History Main / UnblockableAttack

** Also played with a little with some attacks. Getting hit with a high-powered attack (such as a hit from a sword the size of a bus) will ''always'' knock you over unless you're using some form of enchantment to keep you stable. However, if you get your shield in front of it and have high enough Endurance, you'll flip in midair and make a ThreePointLanding, taking no additional damage and recovering almost instantly. Of course, [[RealityEnsues you'll probably take a beating to your stamina]], but it still looks cool.

* The VideoGame/MegaMan series has attacks that can damage Shielded mooks:

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'': The Shock Gloves that Batman obtains late in the story '''cannot''' be blocked (with exception to boss-type enemies at times obviously) by most thugs that he encounters, making taking down armored, stun baton/shield-wielding foes a total breeze.

** All offensive [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Z-Moves]] will also break through Protect and its ilk, [[DownplayedTrope albeit for reduced damage]]. [[FridgeBrilliance Presumably because, unlike the above moves, you're simply hitting their defenses with overwhelming power rather than getting them to drop their guard through subterfuge]].

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' (and ''Manga/LoveHina'') has [[SwordBeam Zanmaken: Ni no Tachi]], a sword attack designed to ignore all and any [[DeflectorShields magic barriers]].

* Bullets fired from guns are considered an unblockable attack in ''FanFic/RacerAndTheGeek''. This is because they're actually fairly new technology and no effective counters have been developed for them. [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/81159/1/racer-and-the-geek/predawn Guns and their users are hated almost universally.]]

* Exists in the fighting game installments of ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', usually come from Remilia ([[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice ginormous penetrator spear]]), or Marisa (WaveMotionGun).

* The Garseddai gun from AncillaryJustice fires rounds that always penetrate exactly 1.8m into whatever they hit regardless of what material the target is made of or what armour or shielding it has.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', the Killing Curse ''Avada Kedavra'' cannot be blocked by shielding spells, and is an unsurvivable OneHitKill under normal circumstances, meriting it the rank of Unforgivable. The only known circumstances that block it are if someone else already made a HeroicSacrifice specifically to protect you, or if you fire a spell at the same time using a MagicWand made from the same core as your would-be killer's wand. (The films imply that any offensive spell fired at the same time from any wand can parry ''Avada Kedavra'', creating a BeamOWar that generates potentially deadly backscatter.) Or you can try to dodge it -- assuming you're fast enough.

** All offensive [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Z-Moves]] will also break through Protect and its ilk, [[DownplayedTrope albeit for reduced damage]]. [[FridgeBrilliance Presumably because, unlike the above moves, you're simply hitting their defenses with overwhelming power rather than than getting them to drop their guard through subterfuge]].

* In ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'', a minor villain has the ability "Equal Speed", which cause anything he throws to ''never'' lose momentum unless he breaks his concentration. He demonstrates by throwing a marble at a steel door. The marble plows right through it despite it moving so slowly.

** Sound based moves (Hyper Voice, Boomburst, Clanging Scales, etc.) can all hit through Substitute.

** All offensive [VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Z-Moves] will also break through Protect and its ilk, [[DownplayedTrope albeit for reduced damage]]. [[FridgeBrilliance Presumably because, unlike the above moves, you're simply hitting their defenses with overwhelming power rather than than getting them to drop their guard through subterfuge]].

* ''[[VideoGame/ArtOfFighting Art of Fighting's]]'' Ryuko Ranbu couldn't be blocked and was so devastating that only Ryo, Robert, and the game's secret boss [[spoiler: Mr. Karate]] had access to it. It was toned down in ''VideoGame/{{The King of Fighters}}'', particularly the later installments where it was made blockable and did considerably less damage. At least, until ''2002'', where Robert gained a HDM version that has short range (as opposed to the usual fullscreen dash animation), but is again unblockable and drains just over half the opponent's energy.
** Worth noting that Art of Fighting was the first fighting game to feature unblockables along with desperation attacks in general.

** In ''VideoGame/FableI'', the Berserk spell causes the player character to [[HulkingOut Hulk Out]] and makes all his attacks unblockable.

* The Crane kick from ''Film/TheKarateKid''. Completely unstoppable in the first film, but when Daniel tries it in a real fight in the first sequel his opponent just sidesteps it and uses his momentum against him.

* The [[Film/StarWars Death Star's]] [[WaveMotionGun superlaser]]. Given that it's designed to [[EarthShatteringKaboom one-shot a planet]], it's no surprise that a starship's DeflectorShields would offer no effective protection. (It would be like trying to use medieval chain mail to defend against a 21st-century cruise missile.) As Admiral Ackbar says, "Our cruisers can't repel firepower of that magnitude!"

* These are a staple of the ''VideoGame/{{Soul|Series}}'' series, with virtually every character having at least one unblockable move. They are typically slow, [[KillItWithFire highly telegraphed]], and can be easily ducked or dodged by an alert opponent. Should it land, however, the resulting damage is often quite high.

*** Some special weapons make their characters unable to block ''any'' attack, most notably Misturugi and the Damascus Blade. It makes up for it with greatly increased damage. It's also possible to cancel out of them mid-animation, meaning they're likely to get more use as a feint to trip up human opponents ([[TheAllSeeingAI in either case, they're not especially useful against the CPU]]).

*** Some special weapons make their characters unable to block ''any'' attack, most notably Misturugi and the Damascus Blade. It makes up for it with greatly increased damage.

* Certain ''Series/StarTrek'' weapons, like polaron beams and chroniton torpedoes, are designed to penetrate a target's DeflectorShields. Of course, this usually lasts only until TheFederation comes up with the right Technobabble to deal with the weapons in question.

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', One of Fiamma of the Right's powers via the Holy Right is to annihilate anything it hits without any destructive force, resulting in this. And there's no known drawbacks to using it.

* The [[Film/StarWars Death Star's]] [[WaveMotionGun superlaser]]. As Admiral Ackbar says, "Our cruisers can't repel firepower of that magnitude!"

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', the Killing Curse ''Avada Kedavra'' cannot be blocked by shielding spells, and is an unsurvivable OneHitKill under normal circumstances, meriting it the rank of Unforgivable. The only known circumstances that block it are if someone else already made a HeroicSacrifice specifically to protect you, or if you fire a spell at the same time using a MagicWand made from the same core as your would-be killer's wand. Or you can try to dodge it -- assuming you're fast enough.