15 Of The Strongest Anime Characters, Officially Ranked
With so much combat-focused content in anime, it’s no surprise that debates about which character is stronger than another are a staple of the fandom.
Anime is pretty great by itself and talking with other anime fans in digital or physical spaces can greatly enhance the experience. Some of the longest-running conversations in the anime fandom center on which characters are stronger than other characters, or who would win in a fight. These debates are likely to go on for as long as new anime air every season.
While anime can tell a broad range of stories and the affordances of animation allow anime to tackle just about every genre of fiction, combat-focused anime (usually in the shonen category) tend to be some of the most popular and commercially successful anime around. With so much combat-focused content in anime, it’s no surprise that debates about which character is stronger than another are a staple of the fandom. Of course, this conversation is always in flux since there’s more anime airing than ever before and everyone’s favorite protagonists get stronger all the time.
It may be impossible to say for sure who would win in a one-on-one fight, but the strongest characters in anime can be ranked when they are at their strongest and most capable. These characters are by far some of the strongest in all of anime.
Updated on June 11, 2022 by Amanda Bruce: The world of anime continues to grow every year as new manga are adapted and new concepts emerge for the screen. With the increasing popularity of western anime series as well, there are always more characters coming to the screen. Some of the strongest characters in anime have bold power sets, while others are physically strong, and still, others find their strength in emotions. These different approaches to heroes and villains create a vast array of the strongest anime characters. Quite a few classic characters still remain the strongest.
15 Ken Kaneki - Tokyo Ghoul
Over the course of Tokyo Ghoul, Ken Kaneki goes from a timid bookworm to a figure of worship known as the One-Eyed King. After transforming into a half Ghoul and training his body, he’s able to destroy entire cities easily and command legions of monstrous beasts that can transform others into Ghouls.
In exchange for only being able to consume coffee and human flesh, Kaneki gained superhuman strength and the ability to regenerate limbs and even his entire body. This makes him a borderline undefeatable fighter who only grows stronger with each injury he sustains.
14 Ichigo Kurosaki - Bleach
This orange-haired Shinigami has a broad, and sometimes confusing, set of powers that allow him to defeat even the most overpowered of foes. His strength and swordsmanship allow him to take down all-powerful deities and reality-bending gods while he gains new powers from each set of foes he defeats.
His ability to adapt to new opponents is almost unrivaled and he best nearly any foe with a combination of his keen intellect and lethal energy slashes. Even if fans were never able to see the full extent of his abilities in Bleach, Ichigo is undoubtedly one of the strongest characters in anime.
13 Alucard - Hellsing Ultimate
The mythic Dracula goes by the name Alucard in Hellsing Ultimate and he does the legendary figure justice. Functionally immortal at the beginning of the series due to the number of souls inside of him, and then literally immortal by the end of it, Alucard cannot be ended.
His dual pistols are also essentially cannons and he is able to summon the souls of those he’s eaten to form an army of servants. As if those aren’t enough, Alucard has an army of demon dogs at the ready that can tear nearly any enemy it shreds in an extremely painful instant.
12 Lucy - Elfen Lied
Though dissociative identity disorder means "Lucy" has many voices that make up her character, Lucy tends to be the strongest of the bunch. It's Lucy who most often utilizes the character's numerous abilities.
In addition to being a deft fighter and a near-perfect marksman, Lucy has telekinetic abilities most often seen through her psychic "vectors." These vectors are like invisible arms she can use to extend her reach and power. At her strongest, Lucy's vectors are able to be used to sink landmasses the size of small countries. She could, conceivably, destroy the whole world, undoubtedly making her one of the strongest anime characters.
11 Isaac Netero - Hunter x Hunter
The former chairman of the Hunter Association, Isaac Netero is one of the strongest martial artists in anime. After subjecting himself to training that was supposed to end him, Netero gained incomprehensible speed and strength.
If those ever fail him, though, he is also able to summon a massive karate god that can destroy nearly anything and stop the most durable foes in their tracks. He will see victory even in his passing, though, as he has a small but lethal bomb implanted in his chest that will obliterate whoever manages to end him and poison anyone who manages to survive the blast.
10 Eren Yeager - Attack on Titan
The titan shifter Eren Yeager is a very powerful anime character who has the ability to transform into a 15 meter tall Titan with incredible regenerative abilities. However, the reason he’s so high up on this list is because of his ability to command legions of Titans with the power of the Founding Titan inside of him.
Using this ability, he can bring entire nations to ruin with a simple command that brings thousands of 50-meter tall Titans to action. Entire armies could not stand against this ability, and that makes Eren one of the strongest characters in anime.
