Power suits come in all sorts of forms and names, but they are generally considered special suits that grant their wearer immense strength and unique abilities. Power suits have appeared in all kinds of media, especially those that take place in futuristic or high-tech settings. Iron Man is the most well-known example of a power suit, but there are certainly many more examples to choose from.
Power suits have naturally appeared in anime and manga as well, either as unique equipment owned only by a select few or generic equipment given out to multiple people. Power suits are a great way to give normal people superhuman powers without having to resort to supernatural powers. Here are the most iconic power suits in anime.
8 Appleseed
Appleseed is a work by Masamune Shirow, the same person behind Ghost in the Shell, so intense mechanical design is certain to be expected. Appleseed takes place in a highly futuristic world, where cybernetic enhancement and advanced robotics are commonplace.
Power suits appear in Appleseed in the form of Landmates, giant mech suits that mount their user in the middle and move as they do. Landmates straddle the line between power suit and full-on mech, but either way, they are incredibly powerful.
7 Zetman
The dark superhero story Zetman focuses on two characters: Jin Kanzaki, who has the mysterious power to transform into the powerful ZET, and Koga Amagi, the scion of a massive company that commissions the creation of a suit based on his favorite superhero.
As Alphas, Koga uses this suit to fight against the monstrous Players that plague the city. Alphas mainly fight with a variety of high-tech weaponry, much of it only usable thanks to the suit's unique specifications and powers. While Alphas is not nearly as strong as ZET, he is still able to take out many of the Players that appear in the series.
6 Infinite Stratos
The world of Infinite Stratos is defined by the titular suit, which grants its user incredible powers and capabilities. The suits are so strong that they were immediately banned from military use, and were handed out to all nations to keep one from overpowering the others.
While the IS suits are only supposed to be usable by women, main character Ichika Orimura also turns out to be able to use one, being the only man to do so. Each IS has its own set of armaments, abilities, and equipment, making an encounter with a new IS very interesting.
5 Gantz
After being hit by a subway train while trying to save a homeless man, Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato are bewildered to find themselves in a strange apartment. There, they learn that they must fight against strange monsters and beings while using only the equipment given to them by Gantz.
An iconic part of the equipment given by Gantz is the protective suit, which has a variety of functions including passively boosting the user's strength, speed, and agility. While the suits are not invulnerable, they are incredibly valuable sources of protection against many of the targets designated by Gantz.
4 Saint Seiya
In the classic shonen battle animeSaint Seiya, the Saints are warriors who fight under the banner of the goddess Athena. Their power exists in the form of magical Cloths, which transform into powerful armor when they are called into use.
There are three forms of Cloths: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Gold Cloths are the strongest of the three types, but that does not mean that a Gold Cloth user will beat a Bronze Cloth user. Seiya and his friends are Bronze Cloth users, but they have been able to show power surpassing Gold Cloth users thanks to their intense passions and wills.
3 Bubblegum Crisis
The story of Bubblegum Crisis follows the Knight Sabers, an all-female mercenary group that handles the many problems that plague a dystopian, futuristic Tokyo. With the corrupt megacorporation Genom constantly causing chaos thanks to their creation of boomers, robotic beings with dangerous weaponry, the Knight Sabers are often called in to deal with them when the normal police cannot.
The Knight Sabers use special protective suits called hardsuits, which not only grant them increased strength and mobility but also hide their identities. Each hardsuit comes with its own unique loadout of weaponry, so each Knight Saber has a different approach to combat.
2 Tiger & Bunny
Tiger & Bunny takes place in a world where superheroes are commonplace and frequently fight for popularity and recognition among the masses. While there are many different types of superheroes, many of them wear power suits that grant them increased strength and durability, such as the two main characters.
While many of the superheroes do have unique abilities separate from their power suits, the power suits do often provide various kinds of support, such as equipment and basic protection. The power suits are also used for brand recognition for the hero and their sponsors, making them a vital part of a hero's equipment.
1 Bio Booster Armor Guyver
While walking in the woods, Sho Fukamachi encounters a mysterious alien object. The object suddenly fuses with him, forming a bio-mechanical suit of armor around him. Called a Guyver, the suit boosts his abilities while granting him incredible strength as well.
The Guyver is not all upside; while Sho can temporarily retract the armor to live as a normal human, he can not remove the armor permanently on his own. Dealing with the enemies hunting after his suit while also struggling with the danger of the suit itself frames many of Sho's struggles.