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What's the smartest thing you seen an anime character do?

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PsychoFreaX Card-Carrying Villain >:D from Transcended Humanity Since: Jan, 2010
Recon5 Avvie-free for life! from Southeast Asia Since: Jan, 2001
Avvie-free for life!
#2: Aug 13th 2011 at 7:57:28 AM

Anime characters do a lot of smart things especially if they're written as geniuses. Sure, they too often pick up the Idiot Ball for the sake of plot but even the average Shonen hero or Shojo starlet gets a flash of inspiration at least once a season.

Desertopa Not Actually Indie Since: Jan, 2001
Not Actually Indie
#3: Aug 13th 2011 at 2:37:02 PM

Anime characters do a lot of smart things especially if they're written as geniuses.

Most characters written as geniuses aren't written by smart people, and so only get superficial signs of intelligence, like getting high test scores and using long words. Sometimes they invent things, usually stuff that wouldn't work in real life, and give a technobabble explanation of how it works. Or they come up with plans that are way too complicated to be good ideas in real life.

There really aren't that many examples of anime characters doing legitimately smart things.

The first thing that comes to mind for me is from Hunterx Hunter, when Gon and his teammates were taking the hunter exam. They had to choose between a door that would let only two of them through, but would get them to their destination with time to spare, or a door which would let all of them through, but they had already used up too much time to reach their destination from. They opened the latter door, and then smashed down the partition between the two corridors, thereby getting everyone to the destination in time.

...eventually, we will reach a maximum entropy state where nobody has their own socks or underwear, or knows who to ask to get them back.
INUH Since: Jul, 2009
#4: Aug 13th 2011 at 3:33:13 PM

Technically, it's a manga, but Akiyama's solution to the 17-card poker game in Liar Game is genius.

edited 13th Aug '11 3:33:28 PM by INUH

Infinite Tree: an experimental story
Sporkaganza I'm glasses. Since: May, 2009
I'm glasses.
#6: Aug 13th 2011 at 3:38:46 PM

Pretty much everything L and Light, and even Near and Mello, did in Death Note was legitimately intelligent, except when Light started getting blinded by his megalomania at the end. But I think the way Light finally gets caught in the end is probably the smartest. (Light's Memory Gambit would almost get the award but it falls too much into Xanatos Roulette to count.)

Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember them, you are not alone.
Justin_Brett Since: Jun, 2010
#7: Aug 13th 2011 at 4:54:48 PM

Dio Brando not explaining everything about his powers to the heroes and letting them flounder in fear and ignorance. Maybe it just looks better now that every villain does that, but it's a very realistic decision.

silver2195 Since: Jan, 2001
#8: Aug 13th 2011 at 4:58:30 PM

[up]That's not exactly smart; that's just not being dumb. Also, Dio was being pretty dumb for most of Part 3 when he sent his minions against the heroes 1 or 2 at a time.

edited 13th Aug '11 4:59:30 PM by silver2195

Currently taking a break from the site. See my user page for more information.
Winglerfish Electric Boogaloo Pt. 2 from somewhere. Since: Nov, 2010
Electric Boogaloo Pt. 2
#9: Aug 13th 2011 at 5:06:12 PM

Gin's deliberate misdirection of his sword's ability was pretty tactical, considering that up until that point, everyone else had been fairly truthful about their powers.

"My sword's length doubles during Banaki."

"j/k. It's actually the fastest."

"j/k again. It dissolves your soul. :P"

edited 13th Aug '11 5:06:38 PM by Winglerfish

In this episode, Michael attempts to construct a time machine to escape debt and dinner party obligations.
Galeros Slay foes with bow and arrow Since: Jan, 2001
Slay foes with bow and arrow
#10: Aug 13th 2011 at 5:08:57 PM
AXavierB Since: Jan, 2001
#11: Aug 13th 2011 at 5:22:43 PM

Ed tricking Scar by changing the chemical makeup of his arm so Scar wouldn't know how to transmute it.

HeavyDDR Who's Vergo-san. from Central Texas Since: Jul, 2009
Who's Vergo-san.
#12: Aug 13th 2011 at 5:30:49 PM

Yeah, not exactly "smart" things that anime characters do. The best I can come up with is Usopp's tactical genius during his fight against Luffy, especially considering that he has a natural disadvantage since Luffy can just reflect most of his projectiles.

