Line #44 Main/HeroesFightBarehanded


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7	[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/AvengersInvaders https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/namor_ares_3974.jpg]]]]
8	[[caption-width-right:300:And you call yourself the God of War?]]
9
10	->''"Good! Now we can fight as warriors! Hand to hand! It is the basis of all combat! Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon!"''
11	-->-- '''Gray Fox''', ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''
12
13	Many times, heroes have to face their enemies in battle. They can have access to a vast variety of weapons, from [[CoolSword swords]] to axes to staves. However, sometimes the hero will take a third option and fight with his own hands.
14
15	Sometimes is because the character is a BareFistedMonk who uses martial arts, or perhaps doesn't like weapons or killing. Sometimes it's because the character is [[SuperStrength so damn]] [[InvulnerableKnuckles strong]] that he doesn't need weapons at all. Often it represents a very blunt, straightforward personality. If the main hero travels with his friends, expect his [[TheLancer lancer]] or [[TheBigGuy Big Guy]] to use weapons instead, [[{{Foil}} to make the contrast clear]]. This can also be played with the unarmed hero and the weapon-using villain.
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17	A lot of comic book heroes who are BadassNormal (no superpowers) eschew guns not just on principle but because it just makes them all the more awesome and it makes fights more interesting in print. Because comics are a static medium, artists find that hand to hand combat, being up close and personal, is [[RuleOfCool just more much more dynamic to illustrate]] than ranged combat with firearms. Also, in decades past, they often had to also eschew swords and other bladed melee weapons because their practical use in many cases would violate not only ThouShaltNotKill, but also the [[CensorshipBureau Comics Code Authority]]. It the character does carry a sword, it is typically an OrnamentalWeapon or there is some pretext as to why it is never used to actually fight anyone [[TooAwesomeToUse such as its primary use being a magical object and not a melee weapon.]]
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19	Attacking them with weapons is usually [[NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight a bad idea]].
20
21	See also: BareFistedMonk, TechnicalPacifist and DoesntLikeGuns. Contrast with HeroesPreferSwords.
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23	----
24	!!Examples
25
26	[[foldercontrol]]
27
28	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
29	* Sechs from ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita'' went from fighting with a combination of [[GoodOldFisticuffs brutish Panzer Kunst]], [[{{BFS}} Sechster Angriff]], [[{{BFG}} and the Solenoid Quench Gun]] to mostly just punching, because he no longer has the Quench gun, and normally immediately loses his Titan Blade in fights.
30	* Inverted in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', Guts has his {{BFS}} while many of the antagionists he faces (especially upon going OneWingedAngel) have no weapons e.g Zodd, Wyald, Snake Baron, the Count, Rosine, Mozgus, Slan and Femto (though in the latter two cases it's because they are [[PhysicalGod Physical Gods]] who don't need such trivial things as weapons).
31	* Inverted in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', as Ichigo swings around his massive BigFancySword while one of his friends, Chad, fights unarmed. OK, with {{Power Fist}}s for his hands, but still unarmed.
32	** Played straight in the original pilot chapter, where Ichigo insults Rukia for using a sword to fight instead of her hands.
33	* ''Manga/BusterKeel'': Keel the Dragon Ape only fights with his natural weapons, enhanced by his monster nature: his companions use, respectively, a magic guitar (to empower monsters) and a set of crescent-shaped axes.
34	* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Downplayed. [[TheHero Kamijou Touma]] mostly fights with his bare hands against superpowered enemies, while his allies rely on their [[FunctionalMagic magical prowess]] and [[PsychicPowers superpowers]]; since he only has an AntiMagic fist this is the only thing he has going for him. However [[BadassNormal he lacks superhuman strength nor durability]] or [[GoodOldFisticuffs has sufficient enough martial skills]] to compliment his fighting style, hence he relies on his quick thinking, the occasional ImprovisedWeapon, and a [[CombatPragmatist willingess to fight dirty to survive.]]
35	* In ''Franchise/DragonBall'' with the sole exception of Future Trunks with his sword, none of the heroes ever use any weapons. Then again, given that they can catch bullets and lift mountains, they really don't ''need'' weapons. There is a lot of BlastingTime with their KiManipulation but it still primarily comes down to punching and kicking, even when their foes are explictly using weapons againist them like Dabura with his sword and Frieza's mooks or Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 with their fancy blasters. Goku did avert this earlier on the series with the [[MartialArtsStaff Nyoibō aka Power Pole]], which he used frequently and still made good use of it up to ''Anime/DragonBallZDeadZone'' againist Garlic Junior's QuirkyMiniBossSquad (who had scimitars) but soon put it aside in favour of pure unarmed combat.
