* Subverted in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. No matter how stupid or ridiculously limiting a Stand power seems, the user will find a way to make it an advantage. Meaning the answer to the trope question is "the kind that can kill you."
** That said, it's hard to deny a number of Stands fall into this. Cheap Trick and Superfly are outright BlessedWithSuck, killing the user if they let someone see their back or leave a radio tower - they're dangerous in the story because they both have the potential to jump onto other people (and Cheap Trick does so by killing the user). Hey Ya does nothing but provide constant positive encouragement to its user... but [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower fortunately,]] said user is Pocoloco, who is BornLucky and can accomplish nearly anything if he puts his mind to it. [[BigBad DIO]] named the weakest Stand to be Survivor, an extremely short-ranged Stand that creates an electric impulse which travels through water and enters another person's brain, filling them with blind UnstoppableRage and enhancing their combat skills to an expert level. Use it on your friends and they try to kill you, use it on your enemies and they try to kill you harder, and you still have to get them wet. Even then, [[PowersAsPrograms Pucci]] was able to find a situation where it could be useful: [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman a high-security prison with a recently hosed floor, with Survivor's user inside a locked cell and the protagonist outside their cell with a number of prison guards]].

** ''Logias'' become this in the New World, as it's noted their users typically don't live very long there. The reason for this is Logia users have a habit of developing an ego around their apparent invincibility and in the New World, Haki (which can remove that invincibility) is common place, so they're in for a rude and potentially fatal awakening. More experienced users of Logia powers in New World tend to be more cautious when using their powers, and, as Monet shows, the Logia users are naturally good at dodging attacks because they can simply morph their body so that the Haki-imbued attack would miss.
** Essentially, whether or not a Devil Fruit power is useful comes from a combination of what the power is and who's using it. A 'good' power can be utterly wasted to the point of becoming this trope if its user is uncreative and doesn't come up with new ways of using it. Mr. 5 had the power to use any part of his body into a bomb (including his breath), but was ultimately more or less a joke as far as the Strawhats were concerned as he wasn't all that creative or skilled with it. In comparison, Mr. 3 is a master of his wax generating Devil Fruit power, meaning he was not only higher ranked, but nearly succeeds in killing the Strawhats and considers Mr. 5 'an idiot with a Devil Fruit.'

* Itzhak of DarkerThanBlack has the very specific power of being able to absorb the Observation Ghosts of Dolls. This makes him very difficult to track and let's him control the Dolls' minds (plus he has a very mild remuneration of just having to write poetry), but in a world full of people shooting lightning and melting peoples' internal organs with their eyes, it's not especially impressive.

** His mother, Inko, seems to be a pretty good indicator of what the "average person" has for a Quirk: she can telekinetically attract a small object to her if she waves her hand at it. Jean Grey, she is not - but as she's not a professional hero, she's content to just have a relatively normal life [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks where she can pick up the remote without leaving the couch]].
** Katsuki Bakugou's HavingABlast power doesn't fall into this in any way, but the two Quirks that combined to make it definitely count- his father sweats nitric acid (the most he can do with it is cause a small explosion when he claps) and his mother can produce glycerin ([[WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks so her skin is always in great condition]]). Katsuki got the best of both worlds- he can sweat nitroglycerin.

** In the movie, David Shield's Quirk is that his fingers are more flexible than normal. He uses this to reassure his daughter that it's not a bad thing that she's [[UnSorceror Quirkless]]- ''he'' has a Quirk and it's not like it does much.
** There once existed a man with the Quirk of transferring his Quirk to another person...and no other abilities besides that, making it functionally useless. [[spoiler:Combining it with another Quirk that stockpiled power led to the birth of the absurdly powerful Quirk "One For All," used by the #1 Hero in the world, All-Might.]]

* ''Anime/SeikonNoQwaser'': The title qwasars have the ability to control a single element - real world elements, those in the chemistry table. Joshua ended up with element number 111, roentgenium. To put it in perspective, roentgenium does not exist naturally on Earth, and if it did, its very short half-life would quickly render it not roentgenium (and therefore useless).

* In the setting of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', 80% of people have some sort of power, known as a "quirk". While a lucky few have abilities worthy of a SuperHero, the majority fall into this category instead.

** Minoru Mineta also sees his Quirk (generating sticky balls from his head) as this, but it's actually fairly useful for weighing opponents down and locking them in place. Mineta's small frame even allows him to WallCrawl using his sticky balls!

** There once existed a man with the Quirk of transferring his Quirk to another person...and no other abilities besides that, making it functionally useless. [[spoiler:Combining it with another Quirk that stockpiled power lead to the birth of the absurdly powerful Quirk "One For All," used by the #1 Hero in the world, All-Might.]]