Examining the strengths of Joker and Sho
As a passionate gamer and anime fan, one question I see debated hotly in the community is whether Joker or Sho Kusakabe would win in a fight. While a fictional crossover battle between the two may never occur, we can examine their established abilities to get a sense of their respective power levels.
Joker‘s Impressive Array of Skills
Joker is regarded as one of the strongest members of Special Fire Force Company 8. His powers include:
- Expert martial artist capable of fighting multiple opponents simultaneously
- Agility to fluidly dodge attacks from swift foes like Shinra
- Razor-sharp playing cards to slice targets from long range
- Ignite cards with flames hot enough to explode solid objects
In addition, Joker has an undetermined Pyrokinetic Generation level, meaning his upper power limit is unclear. During practice fights, seasoned combatants like Shinra fail to land any hits on the elusive Joker. His combination of speed, dexterity, ranged attacks, and pyrokinesis allow him to outmatch many opponents.
Notable Feats
Some of Joker‘s top showings demonstrating his abilities:
- Dodged all of Shinra‘s Kick Fire attacks while fighting casually (ch. 34)
- Deflected a sniper bullet with a flaming card (ch. 95)
- Incinerated cutters designed to extinguish flames (ch. 224)
Sho Kusakabe Can Manipulate Time Itself
As Shinra Kusakabe‘s younger brother, Sho possesses the rare 4th generation Pyrokinesis ability to accelerate molecules to generate explosions. In addition, his Adolla Burst allows him otherworldly powers including:
- Stop time itself to gain the upper hand in combat
- Alter entropy fields around objects to rapidly freeze targets
- Superhuman strength and speed exceeding Shinra‘s
- Master swordsman on Benimaru‘s level
By slowing enemies to a standstill then slashing or blowing them up, Sho can defeat small armies single-handedly. His versatile skills make him a formidable match for anyone.
Notable Feats
Some examples of Sho flexing his reality-bending talents:
- Frozen trained assassins solid before shattering them (ch. 66)
- Bested Shinra in speed and halted his movement through time manipulation (ch. 191)
- Stopped spatial warp gates from opening through entropy control (ch. 238)
The Verdict?
While Sho‘s temporal abilities grant him broken offensive power, Joker‘s evasive finesse could hypothetically allow him to outmaneuver his foe. With no definitive way to compare these two quite differently powered combatants, the debate around their strength may continue raging among fans.
At the end of the day, both serve admirably in their roles as allies upholding justice through tremendous yet contrasting talents. We can enjoy their thrilling adventures while recognizing real world strength comes from cooperation, not competition.
What do you think – does Joker or Sho seem stronger based on their performances? I welcome perspectives in the comments!