36	* Inverted in ''Manga/DragonQuestTheAdventureOfDai'': the former Hero Avan was a swordmaster, while the Demon King Hadler is a master of magic and bare-handed combat, at most using the [[WolverineClaws Hell Claws]] as a trump card. Downplayed during the battle between [[spoiler: Dai and Baran]]: the latter can use a massive falchion, but is also so strong that mundane weapons break against him, forcing Dai to spend a large portion of the battle punching and kicking him.
37	* Natsu from ''Manga/FairyTail'', contrasting [[LadyOfWar Erza]], [[TheRival Gajeel]] and [[AnIcePerson Gray]], who all use weaponry of some sort.
38	* Kenshiro himself in ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' as well as almost all the other characters, except Mamiya and [[CombatPragmatist Jagi]], the former due to not being formally trained in one of the {{Fantastic Fighting Style}}s of the series, and the latter due to being a DirtyCoward willing to stoop to any tactics to win. While Kenshiro himself is not above picking up things nearby or even using the villains' own weapons against them, he only does so when the situation requires it.
39	* Subverted in ''Manga/{{Gamaran}}'': the main character is a swordsman, and at one point he fights the Kyosen Ryuu warriors, whose martial arts revolves on bare-handed combat. As he points out, their arts are useless if they don't connect, and in the first few minutes of combats three of the five bare-handed Kyosen Ryuu are easily dispatched. Inverted in the sequel series, where most of the heroes used armed styles while the [[LivingWeapon elite of the Genkai Tenpei]] have mastered bare-handed kung-fu to use in tandem with exotic weapons.
40	* ''Manga/HeroTales'': Taito/Hagun fights the sword-wielding villain Keirou/Tonrou with nothing but his bare hands.
41	* Shichika, the protagonist of ''Literature/{{Katanagatari}}'', is a swordsman who doesn't use swords. [[MST3KMantra Don't think about it too hard.]] Technically he isn't a swordsman, he ''is'' [[LivingWeapon a sword]]. He is the culmination of seven generations of training and mental conditioning to raise a warrior whose very body is a weapon.
42	* ''Manga/KarakuriCircus'': Invoked. The main antagonists are the living alchemically-powered dolls known as automata. Unstoppable and deadly for any common mortal, they have a glaring weakness: since they're entertainers above all else, they won't use their superior speed or power against an unarmed opponent (audience, for them). The use of Chinese martial arts can disrupt their vital fluids and kill them, making them more vulnerable to bare hands than to conventional weapons.
43	* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' (which anyway gives more emphasis on weaponless fighting) there is an example with two groups of evil martial artists: it has been implied several times that the members of the weapon division of Yami are inferior both in fighting skills and fighting ethics to the weaponless Yami fighters. Many weaponless Yami masters tend to be more anti-villains, while the weaponed Yami masters are usually presented as ruthless hoodlums.
44	* ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'': Main characters [[TheHero Vivio]] and [[TheLancer Einhart]] both use bare-handed martial arts as their fighting style. In fact, they're some of the few characters in the setting whose [[EmpathicWeapon Device]] isn't a weapon of some kind.
45	* ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' showcases this trope with Domon's FinishingMove: "This hand of mine glows with an awesome power; it's burning grip tells me to defeat you!" Cue a crushed gundam's head section.
46	* All Might in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''. Most of his fellow superheroes (and villains) use high-tech support equipment to enhance their abilities, but he gets by solely through the [[LightningBruiser overwhelming brute strength, durability, and speed]] of his Quirk, One For All. His protégé, Izuku Midoriya, subverts this, bringing [[PowerCrutch specialized gloves to protect his arms]], iron-soled shoe attachments that increase his kicking power and jumping ability, and later adds even more tools like focusing devices to help him produce RazorWind attacks.
