Actions speak louder than words—except in anime, where words often have the power to cut, slice, dice, kill, and even alter reality.
Some of the coolest anime characters have the ability to use words as their weapon, and among them, some have creative twists to their verbal powers that make them uniquely interesting.
From characters who can shape reality to those who can forbid entire words from being spoken without penalty, here are the best anime characters who use verbal powers of the spoken word.
9. Yuu Kaito (Yu Yu Hakusho)
In Yu Yu Hakusho, Yuu Kaito has the ability to create rules within his "territory," including restrictions on "taboo words."
When inside his territory, anyone who speaks those forbidden words will have their soul stolen from their body.
Being able to forge entirely new rules that manifest in and govern the material world is definitely an overpowered ability.
8. Levy McGarden (Fairy Tail)
Levy McGarden's ability, Solid Script Magic, allows her words to materialize as what those words are. For example, "Iron" materializes as solid iron while "Hole" creates a literal hole to trap enemies.
She can also apply various effects to her materialized words via gestures and movements, which she uses offensively and defensively.
7. Hitoshi Shinso (My Hero Academia)
Hitoshi Shinso's Quirk is called Brainwash, which allows him to control a certain individual if they enter a conversation with him. With just a simple chat, he can manipulate anyone to do his bidding.
He used this ability against Izuku Midoriya during the UA Sports Festival, where Midoriya was only saved by the One for All Quirk. Hitoshi later used this ability against him again, but this time to neutralize the rampaging hero.
6. Lelouch vi Britannia (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion)
Lelouch's Geass, the Power of Absolute Obedience, allows him to manipulate or give orders to anyone who makes direct eye contact with him—but he needs a spoken command to complete the effect.
This ability pretty much works the same way as Hitoshi Shinso's Brainwash Quirk from My Hero Academia, except Lelouch doesn't need to necessarily start a conversation. However, one downside of this ability is that he can't use it twice on the same person.
5. Present Mic (My Hero Academia)
Hizashi Yamada, known by his hero name Present Mic, is a Pro Hero who uses the power of sound. His Quirk, Voice, allows him to generate destructive sound waves that can blow away anything in his path.
To aid his Quirk and give better aim, he employs a directional speaker that's mounted around his neck. The ability may not be entirely about the "spoken word," but it's so creative that we had to include it!
4. Liberta (La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia)
The La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia series features abilities relating to Tarot Cards (called Arcana), with the abilities having attributes that closely resemble their respective faces and descriptions.
Liberta of the Arcana Famiglia has the Fools Arcana, which gives him the ability called Realized Thought: whatever he says becomes reality.
3. Zagred (Black Clover)
Zagred is the devil who started the conflict between the Elves and the Humans in Black Clover. He made Patolli believe that everything he was doing was for the Elves to come back to life.
Zagred can manipulate reality through speech using his unique magic attribute, Word Soul Magic. He can summon otherworldly beings (using otherworldly language) and can even throw a storm of blades by just speaking the command "Tempest of Blades."
2. Toge Inumaki (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Toge Inumaki is a user of Cursed Speech: everything he says is imbued with cursed energy, allowing him to force his listeners to do whatever he says. But every command takes a physical toll on his body.
For example, he shouted "blast way" at Hanami and caused him to be thrown a far distance, but Inumaki started coughing blood as he exerted power equal to the force needed to blow the Special Grade Curse away.
To protect others from his Cursed Speech, he normally only speaks in rice ball ingredients, which makes him hard to understand. Luckily, his comrades still understand him very well.
1. Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)
Naruto Uzumaki's ultimate power rests on Kurama, the tailed beast that's sealed within him. However, he also has Sage Mode, which he learned from the talking toad Fukusaku on Mt. Myoboku.
But neither of those compare to his infamous "Talk no Jutsu," with which he can convince even the most evil opponents to have a change of heart and switch sides—using nothing more than dialogue.
His past experiences, charismatic personality, and resolved faith in his own beliefs are some of the factors that make him so convincing.
Talk no Jutsu isn't technically a real ability in the Naruto universe, but there have been several well-known victims of it, including Zabuza Momochi, Pain, and Obito Uchiha.
