Nanoskin

Nanoskin is a shape-memory metal found in space and used by a range of alien species. In its resting state it sits as a small cube marked with fine line patterns that make it look assembled from tinier fragments. Ludris owned a supply and agreed to lend it to the Ayases so they could quickly repair their home after the Evil Eye wrecked it. Kinta Sakata later turned that same material into his go-to weapon, and Rokuro Serpo obtained a portion from Mantisian near the end of the Kur invasion as the price for sparing his life.

The alloy reshapes on command, taking whatever form its handler can clearly visualize, which makes strong imagination the real limit on its use. The series shows it built into an enormous variety of objects: surveillance hairpins, HUD glasses, airbag gauntlets, and battle armor with verniers and pile bunkers; full battle suits and fused suits; vehicles and aircraft such as a mobile version of the Ayase house, motorcycles, rockets, scooters, jetpacks, hoverboards, and wings; and giant mechas like the multi-form Great Kinta Bodhisattva, Zeta Version. Because its strength depends on how vividly the user pictures solid material, it can be fragile in untrained hands, and a poorly imagined shape may fall apart under stress.

After the Evil Eye damaged the Ayase house, Ludris supplied his nanoskin so the residents and friends could restore it. In the Kaiju arc, Okarun noticed the nanoskin wall glowing as Momo leaned on it, sparking the idea to enlarge it into a weapon against Bamora's kaiju; Okarun's weak visualization failed, but Kinta's sci-fi imagination shaped a giant Buddha that Momo's subconscious had warped, then a controllable mecha that he, Momo, and Aira used to win. During the Space Globalists arc the Family turned the house into a mobile vehicle, and Kinta reformed a nanoskin torii gate into a motorbike, then a plane, then summoned the Great Kinta mecha to battle Hastur's stolen kaiju, ultimately finishing it with a powerbomb.

Rokuro Serpo became a heavy user after Mantisian grafted nanoskin onto him: he shaped police uniforms, a USB drive, phone cords, a store counter, heaters, and rocket arms throughout the Danmara arc to break into databases, shield Momo and Okarun, and escape the pocket dimension. In the Kozuka Knives arc, Kinta deployed hoverboards, a hidden surveillance hairpin linked to his glasses, jetpacks with airbags, and crude steel armor, then fused his suit with Okarun's to crush Hase and return him to human form. Other wielders across the series include Seiko Ayase, Aira Shiratori, and Chiquitita.