The 25 Strongest Anime Characters Ever, Ranked

Power-scaling has existed in anime since the birth of the medium. It’s natural to want to pit characters from the same series against each other to see who emerges at the top, and these comparisons often extend beyond one story and eclipse genres. To discern which characters are the strongest can be a bit tricky, as strength comes in many forms: While some interpret it as pure physical prowess, others take magic abilities — both innate and learned — into consideration to rework the definition of “powerful.” /Film’s anime experts have banded together to create the ultimate ranking of the 25 strongest anime characters, keeping a wide range of factors in mind, including non-traditional interpretations of strength that go beyond combat-focused skills or the good old perks that come with immortality or omnipotence.

Due to the sheer volume of characters who embody strength in one form or another, some names have inevitably not made the list, but are worth shouting out nonetheless. For instance, someone like Yogiri Takatou from “My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered” is the strongest within their fictional universe, as he wields the ability to kill anyone by simply uttering the word “die” or any iteration of that sentiment. Similarly, Kurumi Tokisaki from “Date A Live” also fits the bill with her astounding ability to remain unmatched in battle, sporting skills like time manipulation and transformative clones to tip the odds in her favor. This article would never end if every anime character who measures up to the subjective definition of “strongest” gets listed, so our aim is to gauge characters with varying shades of power and how it affects the fictional universes they come from. 

It’s also important to note that the absence of a character on this list does not automatically mean that they’re lacking in strength. For example, Naturo Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha are both strong ninjas, but their respective arcs in “Naruto” have proven time and again that strengths and weaknesses are relative, and that power levels constantly morph and shift. Similarly, someone like Sukuna Ryomen might emerge as the strongest antagonist in a shonen anime like “Jujutsu Kaisen,” but non-cursed energy users like Toji Fushiguro or Maki Zenin have proven themselves capable enough to withstand the strongest attacks from cursed spirits or sorcerers.

So buckle up for a fun ride as we explore the power levels and limitations of the most impressively strong, overpowered anime characters within the medium, and where they rank when pitted against one another.

There’s no one in “Rurouni Kenshin” who even comes close to Hiko Seijūrō in terms of strength. Sure, Himura Kenshin is pretty strong as the series protagonist and is incredibly resilient as a warrior, but Hiko taught him everything he knows and is vastly superior to his student in every discernible way. Even when we are led to believe that they’re on par with each other, like during Kenshin’s second training, it is revealed that Hiko suppressed his true strength while donning a cloak that weighed 90 (!) kgs. He also has perfect mastery over the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū technique, which pushes the raw power and accuracy of his fighting abilities to its limits, allowing him to consistently remain invulnerable to counter-attacks. Considering that Hiko is human, and does not possess any supernatural gifts or abilities, these accomplishments denote pure strength and endurance.

Yes, Hiko is rather brash and arrogant, but it’s hard to blame the man when his swordsmanship speaks for itself, and his techniques are often faster than the ability to detect them with human sight. Despite his rather misanthropic outlook towards humanity, Hiko believes in using Hiten Mitsurugi Ryū to protect someone from pain, when the act itself is divorced from any ulterior motives and functions solely on a humanitarian level. Hiko’s perceptive nature also allowed him to correctly guide certain characters, such as Fuji, toward the root of their anxieties, while granting them a fair chance to prove themselves in an all-out battle. (Debopriyaa Dutta)

“But where is Eren?” you might ask. Sure, he becomes a kaiju capable of leveling the Earth and eradicating most of humanity by the end of “Attack on Titan,” but Eren only truly becomes such a strong character at the very end. Before that, he constantly gets his butt kicked. In truth, the strongest character in all of “Attack on Titan” is Levi Ackerman, captain of the Special Operations Squad within the Scout Regiment and humanity’s strongest soldier. Forced to learn to survive at a very young age, Levi quickly became a highly skilled fighter, but it was as a soldier where he showed what he was capable of.

