Protagonists come in all shapes and sizes in the anime world, and plenty of them project a strong image as powerful, confident heroes. Characters like Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star, Guts the mercenary from Berserk, and Son Goku from Dragon Ball are all tall, musclebound fellows with hardened scowls and formidable weapons or martial arts outfits. But other anime heroes project an image of being weak and defenseless.
Some anime heroes look weak on purpose because they don’t want to stand out, or they are physically normal people who have supernatural abilities that provide their true strength. This leads to some amusing contrasts, where a hard-hitting hero may look like a child or an innocent civilian, only to prove themselves the strongest person in the room after all.
16 Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100)
Shigeo Kageyama is an extremely powerful esper, yet what makes this socially awkward teenager so interesting is that he views this power as a liability rather than an asset. Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama’s psychic powers spring into action when he’s put under extreme stress or forced to protect others, but he actively tries to suppress these skills in everyday life.
Mob is a short kid who doesn’t make much of an impression when it comes to his looks, which makes his world-ending psychic skills hit even harder. He’s the last person that one would expect to unleash ESP mayhem on the world.
15 Arale Norimaki (Dr. Slump)
Akira Toriyama’s most popular creation is undeniably Dragon Ball, but his comedic shonen series, Dr. Slump, has such life to it. It’s easy to see why its central character, Arale Norimaki, has guest starred in Dragon Ball on multiple occasions. Arale looks like an energetic and precocious young girl, but she’s actually a powerful robot forged by Senbei Norimaki.
Arale’s strength seems to know no bounds and there’s even an episode of Dragon Ball Super where she effortlessly beats up Goku and Vegeta. Arale’s powered and protected by the “anything goes” mentality of a gag character.
14 Nezuko Kamado (Demon Slayer)
Demon Slayer protagonist Tanjiro Kamado is a bit stronger than he looks as a trained swordsman, but his younger sister Nezuko is even stronger. Nezuko looks like a charming tween girl in pink robes most of the time, and her “smol Nezuko” form makes her look even more harmless.
However, Nezuko Kamado is a demon, and she has supernatural strength and blood arts to match. Nezuko powered up even more with her adult form, granting her the strength to kick around an Upper Moon demon like Daki.
13 Reg (Made In Abyss)
Made in Abyss explores dark ideas that are even harder to accept since its cast of characters are cute children or innocent individuals. A simple passion for adventure pushes Riko down a dangerous and cursed path as she descends deeper into the titular abyss. Reg is a robot who she befriends early on who looks like another friendly kid.
Reg’s mechanical anatomy is ideal for travel, but he also possesses a deadly cannon known as the Incinerator. There are extreme limitations and consequences for Reg’s Incinerator cannon, but this doesn’t change the fact that when push comes to shove it’s able to disintegrate most targets that are in its path.
12 Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s hero, Edward Elric, is often teased for being a petite teenage boy, but he’s packing a lot of power in that small frame. Physically, Edward punches above his weight as a skilled martial artist, and he gets even stronger when he reforms his prosthetic arm into a blade.
Most of all, Ed is a talented alchemist who can pummel any foe into submission with a variety of improvised weapons. Ed can demolish entire buildings with his alchemy if he so chooses, but he only needed his bare hand to beat Father during their fight on the Promised Day.
11 Uta (One Piece Film: Red)
Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is still going strong after more than 1000 episodes. Luffy can pull off powerful moves that would shock audiences, but a more surprising example of strength is present in the anime’s 15th movie, One Piece Film: Red. Film: Red is a welcome change of pace that functions more like a concert film where the central threat is a pop idol girl instead of some old man enemy.
Uta, the performer, just wants to perform and spends the majority of Film: Red lost in song. However, Uta’s Devil Fruit ability transports people’s consciousness to another realm through song. Her beautiful voice becomes a catatonic catastrophe for its audience.
10 Tamaki Kotatsu (Fire Force)
Even if Fire Force often treats Tamaki Kotatsu as a gag character for the sake of humor and fan service, Tamaki is far stronger than most teenage girls in the Tokyo Empire. Tamaki is a fire soldier, like Maki Oze and Shinra, though unlike them, Tamaki doesn’t project the image of being a warrior.
Maki has well-honed muscles to prove to everyone she’s a fighter, while Tamaki simply looks like a schoolgirl, complete with pigtails. Tamaki’s ignition ability changes all that, transforming her into a fast-moving, agile fire-cat soldier who can take on the Cult of the Ashen Flame in mortal combat.
