Staff Writer for CBR, Sage Ashford has also written for Comicon as well as other sites such as The Gamer, and has been doing freelance work since 2014, and been working for CBR since 2016. His focus is primarily on spreading the word on obscure anime, comic books, and games whenever possible. Follow him on Twitter @ sageshinigami, or on YouTube @ nolevelcap.

While power-ups have always been part of anime, as shonen anime became more popular, they became more than a vessel for greater strength; they became a vital way of showing a character's growth. While a new opponent might feel impossible to defeat at first, when a character digs deep enough, a new transformation can lead the way to victory.

That said, not all power-ups are created equal. Some simply grant the protagonist a greater control over their own abilities, while others grant new techniques. The greatest power-ups elevate characters into the status of godlike beings, allowing them not just to destroy their enemies, but all who'd stand against them.

Mazoku Mode Allowed Yusuke To Eradicate An S-Class Spirit Detective

Yusuke Urameshi's Mazoku Mode might be one of the most unexpected transformations in anime history. There wasn't any build-up to it, and Yusuke had survived dangerous opponents before without ever seeming like he needed a new form. Certainly, against Toguro, the point wasn't that he needed a power-up, but rather that he needed to take things seriously and step up as a hero.

Yet in the middle of Yusuke's battle with Sensui, just giving one hundred percent wasn't enough. The former Spirit Detective overwhelmed and destroyed his successor, Senrui's Sacred Energy allowing him to brutalize Yuskue, before delivering the same punishment to Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara.

Fortunately, Yusuke unlocked his Mazoku form, which tapped into the demon powers of his ancestor, Raizen. More than that, it was Raizen's own mind that took over Yusuke's body and allowed him to dominate Sensui with ease.

Baryon Mode Generates Energy Equal To Nuclear Fusion At The Cost Of The User's Lifespan

Naruto's always had an abundance of transformations, from his different Tailed Beast modes to Sage Mode to his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. Each time he displays a new level of mastery over his powers, allowing him to topple dangerous enemies. However, not every power-up is meant to be used, and that's exactly the case with Baryon Mode.

In Boruto, the battles between humanity and the Otsutsuki continued to heat up. Eventually, it got to the point that even Naruto and Sasuke working together wasn't enough to push back Isshiki Otsutsuki from reaching his goal of finally creating a God Tree. Instead, Naruto is forced to take Kurama's offer of one final way to become more powerful: the Baryon Mode.

Baryon Mode brings Naruto and Kurama's chakra closer than ever, consuming their power in a way not unlike nuclear fusion. It boosts Naruto's already incredible strength and speed several times over, allowing him to dominate Isshiki Otsutsuki in battle. That said, it's not a power to be used lightly, as it can cost the life of its user. More than that, exhausting its power caused Kurama to separate from Naruto permanently.

Gear 5 Grants Luffy Unlimited Freedom In His Fights

One Piece hasn't ever been afraid of giving Luffy some transformations, dating all the way back to his iconic debut of Second Gear during the Enies Lobby Arc. However, most of the Gear forms were simply Luffy finding new and more creative ways to use his Devil Fruit.

Up against the incredible power of Kaido, however, Luffy needed more than just the abiltiies of rubber to win the day. A villain powerful enough to beat Luffy to near-death not once, but multiple times, it was clear even Luffy's Boundman powers weren't going to be enough. Instead, to win that battle, Luffy had to awaken the power of his Devil Fruit, unlocking Gear 5.

In Gear 5, Luffy gains ultimate freedom. In practice, that looks like Luffy transforming into a gag manga character, and gaining absolute, cartoonish control over his surroundings. Though Kaidou was both one of the Four Emperors of the world and known as the "Strongest Creature", his battle against Gear 5 Luffy made him literally look like a Bugs Bunny victim from Loony Tunes.

Ultra Instinct Lets Goku React To Any Attack Instantly

Goku has spent decades mastering new power-ups and transformations over the years, the most iconic of which being his classic Super Saiyan form. In Dragon Ball Super though, the power of Super Saiyan wasn't enough. Even after mastering the ki of a god and becoming a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, Jiren was able to beat down both Goku and Vegeta in a two-on-one match.

It took Goku unlocking a power that even Beerus never mastered to defeat the strongest mortal: the power of Ultra Instinct. After flirting with Ultra Instinct multiple times during the Tournament of Power, Goku finally surpassed his limits at the very end and truly unlocked the technique.

The strength of Ultra Instinct not only boosted Goku's power severalfold, but allowed him to instantly react to an enemy's attacks without thinking, making it the ultimate defense. Though Jiren normally had the edge in strength and speed, Goku surpassed him in both while also making it impossible for him to be hit.

Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Can Destroy Any Multiverse

It shouldn't be surprising that mecha anime has the most ridiculous power-ups. It's a genre where characters are always pulling off the impossible, whether it's developing psychic powers after spending time in deep space, or battling an alien invasion with just a handful of giant robots. And nowhere is this more clear than with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, where the problems start off seemingly grounded but soon become multiversal in scale.

In Gurren Lagann, Spiral Power belongs to all of mankind, and represents the strength of evolution itself. It connects all living beings, and allows them to keep moving forward against their enemies, no matter how powerful they might be. Even the deadly power of the Anti-Spirals, as terrifying as it often seems, can't actually stand in the way of Spiral Power.

This became clear in the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann film, The Lights in the Sky are Stars. There, Simon, locked in a battle against Antispiral, unlocked Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, a mecha larger than universes, by tapping into the power of the entire multiverse. He boosted himself into the realm of limitless power, allowing him not only to fight Antispiral directly, but grant that same energy to everyone else in his group.