47	* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', the titular hero heavily relies on Taijutsu, contrasting Sasuke who prefers to use a [[ShockAndAwe lightning-enchanted]] chokuto. On a similar note we have Tsunade versus Orochimaru (uses the {{Kusanagi}} sword) and [[BoisterousBruiser the Raikage]] compared to his brother Killer B. Above all everyone else though there's Rock Lee and his mentor Might Guy who unlike even Naruto lack fancy Chakra attacks and are pure Taijutsu through and through (they sometimes have nunchaku though).
48	* Negi Springfield of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' slowly phases out his weapons after he gets a ring to serve the same purpose as his staff. This moves him into FullContactMagic.
49	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Monkey D. Luffy is incapable of fighting with the use of weapons, but his barehanded fighting prowess (amped by his Devil Fruit) is so much so that he has been labelled a fighting genius. Pretty much all the important {{Arc Villain}}s he fought (from [[DeviousDaggers Buggy]] to Krieg to Enel to [[CarryABigStick Kaido]]) used weapons against him. Other than Luffy, there's Sanji who refuses to use a weapon in any of his fights (even kicking away a sword his ArchNemesis dad offers during their fight in the anime) and one time he did used knives againist Wanze was simply because the fight took place in a kitchen and Wanze was using Ramen againist him, making it fair game for a ChefOfIron like Sanji. In the climax of the Wano arc Sanji takes this even further, [[spoiler:destroying the Raid Suit despite the advantages it gave him in combat and beats Queen (who's walking a WalkingArmory) unarmed.]] Joining them is Jinbe who likewise fights unarmed, unless you consider [[MakingASplash the water he uses in Fishman Karate]] a weapon. There's also Robin and Chopper who don't use weapons either, but their Devil Fruit powers like Luffy makes this not a disadvantage in the slightest.
50	* ''Manga/{{Ratman}}'': Some heroes don't use weapons even if their budget could let them. On the other hand, some have powers to supplement them.
51	* Inverted in ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': TheHero Kenshin is a swordsman, though he uses a blunt blade, while TheLancer Sanosuke focuses on barehanded fighting after discarding his [[{{BFS}} Zanmato]].
52	* Played with in ''Manga/SazanEyes''. Yakumo has to win a kickboxing match against an opponent with a highly superior fighting technique and he can't use magic because of all the muggles betting on the fight. So he purposely requests a barehanded kickboxing match without boxing gloves, so he and his opponent will get hurt more, so he can win in the long run due to his healing factor. Otherwise, this trope is inverted: Yakumo can fight barehanded but is not shy about using hidden blades, swords and whatever he can pick up for a fight. TheDragon Benares instead always fight barehanded (sometimes turning his fingers into claws, but still) or with his SummonMagic.
53	* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'': While some of Saints do have some sort of weaponry with them, most of them fights barehanded. In fact, it becomes a plot point that among Athena's Saints the [[WalkingArmory Gold Saint of Libra]] is the only one explicitly allowed by Athena to wield weapons, and all other Saints are forbidden from the practice (apparently, flail and chain-wielding Saints such as Bronze Andromeda and Silver Cerberus are also exempt because said chains are an integral part of the armor; likewise, the Gold Saint of Sagittarius [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gets a bow and arrow]], but it only gets brought out for extremely special, and especially dire, situations). And even then, Libra's weapons tend to be [[MundaneUtility used as tools more often than not]], as both Dohko and Shiryu favor unarmed fighting techniques even when wearing the full arsenal. Usually most of the BigBad here have weapons of sort and won't hesitate to wield them against Athena, such as Poseidon's Trident and Hades' sword.
54	* ''Manga/SeikesshouAlbatross'': Yuki, being trained in martial arts by his mother, fights this way against Monobiles. It also helps that he got power from a sacred stone, the Flame Isotope.
55	** He later receives a sword from Albatross which he can channel the power through and fights with it; he becomes more of a HeroesPreferSwords person.
56	* ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'' has Hibiki, the series' main protagonist and the only one who doesn't use an [[SwissArmyWeapon armed gear]]. She spends a fair amount of the first season lamenting the fact that she can't summon one (by all rights, her Gungnir relic should provide her with a spear). Then she realizes that her hands ''are'' her armed gear and starts to like the idea of being weaponless because it means [[ThePowerOfFriendship she can hold people's hands]]. That said, she doesn't play this ''completely'' straight thanks to [[PowerFist her gauntlets]].
57	* Ichise from ''Anime/{{Texhnolyze}}'', mainly because he's a prize fighter. He does get a sword later on.