Though Eren gets defeated often throughout most of the story, Levi never loses. He continuously take down hordes of enemies — be them grunts, highly trained soldiers, or even titans — all without the need for special powers or abilities. Granted, he does belong to the Ackerman clan, an ancient bloodline of warriors genetically engineered to be super soldiers, but still, the fact that Levi is so strong against both humans and titans is a testament to his skills. Every time Levi fought the Beast Titan, he also took down dozens of massive monsters first, and then obliterated the titan effortlessly. What’s more, even after Levi gets blown up and loses two fingers and an eye, he is still the best fighter in the final battle against Eren. (Rafael Motamayor)

“Gurren Lagann” is a great anime, a hype machine of a Saturday morning cartoon full of giant robots, camaraderie, and epic fights. At the center of it is Simon, the heart and soul of the show. Few anime have the kind of escalation “Gurren Lagann” has, with Simon going from a young boy living in a post-apocalyptic world where humans live in underground bunkers and are not allowed to go up to the surface, to piloting a small mech and rising up to becoming the leader of the resistance, and ultimately becoming a commander in an epic intergalactic war.

Simon’s strength comes from his ability to overcome obstacles, with his spiral power representing evolution and growth. Though not a muscular guy or even that physically strong, Simon’s power allows him to pilot a mech, then combine it and make it increasingly powerful to the point where he can pierce the heavens and quite literally throw entire galaxies at an ancient evil alien. Indeed, Simon’s power is never-ending, and he can do pretty much anything he sets his mind to. Whether it’s rupturing the space-time continuum or destroying galaxies, Simon’s spiral power makes him one of the strongest characters in all of anime. (Rafael Motamayor)

“Hunter x Hunter” was already a great show before it reached the Chimera Ant Arc, which is the best the show ever was. A big part of why that remains the best season of the anime is its villains. Thanks to a bit of inspiration from H.R. Giger, the titular Chimera Ants are terrifying, stunningly designed, and metal as hell. Of course, the best of the ants is their leader, the Ant King himself, Meruem, who is not just the scariest villain in the anime, but one of the strongest anime characters ever. He serves as the “Hunter x Hunter” equivalent of Cell from “Dragon Ball Z,” a perfect organism bred only to kill and conquer. Meruem has extraordinary strength, stamina, speed, and agility, but he is also incredibly smart and capable of outmaneuvering his enemies with ease. He is also quite durable, capable of surviving even a nuclear blast.

Still, what makes the character so fascinating and unique is how, well, human Meruem is. Throughout the Chimera Ant Arc, he shows surprising empathy toward a blind girl he plays board games with, and the juxtaposition of Meruem’s unapologetic cruelty and violence with his rather sweet relationship with Komugi is one of the best parts of “Hunter x Hunter.” (Rafael Motamayor)

Ah, Count Dracula, the only being who can rival Satan for the title “Prince of Darkness.” Dracula is a flexible character, played by many actors and reinterpreted from rapacious monster to tragic romantic and back again. 

One of the most dramatic Dracula reinventions is Alucard in the manga/anime “Hellsing,” where the Lord of the Vampires now hunts his own kind for the Church of England. This existence is so opposite from his old self, he now spells his name backwards. Alucard wields two hand cannons that are too cumbersome for any normal man, but while guns are deadly to his mortal foes, he wields them not out of necessity. No, they’re just for show and fun. 

Alucard is a true Nietzschean antihero: Any attempt to kill the vampire only leaves him stronger, ever since the Turks first put Vlad Tepes’ head on the chopping block and then he rose once more, no longer a man of God but a creature of the night. He devours his foes’ souls and absorbs them as his familiars, which he can call forth at any time. In the climax of “Hellsing,” he unleashes his five centuries’ worth of defeated foes, a true army of one. 

By the end of “Hellsing,” Alucard is stronger still. Having claimed the werecat Schrödinger as another familiar, Alucard is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. If he wasn’t immortal before, he is now. Yet, Alucard considers his own strength a curse; he wants to be defeated by a worthy adversary. There’s a reason all of his fights begin with him letting his enemies take a fair shot. Trouble is, none of them can keep him down. (Devin Meenan)

There is more to an anime protagonist than sheer physical strength, and some of the most powerful characters aren’t traditionally muscular or strong. Take Senku Ishigami from “Dr. Stone,” a character who probably wouldn’t be able to win in a fight against a local punk, yet is still one of the strongest anime characters around. This is all thanks to his superb brain, which makes Senku a living encyclopedia, a vessel for all human knowledge during the post-apocalypse. But Senku isn’t just an all-knowing bookworm, he is also a highly rational guy with an extraordinary analytical mind that compensates for his relatively low physical strength. Why engage in a fistfight when you are the only human with exact knowledge of how to make antibiotics to cure diseases or knowledge of how to build an actual tank you can drive into battle?

