Hero who can't use his OP power

[BWTraveller]

An odd concept connected to an idea I had, are there any stories where the hero is technically OP but has to be normal because his OP skill/power is something that he cannot use? And not something like "not until he learns to control it", something where really using it is a terrible idea. If he does use it, it's on extremely rare occasions with very specific situations and enemies.

For instance, you could have a wizard whose spell list consists of nothing but low and mid-level spells and a single natural spell that by its very nature would kill everyone in a ten-mile radius. Or a skill that has some sort of inescapable negative effect on him, like permanent injury or shortened lifespan, with no way to reverse or undo it.

The hero doesn't have to remain completely "normal", but any power besides this one OP skill are still normal progression. He can still become a truly powerful fighter, but nothing beyond what would be expected of a person with moderate talent and dedication. But none of that compares to the power he can't use.

[AnimeFangirl]

An interesting idea. Something like Rogue in X-Men who has to keep her skin covered at all times so she doesn't accidentally absorb people's powers (though the writers will randomly depower her to suit the plot). Or the guy from Stephen King's Firestarter who gets debilitating headaches when he uses his powers. And I remember playing a Japanese VN long ago with a minor character with the gift of foresight - but every time he used it it would shave years off his life. One of Idea Factory's games for girls IIRC.

I'd like to see what manga/anime suggestions come up.

[Tenzen12]

Shin Angyo Onshi (manga): MC has incurable curse caused illness so he is not as badass as he use to be. He can make "cure" which helps short termed but deteriorate his health even further afterward.

Inuasha: Miroku has "wind tunnel in his hand, that can suck huge amount enemies inside forever. More he use it stronger it get until it suck into himself.

Gundam IBO: When pilots using direct neural control to Gundams at it max it fries their nerve system, crippling them for life.

[cyberdemon]

Mahouka definitely fits. He is banned by both his family and the freaking military from using his natural abilities.

[erneiz_hyde]

Kotarou from Rewrite.

Spoiler for plot details:

He can restructure his body to gain new super powers as many and as powerful as he likes. But, he can't return to his previous state, so the more he does it, the less human he becomes. This is in direct contrast to his wish to live a normal peaceful life. In the end he goes full overdrive anyways because the world is literally ending and he ended up as a guardian spirit of the world.

[larethian]

Sounds also like Densetsu Yuusha no Densetsu. And despite that, there are even more OP stuff than him in his world.

[dragon1412]

To aru Majutsu series, Accelerator quite fit the bill after got nerfed by the bullet to his head, he can still use his power albeit with battery time

[BWTraveller]

Originally Posted by dragon1412

To aru Majutsu series, Accelerator quite fit the bill after got nerfed by the bullet to his head, he can still use his power albeit with battery time

Not really what I'm looking for. Perhaps instead of "can't" I should have used something like "mustn't". Accelerator is unable to use his power, at least not for long. What I'm looking for is more like the Giga Slave from Slayers, a power that does indeed make its wielder crazy OP but the wielder would have to be completely crazy to even think of using it. With Lina's Giga Slave, she calls upon the power of the Lord of Nightmares, the ultimate being who created the universe, whose power and being are one and the same; it's literally summoning God, who cannot be controlled, and God will destroy what she wants to destroy, be it Lina's enemies, Lina herself, the entirety of every universe...

Something like Miroku also works, with a power that can defeat almost any enemy without fail, but the very act of using it hurts the user or endangers him.

[Zefyris]

Technically Youjo Senki (novel). She has both an absurdly OP computing jewel and a normal (but the top of what is made as normal, like her troops) one. The thing is, every times she use the OP one, she gets slowly brainwashed into the exact contrary of what she wishes to be. So she fight most of the battles without using it. She even heavily uses magic drugs to boost herself (and it has a bad influence on her health) just to avoid using that OP power as much as possible.

[dniv]

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

Not really what I'm looking for. Perhaps instead of "can't" I should have used something like "mustn't". Accelerator is unable to use his power, at least not for long. What I'm looking for is more like the Giga Slave from Slayers, a power that does indeed make its wielder crazy OP but the wielder would have to be completely crazy to even think of using it. With Lina's Giga Slave, she calls upon the power of the Lord of Nightmares, the ultimate being who created the universe, whose power and being are one and the same; it's literally summoning God, who cannot be controlled, and God will destroy what she wants to destroy, be it Lina's enemies, Lina herself, the entirety of every universe...

Something like Miroku also works, with a power that can defeat almost any enemy without fail, but the very act of using it hurts the user or endangers him.

Huh, that's indeed an interesting request. I usually only see that used in a contrived way in various WN's though so none of them stuck out enough for me to remember their names... if I think of something, I'll be sure to let you know, though.