While anime has plenty of strong characters who are willing to risk their lives to save the world, not all such heroes can be considered soldiers. A soldier is someone who is trained as part of a strong group willing to do what it takes to protect their homeland and the people in it.
The strongest soldiers in anime aren’t just tough physically, they often have a distinct set of skills that was honed through years of difficult training in order to best serve their country. The armed forces are full of real-life heroes who risk their lives every day for the good of their people, so it’s only right that some of anime’s greatest heroes would be soldiers as well.
10 Tanya Degurechaff (The Saga Of Tanya The Evil)
Tanya was originally a middle-aged man who was killed in his past life before being reborn as a girl in a war-torn world. Tanya’s knowledge of her past gives her a level of maturity that allows her to reach the level of Second Lieutenant at the tender age of 9.
Though Tanya may be a loyal soldier that risks her life for her country, she also has her own underlying, hidden motives. Due to the trauma of her death in her past life, she inherits a brand of evil that informs her every action as a soldier, but which is passed off as patriotic by her superiors who fail to recognize her true intentions.
9 Chisato Nishigiki (Lycoris Recoil)
Chisato is a Lycoris — a government agent and secret operative trained in combat from an early. Even as far as the Lycoris go though, she has a reputation among her peers for being the best there is.
Chisato is such a combat genius that she can dodge bullets at point-blank range by calculating the trajectory her enemy’s gun barrel is pointing. Though Chisato works as an independent contractor currently, her time as a soldier had a strong impact on her, likely informing her preference to use non-lethal means to bring down her targets.
8 Levi Ackerman (Attack On Titan)
Levi is the captain of the Survey Corps’ Special Operations squad: an elite group hand-picked by Levi due to their special affinity for killing Titans. Levi is widely regarded as the most skilled soldier in the Survey Corps, able to take down hordes of Titans single-handedly.
Even after he is severely injured by Zeke, Levi still proves himself an invaluable fighter during the Battle of Heaven and Earth. Levi has a very series demeanor and can be rough around the edges, but he genuinely cares for every member of the Survey Corps and will defend their lives with his own if necessary.
7 Guts (Berserk)
Throughout Berserk, Guts proves himself to be the very definition of a soldier in more ways than one. Not only is he basically raised on the battlefield since he was a child, but he endures incredible hardship while refusing to give up.
Even before donning the Berserker Armor that he’s known for, Guts was a captain of the Band of the Hawk under Griffith. Through his sheer determination and willpower, Guts even kills 100 men of an opposing army by himself, earning him the fitting title of The 100 Man Slayer.
6 Kenshin Himura (Rurouni Kenshin)
Before he was the kind-hearted wandering samurai known to his friends by his true name, Kenshin Himura was known by another name: Hitokiri Battosai. Kenshin received the nickname Hitokiri due to his merciless nature as a soldier during the Meiji Revolution.
Following the end of the war, Kenshin vowed to never kill again and use his sword only to protect the weak. In order to ensure he doesn’t mortally wound his opponents, Kenshin carries a Sakabato, a sword with a reversed blade that is ill-fit for delivering a killing blow.
5 Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)
As a State Alchemist, Edward Elric was also a soldier with the rank of Major. He was accepted into the State Alchemists at an extremely young age and became known under the moniker “Fullmetal” thanks to the nature of his alchemy as well as his prosthetic arm and leg.
While he’s not the strongest in terms of raw physical strength like Alex Armstrong, Edward’s alchemical knowledge and resourcefulness made him one of the world’s most powerful alchemists by the end of the series. Edward’s true strength consists of his resolve to never give up and keep pushing forward despite how the odds stack against him.
4 Esdeath (Akame Ga Kill)
The main antagonist of Akame Ga Kill, Esdeath is frequently placed in the top 10 listings for anime’s most beloved waifu characters. Be that as it may, she’s not someone that a lover can afford to make unhappy.
Esdeath is Akame’s most powerful enemy by far — an overwhelming force who can use ice-based attacks and literally freeze time around her. She serves as a General of the Empire and the leader of the Jaegers, a special force created specifically to eradicate Akame’s rebel group, Night Raid.
3 Mereoleona Vermillion (Black Clover)
Mereoleona is the leader of the Royal Knights Squad of the Clover Kingdom, and easily one of the most powerful wizards in Black Clover. Mereoleona is a merciless fighter who loves a challenge and has no time for the weak or cowardly.
As the first daughter of House Vermillion, Mereoleona has an unprecedented mastery over fire magic. Her power is so overwhelming that, after the elves were reincarnated by the Eye of The Misnight Sun, she was able to take on five of them by herself in order to give Asta a chance to escape.
2 Genryusai Yamamoto (Bleach)
As the captain of the Soul Society guard squad, Yamamoto is by far the Soul Society’s most powerful soldier. Yamamoto is over 2,000 years old, and while he may show his age physically, he hasn’t lost his step in combat at all.
While his pure strength and speed are already enough to take down pretty much any enemy that faces him, Yamamoto’s fire-based Zanpaktou, Ryuujin Jakka, is a force to be reckoned with. Using his Bankai, Yamamoto can create flames so hot that they can completely erase anything his sword touches from existence.
1 Vegeta (Dragon Ball)
Before he was Goku’s rival, a father to Trunks, and a husband to Bulma, Vegeta was a soldier. First, Vegeta was a Saiyan warrior under the lead of his Father, King Vegeta. Following the destruction of his home planet however, Vegeta became a reluctant soldier under Frieza as part of his Frieza Force.
Vegeta’s days as a soldier were largely spent conquering and pillaging foreign planets, but that all changed when he met Goku. Even though he is no longer a soldier under any one leader, Vegeta still retains the heart of a warrior and the courage to risk his life for those he cares about.