---
title: 'How Anime''s Fail Their Power Systems'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=2gYqI3yoOl8'
video_id: '2gYqI3yoOl8'
date: 2026-06-15
duration_sec: 0
---

# How Anime's Fail Their Power Systems

> Source: [How Anime's Fail Their Power Systems](https://youtube.com/watch?v=2gYqI3yoOl8)

## Summary

The video analyzes energy systems in anime, using a bucket-and-tap analogy to explain how they limit abilities and create tension. It examines chakra in Naruto, cursed energy in Jujutsu Kaisen, and mana in Solo Leveling, highlighting successes and failures.

### Key Points

- **Energy Systems as Leashes** [00:00] — Every power system needs a limiter to maintain tension; energy systems like chakra, mana, and cursed energy serve as invisible batteries.
- **Bucket and Tap Analogy** [00:34] — Characters have a bucket (energy pool) and a tap (release rate); small bucket with large tap allows one big attack, large bucket with narrow tap allows sustained weaker moves.
- **Additional Variables** [01:08] — Replenishment speed, efficiency, and control add depth; these force strategy, conservation, and risk-taking in battles.
- **Chakra in Naruto** [02:26] — Chakra combines physical and spiritual energy; early series uses it well for tension (e.g., Kakashi vs. Zabuza, Naruto vs. Neji), but later suffers from power creep and inconsistencies.
- **Chakra's Decline in War Arc** [05:28] — Susanoo and other abilities ignore chakra limits; characters spam mountain-destroying attacks without strain, undermining the system.
- **Sponsor Break: Gamer Subs** [07:28] — Gamer Subs is a zero-sugar energy drink for focus and endurance; free samples available, code 'panis' for 10% off.
- **Cursed Energy in Jujutsu Kaisen** [08:53] — Cursed energy from negative emotions is versatile and consistent; expands naturally with positive energy, black flash, heavenly restrictions, and domain expansions.
- **Domain Expansions and Resource Management** [10:53] — Domain expansions are instant win conditions but drain cursed energy; Mahito's loss to Yuji is due to reckless energy use, not just strength.
- **Mana in Solo Leveling** [12:03] — Sung Jin-Woo's mana is a generic video game meter with no clever interactions; mana potions remove tension, making it a weak system.
- **Conclusion: Energy Systems as Storytelling Tools** [14:50] — Best systems create vulnerability and force strategy; they should consistently add stakes, not be background noise.

### Conclusion

Energy systems are vital for maintaining tension and strategy in battles; the best ones are integrated into worldbuilding and character decisions, while weak ones become irrelevant.

