20 Most Powerful Anime Characters, Ranked

There's quite literally no denying the power of reality-bending gods scattered across countless anime. The arguments and debates over who is the strongest seem to be never-ending as new stories are consistently introduced to the medium, making it difficult to narrow down. But it is possible, even if a little subjective. These characters stand as some of the mightiest in their respective anime universes, and a battle between them would surely be a sight to be seen.

20 Griffith

Voiced by Marc Diraison in 'Berserk' (1997–1998)

Within the Berserk universe, Griffith is claimed to be the perfect power of the world. He can channel spirits, explore the world tree's branches, and even has the power to manipulate matter. Some believe his power is borderline limitless. He thrives off of the power of the Idea of Evil and does so very well.

Griffith sunk an entire island once. He's extremely powerful and easily a power titan in the Berserk universe and anime as a whole. He's never truly been damaged, except for a time he was slapped by Ricket. But many hypothesize that he was only slapped because he allowed it to happen.

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19 Kaido

Voiced by Mayumi Tanaka in 'One Piece' (1999–)

The One Piece universe is packed to the brim with incredibly powerful characters and Kaido is pretty much the most powerful, basically tied with current-day Luffy (only thanks to his Gear Five). Kaido is practically unbreakable. If there's a character in One Piece that should warrant great fear, it's Kaido.

Kaido became even more powerful with his hybrid and beast transformations, which upped his game by a mile. When Luffy achieved Gear Five and began accomplishing the incredible feats he was able to do, Kaido actually smiled. Many believe this is because this was the moment Kaido realized he could actually be rivaled and that Luffy is, in fact, Joyboy.

18 Muzan Kibutsuji

Voiced by Toshihiko Seki in 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba' (2019–)

When it comes to ranking up against other anime characters in other franchises, the characters in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba typically don't stack up against the best of the best. That is, except for Muzan, the Demon King and main antagonist of the series. The demons Tanjiro has faced so far in the series have been astoundingly powerful and always are a plethora of challenges for Tanjiro, with him always needing help to take them down. So the Demon Lord, stronger than them all, is no joke.

Within the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba universe, the Demon Lord, Muzan, is the strongest demon there is and, therefore, is pretty much the strongest being in the universe as well. He's got a genius intellect, biological absorption, an absolute healing factor, blood that empowers other demons, demon manipulation, and so many more abilities. With such an array of powers and skills, Muzan is going to be near impossible for Tanjiro to face when the final battle between the two comes around.

17 Giorno Giovanna

Voiced by Kenshō Ono in 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure' (2018–2019)

When it comes to the world of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and anime as a whole, being able to undo anything is a pretty impressive feat. Giorno Giovanna is the primary protagonist in the fifth part of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. His stand, Golden Experience, and the evolved form, Golden Experience Requiem, give him some astounding abilities.

Through his Golden Experience Requiem, he can accomplish Return to Zero, which is the ultimate ability to the stand. Return to Zero gives Giorno the power to bring all actions, and even willpower, back to zero. He can essentially undo any action, nullifying all of its influence. Not to mention, if someone is killed while he is in his Golden Experience Requiem form, they continuously experience death. Over and over again.

16 Gohan

Voiced by Masako Nozawa in 'Dragon Ball Super' (2015–2018)

While the idea of Gohan, the son of Goku, being the most powerful mortal character in the Dragon Ball universe may shock and even anger some, the introduction of his Beast Gohan form in the 2022 film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero easily makes him the strongest mortal being in the anime. In the film, Piccolo himself even states that Beast Gohan is stronger than Goku and Vegeta. With Piccolo currently being just as strong as Goku and Vegeta, it's hard not to take his word as accurate.

As if that wasn't enough to prove it, the creator of the Dragon Ball series himself, the late great Akira Toriyama, stated that Beast Gohan is the strongest hero (most likely meaning "mortal character") in the entire series. It's nearly impossible to deny the word of the creator of the series himself. But with how often the series manages to increase the power of characters like Goku, there's a chance he may not hold the title for long.