58	%% * The titular characters of ''Anime/TigerAndBunny''.
59	* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'': ZigZagged. The AntiHero MainCharacters fight bare-handed or with their [[ShapeshifterWeapon Kagune]], with their CCG HeroAntagonist foes armed with Quinques and/or guns [[DepletedPhlebotinumShells equipped with anti-ghoul rounds. ]] However, in addition to the moral ambiguity above, there are many less-than-heroic ghouls and investigators who also fight without/with weapons respectively, and later in the series we see ghouls using guns.
60	* ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' fights with his bare hands, although he can also manifest a [[ItMakesSenseInContext knife and fork]] to attack stronger enemies with.
61	* When Thors from ''Manga/VinlandSaga'' tells his son that a true warrior has no use for weapons, he means that true strength and courage lie in pacifism and mercy. He also proves this ''literally'' when he [[CurbStompBattle effortlessly defeats most of a viking band plus an enraged berserker with his bare hands]]. The raiders are surprised to realize that none of them are dead or even seriously injured.
62	** Thorfinn eventually follows in his father's footsteps during the second arc, adapting his old knife-fighting style to fighting unarmed. He continues to fight unarmed for the rest of the series, taking on several powerful (and armed) warriors with naught but his fists.
63	* Elemental Hero Neos, from ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''. He may be the most popular, powerful, and heroic of Judai/Jaden's monsters.
64	* In ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'', the Barian emperor Alito uses Boxer themed cards (Burning Knucklers or Battlin' Boxers), exhibits himself great boxing skills, and in [[spoiler:his past life, was known to be one of the greatest gladiators of all time, fighting only with his fists]]. It helps that he becomes Yuma's FriendlyEnemy and is seen as an all-around good person.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Comic Books]]
68	* ''ComicBook/IlGrandeBlek'': Blek often relies on his fists for fighting and uses his rifle only for very serious circumstances.
69	* Most of the [[Creator/MarvelComics Marvel]][=/=]Creator/DCComics heroes.
70	** Notable exceptions include Tim Drake and Dick Grayson of DC, both former ComicBook/{{Robin}}s who now fight crime as ComicBook/RedRobin and ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} respectively. Tim uses a Bo staff and Dick a pair of Escrima sticks, presumably because their focus on agility over strength compared to other barefist DC fighters means the weapons give them the 'kick' they need.
71	** Other notable Marvel/DC heroes who use weapons are [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], who wields Mjolnir; ComicBook/{{Katana}}, who (funnily enough) wields a katana; and Bucky Cap, who uses a pistol. Many other Asgardian warriors, like Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, will frequently use weapons. ComicBook/IronMan sometimes resorts to fisticuffs, but more often depends on his armor's weapons. Franchise/WonderWoman wields a lasso while a sword is the favored weapon of her CombatPragmatist sister ComicBook/{{Nubia}}.
72	* Marv from ''ComicBook/SinCity'' has [[ICallItVera a gun which he named Gladys]] but mostly just uses his "mitts". Considering his brutish strength, it makes sense.
73	* Zigzagged by ComicBook/SpiderMan. Spidey typically fights barehanded, but he'll sometimes cover his hands with webbing to harden his punches, especially when his opponent can either NoSell his normal blows or can't be safely touched.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
77	* ''ComicStrip/ThePhantom'' often sees the nominal NonPoweredCostumedHero non-lethally disarm his foes via ImprobableAimingSkills. However, he's more likely to leave his pistols in their holsters and fight bare-fisted because, in the words of the strip's creator Lee Falk "that's how heroes fight".
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Fan Works]]
81	* In ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestria'', the Zebra fighter and companion Xenith is a master of "Fallen Caesar Style". Combined with her skill in stealth and ability to use Zebra alchemical brews in unexpected ways in combat (such as running along ceilings); she can engage armed and armored foes with no more than her hooves. She does, however, don a clawed helmet when it's argued her skills won't be as effective against magically shielded foes.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
85	* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'', losing his sword in the battle with the Hydra, Hercules struggles to hold the Hydra back with his bare hands.
