Chainsaw Man has finally arrived, and it's only the latest in decades' worth of anime series that have presented wildly silly (but incredibly entertaining) weaponry for its characters to use. In fact, a big draw to the genre for some fans is discovering what absurd creations the masterminds have come up with to tell their story.
From talking weapons to weapons that literally transform from an article of clothing, the world of anime is filled with unique ideas no other media really has. Some of these weapons range from silliness but practical to just pure silliness that does nothing but trouble the user.
Gintoki's Bokuto
Gintama
Gintama is an anime that is already full to the brim with absurdity, but for some reason, an unbreakable wooden sword is one of the peaks of absurdity the show has to offer. What's even odder is how easily the sword is replaced despite its invincibility being seemingly rare. At least in the anime, there doesn't seem to be a handheld weapon stronger than Gintoko's wooden sword.
The sword known as "Toyako Bokuto" was adopted by Gintoki after the sword ban in Edo due to the alien overlords who sought to erase the samurai from the world. Its origins are a bit vague, considering it's Gintoki, who is not exactly the most truthful person, who tells it. He allegedly bought it on a school trip, but whenever it breaks, he claims he buys another from a TV shopping program.
Neko Neko Knuckles
Okami-san and Her Seven Companions
To put it simply, the Neko Neko Knuckles are a pair of black and white boxing gloves themed after two smiling cats. The user doesn't exactly have a reason why they are themed as such other than that they are cute. However, despite their appearance, the two pack quite the punch, literally. Other than their theme, they have special capabilities other than just punching.
Each glove possesses a dial to tune the level of volts the gloves output when they punch an enemy. Essentially, the boxing gloves double as tasers to neutralize enemies while leaving a cute cat imprint wherever they are struck. Whilst not contenders for some of the most powerful swords in anime, the boxing gloves can instantly defeat an enemy multiple sizes larger than the user with ease.
Killua's Yo-Yo
Hunter X Hunter
Unlike Gon's fishing rod, Killua's Yo-Yo manages to stay a prevalent tool for the majority of the series. Coming from a prominent clan of assassins, Killua can turn any tool in his hands into a weapon. Even his hands themselves are weapons that can elongate and whose nails can be sharp enough to rip the heart out of another human being.
In Hunter x Hunter, Killua's mastering of the nen ability enhances his strength with the pair of Yo-Yo's. The two Yo-Yo's that weigh 110 pounds each are seen easily leaving a huge gap in the trunk of a tree, guaranteeing they can rip the heads of enemies effortlessly. With his other nen ability, he can enshroud the Yo-Yo's in electricity using the conductive strings by passing the current through them.
School And Office Supplies
Monogatari
Hitagi Senjougahara is probably the most ruthless character in the Monogatari series, which is saying a lot in a series full of spirits, ghosts, gods, and vampires. She's the type of person to threaten a god despite being a high school girl whose greatest weapons are supplies she likely stole from school.
Stablers, scissors, sharp protractors, pens, and pencils, Senjougahara doesn't hesitate at all when using these weapons that require the user to be up close and personal. Her ruthlessness is especially visible when she staples the insides of a classmate's mouth just as a threat. A big mystery, however, is how she stores them, as with a wave of her hand, tens of tools appear in her hands.
Speedwagon's Saw Hat
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood
Forget the vampires and magical energy concept that popped up out of nowhere, the oddest thing in perhaps all of Jojo Part 1 is the dexterity Speedwagon held over his buzz-saw-built bowler hat. It only appears in one scene, and yet its entry into the series is the most memorable. Truly a shame considering that, throughout the whole series, the infamous bowler hat never once flew again.
In Speedwagon's days of being a thug, he created a bowler hat with hidden buzz-saws making up its brim, and with precise throwing, the saws would curve midair to attack an enemy's blind side. It may take inspiration from James Bond villain Oddjob, but it was memorable and unique all the same.
Machinegun Segways
Aria The Scarlet Ammo
Aria The Scarlet Ammo is a classic anime with an interesting world setting with its system of armed detectives, but in the first episode, a peculiar scenario happens; the main character gets on a bus armed with a bomb and threatened to keep the speed the same lest it blows up, and to top that, remote-controlled segways paired with a camera, speakers, and machine guns follow him.
Honestly, it is a ridiculous tool that is pretty unbelievable someone spent the time conceiving. In theory, it sounds pretty cool, but it just seems like a big waste of resources when it just might have been cheaper to send armed goons instead. Also, it is far-fetched that a segway can keep up with a bus going at full throttle down a road at high speeds.
Nano Shinonome's Hidden Functions
Nichijou
As far as robots go, the discussion of whether they are to be classified as tools or weapons has been going on ever since the 20th century began. Nano Shinonome was created to be neither. Her creator, Hakase, a seemingly 8-year-old girl, invented her for the sake of having someone accompany her in her empty home. Moreover, just for the fun of it, she gains amusement from modifying Nano's body with random weapons and gadgets.
Nichijou is already a show with absurd occurrences, but even in a show like that, Nano stands out as particularly odd. She can explode if she trips, her hand can become a machine gun, food sometimes dispenses from her body, one of her fists becomes rocket propelled randomly, her feet are armed with rocket thrusters as well, and finally, she possesses both super-strength and reflexes.
The Death Note
Death Note
There are only a few non-anime shows like Death Note, as the show is considered one of the best anime shows of all time. As serious and compelling as the storytelling and drama of the show were, one thing that has to be admitted was the concept of the main character's favorite tool, the death note. Throughout the show, it's rules are explained, but the process of how it works is still a mystery.
All the death note requires is a person's name and a mental image of what they look like. That's all the user needs to take a life. The shinigami own the death notes, but it doesn't seem like they are the ones to compel those written in it or the world around them into killing the intended victim. It's also never explained what would happen to a person if they changed their name in between the time their old name was written and death.
Tail Gear
Gonna Be The Twin-Tail!!
Gonna Be The Twin-Tail!! is definitely one of the weirdest TV shows to air of all time. As the title suggests, Gonna Be The Twin-Tail! is a show heavily centered around one boy's obsession with the twin-tail hairstyle. He's so obsessed with it, in fact, that he barely hesitates when he's asked to defend the world from monsters using a device that transforms him into a girl with twin tails.
The device that can perform such a feat is called the Tail Gear, a weapon that up until his existence could only be used by women. With the device enabled, the wearer is granted superhuman abilities such as super strength, speed, and reflexes. They also gain access to an element that corresponds to the respective Tail Gear, such as the protagonist being able to fight using fire thanks to having the "Red Courage" Tail Gear.
Shizuku's Vacuum Cleaner
Hunter X Hunter
If there's a similarity between Hunter x Hunter and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure series, it would be the fact that both have the great potential of granting their characters the weirdest abilities. Though for anyone interested in any of the two series they are both considered the best anime on Netflix. Shizuku's nen ability was her primary reason for being allowed to join the Phantom Troupe.
To be specific, Shuzku's ability is to conjure a vacuum with a mouth, teeth, and ridiculously long tongue that can consume an infinite amount of inanimate objects. With it, she is usually tasked with cleaning up the corpses the group leaves behind in their operations. She can even remove poison and gases from a human body and suck out the blood from a wounded enemy.