15 Akira

Voiced by Nozomu Sasaki in 'Akira' (1988)

Psychic abilities are already one of the strongest categories of power in fiction. With Akira being the strongest psychic in anime, he more than deserves a spot among the best of the best. His psychic abilities are so strong that he is able to destroy all of Tokyo. For reference, Tokyo has an estimated population of about 37 million people and is the largest metropolis in the world at a whopping 845 square miles, increasing to an insane 5,200 square miles if the greater Tokyo area is included.

Akira also holds the ability to transcend entire planes of existence. For a psychic, Akira's abilities feel unfathomable to wrap one's head around. While the top contenders for the strongest characters in anime may not have many problems with god-like abilities, the ability to transcend reality and hop between planes of existence is quite the feat for a psychic, making Akira one of the mightiest figures in anime.

14 Monkey D. Luffy

Voiced by Mayumi Tanaka in 'One Piece' (1999–)

Luffy, the protagonist of One Piece, may be one of, if not the most popular anime characters of all time. Luffy already has the incredible power of elasticity, given to him by eating the Gum-Gum Fruit, granting him the physical properties of rubber and an immunity to electricity and poison. But Luffy also can power up, the most notable of them being his "gear" power-ups. With each gear, he gets stronger and stronger, and his most recent upgrade, Gear Five, puts him on a whole new level.

After apparently dying, Luffy's Devil Fruit manages to "awaken," giving him an absurd amount of new power and upgrading him to his Gear Five form. Gear Five is generally known as the ultimate power-up for Luffy, with many believing that he won't receive a stronger one afterward, given the inherent properties of Gear Five. The transformation allows Luffy to fight with total freedom and is truly only limited by his imagination. He can create matter out of nothing and can even transfer his rubbery abilities to his surroundings, once using that to turn a lightning strike to rubber and using it to launch himself at Kaido. Not to mention, he has shiny new white hair that looks pretty darn cool.

13 Satoru Gojo

Voiced by Yuichi Nakamura in 'Jujutsu Kaisen' (2020–)

It's become a common joke around the internet and anime space that Satoru Gojo is absurdly powerful. Too powerful for his own good. So powerful that the creator of the series, Gege Akutami, continuously has to write Gojo out of the story because the conflicts he introduces would be solved too easily if he were to be present.

Gojo's iconic ability, Hollow Purple, gives him the ability to essentially just delete matter in a single blast. Gojo's cursed energy is also considered immeasurable in basically every way. His array of abilities is so vast that to list and explain them would take far too much time. When it comes to Gojo, it truly doesn't get much more powerful.

12 Ryōmen Sukuna

Voiced by Junichi Suwabe in 'Jujutsu Kaisen' (2020–)

The overarching antagonist of the Jujutsu Kaisen franchise, Ryōmen Sukuna, is so absurdly powerful that he's commonly known as the strongest enemy the Jujutsu Sorcerers have ever faced throughout history. He's the King of Curses and so strong that as soon as Yuji itadori consumes all his fingers, the plan is to immediately kill him. As far as anime fans know, he simply cannot be beaten.

In a world full of extremely strong Jujutsu Sorcerers, the fear that is aimed Sukuna's way is almost explanation enough of the power he holds. Fans also got to see his current peak of abilities, weakened by being incomplete in Itadori's body, in the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen, when he had a city-leveling fight with Jogo. Rest assured for anime-only viewers, Sukuna's strength will only continue to grow.

11 Sung Jin Woo

Voiced by Aleks Le in 'Solo Leveling' (2024–)

Hitting screens just last year, Solo Leveling is one of the newest Shōnen anime that people have fallen in love with. Being a classic underdog story (as most Shōnen are), Solo Leveling introduced the world to the one and only Sung Jin Woo. He was quickly added to the catalog of Shōnen protagonists that were cute underdogs, only to become absolutely, astoundingly powerful later on. Throughout his journies in the System, the young man has become one of the most powerful beings in his universe.