That’s where a lot of the joy of watching “Dr. Stone” comes from — watching Senku and his crew recreate some of humanity’s biggest technological achievements. Even if he can’t fight, Senku’s ability to create hot balloons, cell phones, and literal drones (while teasing the arrival of actual spaceships to the post-apocalyptic stone world), as well as more fun inventions like cola and ramen, makes him a strong character who can win any fight with the power of science. (Rafael Motamayor)

The moment Marshall D. Teach, also known as Blackbeard, first appeared on “One Piece,” he immediately made a lasting impression, as arguably the most “piratey” pirate. His outfit, beard, pirate hat, and guns (that he never uses because they can’t match his Devil Fruit powers) make him the epitome of piracy — the only thing he’s missing is the classic eyepatch look, which has yet to appear in “One Piece.” In terms of strength, few characters can hold a candle to Blackbeard, especially after he became the first person to hold the powers of not one, but two Devil Fruits. How exactly he did it remains a mystery, but there are hints that Blackbeard is simply much, much stronger than anyone else, and that his unique body is different than other humans’, which gives him extraordinary power (and also makes him not need any sleep).

Even without his Devil Fruit powers, Blackbeard is already quite strong, capable of enduring being pierced by fire spears and just shaking off the damage. He even managed to fight Shanks and leave scars on his face. But it is the Devil Fruit powers he holds that make Blackbeard one of the strongest characters in anime. He has the powers of both darkness and earthquakes, and his powers allow him to nullify other Devil Fruit powers, shake the very foundations of the Earth, and manipulate gravity itself. Few characters are as dangerous or as powerful as Blackbeard. (Rafael Motamayor)

Power-scaling in “Bungo Stray Dogs” feels inherently arbitrary, as every special ability introduced is intriguing in its own right, especially in the mirroring of its literary counterparts. Take Fyodor Dostoevsky’s ability, “Crime and Punishment,” into consideration: He can kill anyone with a touch, as he can steal the target’s body and erase their personality by replacing it with a copy of “Fyodor Dostoevsky,” as he does to Bram Stoker. Similarly, Chuuya Nakahara’s “Upon The Tainted Sorrow” takes gravitational manipulation and black hole creation to the extreme, and is capable of dealing reality-altering blows during battle. However, there is one ability that can essentially nullify or deactivate all other abilities: Dazai Osamu’s “No Longer Human,” which can stop even the most powerful ability wielders with a single touch.

Dazai’s ability to cancel out any technique has only failed once so far when he tried nullifying H.P. Lovecraft’s “Great Old One,” after the latter transformed into a huge eldritch entity. The reason behind this failure remains unclear, but Dazai deduces that Lovecraft’s monstrous form isn’t an ability at all, but an innate form of existence. Dazai is also one of the sharpest detectives (alongside Ranpo Edogawa), as his ability to negotiate with formidable enemies and predict outcomes emerges as an asset like no other. What Dazai does best, however, is create the illusion of being ordinary and laid back, while discreetly gauging and anticipating every move, staying one step ahead of whoever he chooses to oppose. (Debopriyaa Dutta)

You know a character is deemed the strongest when they’re the endgame antagonist driving the narrative forward, with every choice, battle, or death leading to an ultimate showdown between said antagonist and a team of heroes. In “Demon Slayer,” the Demon King Muzan fulfills these conditions, as he is the root cause for the existence of demons in the first place, and his death could permanently put an end to the bloodshed and tragedy drowning the nation. However, killing him is easier said than done, as Muzan holds a mastery over blood demon art, and is currently in the process of coveting eternal life. Muzan’s ability to consistently evade the Demon Slayer Corps so far has forced the latter to adjust their priorities, but a final confrontation seems inevitable in the upcoming “Infinity Castle” movie trilogy.