I mean when you first see rotten eggs being shot into Luffy's face, you think, "damn it, Usopp, that's not doing anything!" And then he reveals he's been releasing gas into the air since the beginning of the battle and the eggs made it so he couldn't smell it. Such a good fight.

I'm pretty sure the concept of Law having limits was a translation error. -Wanderlustwarrior
KSPAM PARTY PARTY PARTY I WANNA HAVE A PARTY from PARTY ROCK Since: Oct, 2009 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
PARTY PARTY PARTY I WANNA HAVE A PARTY
#13: Aug 13th 2011 at 5:33:43 PM

A lot of characters in To Aru Majutsu No Index have done some tactical thinking here and there, especially Shiage. Too bad it's usually balanced out by the ensuing boatloads of stupid.

I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serial
dRoy Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar from Most likely from my study Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
#14: Aug 13th 2011 at 5:34:22 PM

[up][up][up] Speaking of FMA, Hohenheim out gambitting Father was wicked brilliant.

edited 13th Aug '11 5:34:46 PM by dRoy

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
silver2195 Since: Jan, 2001
#15: Aug 13th 2011 at 5:35:33 PM

I should note that Jojos Bizarre Adventure has some very intelligent uses of powers. Just not from Dio.

Currently taking a break from the site. See my user page for more information.
Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#16: Aug 13th 2011 at 7:02:22 PM

Nanoha's habit of working out a way to attack people from behind while being in front of them.

Nous restons ici.
shark33 Since: Nov, 2010
#18: Aug 13th 2011 at 7:23:12 PM

For how dumb he is, Ash does really smart things while on battle. Pikachu also does some without being told to, like for example jumping onto Dragonite's head and then delivering a Thunder to defeat it on the Orange League final match.

edited 13th Aug '11 7:29:27 PM by shark33

Raso Cure Candy Since: Jul, 2009
Cure Candy
#19: Aug 13th 2011 at 7:35:24 PM

[up][up] Yeah she just had to resort to her trademark method there...

[up]Half of them are usually so stupid that its a Wall Banger.

Negima Generally many of Negi's plans fall under the damn smart department. From using a beginner spell to be on par with Chao's obsurdly high tech computer in controlling time travel. Then the whole Negi vs Rakan fight in which Rakan just plain got played by Negi always being 5 steps ahead.

Sparkling and glittering! Jan-Ken-Pon!
CommanderObvious intellectual rapist from Unmei no Itaru Basho Since: Jul, 2011
intellectual rapist
#20: Aug 13th 2011 at 8:09:18 PM

everything kamina does in ttgl

This level of trolling is reasonable for Commander Obvious. What do you think of this, everyone?
Justin_Brett Since: Jun, 2010
#21: Aug 13th 2011 at 8:17:46 PM

By comparison it was pretty smart, at least I thought so.

Trying to decapitate Jotaro instead of believing him dead was pretty good as well.

Sporkaganza I'm glasses. Since: May, 2009
I'm glasses.
#22: Aug 13th 2011 at 8:51:19 PM

[up][up] omg you are the most totally hilarious person in the world

>:l

Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember them, you are not alone.
CommanderObvious intellectual rapist from Unmei no Itaru Basho Since: Jul, 2011
intellectual rapist
#23: Aug 13th 2011 at 9:00:06 PM

Thank you, my father.
Goodbye, my mother.
And to the all children,
Congratulations!

This level of trolling is reasonable for Commander Obvious. What do you think of this, everyone?
Edmania o hai from under a pile of erasers Since: Apr, 2010
o hai
#24: Aug 13th 2011 at 9:08:16 PM

Probably something I don't know is smart.

If people learned from their mistakes, there wouldn't be this thing called bad habits.
AndrewJ That Young Knockout Kid from Washington, DC Since: May, 2009
That Young Knockout Kid
#25: Aug 14th 2011 at 6:30:02 AM

Naruto has demonstrated some interesting tactics with his shadow clones from time time, particularly when he takes advantage his opponents' assumptions about where the original is.

Wako figuring out that Takuto's uncharacteristically forward behavior was due to Grand Theft Me instead of going "Iiya~n Takuto no ecchi" also stands out in my mind.

We claim the land for the highlord, God bless the land and the hiiighlooord!

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