Sung Jin Woo is what many would consider a "planet"-level character when it comes to ranking his strength. A planet-level being is called so because they have power that can easily destroy a planet if that's what they willed so, but not much over that. The young man holds superhuman abilities in every part of his body, with his strength being the highest of so, which is a big part of him that lands him on planet-level power. This adds to his durability, as well, as he is just barely invulnerable. He's also a necromancer, which gives him a plethora of other powers that enhance his strength tenfold.

10 Father

Voiced by Iemasa Kayumi in 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood' (2009–2010)

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the series' overarching villain, Father, managed to quite literally swallow the concept of god itself. That alone puts him at almost god-level power. He displayed a few, borderline omnipotent, abilities in the third act of the show's run. Most notably, the enemy managed to create a mini-sun within his very hands.

He also displayed his prowess in being able to disable alchemy itself in the blink of an eye. While he was able to be defeated, at the end of the day, the struggle to get there was extreme. With a villain like this, it was almost impossible and only done so through the use of a counter-transmutation circle.

9 Saitama

Voiced by Makoto Furukawa in 'One Punch Man' (2015–2019)

Fans of One Punch Man may gawk at Saitama being so low in a power ranking, and the reaction would make sense. Saitama is a ridiculously powerful hero, so much so that the series' comedy comes from Saitama's boredom with being a hero because he is so strong that he can defeat any villain with one single punch. His power has been proclaimed as immeasurable.

Along with his strength, he is able to leap incredible distances and use the power of his punches to create shockwaves powerful enough to destroy an entire mountain. To put two astonishing cherries on the top of the cake, Saitama is completely invulnerable to pretty much everything and the wild feats he's accomplished have never depleted his stamina in any measure. His list of abilities seems to go on forever, with countless more skills smaller than these. The best part of his strength is that he earned it by sticking to a harsh training regiment that got him to where he is today.

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8 Kaguya Ōtsutsuki

Voiced by Mami Koyama in 'Naruto' (2002–2017)

The final villain of the original Naruto series, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, more than earned the spot as the massive ending villain for the critically acclaimed show. She can create and destroy dimensions with her abilities and genuinely cannot be beaten. The only way she can be defeated is to seal her away once again and pray she stays there.

She also possesses seemingly unlimited Chakra and is actually the reason Chakra exists as it does right now. She can travel between dimensions almost instantly and her ninjitsu is so skilled and developed that she can take on hundreds of KCM Naruto clones with ease. Her strength is undeniable, especially given the fact that she cannot be beaten.

7 The Grand Minister

Voiced by Masaya Takatsuka in 'Dragon Ball Super' (2015–2018)

With the introduction of the powers that rule over the multiverse in Dragon Ball Super, the power-scaling of the series grew exponentially. One of the most powerful beings introduced is the Grand Minister. While he's never physically fought anyone in the series, his powers are stronger than pretty much everyone else's.

Whis, the strongest being in the Seventh Universe, describes the Grand Minister as one of the top five most powerful beings in the entire multiverse. The Grand Minister is so abundantly powerful that he strikes fear into every single person, angel, and god in the series besides Zeno. The Grand Minister has been shown to hold abilities such as being able to remove entire abilities and traits from any person and strong teleportation abilities that allow him to summon others from anywhere in the universe to him.

6 Neo-Queen Serenity

Voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi in 'Sailor Moon' (1992–1997)

Neo-Queen Serenity is a future version of Sailor Moon from the 30th Century. She's married to King Endymion, whom she has a daughter with, Small Lady, and they rule over Crystal Tokyo. Neo-Queen Serenity is far more powerful than her younger self, who already holds immense power. She's able to wield the Silver Crystal, one of the most powerful items in the galaxy, far better than most.

Neo-Queen Serenity can create insanely powerful magical objects. She also has the power to revive the entire population of Tokyo without having any of her life force drained. As previously mentioned, Tokuyp is a metropolis with an estimated population of 36 million people, meaning the extent of her powers, which has yet to be measured, would be immense. Not to mention, her innate power makes the civilians of Earth effectively immortal.