## Transcript

Every power system needs a leash. No
matter how creative or innovative your
abilities are, without some kind of
limiter, your battles will lose their
most essential ingredient. That is their
tension. To solve this, almost nearly
every shownen relies on the same trope,
an energy system. Think of chakra, mana,
key, cursed energy. The name changes,
but the idea is always the same. an
invisible battery that keeps battles in
check. I like to use a bucket and tap
analogy. Let me cook here. Every
character is carrying around an
invisible bucket that is filled with
their respective energy system. Some
characters buckets are huge while some
are tiny, which is usually down to
genetics, training, or both. Meanwhile,
the tap controls how much of that energy
a character can release at once. So,
someone with a small bucket but large
top might be able to unleash one massive
attack before being drained dry, while
someone with a large bucket but with a
narrow top can keep pumping out weaker
moves almost endlessly. Of course, many
power systems don't stop there,
rightfully so. Some go deeper,
introducing other variables like
replenishment speed, which is how
quickly your bucket fills back up.
efficiency, how much energy actually
translates into power versus how much is
wasted, or control, how precisely a
character can manage the flow of their
energy. These are all ideas that I
encourage any writer to blend into their
power system. Together, these reveal the
true purpose and strength of an energy
system. That is to blend fights with an
essential element of strategy.
Characters can't just recklessly spam
their strongest moves forever. They have
to conserve, to gamble, and sometimes to
risk running out at the worst possible
moment. At their best, these systems
don't just make fights more intense.
They dictate the outcome of the fights
themselves. But at their worst, these
systems blend into background noise,
often revealing plot convenience or
outright contradictions. So, how do you
make a good energy system? What are some
examples of the best energy systems in
anime? And where do authors often go
wrong? Well, in this video, that's
exactly what we're going to find out.
So, stick around. You might just learn
something important. Chakra is the
energy system of Naruto. And in all
fairness, one of the most
well-thoughtout energy systems in all of
shownen. While it does get a bit weird
towards the end, what with the aliens
and all, Kishimoto still managed to
create an energy system that far
surpassed its contemporaries. Chakra is
defined as a combination of a person's
physical energy and spiritual energy
which can be refined and molded to
produce techniques called jutsu. It is
the battery behind every technique in
the series from the most basic cloning
jutsu to the most destructive forbidden
arts. Every ninja has a limited pool and
the size of that is massively influenced
by genetics and natural talent and maybe
a bit of training because Kishimoto
couldn't decide if he wanted to make a
Nepo baby fanfiction or a hard work
beats talents narrative. Regardless of
that, in the early series, this system
truly shines. Chakra is a lot more
involved, actively serving character
conflicts and strategy. One of the
earliest examples of this happens within
the land of the waves arc. Chakra is a
very active element of that fight.
Without the strain of chakra, Kakashi
would easily be able to handle Zabuza
and Haku by himself. But due to the
massive amount of chakra his shang gun
requires and his otherwise average
reserves, the longer the fight drags
out, the more dangerous it becomes for
him due to exhaustion. His chakra
limitations are the key reason his
students, the protagonists, even matter
in this fight. Or take Naruto versus
Nei, which happens a couple arcs later.
One element of chakra that makes it more
interesting is its biological
connection. Your chakra flows out of
tenetsu points, and someone like Nei
gentle fist is capable of closing off
those points, which essentially seals
away your chakra. So when Nei does this
to Naruto, it should essentially finish
the fight. But Naruto manages to
somewhat plan ahead using his secondary
external source of chakra, the
Ninetailed fox, to completely catch Nei
by surprise, which alongside the smart
use of clone jutsu is a turning point
that allows him to win the fight. In
both of these moments, Chakra works
perfectly. It is a clear limiter that
separates characters in unique ways and
creates tensions whenever those reserves
start to run dry. You truly feel the
weight of every move because Chakra is a
finite meaningful resource. But as the
series scales up, Chakra begins to lose
that meaning. What started as a clever
limiter becomes more of a background
detail conveniently mentioned or ignored
depending on the moment. The series does
all right through Shipuan, but the
illusion of Chakra's importance really
begins to fall apart completely during
the war arc. Take Susano, a literal
massive suit of pure chakra that serves
as both the perfect offense and the
perfect defense. Rightfully, it is an
incredibly taxing ability described as
your every cell being on fire and
requiring an absurd amount of chakra to
use. Maybe not. Saskuke used it for
hours at a time, but it still has the
weakness of slowly blinding the user,
returning that essential element of T.
No, never mind. He got past that. Well,
at the very least, you still need the
showering gun to use it, right? It'd be
ridiculous if a character who had say
lost both of their eyes was still
somehow capable of using a technique
that literally requires special eyes to
be used. Nah, that would never happen.
At a point, the war arc essentially
becomes a display of long- range nuclear
warfare. Because by the end of the
series, Chakra is such a non-issue that
characters can literally spam mountain
range obliterating attacks without so
much as breaking a sweat. Their taps
become as wide as the Grand Canyon, and
their buckets become, well, infinite. At
the very least, Kishimoto did seem to
remember his energy system at the very
final portion of the series at Sasuke
and Naruto's final battle. And it's that
very last sequence that made me remember
what I loved about this series. Not the
country shattering explosion that
happened an episode prior, but the
strategies, desperation, and tactical
depth applied by both characters at the
very end. And that's the tragedy of
Naruto's chakra system. What once began
as one of the most balanced and
narratively rich limiters in shownen
ended up collapsing under the weight of
escalating power creep.
Of course, we can't forget the most
important energy system of all. The one
we deal with every single day, stamina.
Forget chakra and forget cursed energy.
The one thing that actually has an
effect on your life is how long you can
stay awake and functioning. Like, I've
