Most shounen manga characters specialize in melee because there’s something inexplicably exciting about watching carefully choreographed melee attacks. That’s why oftentimes, close range combat is more enjoyable than ranged combat.
However, there is one genre that combines both fighting styles and makes the action more thrilling than the previous two. They are called “Puppet masters”. As the name suggests, they use or create puppets to fight their battles. When done properly, this type of fighting can produce some of the most engaging and memorable fight scenes ever made. And here is one of the most powerful puppet masters in anime.
5. Shalnark (Hunter x Hunter)
Shalnark is a member of a group of ruthless thieves known as the Phantom Troupe and he is also a Licensed Hunter. Shalnark is one of the brains of the group, he can access all kinds of information that is not available to the public, which he definitely uses for the benefit of the Phantom Troupe.
His nen ability is called Black Voice. This ability allows Shalnark to control two people at once, including himself. By sticking a small antenna on the target’s body, usually around the neck, Shalnark is able to control the target through his phone. He can also set up certain rules for his puppet and let it run automatically, like what he did with the Yorknew City auctioneer.
4. Puppeteer (Fire Force)
Puppeteer is an employee of Haijima Industries, who is responsible for the care and entertainment of the children being studied by Haijima. She is a third generation fire user, which means she can create her own flames, which she uses to power up her puppets. Puppeteer uses a small, custom puppet called a Dominion. She controls the puppet using thin but highly durable strings that allow the puppet to perform a variety of flexible movements. Her Dominion can perform all kinds of physical attacks and even fire some fire attacks. With just one puppet, she gave Maki and Vulcan a very difficult time. But when necessary, Puppeteer can use special gauntlets that allow her to control six Dominions at once. In this mode, she can easily destroy a platoon of rookie firefighters alone.
3. Mother Spider (Demon Slayer)
Mother Spiders are part of the Demon Spider family that rules the Mount Natagumo area. Her physical strength is not great, but her strength lies in the Blood Demon Art technique, which allows her to control countless corpses, or even living creatures at once. She uses tiny spiders to stealthily connect her thin, transparent, and extremely long thread to her target. Once connected, she can increase their physical strength and control their movements. The closer the puppets are to the Mother Spider, the stronger the puppets will be and the easier it will be for the mother to control them. She often sticks her thread to unsuspecting demon slayers who wander into the mountains and force them to kill each other. The stronger the initial target, the more powerful the puppets become, which is why Tanjiro and Inosuke have trouble going up against one of her strongest puppets, a headless corpse of a puppet. devil.
2. Doflamingo (One Piece)
Doflamingo’s Ito Ito no Mi is one of the most versatile demons in One Piece. This power allows him to create streams that can be used in many ways. He can stick threads to the cloud and use it to hover and even move in mid-air. He can also use it as a steel thread and cut his opponents with it.
But the most dangerous application of this power by far is the ability to control another person’s body. That is exactly what he did to the royal guards, soldiers, and even the king of Dressrosa, forcing them to kill his citizens. In doing so, Doflamingo could step in and easily take control of the country and make it his base of operations.
1. Kabuto (Naruto)
Kabuto used to be a supporting character in Naruto, but as the story goes on, he plays an increasingly important role to the point of becoming one of the main villains in the Fourth World War installment of the Shinobi. He does this thanks to one of the most dangerous ninjutsu in the series, Edo Tensei. Edo Tensei is a jutsu that allows the user to resurrect the dead, along with all of their original unique abilities. The user has ultimate control over his puppets and is free to choose whether or not to give them the freedom they want.
What’s even crazier is the fact these summoned people are already dead, they can’t be killed anymore. Therefore, they will not suffer any kind of damage at all. And since they have unlimited stamina, they can literally fight forever. From the seven swordsmen of the Mist to the previous Kage from five villages, Kabuto has summoned all kinds of legendary ninja with this technique and manipulated them like puppets. There are other puppet users in Naruto, such as Sasori or Kankurou, but none of them can get ahead of Kabuto.
