Ninjas, mutants, demons, cyborgs, and aliens battle across anime with sword strokes powerful enough to slice through steel and energy blasts that can level mountains. There are many powerful characters in Japanese anime, so it’s hard to determine exactly which characters are the strongest of all time.
Whereas some characters may be clear standouts, there is always subjectivity when it comes to assessing powers. Different fictional universes play by different rules, which makes comparisons tough. However, thanks to common genre tropes and story beats across anime, certain characters rise to the top. These characters are not only the strongest in their respective shows but the strongest anime characters of all time.
Update on June 7th, 2023 by Louis Kemner: anime power levels are through the roof, and “it’s over 9,000!” isn’t even the half of it. Countless shonen, seinen, and a few shojo anime series unleash the full power of their creators’ imaginations, wielding abilities, and weapons that can lay waste to everything around them. We’ve updated this list with more ultra-powerful anime characters who are prime contenders to answer the burning question: who is the strongest anime character?
40 Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin)
Despite his small stature, Kenshin Himura from Rurouni Kenshin is one of the most powerful and legendary swordsmen to ever exist. After slaughtering countless people during the Meiji Revolution, Kenshin hung up his blade, vowing to never kill again. He travels around Japan as a rurouni, a wandering, masterless samurai, seeking redemption for the lives he’s taken.
Kenshin inherits the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu sword style from his master, a form of kenjutsu meant to allow a single samurai to defeat multiple enemies at once. The fact that he can take out so many enemies while refusing to kill shows just how skilled he truly is.
39 Shinichi Izumi & Migi (Parasyte)
Parasyte is not for the faint of heart. Still, terrible circumstances always lead to interesting heroes, and Shinichi Izumi is one of the most unique in anime history. In Parasyte, parasitic aliens that feast on human flesh take over human bodies. When they first bond, Shinichi is an average teenager who relies on the parasite Migi to protect him. Migi can change shape and composition. He is also incredibly smart and strong for his size.
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After an alien attacks and almost kills Shinichi, Migi disperses 30% of his body into Shinichi’s. Shinichi gains enhanced strength, speed, durability, and vastly improved mental faculties. Additionally, Migi is a combat strategist for the two. This allows them to take out some of the strongest characters in anime, like the practically invincible Gotou.
38 Son Hak (Yona Of The Dawn)
Son Hak is the head guard in charge of protecting Princess Yona in Yona of the Dawn. Even after the Koka Kingdom is overthrown, Hak keeps Yona in his care, taking her to his village and traveling with her to find the four Dragon Warriors. Though many people and factions are after the pair, Hak skillfully cuts them down single-handedly, proving his title as the Lighting Beast of Koka.
No matter what foe Hak faces, he always comes out on top. Even when some guards hit him with a poison dart, Hak holds his own. Hak is an incredible fighter who has yet to meet anyone who can beat him. Hak is a one-man army in his own right.
37 Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)
Izuku Midoriya is My Hero Academia‘s protagonist. Just before he enters high school, Izuku’s dream of becoming a Pro Hero becomes a reality after receiving a Quirk from All Might. However, One For All turns out to be more powerful than Izuku could have imagined.
Even so, Izuku handles his immense power with superhuman strength and concentration. His new Quirk is so great that it regularly shatters his bones in the beginning, but now, he can use that same force against his enemies. Izuku very rarely loses his battles all thanks to the immense inherited powers of those before him.
36 Eren Yeager (Attack On Titan)
When Attack on Titan fans first meet Eren, he is a member of the Survey Corps, a team of soldiers dedicated to protecting the populace from the threat of Titans. While he is a skilled soldier, Eren earns his title as one of the strongest anime characters thanks to his ability to transform into the Attack Titan.
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When Eren transforms, he retains his intelligence and military training. The reason that he cannot compete with some of the other strongest anime characters is that he cannot always rely on his Titan form. Attack on Titan characters have taken advantage of this weakness by tying his hands together and gagging him, reducing him to a skilled but mundane soldier. However, with his new Founding Titan abilities, Eren has become much more powerful.
35 Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist & Brotherhood)
Edward Elric stands out among the other alchemists in Fullmetal Alchemist for several reasons. He is the youngest State Alchemist in history, achieving his certification by the time he turned 12. This alone proves that he is a capable combatant. Typically, alchemists need to draw a transmutation circle before attempting alchemy.