86	* Seen in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'': Po and the Furious Five are all unarmed kung fu fighters (though Monkey sometimes uses a staff), while the BigBad Lord Shen carries around a flame-like partisan and tons of throwing daggers, and all his henchmen are heavily armed.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
90	* ''Film/AfterDarkMySweet'': An extremely dark example. The end of the CasualtyInTheRing flashback shows that after Kevin's opponent was driven to his knees, Kevin threw the referee aside, ripped his glove off, and beat the other boxer to death with his bare right hand.
91	* ''Film/TheLegendOfThe7GoldenVampires'': Hsi fights assassins and vampires bare-handed rather than relying on weapons like his siblings, but is just as dangerous as they are.
92	* Inverted in ''Film/TheRaid'': The hero has no qualms about using a knife and baton to stab and beat the shit out of mooks, while TheDragon deliberately puts down his gun before going hand-to-hand with SergeantRock.
93	* Subverted with ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'': After beating the asses of several opponents, Indy is sick of fighting. So when another opponent steps up with ''swords'', Indy just pulls a revolver on him.
94	* ''Film/TheRundown'': The main character refuses to use guns, and to beat the shit out of everyone around him, even when it would easier to [[JustShootHim bust caps in asses]]... [[SubvertedTrope well,]] [[MoreDakka until the end]]. LampShaded when he say [[IAmNotLeftHanded "When I pick up guns, bad things happen."]]
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Literature]]
98	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
99	** In ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', [[TheHero Captain Carrot]] faces the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi-esque]] Wolfgang disarmed, giving him a chance to [[CombatPragmatist fight dirty]]. Furthermore, Carrot -- despite owning a [[CoolSword Cool]] [[AncestralWeapon Ancient]] AbsurdlySharpBlade -- prefers to use his bare hands [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower (capable of demolishing trolls)]] in many situations, not to mention his unearthly charisma.
100	** Subverted by Carrot's boss, Vimes, who carries a sword and a crossbow but prefers to take his enemies alive, and is therefore more likely to attack with his fists -- and a hidden set of brass knuckles, which very few of his opponents see coming.
101	* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'''s hero, Eric Watley, zigzags this trope depending on [[spoiler: whether or not he is in grendel form.]] In the first form, he will fight with his MagicStaff. In his second, he will fight with his fists [[spoiler: because they are bigger, stronger, and coated in a metallic hide.]] The others on his team always use hand-held weapons.
102	* ''Literature/WayOfTheTiger'': Avenger, the playable character, is a ninja and devout follower of Kwon, patron god of martial arts and ninjutsu, thus he excels at barehanded combat, using at most shurikens from afar. Villainous ninja of other orders will fight with weapons and Avenger's greatest rival, Honoric, wields an AntiMagic black sword with great skill.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
106	* Hercules in ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' usually fights barehanded, regardless of whether his foes are armed, since his SuperStrength is generally enough to make weapons redundant. When he actually does pick up a sword or other weapon [[BatmanGrabsAGun it's a sign that things are serious]].
107	* ''Series/KungFu1972'': Kwai Chang Caine always fought with his bare hands, though he'll occasionally use improvised weapons. Whenever he disarmed an opponent of a weapon, he would discard or destroy it instead of using it himself.
108	* Eliot from ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' prefers to fight bare-fisted or using an object as a club, even when faced with guns. He constantly says he [[DoesNotLikeGuns Doesn't Like Guns]], thinking they're too sloppy. Of course, that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to use them.
109	* ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': Starting from late season 2, the Rangers began relying on their weapons less and less in battle to the point that they were almost completely phased out of the show, save for the odd moment in which Tommy used Saba.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Manhua]]
113	* ''Manhua/TheCelestialZone'': [[AvertedTrope Averted]]; a sure-fire sign that a character has reached a high level of spiritual cultivation in The Celestial Zone is when they are capable of manifesting their spiritual energy as a physical weapon, and their most powerful techniques are all executed with their spirit weapon in hand. Though the trope is played straight most of the time otherwise, as characters capable of generating spirit weapons but chose to fight bare-handed are generally holding back.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
117	* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': Elemental Hero Neos.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Video Games]]
121	* Vhaidra from ''VideoGame/BaldursGateDarkAlliance 2'' can be this if you play as her. You can still give her halberds and staves but her unarmed fight skills are faster and stronger.
122	* In ''VideoGame/BlueDragon'' the only good guy with a sword is [[ActionGirl Zola]] but she's TheLancer.
