Anime is the one place viewers can go to see some truly remarkable powers. One of the most powerful abilities a character can have in an anime is the ability to erase memories completely or to manipulate someone’s will to forget temporarily. It has manifested itself in many anime, dating back decades.
This ability is as common as time travel, flying, or ice powers, but not every anime that includes memory erasure uses it effectively. It takes skilled creators to implement the power well, and these characters are examples of terrifying entities who used their abilities for evil purposes.
Karl Fritz (Attack On Titan)
The Power Of The Founding Titan
Attack on Titan starts simply enough with a war against humans and human-like monsters called Titans. Viewers will eventually learn of Ymir Fritz, the Founding Titan, from whom the nine main Titans were derived and passed on through generations.
Once the throne was given to Karl Fritz, he took his people to Paradis Island and erased their memories so that they could live in peace. He didn’t want anyone to remember their Eldian blood and that they had the power to become Titans. The Founding Titan’s power of memory manipulation was passed on to characters like Frieda Reiss, Historia’s sister.
Sasuke Uchiha (Boruto: Naruto Next Generation)
Back In Time
Sasuke has an incredible list of Jutsus that he learned in the Naruto series, making him one of the strongest ninja. It gets even wilder in Boruto: Naruto Next Generation, wherein there is an arc involving Sasuke and Boruto traveling back in time.
After the Time Slip Arc is complete, Sasuke uses his Sharingan’s Genjutsu to erase the memories of ninja like Naruto and Jiraiya. This is the best example of Sasuke manipulating memories, but it was used for a good reason to prevent some sort of paradox.
Charles Zi Britannia (Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Rebellion)
A Powerful Geass
In the world of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, there are otherworldly beings who can grant humans abilities called Geass. The main character, Lelouch, can use his Geass on people to make them obey his commands, which is a powerful ability to be sure.
However, Charles zi Britannia, the Emperor of Britannia and father to Lelouch, possesses an even greater Geass in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. At the end of season one, he erases and manipulates Lelouch’s memories, and season two opens with Lelouch still in a daze. This power is how Emperor Britannia was able to conquer the nation so easily.
Mur Mur (Future Diary)
Devil In Disguise
Future Diary takes place in a modern version of Japan wherein a random group of strangers are pulled together by the god of their world, Deus. He summoned them together as candidates to replace him, as Deus is dying, leading to a Battle Royale of sorts.
Deus’ assistant, Mur Mur, turns out to be more than a passive observer as she was manipulating things behind the scenes to basically become Deus. She has a laundry list of powers, including time travel, memory manipulation, and just plain strength.
The Laughing Man (Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Brain Hacking
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a cyberpunk anime wherein the first season largely focuses on a criminal known as The Laughing Man. Section Nine is tasked with uncovering their identity, but The Laughing Man can block his image from anyone looking directly at his face.
He does this by hacking their brains to make it seem like he isn’t there, has his face hidden behind an image, or he can hack their memories to make it seem like he wasn’t there at all. It’s hard to comprehend a society dominated by people having cybernetic brains, but one day someone could become The Laughing Man in reality if technology ever catches up to the Ghost in the Shell series.
Rohan Kishibe (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable)
The Power Of Manga
Diamond is Unbreakable is the fourth arc of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga and the third season of the anime. Like everything after Stardust Crusaders, which was the third arc, most main characters have ethereal beings lurking inside them called Stands. Rohan is an antagonist at first before becoming an ally.
He has the creepy power of his Stand, Heaven’s Door, which can turn a person’s face into a manga. Rohan can then rip out pages to affect memory and change stories as well. It’s a body horror image that’s hard to unsee.
Charlotte Pudding (One Piece)
Memories On Film
In One Piece, most of the strongest characters eat Devil Fruit to gain their powers. Luffy and his pirate crew will meet Pudding during the Whole Cake Island Arc, and she belongs to both the Big Mom Pirates and the Three-Eye Tribe. Pudding’s ability is derived from the Memo-Memo Fruit, which allows her to dig inside someone’s head and take out a spool of film.
Pudding can then cut together her own movie to manipulate memories, which is close to Rohan’s ability, except less gruesome.
Chibiusa (Sailor Moon)
A Light-Hearted Prank
Chibiusa is the future daughter of the protagonist, Usagi, from Sailor Moon. During a later arc, she comes into Usagi’s life to wreak a little chaos by crashing at her place. She uses her abilities to erase the memories of Usagi’s parents and brother, to make it seem like Chibiusa is their niece.
Later in the anime, she makes everyone think Usagi is her little sister. Chibiusa is a bit misguided and lost as she looks for answers, but she isn’t evil.