been hitting the gym early and earlier,
and by the time I come back home to make
these videos, I feel like my stamina bar
is flashing red. But luckily, that's
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Imagine popping a stamina potion
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yours. Anyway, let's get back to the
video. Jiu-Jitsu Kaisen gets a lot of
criticism. Some of it is welld deserved,
but most of it, the vast majority, is
completely baseless given by people who
consume the series off of Tik Tok.
Because if there's one thing Jiutsu
Kaisen absolutely nailed from start to
finish, it would be its power system.
More specifically, its consistency with
the series energy system. In jiu-jitsu
kaizen, humans naturally produce cursed
energy, which is an internal energy born
from negative emotions. Most people just
leak it unconsciously, which in turn
gives birth to cursed spirits. But
sorcerers, the main profession of this
verse, are capable of harnessing this
energy, using it to fuel their cursed
techniques. It's a simple yet effective
setup. What makes Cursed Energy stand
out is its versatility because in
practice it is far more than just an
invisible stamina bar. Cursed energy is
the very reason a lot of the main
antagonist exists. I mean, they're made
out of the thing and is capable of being
weaponized to such an extent that
Yujiadidori for the vast majority of the
series was capable of relying purely on
raw cris energy to keep up with the
scale of the plot. Even beyond that, the
system constantly expands in innovative,
consistent ways. What happens when you
flip cursed energy? Well, you get
positive energy, which is capable of
being used for healing or reversing the
effects of your techniques. If you
manage to time your cursed energy
application just right, well, you can
land a black flash, which is essentially
a critical strike with devastating
multipliers. Some characters forego
cursed energy entirely, gaining heavenly
restrictions, which massively boost
their physicality instead. Every
addition feels like a natural extension
of the same core rules, not a
contradiction. But what I truly love and
appreciate about Chris Energy is how
much it actually decides fights. One of
the most prevalent cases of this
actually comes about from domain
expansions. They're almost always
instant win conditions, an ability that
guarantees your every attack will land.
But here's the catch. They massively
drain the user of their cursed energy,
leaving them vulnerable once they
collapse. So look at Mito versus Yugji
and Toto. Mahito's final loss to Yugji
isn't just because Yugji overpowered
him. It's because Mso spent his energy
recklessly during the fight, stacking
highc cost move after high cost move
until he had nothing left. The fight's
outcome was dictated as much by resource
management as it was by raw strength.
So, from output to efficiency to control
and reinforcement to reverse techniques
and to heavenly restrictions, curse
energy is one of the most consistent and
well-developed energy systems in modern
shownen. It's not just a limiter. It's
the foundation of every battle in the
story itself. And honestly, I encourage
any author to use it as a blueprint when
designing their own.
So far, we've looked at an energy system
with a strong foundation that eventually
lost its way, and another that stayed
consistent from start to finish. But
now, let's look at an energy system that
was weak almost from the ground up. mana
from solo leveling. And to be clear, I'm
not talking about the mana used by other
characters in the verse. I mean
specifically Sunjing Wu's mana, which is
connected to the system. His abilities
are modeled after video game mechanics.
And so his mana bar functions exactly
like you'd expect, a generic stamina bar
that drains whenever he casts a skill or
summons his army. And that's where the
problem begins. In other series like
Naruto or Jiu Kaizen, the energy system
manages to evolve beyond just being a
limiter. They branch into their series
respective world building and are
capable of being used for countless
other forms of utility from sticking to
walls or being timed right to land
critical hits. These being additional
uses that create tension and creativity
in battle. Jinmu's mana system is
entirely just a number on a stat screen.
There are no clever interactions, no
secondary uses, nothing. It exists
purely as a meter. But the meter at
least does its job, right? Like that's
the point of the video. Surely, it
realistically and fairly limits Jinu's
use of his abilities. No, not really.
The cycle is the same each time. Jinu
fights a boss that conveniently has an
army of minions that his shadows can
aura farm on. The boss wipes out the
rest of the shadows. Jinu's manner runs
low and he turns to the camera and says
some like, "Guess I'm going solo on
this one." And then he solos it. Name of
the series appears. Roll credits.
Absolute cinema. Just give anime of the
year. Just give anime of the year. This
gets even worse when you realize this
fake tension doesn't even matter half
the time. Jin Wu can literally buy an
infinite stockpile of mana potions that
instantly refill a portion of his mana
bar. So, the system fails at its only
job of being a limiter. And while that
works for hype, it makes for one of the
weakest energy systems in modern anime
storytelling. It feels much more like an
afterthought than a system actually
crafted to enhance the story. At the
very least, there seems to be another
version of Mana present in the story
that is much more intertwined with the
series lore. But because none of the
other characters actually matter, it's
not even that relevant in the first
place. At the end of the day, energy
systems are somehow one of the simplest
tropes in battle storytelling, yet also
one of the most important. They are the
primary leash that keeps abilities
grounded, adding an essential element
that adds weight to every decision in
battle. So, the lesson here is simple.
The best energy systems are far more
than just fuel tanks. They're
storytelling tools. They create
vulnerability and force strategy. And
sometimes, like Jiu Kaizen's relation to
negative emotions, can even reflect the
themes of the story itself. So, the next
time you're watching an anime with an
energy system present, ask yourself, is
it actually consistently adding stakes,
or is it just background noise? Because
that one detail might be the difference
between a fight you forget tomorrow and
one that actually sticks with you for a
while.
Thank you for watching. Got any energy
systems that you love? Well, leave them
in the comment section down below. Don't
forget to check out gamers subs and use
my code pines here to get 10% off any of
your purchases. Anyway, if you like the
video, don't forget to drop a like and
subscribe. I'll see you in the next one.
Peace.