5 Yhwach

Voiced by Takuyaki Sugō in 'Bleach' (2004–2012, 2022–)

The main villain of the Bleach series, Yhwach, is virtually unstoppable at first glance. He can completely shift reality to his own will and can manipulate fate with the help of his precognition, being able to change any future he sees, even those where he seemingly dies. If he sees a power through his precognition, he will become invulnerable to said ability.

Yhwach's telekinesis is so strong that he manages to lift an entire country and transport it to a different reality. If, for some reason, his power was stolen from him, he can simply give it back to himself. He's even accomplished restoring his entire state of being after having it shrunk to the parallel power of a mere ant. Not to mention, he can also travel at speeds of up to Mach 7958. In short, Ywach can pretty much do anything he wants, which is unfair for the other Bleach characters but super cool for viewers.

4 Arceus

Voiced by Tom Wayland in 'Pokémon' (1997–2022)

While one may not initially expect a character from Pokémon to show up on a list of the most powerful anime characters, let alone so high on it, but if any Pokémon could make it, it's Arceus. In the world of Pokémon, this creature—this being—is the universe's god. As far as anyone knows, Arceus created the entire Pokémon universe and is unmatched in power.

That puts this 'mon at the power level of omnipotence. Arceus can turn any Pokémon move into a super-effective one, meaning it can pretty much one-shot anything. It can also bend space-time, meaning, at the current moment, given the information everyone has on it, Arceus holds seemingly limitless power.

3 Madoka Kaname

Voiced by Aoi Yūki in 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' (2011)

To state it simply, Madoka Kaname is almost omnipotent. Toward the end of the widely beloved anime series, Madoka utilizes a wish to turn herself into a cosmic being, essentially the embodiment of the universe, in hopes of elongating its life by changing the universal laws of entropy and thermodynamics.

The ability to wholly change the laws of the universe is an absurdly strong power. To change the laws of the universe is to change entire properties that date back to the Big Bang, which could have consequences that are simply immeasurable. What keeps Madoka from reaching full omnipotence is the fact that her powers are limited to only being able to change the laws of the universe, which, still, is an unbelievable power.

2 Zeno

Voiced by Satomi Kōrogi in 'Dragon Ball Super' (2015–2018)

Zeno is easily the most powerful character in the Dragon Ball by far. Stronger than any multiversal being by a long shot, Zeno can destroy anything he wants with absolutely no effort. He has even wiped out entire universes like it's nothing. There used to be eighteen universes in the Dragon Ball multiverse, but Whis once informed the Dragon Ball crew that Zeno actually decided to decimate six of those universes because he was simply in a bad mood.

It's confirmed that Zeno cannot be killed or defeated in any way; even when everything else in the universe is decimated, Zeno remains out there, watching everything unfold. As an immortal being, he has eons of knowledge and training. The character continues a rich tradition of deceitful figures in Dragon Ball; his sweet and even silly appearance conceals vast power, unlike anything fans of the saga have previously seen.

1 Haruhi Suzumiya

Voiced by Aya Hirano in 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya' (2006–2009)

Haruhi Suzumiya is fully omnipotent. There is quite literally nothing she cannot do; she can change, destroy and/or create entire realities just by thinking about it. The only problem for Haruhi is that she is unaware of her abilities. Once, she unknowingly created an entire pocket dimension called Closed Space and, due to her emotions being unbalanced, giant and powerful creatures called Celestials were created to inhabit the Closed Space, almost killing Haruhi and her friend at one point.

Her mood is a huge factor in her abilities, as they can change everything and can negatively or positively change reality based on how she is feeling that day. As if the power to manipulate reality wasn't enough, Haruhi can also manipulate time. For example, she wished for summer to never end, which resulted in an almost unending time loop, repeating summer break 15,532 times. Outside of her powers, she has a keen skill for using her words to manipulate others.

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