Thanks to centuries of research and trial/error, Muzan has advanced regenerative abilities, can absorb or dissipate organic and inorganic objects, transform himself into a stronger beast form during battle, and transfer his consciousness into other bodies. If we are to consider his demonic anatomy, his blood holds mutagenic properties that can be miraculous or fatal depending on the dose, and he sports way too many extra organs, which makes him extremely hard to kill. Oh, and his ESP also allows him to track people tailing him or regaining consciousness, such as when Muzan was able to clock Zenitsu, Kanao, and Inosuke’s locations easily, despite being physically far away from the trio. (Debopriyaa Dutta)

“The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.” does not feature epic battles or pit powerful beings against one another, at least not according to the traditionally self-serious, high-stakes interpretations of these tropes. The casually humorous tone of the anime might tempt you to overlook its titular protagonist completely, but that does not change the fact that Saiki Kusuo is one of the most comically overpowered fictional characters ever. The question isn’t what Saiki can do, it is what he cannot do while trying to avoid situations that demand him to flex his abilities. Saiki started speaking two weeks after his birth via telepathy, began to run errands for his mother when he was only a year old (!), and erased an entire nation when an intelligence agency learned about his abilities by accident. This is simply the tip of the iceberg, as Saiki’s abilities get more ridiculous as the story progresses.

Saiki possesses the abilities of time travel, teleportation, memory erasure, genetic manipulation, extrasensory perception, and super-strength, to only name a few. Saiki can also control the elements, read minds, levitate, and shapeshift, and these powers annoy him to no end, as he inevitably ends up using them to shield his identity or avoid annoying social situations. To no one’s surprise, he also has a string of “useless” ESP powers, including the ability to turn all drinks into carbonated liquids and swap hairstyles with another person for no reason. In the manga, Saiki can automatically upgrade any computer to Windows 10. Talk about powerful! (Debopriyaa Dutta)

“JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure,” Hirohiko Araki’s multi-chapter chronicle of the Joestar family, has featured plenty of powerful characters in its decade-spanning story. Characters fight with “Stands,” or manifestations of their very soul, and that’s led to battle after spectacular battle between the Joestar clan and the family’s nemesis, the time-stopping vampire DIO Brando.

One of DIO’s disciples, though, surpasses even him: Father Enrico Pucci, primary villain of the sixth chapter, “Stone Ocean.” This is also the finale of the original “JoJo” continuity (reboots, who said they’re only for American superheroes?), so Pucci could be called the series’ ultimate villain.

Many anime villains seek to become or surpass God. Pucci has a similar but distinct goal: He wants to make Heaven on Earth. His Stands reflect his intent, as C-Moon allows him to control gravity, while his Made In Heaven powers allow him to accelerate the flow of time. Pucci may be a mere priest, but these are certainly the powers one would expect from a god. True enough, he manages to kill Joestar scions Jolyne Cujoh and her father, as well as previous series’ protagonist Jotaro Kujo. To defeat Pucci, his actions are not merely reversed, but a whole new universe is created, one where he never existed in the first place. When a villain necessitates that extreme a measure for the heroes to triumph, you know he’s bad news. (Devin Meenan)

You know the archetype: A super-powered person feared by others and experimented on by a shadowy organization, which turns them into a vengeful murderer or traumatized shell. From Wolverine to the Winter Soldier to Homelander in “The Boys,” from Charlie McGee in “Firestarter” to Eleven in “Stranger Things,” we’ve seen this play out across various media for decades.

Anime’s foremost example of this is Lucy in “Elfen Lied.” The “Lied” used is the German word for “Song” (pronounced “leed”); the anime borrows its title from the German poem “Elfenlied.” True enough, “Elfen Lied” is the song of an inhuman protagonist. Lucy is a Diclonius, a race of horned mutants with telekinetic powers called “vectors,” or swarms of invisible arms they can summon. Dicloni have a strong killer instinct towards normal humans, one that Lucy is all too happy to indulge. Due to her mutations, Lucy has always been rejected by most people, and that rejection has curdled into murderous rage.

That’s extra dangerous when you can kill someone with a thought, and Lucy’s vectors ensure that her victims are always torn or shredded apart in phantasmagoric carnage. She can pop heads as good as anyone in David Cronenberg’s “Scanners,” or use the slice-and-dice method instead. Either way, the humans in her path always fold (and rip) as easily as paper, while bullets cannot so much as scratch her.

