Long gone are the days when the power of friendship could be passed off as a legitimate power-up technique in shonen anime. Thankfully, there are now plenty of series that avoid exaggerating the emotional boost that comes from friendship, with a few even outright deserting the thought of such a concept.
While some anime use the power of friendship as fuel to create bonds between its characters and elevate their overall resolve, many have grown tired of the cliché. This is what makes the shonen anime where friendship is rejected stand out so significantly.
Classroom of the Elite Only Values Utility, Not Friendship
In Classroom of the Elite, friendships are not based on unconditional trust, but on how useful a person might be. Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, the protagonist of the anime, treats people like chess pawns, and every relationship he develops is used to dig him out of a problem. In Classroom of the Elite, peers are considered utilities instead of friends.
The show does have some characters who are kind and who crave unity, but the anime portrays these as weaknesses instead of strengths. As Classroom of the Elite progresses, students become more and more calculating and hostile towards each other.
The Power of Friendship Is Useless in Attack on Titan’s Ruthless World
Attack on Titan features the iconic trio of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, who stick with each other at all costs. Yet, by the end of the anime, the trio is broken apart, and the power of friendship falls short of saving the day. As the plot progresses, Eren shuts out Armin and Mikasa, and becomes the big bad of the series.
Even when Armin and Mikasa try to find common ground with Eren, they are severely pushed away. The biggest failure of the power of friendship happens in the finale of Attack on Titan, when nothing could stop 80% of humanity from getting destroyed. Eren’s eventual death is also brought about by his closest friend.
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.’s Protagonist Is Hilariously Against Friendships
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. doesn’t just detest the power of friendship; its protagonist hates all friendship. To Saiki, any kind of interaction with his classmates is annoying and exhausting, and he’d rather be left alone to his devices. Most of the hilarious conflicts in Saiki K. arise from Saiki going out of his way to avoid making friends.
Saiki is equipped with powerful psychic abilities, but he only wants a peaceful life, which is incessantly interrupted by his unhinged classmates. Rather than being empowered by his friends, Saiki feels drained by them and wishes they would leave him alone.
Chainsaw Man Turns Friends Into Weaknesses
Chainsaw Man features a terrifying villain who studies every interpersonal relationship of Denji to find out how to weaponize them against him. Due to his extreme deprivation of any kind of security or emotional support, Denji trusted Makima far too easily, giving her a chance to manipulate the hero. Denji has made close bonds with Power and Aki Hayakawa, but he has no idea how dark his story is going to get.
In Chainsaw Man, friendship is not permanent, and Denji suffers the loss of friend after friend, beginning with Pochita and Himeno. Any character who forms a close bond with the hero or audience is swiftly brought to their end in the anime. Chainsaw Man shows the cruel reality where the power of friendship is just a tool to induce pain.