123	* In ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'', unlike what is typical in comics, there are 11 weapon classes and only 3 of them (Brawling, Martial Arts, HandBlast) have the "Bare Hands" style in the EquipmentHidingFashion system that lets you cosmetically hide your PowerFist if so wished.
124	* In ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2\|CursedMemories}}'', Adell finds weapons just not [his] style, and fights barehanded (though he can be given any weapon in gameplay, he's just not too good with them, suffering slow skill gain).
125	* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' you can have a barehanded hero and armed party members, but in this way you miss the chance of using powerful and useful weapons. You can however learn how to cast RazorWind.
126	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
127	** In the series, the Hand-to-Hand skill allows for you to play this trope straight with the PlayerCharacter. However, it is dropped as a skill as of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', making it ''much'' harder, as there are very few and limited options to get better at it.
128	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', [[SecretPolice Blades]] [[TheSpyMaster Spy Master]], primary QuestGiver for the first half of the main quest, and candidate for BigGood Caius Cosades is unarmed and [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]]. He is not to be underestimated, however, as he has the second highest Hand-to-Hand skill in the game and is implied to have killed people who've underestimated him.
129	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
130	** Can be played straight in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' with a Monk/Master as the main character. The fact that he's also unearthly powerful helps a lot.
131	** In a similar way, in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' you can focus on the barehanded fight and obtain good results.
132	** Snow in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' has no weapon and battles monsters using only his fists, although the leather-looking gloves he wears [[AllThereInTheManual do incorporate]] the same [[{{Technobabble}} AMP (Antimatter Manipulation Principle) Technology]] which powers most of the other weapons in the game.[[note]]'''Datalog entry on AMP:''' ''Antimatter Manipulation Principle (AMP) forms the foundation for variety of technological wonders, enabling phenomena ranging from phase-space interference to the manipulation of gravitational force.''[[/note]] And he talks about being "a hero" all the time... at least until his CharacterDevelopment kicks in.
133	* Channing from ''VideoGame/{{Lunarosse}}'' is the main character and the one who fights with his fists the most, albeit with some claws for extra attack. He was originally going to use a sword, but it got changed when the creator realized he was more of a face-punching kind of guy. A few other party members also fight this way.
134	* Although he usually wields a katana, this is the philosophy of Gray Fox, the CyberNinja in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''. In the boss battle against him, it's basically useless to engage him in a firefight (as he wields his aforementioned katana to such a degree of skill that he can use it to deflect ''machine gun fire''), but, per the quote at the top of the page, he will sheathe his sword and fight you hand-to-hand if you put your guns away.
135	* In ''VideoGame/MidnightFightExpress'', while most of the game prioritizes unarmed combat, there are several segments in the game where you're either forced or heavily incentivized to use weapons and firearms.
136	* In ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara 3'', UsefulNotes/TokugawaIeyasu can be considered the main protagonist and fights bare-handed (so he too can feel pain), contrasting with his rival Ishida Mitsunari, an IaijutsuPractitioner.
137	* [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] is not exactly reliant on a specialized combat style, but some games, especially ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', show him to be a force to be reckoned with even when using his fists.
138	* In the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'', aside from swordsmanship in some form, the most common protagonist fighting style is good old-fashioned Bare-Knuckle Brawling from a BareFistedMonk.
139	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'':
140	** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2TornaTheGoldenCountry'': Lora fights primarily with her fists, but makes use of Jin's sword or Haze's staff when fighting alongside them.
141	** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3FutureRedeemed'': Matthew Vandham fights barehanded due to him being an {{Expy}} of Fei Fong Wong, and his proficiency in the martial arts would later be inherited by his descendants come ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3''.
142	* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'': In a change from most [[EasternRPG JRPGs]], Fei Fong Wong doesn't wield a sword or a bladed weapon of any kind, but rather fights [[BareFistedMonk barehanded]] due to him being a MartialPacifist.
143	* In ''VideoGame/ZenoClash'', most of the combat's done with fists, apart from the occasional shooting level.
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
147	* The protagonist of ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'' is a no-nonsense brawler who prefers using his bare fists over any kind of weapon, as he says when he's given Seiji's gun and hides it away instead of using it.
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Western Animation]]
151	* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', despite owning at least two swords, Finn usually fights with his bare hands.
152	[[/folder]]
153

Context Main / HeroesFightBarehanded