An especially brutal and sadistic antiheroine, Lucy shows how the fantastic powers in anime aren’t always played as a power fantasy, but sometimes for horror as well. (Devin Meenan)

Being known for being an embarrassingly weak E-rank Hunter should have been the end of the path for Sung Jin-woo in the web-novel series, “Solo Leveling.” However, Sung Jin-woo is granted the rare opportunity to level up his strengths without limits, where the perks of being the chosen Player of the System help him attain the power of necromancy, which he utilizes to raise a formidable shadow army. From a traditional character arc standpoint, this feels like a cheat code — and in many ways, it is — as Sung Jin-woo’s assimilation of raw power occurs rather instantaneously, and there’s not much to glean in terms of his reaction to these limitless power-ups. If anything, his initial dynamism as an individual tapers into cold, static detachment over time, where flexing maxed-out stats emerges as the only hollow yet exhilarating goal.

Raw strength is difficult to measure for beings superseding mortality, but The Absolute — the all-powerful creator in the world of “Solo Leveling” — eventually loses their omnipotence after suffering defeat at the hands of Rulers and Monarchs. Years after the mantle of “most powerful” shifts to the Shadow Monarch Ashborn, Sung Jin-woo becomes his worthy successor and surpasses Ashborn’s unimaginable strength, annihilating the Monarchs for good. By the end of the “Solo Leveling” manhwa, Sung Jin-woo gains control over the “Territory of Eternal Rest,” which he presides over in god-like capacity and control. This paints him as the strongest being in this universe, unchallenged for the foreseeable future. (Debopriyaa Dutta)

“Are you the strongest because you’re Gojo Satoru? Or are you Gojo Satoru because you’re the strongest?” is the question thrown at our faces in “Jujutsu Kaisen,” evoking complicated notions about free will and determinism. Gojo’s birth inherently caused a shift in the jujutsu world, and the mantle of “strongest” is automatically attributed to him due to the overwhelming levels of cursed energy he possesses, along with being born with both Six Eyes and Limitless. However, Gojo’s case is not as simple as someone being favored by destiny: He is strong because he is Gojo Satoru, who actively chose to protect and train the youth after Geto’s turn and pursue the mantle of the “strongest” alone while expressing disdain for caustic hierarchical structures.

The events in the manga (where Gojo’s eventual fate is revealed) might cast a shadow of doubt regarding his strength within this universe, but he is still considered inimitable among special-grade sorcerers, and his legacy remains unforgettable, even in reality. For anime-only viewers, one has to simply look at Gojo’s ability to unlock his Reverse Cursed Technique during the Hidden Inventory Arc, where he tapped into the core of cursed energy after brutal near-death (thanks, Toji) and healed himself while accessing Red and Hollow Purple attacks. Moreover, his Domain Expansion, “Unlimited Void,” eclipses the laws of metaphysics, with a creation and control time of 0.2 seconds where the people trapped inside can be immobilized due to acute psychological overstimulation. (Debopriyaa Dutta)

Gilgamesh is the name of recorded history’s first epic hero, and I’m sure he’d be happy to know his anime namesake does him justice with his immense strength. That name is no coincidence, either.

The “Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works” anime (based on the original “Fate/stay night” visual novels) follows reincarnated historical heroes locked in a tournament for possession of the Holy Grail. One of them is Gilgamesh, draped in golden armor worthy of his name. Having been around to witness nearly all of humanity’s civilized history, Gilgamesh now wants to destroy it.

His powers prove the benefit of long-living. For example, he has access to a “Gate of Babylon,” which can be thought of as an extradimensional armory. Every weapon (magical or mundane) and treasure Gilgamesh has claimed, he can call forth from the Gate. Gilgamesh’s primary weapon is his sword, Ea, an ancient weapon that blasts destructive red energy from its spinning lance-like blade. Ea, “The Star of Creation that Splits Apart Heaven and Earth,” is possibly older than the Earth itself — and, if used properly, it could tear this world apart.