Part of what makes Edward so powerful is that he is one of the very few alchemists who do not need to draw these circles. By simply placing his hands together, Edward replaces the need for a transmutation circle, allowing him to instantly transmute amid battle. Ed most often uses transmutation on his steel arm, turning it into a variety of different weapons, like a blade.
34 Ryuko Matoi (Kill La Kill)
Ryuko Matoi is hellbent on discovering her father’s murderer in Kill la Kill. After some digging, Ryuko comes into possession of a Kamuy – a garment/being made entirely of Life Fibers that enhance her combat abilities. As Ryuko and Kamuy Senketsu become more in sync, the two merge, making Ryuko an unstoppable force.
Senketsu was made for Ryuko, and since Ryuko is partially Life Fibers herself, the two mesh together into one ultimate being. With Senketsu’s help, Ryuko can slice through even the toughest Life Fibers that hold the evil Ragyo Kiryuin together. Ryoku’s power regularly cuts through enemies, making herself and Senketsu even stronger in the process.
33 Kisho Arima (Tokyo Ghoul)
Ghouls are supernatural creatures with deadly abilities in Tokyo Ghoul, and most ghoul hunters, or CCG investigators, can barely keep up. An exception is the superstar CCG investigator Kisho Arima, a failed half-ghoul who can easily take on the strongest ghouls and win with ease.
Kisho has incredible reflexes, tactical acumen, and technique in battle, to the point he can make a fool of a fully-powered Ken Kaneki without breaking a sweat. He also wields some of Tokyo Ghoul‘s best quinques, which are deadly both up close and at range, especially in Kisho’s expert hands.
32 Levi Ackerman (Attack On Titan)
Levi Ackerman is a Captain in the Scout Regiment in Attack on Titan. Although he has a short stature, Levi uses it to his advantage as he flies around on his Omni-Driectional Mobility gear, taking Titans down one by one.
Levi is not afraid to get close to the giants he faces and will hold his own up against the more fearsome Titan Warriors. Levi’s rage and sorrow fuel his fighting, making him one of the most lethal members of the Scouts. With the highest kill count and the highest number of assists in the regiment, Levi has proven that he is the most powerful character in Attack on Titan.
31 Guts (Berserk)
Few anime are sadder than Berserk. However, tragedy can give way to great strength, and Guts is a great example of this. Also referred to as the Black Swordsman, Guts is an ex-mercenary and one of the unlucky humans to be branded with the Brand of Sacrifice, which causes him to be hunted by flesh-craving monsters.
Guts has been a soldier on the battlefield since he was nine. During his mercenary days, Guts single-handedly defeated a troop of 100 soldiers. He is even strong enough to take out numerous apostles – former humans who have ascended to join the ranks of demonkind.
30 Pride (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Pride is the oldest and most powerful homunculus in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for many reasons. He has a near-indestructible body made of shadows, and he can rapidly move and reshape his body anywhere shadows exist, which also makes it easy to spy on people.
In battle, Pride can outlast any opponent and either slash, bite, or tear them apart with his shadow spears and his many mouths. Pride also has traits of the other six homunculi in one: Lust’s stabbing spears, Wrath’s enhanced vision, Greed’s durability, Sloth’s extreme speed, Envy’s Shapeshifting, and Gluttony’s ability to eat things to boost his power.
29 Laxus Dreyar (Fairy Tail)
The Fairy Tail guild, the main group in the Fairy Tail anime, is home to some incredibly talented and tough S-rank wizards. Mirajane Strauss, Erza Scarlet, Gildarts Clive, and Laxus Dreyar are rivals to be the guild’s #1 wizard, though by this point, it’s easy to argue that Laxus Dreyar is the top dog.
Laxus Dreyar easily ranks among the most powerful characters in anime for many reasons, from his seemingly limitless durability to his devastating lightning-themed magic spells and physical prowess. He can even use Dragon Force to push all this to the next level, something very few Fairy Tail guild members can do.
28 Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
The carefree captain of the Straw Hat Pirates in One Piece, Monkey D. Luffy, hides incredible power behind a toothy grin. Initially, his Rubber Human Devil Fruit was one of the weaker fruits in the series. However, after extensive training, he unlocks the massive potential of his power.