9 The Avatar - Avatar: The Last Airbender And The Legend Of Korra
Quite possibly the most popular western anime of the last 20 years, Avatar: The Last Airbender introduced audiences to a character who could wield the power of all four elements and communicate with the spirit world. While in most anime the magical hero at the center of the story can control one of the elements, Aang got to utilize all of them.
It's hard to consider Aang as the strongest, however, since Korra is able to come back from not being able to use her abilities at all and Kyoshi creates her own island. Each Avatar has the same abilities as the others, but their strengths are all suited to different tasks.
8 Mob - Mob Psycho 100
Kageyama Shigo, or more commonly known as Mob, is an ultra-powerful esper who can destroy anyone or thing with a simple thought. His powers are so intense that he has to shackle his emotions to keep them from running wild.
However, if he feels something too strongly or falls unconscious, his abilities come rushing to the surface, and wields powers on par with large-scale natural disasters. Not only does the nature of his abilities make them impossible to guard against, but the strength behind them is also so great that even the strongest psychic buckle beneath them.
7 Jotaro Kujo - JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Jotaro Kujo is the main protagonist of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, and one of the strongest characters in anime. He’s as smart as he is tough and able to discern and counter the abilities of anyone who tries to fight him.
His standability, Star Platinum, allows him to stop time and strike his enemies with impossibly powerful blows both within and outside of frozen time. There’s no way to defend against this technique and it’s powerful enough to mortally wound anyone who stands against him.
6 Simon - Gurren Lagann
Simon is a simple earthling who incorporates spiral power into the attacks of his giant mech for devastating results. Commanding a mech so large it spans galaxies, Simon can create a drill with the ability to rip reality apart and destroy literally anyone or thing that stands in his way.
With a nearly god-like command over life and the afterlife, as well as reality itself, this metaphysics bending warrior is nearly unstoppable and can obliterate the universe itself if he chose to. Only beings with the ability to destroy entire universes can hope to stand a chance against him.
5 Kaguya Otsutsuki - Naruto
Fans often think of Naruto as the most powerful character in his anime, but even he can't defeat this particular character on his own. Known as the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya is one of the most powerful villains in the Naruto franchise, not to mention the most powerful woman in anime. Not originally from Earth, Kaguya travels to the planet in order to take the fruit of the God Tree. Her plan was to unite people by making them fear her, which definitely works.
It's not hard to imagine people, even Naruto's powerful shinobi, afraid of a being who can read minds, manipulate memories, travel through space, and control the elements. Once she partakes of the God Tree's fruit, she's also able to heal her own injuries, making her nearly indestructible.
4 Tetsuo Shima - Akira
Tetsuo Shima, the de facto antagonist of Akira, awakens his immeasurable psychic powers after a collision with another psychic. His powers quickly grow in strength and before long he runs the risk of obliterating the entire universe.
Thankfully, before that can happen, he warps himself to a place outside of reality and the force of his psychic explosion gives birth to a whole new universe. Few other anime characters possess the ability to both create and destroy reality, and that’s what makes Tetsuo one of the strongest characters in the medium.
3 Kyubey - Madoka Magica
Kyubey from Madoka Magica is the personification of entropy or the heat ending of the universe. He is omnipotent, immortal, and lives only to bring all of existence to ruin. Although he is not particularly physically strong himself, he manipulates people and reality into continuing the cycle of destruction that inevitably leads to the erasure of all matter in existence.
If something exists, Kyubey will destroy it eventually and there is virtually no way to escape his destructive force. Quite simply, his power is oblivion and there are only a few anime characters that hope to stand a chance against this overwhelming power.
2 Zeno - Dragon Ball Super
Fans would likely expect Son Goku to be the strongest when it comes to Dragon Ball characters, but he can't exactly control all of reality. Zeno is the ruler of every reality in Dragon Ball Super and he can both create and destroy all of existence in a single instance. The child-like god possesses absolute power and can erase anyone and thing on a whim. He doesn’t have any techniques or special moves, he is simply an all-powerful god that commands space and time with youthful abandon.
He’s destroyed numerous realities for his own entertainment and plays with galaxies as though they were marbles. There is no way to stand against this god and only a single other anime character has a chance of beating this god in a fight.
1 Saitama - One Punch Man
Saitama from One Punch Man is the strongest character in anime. Even with new anime launching all the time, no one holds a candle to him yet. One Punch Man is different from most other combat anime, in that the protagonist is already the strongest person around, rather than striving to reach that goal. After three years of rigorous training, he can withstand any blow and defeat any enemy with a single serious strike.
However, this unbeatable strength leaves Sitama depressed, and the series explores the emptiness that follows achieving a lifelong goal. Saitama is the most powerful character in anime because the entire point of the character is that the pursuit of strength or one’s goal is more fulfilling than holding such a position.
NEXT: Which Of Your Favorite Anime Protagonists Are You Based On Your Zodiac Sign?
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