Gilgamesh is the literary ancestor of all other classical heroes, from Hercules to King Arthur. “Fate/stay night” takes that root and flips it; since the stories and powers of these heroes go back to Gilgamesh, he holds the cumulative strength of all their might. (Devin Meenan)

I know what you’re thinking: Kaguya Otsutsuki is the strongest in “Naruto,” as she is the literal progenitor of the ninja world, and possesses the ability to transcend/pierce through space-time, among other all-encompassing powers. My reasoning for choosing Madara over Kaguya is that his brand of strength feels more grounded and earned, and is a culmination of ideals that surpass raw, innate strength, such as personal motivations, a tribe-wide curse (that shapes his identity), and the drive to eclipse a lack of abundant genetic gifts. Power-scaling in “Naruto” is tough to navigate, as some characters emerge as the strongest at certain junctures but are completely surpassed by a different kind of strength at another. However, Madara’s presence can be felt throughout generations, acting as a catalyst for key arcs across the sprawling narrative.

Discussions about Madara’s powers are often underlined via his use of Infinite Tsukuyomi, which plunged the world into an illusory, dream-like state — an act accomplished without any exertion on his part. However, Madara’s list of abilities is unending, including successful Jinchūriki transformations, Bukijutsu/Ninjutsu/Dōjutsu manipulation, and the utilization of five nature transformations (plus Yin–Yang Release). If we are to solely look into one kernel of his Rinnegan-fueled feats, Madara projected a shadow of himself into Limbo — a realm impossible to detect or interact with — and these forms shared his strengths to the last detail, making them hard to track. He was also a strategic genius, earning him legendary status among the Uchiha clan. (Debopriyaa Dutta)

“Bleach” is all about the fights; its characters are defined through their powers and determination to win. So, of course, the series’ main villain is someone arrogant enough to think he should be God — and powerful enough to back it up.

Sōsuke Aizen is a Soul Reaper/Shinigami, a spirit of death, and an unusually strong one. The series does not dwell on his backstory, but rather how he pushes forward to “stand alone at the top” where no one else ever has. Each of the Soul Reaper captains has a unique sword (called a “Zanpakuto”), and contained within that Zanpakuto is a specific power. Some Soul Reapers control explosive fire, others conjure ice. Some can refashion their swords into much more outlandish weapons. Aizen’s Zanpakuto can control the five senses. His “Kyōka Suigetsu” (“Mirror Flower, Water Moon,” a Chinese proverb meaning something which can be seen but not touched) allows him to hypnotize those around him and control how they perceive reality.

Aizen’s hypnotic powers blur the line between illusion and actually altering reality, but he doesn’t even need them to win in a straight fight. He possesses absurd raw power, enough to stop not only Ichigo’s attacks, but also his “Number One” theme music with a single finger.

After a whole arc of Ichigo getting stronger, unlocking the potential of his own Zanpakuto and defeating senior Soul Reaper Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, he crumbles before Aizen. It doesn’t end there, either. Aizen absorbs the wish-granting Hogyuko into himself and becomes totally immortal. In their last battle, Ichigo comes up short, weakening Aizen only enough for the Hogyoku to turn against him. Even then, Aizen is imprisoned, not obliterated. (Devin Meenan)

At first glance, Monkey D. Luffy doesn’t exactly seem cut out to be considered a strong anime character. After all, his powers don’t make him bigger or physically stronger, they turn him into rubber. And yet, Luffy has arguably the greatest power in all of animation — Toon Force. This is, of course, the ability to manipulate reality through cartoon physics, usually done for comedic effect rather than as a show of badassery. After achieving Gear 5, Luffy’s latest power-up, he gains the ability to turn himself into a “Tom and Jerry” character (the classic cartoon directly influenced Luffy’s power-up). 

Through Gear 5, Luffy gains extraordinary strength and speed. Most importantly, he gains the abilities of rubber hose animation — he can create objects out of thin air, cartoonishly shift his own body to new forms, and expand his powers to the reality around him by turning the ground itself into rubber, allowing Luffy to bounce off any surface. Luffy may not be a character with the kind of physical strength to be called a god (in fact most of his victories come after a mix of luck, help from his friends, and outside-the-box thinking), but that’s a feature rather than a bug. That’s because Luffy is the embodiment of freedom and creativity, and his powers are a reflection of that. The wilder “One Piece” creator Eiichiro Oda’s imagination can get, the more powerful Luffy is, and there doesn’t seem to be a limit to Luffy’s power. (Rafael Motamayor)

Knowledge is power, and in “Fullmetal Alchemist,” that is literally true. Alchemists reshape the world by channeling a metaphysical “gate” that exists inside every human. If they were to open this Gate of Truth, they’d find a metaphysical white void. In this void lives a being with a humanoid shape but no features besides a shadow and a toothy grin. What is it?