Luffy is incredibly strong and fast, and his rubber body makes him impervious to most attacks. Luffy’s strength is further solidified by his inclusion in the Worst Generation. These 11 notorious, powerful rookie pirates are wanted for crimes committed against the World Governments.
27 Tetsuo Shima (706z87″ title=”akira”>Akira)
When Tetsuo almost runs over a young boy on the cyberpunk streets of Neo-Tokyo, he injures himself, and doctors discover his massive latent psionic abilities. After unlocking his powers, Tetsuo can fly, generate force fields, bend light, levitate objects, and channel his telekinesis into powerful energy blasts.
Even when an orbital laser blasts off Tetsuo’s arm, he simply replaces it with a mechanical one and keeps going. Unfortunately, Tetsuo’s violent search for more power causes him to overstep his bounds. Unable to control his newfound abilities, he transforms into a giant fleshy mass. Despite this grotesque sight, 706z87″ title=”akira”>Akirais one of the most viscerally stunning animated features of all time.
26 Whitebeard (One Piece)
In One Piece, Edward Newgate, aka Whitebeard, captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, is the strongest man in the world. His stature is imposing, and his scars tell a tale of the countless battles he survived. Even as an old man, his physical strength eclipses that of giants. With the addition of the Quake-Quake Devil Fruit power, which granted him the ability to generate earthquakes, he was a truly fearsome opponent.
The earthquakes Whitebeard generated could take down entire buildings and cause tsunamis. Whitebeard’s enhanced endurance and seismic abilities made him not just the strongest man in One Piece,but one of the strongest anime characters of all time.
25 Yusuke Urameshi (YuYu Hakusho)
Yusuke Urameshi is the half-human/half-demon protagonist in YuYu Hakusho. As a Spirit Detective, he protects the human world from supernatural threats like spirits and demons. His prowess with spiritual energy, plus his demonic ancestry, makes him one of the most powerful anime characters by far.
Yusuke’s signature move, the Spirit Gun, fires a concentrated blast of energy from his right index finger. At the beginning of the series, it is enough to smash a small boulder. By the end, once Yusuke unlocks his demon powers, it is near the destructive level of atomic explosions.
24 Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)
Ichigo Kurosaki is a Soul Reaper, responsible for providing safe passage to spirits who are traveling between the human world and the afterlife in Bleach. Every Soul Reaper carries around a Zanpakuto, a sword that can cut spiritual bodies, making them one of the few weapons to dispatch hollows.
Ichigo has an incredibly powerful Zanpakuto named Zangetsu. When released into its final form, Zangetsu boosts Ichigo’s strength and speed to superhuman levels. Although he is a new Soul Reaper, Ichigo has more spirit energy than many of the captains of the Soul Society. Ichigo’s ability to fight off supernatural creatures in defense of human spirits puts him in the running for the strongest anime character ever.
23 Sho Kusakabe (Fire Force)
Most characters in Fire Force can use ingition abilities to fight with searing-hot flames and enhance their own physical abilities, such as Company 8’s elite fire soldiers. Other characters invert this, controlling heat so they can cool things down and apply unique effects, such as Karim Flam and the villainous Sho Kusakabe.
Sho is Shinra’sa younger brother and a devoted member of the Cult of the Ashen Flame. His iginition ability will cool the entire universe around him, halting time and allowing him to kill his enemies with his sword in one-sided battles.
22 Jotaro Kujo (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Jotaro Kujo is the third generation of Joestars to become a hero in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Although he has a delinquent personality, Jotaro protects his family at all costs and saves them from the evil that is DIO Brando.
While he is powerful on his own, Jotaro’s Stand, Star Platinum, helps him to defeat DIO once and for all. With its ability to stop time, Jotaro’s strength surpasses his enemies and takes DIO‘s power for his own. Jotaro is not only one of the strongest Joestars but one of the most powerful anime characters.
21 Avatar Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Aang begins Avatar: The Last Airbender as a young boy, inexperienced in his powers and life. However, as he learns and grows, Aang quickly becomes one of the most powerful people in the world. Not only does Aang master the bending of all four elements, but he also learns to control his Avatar State to perform awesome acts of strength and power.
Despite his strength, Aang prefers not to use his power and remains a pacifist throughout the show. Even when everyone tells him to kill the Fire Lord to put an end to the war, Aang refuses and finds a more meaningful way to bring the destructive monarch to justice.