9 All Might (My Hero Academia)
My Hero Academia is a clever superhero genre subversion that’s set in a world where it’s rarer to not have a superpower than it is to be blessed with a unique Quirk. There are many cases in My Hero Academia where ordinary heroes and villains are in control of deadly Quirks.
All Might is introduced as Japan’s number one Pro Hero and he admittedly seems to embody the typical superhero physique. In reality, All Might’s civilian form as Toshinori Yagi is a desiccated man who looks unhealthy, not heroic. It’s increasingly dangerous for Toshinori to take on his burlier All Might physique and he’s consigned to this weaker, frail state.
8 Eren Yeager (Attack On Titan)
Attack on Titan’s grim antihero Eren Yeager has the reflexes and honed body of a proper soldier, but that’s not the true source of his strength. Eren is merely mediocre as a front-line soldier, but his hidden Attack Titan form makes him the world’s greatest warrior.
Eren shocked everyone, including himself, when he morphed into the Attack Titan during the battle for Trost. He can switch back and forth between those forms, but even in human form, Eren might manifest a part of his Attack Titan to defend himself, as Hange Zoe found out during a few risky experiments.
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6 Wendy Marvell (Fairy Tail)
Magic makes all the difference for Fairy Tail characters like Wendy Marvell, who would be helpless without it. Wendy was introduced as a timid tween in an early story arc, but over time, she gained more power and confidence as the sky dragon slayer and as a Fairy Tail guild member.
Wendy may be a kid with minimal physical strength, but in dragon slayer mode, she can fight opponents twice her age and win. Wendy doesn’t identify that strongly as a fighter, though. She enjoys a peaceful life and even sings like an aspiring pop idol with her friend, Sherria.
5 Rimuru Tempest (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)
The powerful isekai protagonist Rimuru Tempest is downright OP, but nothing about his appearance in everyday life suggests he’s so strong and scary. In That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Rimuru is more interested in building his monster kingdom than fighting, but he’s no pacifist.
Rimuru’s default body is a blue slime, the weakest and most innocent monster in RPG-style settings like this. Even in his humanoid form, Rimuru looks totally non-threatening, but anyone who underestimates him will realize Rimuru is an unstoppable, one-man monster army.
4 Sakura Haruno (Naruto)
Unfortunately, Sakura Haruno really was as weak as she looked in Naruto’s early story arcs. Sakura was almost a total liability for Team 7 at first, but she turned that all around after training with Tsunade to learn chakra manipulation and medical jutsu.
Sakura got a massive glow-up and returned in Naruto Shippuden as a kunoichi who could blast the earth apart with her chakra-infused fists, taking Naruto and Kakashi by total surprise. Sakura also had the strength to pummel and destroy Sasori’s true puppet body, which is no mean feat.
3 Master Roshi (Dragon Ball)
Dragon Ball has plenty of muscular juggernauts like Broly or Spopovich who wear their physical strength on their sleeves. Goku himself is a surprising example of near-omnipotent strength and even as a child he’s been capable of defeating an entire army. But Goku wouldn’t be where he is without the tutelage of Master Roshi, a 300-year-old man who looks frail rather than frightening.
Plenty of Dragon Ball’s strongest characters come from surprising places, but it’s particularly impressive that Master Roshi is among the strongest humans in the universe and someone whose strength is relied upon, even in his weaker twilight years.
2 Yor Forger (Spy X Family)
Yor Forger is Spy x Family’s #1 mom not just because of her protective feelings and compassion toward Anya but her physical prowess, too. Yor is a trained assassin known as the Thorn Princess, and she will demolish anyone who threatens Anya with her fists and kicks alone.
There’s no clear explanation for how Yor got so strong, and she doesn’t even have well-defined muscles to show for it. But her actions speak for themselves, with Yor able to shatter bricks with her bare hands and send people flying dozens of feet away with one kick.
1 Tatsumaki (One-Punch Man)
Tatsumaki earned her place as One-Punch Man’s #2 superhero because of her enormous psychic abilities, mainly telekinesis. Tatsumaki can grab and throw around objects with ease, even the heavy-duty shells fired from an alien battleship.
Tatsumaki can also fly like Superman with her psychic powers, granting her immense mobility. Physically, she’s a petite 20-something lady with a slender physique, to the point she appears younger than her little sister Fubuki. In fact, Saitama mistook the powerhouse Tatsumaki for a child when they met, proving that appearances really are indeed deceiving.
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