“One name you might have for me is the World, or you might call me the Universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps the Truth. I am all and I am one, so of course this also means that I am you,” it says.

Every being is a hole in reality, and the Truth is the sum of that hole, their mirror image and a reflection of all they’ve learned. Collectively, the Truth is all the knowledge in the world, a power that would terrify some and be the envy of others.

In “Fullmetal Alchemist,” the truth of alchemy and the world is equivalent exchange — for an ebb, there must be a flow, and to obtain something, something of equal value must be lost. When Alchemists attempt to defy the law by playing God or creating life, the Truth intervenes and extracts a painful toll: a piece of the alchemist’s body that carries symbolic weight. (To save his little brother Alphonse, our hero, Edward Elric, had to literally sacrifice his right hand.)

Coveting the power of the Truth is a fool’s game, and the only way to defeat it is to accept there’s more to life than that power. (Devin Meenan)

Haruhi Suzumiya is no ordinary Japanese schoolgirl. Even without her vast powers (more on that later), she still wouldn’t be ordinary. An energetic soul, Haruhi is on a constant journey to make her life more interesting. That’s why she roped her oh-so-normal friend Kyon into founding a school club, the SOS (Spreading Excitement All Over the World With Haruhi Suzumiya) Brigade.

The other three members of the Brigade are Yuki (a robot), Mikuru (a time-traveler), and Itsuki (a psychic). It’s no coincidence that these fantastic beings have all congregated around Haruhi; she created them, to fulfill her wish of an interesting life and a club of people to spread it.

Haruhi has reality-warping powers, enough to destroy and/or recreate the Earth. Only she doesn’t know it; her powers are all subconscious, and her friends all work overtime to keep her from learning the truth. If she did, they fear, she could become unstable yet all-powerful or destroy everything in a pique. She’s already basically a tsundere version of Anthony Fremont from the “It’s A Good Life” episode of “The Twilight Zone,” and imagine the fallout if she actually knew that about herself.

While Haruhi Suzumiya isn’t the type of anime character who gets into epic battles, it’s only because the thought of doing so hasn’t even crossed her mind. (Devin Meenan)

What constitutes strength? Is it being able to punch a hole in the moon? Survive a nuclear blast? What about literally turning every human being on the planet into orange Tang? That’s what the angel known as Lilith (when combined with Rei Ayanami and Adam) is capable of during the Third Impact at the end of “Neon Genesis Evangelion” and the film “The End of Evangelion.” Lilith’s arrival on Earth had already caused enormous damage, as it literally resulted in the creation of the moon. Though Lilith spends most of “Neon Genesis Evangelion” as an inanimate being missing its lower body and crucified, its towering size and grotesque look alone do plenty to suggest an incredible amount of power.

Lilith kind of serves as the “Evangelion” equivalent to Godzilla, a massive creature who doesn’t do much until the exact moment it’s ready to unleash hell on Earth. We see Lilith several times throughout the anime, but its true power is only fully portrayed in “The End of Evangelion,” where, through a flick of her wrists, the Lilith/Rei creature turns the entire Earth into a barren red-colored wasteland. (Rafael Motamayor)

Guts, the antihero of “Berserk,” is impossibly strong and tall. His sword, the Dragon Slayer, is bigger than most men and is less a blade than a slab of iron attached to a hilt. Guts’ feats range from slaying 100 men single-handedly to destroying demons far more powerful than him.

Unfortunately, all of Guts’ strength is nigh-useless against his greatest foes. During one of his adventures, he meets a young girl, Jill, and warns her not to follow him because, in his words, “There is no paradise for you to escape to.” Guts knows, because he’s been to Hell and back.

In the astral plane live the God Hand, five malevolent “angels” who exist to spread suffering, weaving the chain of causality so that disaster begets disaster. Their numbers are the leader Void, the temptress Slan, the impish Ubik, the plague master Conrad, and Femto, the black wing. Once Femto was Griffith, Guts’ brother-in-arms, but Griffith chose his dreams of power and sacrificed his followers to ascend past humanity. 

