Anime physics: Difference between revisions

Anime physics is a fanon term used to describe all the unusual, impossible, and sometimes absurd moments in the anime where real-world physics do not seem to apply. At times, the term can also be used to describe when an attack works differently in the anime than it would in the games. Some common examples are unusual feats of strength and agility, surviving lethal attacks, and hammerspace.

Anime physics are often the fault of one of two things, and often both. The first is that the anime is more focused on telling a story in one or several episodes than getting the details right, so sometimes the writers will twist or bend physics so the episode can unfold the way they want it so. The second is simply oversight, since many times anime physics do not seem unusual unless someone stops to think about how a situation would work in the real world. Usually, deliberate examples are caused more by the first reason, and accidental examples are caused more by the second reason.

Examples

• Everything explodes in the anime. Most attacks explode when they connect with an opposing attack, even if the attacks would not normally do so. Even, and some would say especially, non-flammable substances such as leaves or water.
• A special subset is Team Rocket. They always manage to get launched hundreds of feet into the air. However, people standing five feet away will not even be moved, and Team Rocket never gets seriously hurt from the flight, which would surely kill a normal person.
• Very often, moves that are not meant to effect the other Pokémon will damage the other Pokémon. The is shown a lot when Ash's Pikachu fights a Template:Type2 Pokémon, it uses an Template:Type2 move and it works well.
  • Pikachu's electric attacks fluctuate between being able to affect Template:Type2 Pokémon (such as Brock's Onix and Roxanne's Geodude) and having no effect at all (such as Lisa's Quagsire, Rocky's Quagsire and Maurice's Torterra).
• Another example is when May's Squirtle attacked Harley's Banette with Tackle in New Plot, Odd Lot, despite the Template:Type2's immunity to Template:Type2 attacks.
• Many Pokémon know moves they cannot learn in the games.
• Ash was able to pick up Larvitar despite it weighing more than 150 lbs (70 kg), according to game data. Hippopotas is also similar, due to the fact that it can rest on top of Ash's head without crushing him under 109 lbs (49 kg) of weight.
• Pokémon surviving one hit KO attacks, like Horn Drill.
• In Sweet Baby James, when Jessie picks up May's Munchlax and puts it in a bag, despite it weighing over 220 lbs (100kg). On another note of this, in Off the Unbeatened Path, Max was able to carry it on his back despite being less than a quarter of the weight that Munchlax is.
• Many Pokémon are able to dodge moves that are sure to hit, such as when Ash's Squirtle was able to dodge an Aerial Ace from Brandon's Ninjask. In the games, Aerial Ace never misses. Another example is in Duels of the Jungle when a Weavile dodges Ash's Aipom's Swift.
• Ash's Turtwig was hurt by Gardenia's Turtwig's Leech Seed. However, in the games, Template:Type2s can't be hit by this move.
• Ash's Pikachu being able to knock out Brandon's Regice with a single move despite Regice having just recovered with Rest.
• Pikachu appears to receive a power-down at the beginning of every saga, meaning it appears to have just as much skill as the new beginners on Ash's team despite being shown to be very powerful in some of the matches towards the end of each saga. This is most evident during the changeover from the Advanced Generation series saga to the Diamond and Pearl series saga, when Pikachu is able to defeat Brandon's Regice single-handedly, however just five episodes later Pikachu was unable to defeat Elekid only five episodes later.