Guts’ can kill the God Hand’s Apostles with enough blood and iron, but his struggle against the God Hand themselves is, as the manga puts it, akin to a character in a narrative trying to defy the will of the author. Worse, the God Hand themselves are, fittingly enough, merely servants of a greater darkness dwelling further in the abyss: The Idea of Evil, a being brought forth by mankind’s subconscious conviction that their suffering must have a cause. This God exist as a twisted, black version of a human heart; the villains of “Berserk” can make the Cenobites from “Hellraiser” look tame, but the seed from which the God Hand grew is human evil. (Devin Meenan)

The “Dragon Ball” franchise is constantly subjected to power-scaling discourse, which is an understandable instinct that demands some nuance, as the definition and scope of the term “powerful” are forever shifting. That being said, Grand Zeno embodies strength in the most visceral recontextualization of the word, as his lack of literal combat skill means nothing in the face of his ability to act as the Omni King of the multiverse. Although Zeno might only be able to imitate fighting techniques, such as the Yacchaina Fist or Kamehameha, he can erase anything from existence with a flick of his wrists, which rivals even the most unprecedented levels of physical strength. Since Zeno’s first appearance in Akira Toriyama’s “Dragon Ball Super” manga, the entire power structure of this fictional universe has changed, with even the likes of Beerus acting wary around the child-like Omni King who only looks feeble, but isn’t.

The most terrifying thing about Zeno is that his immediate presence is enough to cause anxiety due to his ability to use Erase and sustain true immortality. For instance, when Goku Black and Future Zamasu kill every god in the Future Trunks’ timeline, Shin maintains (rather confidently) that Zeno remains unscathed, and that the Omni King cannot be killed, erased, or overpowered. Even techniques that incapacitate the Gods of Destruction, such as Rumsshi’s Battle Roar, have absolutely no effect on Zeno in the manga. Thus, it is safe to say that Zeno is all-powerful in the “Dragon Ball” mythos. (Debopriyaa Dutta)

Most anime stories are about attaining power or strength through training. Even when characters are already stronger than normal, we nevertheless see them gain even more power through their stories. But that’s not the case with Saitama in “One Punch Man.” Instead, this hilarious and exquisitely animated superhero parody starts with the protagonist already the strongest being in the universe when we first meet him. Saitama is so strong, in fact, that he can beat any and every opponent with a single punch — hence the show’s name. Though it’s done for laughs, Saitama’s story is nevertheless a rather inspirational one as he started as an ordinary guy who just underwent some (not particularly) hard training and became the strongest being in the universe in just a couple of years. What’s worse, Saitama is so unassuming that most people don’t even recognize that he’s a hero.

Stronger than Superman, capable of literally blowing a hole in Jupiter with a single sneeze, Saitama’s overwhelming strength bores him out of his mind, which is where the anime’s comedy comes into play. Nevertheless, it is a testament to the show’s writing that Saitama being able to defeat anyone with a single punch never becomes boring, because he is usually not doing that much fighting, but rather unleashing his abilities at key moments for comic relief. (Rafael Motamayor)

The impact and legacy of “Dragon Ball” is simply undeniable. For years, it was the epitome of the entire anime medium in the West, and a big reason for the show’s success was protagonist Son Goku. In 2018, thousands of fans gathered in plazas in Mexico and across Latin America to watch Goku fight Jiren in the 130th episode of “Dragon Ball Super” like it was a pay-per-view title boxing match. Goku is not just one of the best anime characters ever made, but one of the strongest beings in fiction. There’s a reason why “Can X beat Goku?” is a popular Google search, as fans love to debate whether there really is any character that can actually defeat the hero. 

Son Goku redefined the manga and anime protagonist as a character who is not just stupidly strong, but also goofy, silly, and ever-curious. (It is easy to forget that as strong as Goku is, he failed to get a driver’s license.) Goku’s physical strength is unparalleled. As a Saiyan, he is already incredibly strong, and defeat literally only makes him stronger. Even when he dies, he simply spends his afterlife training so he can return stronger than ever. As strong as Goku is, however, possibly his biggest power is that he can turn any heinous and unsympathetic villain into an ally and a friend, whether they be demon kings like Piccolo or genocidal murderers like Vegeta. He even has the respect of deities. (Rafael Motamayor)