The internet’s most debated battle: Son Goku from Dragon Ball versus Saitama from One Punch Man. It’s a clash between the most powerful martial artist in anime and a bald hero who defeats everything in one punch. But who actually wins?
Understanding Saitama’s Power
Saitama exists as a parody of shonen protagonists. His entire character concept is that he’s already reached the end of his journey—he’s so strong that nothing challenges him anymore. This creates a fundamental problem when scaling his power.
The Limiter Theory
In One Punch Man’s universe, every being has a “limiter” that caps their potential. Saitama broke his limiter through mundane training (100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, 10km run daily). This means he has no ceiling to his strength.
Confirmed Feats
What we’ve actually seen Saitama do:
- Destroy a meteor with one punch
- Punch hard enough to change weather patterns
- Jump from the moon back to Earth in seconds
- Defeat Boros, a planet-buster, while “holding back”
- In the manga, unleashed a “Serious Punch” that created a hole through space
The No-Limits Fallacy
Here’s the debate crux: does “One Punch Man” mean Saitama literally defeats anything in one punch? Or does it mean he’s just so strong that nothing in his universe requires more than one punch?
Goku’s Ridiculous Power Scaling
Dragon Ball’s power creep is legendary. Let’s trace Goku’s journey:
From Planet-Buster to Universe-Shaker
- Saiyan Saga: Vegeta could destroy planets
- Frieza Saga: First Super Saiyan = ~150x stronger than planet-busting
- Cell Saga: Super Saiyan 2 doubles that
- Buu Saga: Super Saiyan 3 quadruples it again
- Battle of Gods: Super Saiyan God introduced universe-shaking combat
- Tournament of Power: Ultra Instinct transcends gods
Current Goku (Manga)
In the current Dragon Ball Super manga, Goku has Mastered Ultra Instinct and has trained with angels. His attacks threaten the fabric of multiple universes. Power scaling puts him at multiversal threat levels.
The Battle Breakdown
Speed
Goku: Has consistently shown FTL (faster than light) speed since the Namek saga. In Ultra Instinct, he moves before thinking—essentially at the speed of thought.
Saitama: His speed feats are impressive but not quantifiably light-speed. The moon jump is his most impressive speed feat, which, while fast, isn’t FTL.
Advantage: Goku
Power/Attack Potency
Goku: Scales to universe-shaking punches in base Super Saiyan God. Ultra Instinct multiplies this exponentially. Official statements place Goku’s power as potentially destructive to the macrocosm.
Saitama: Highest confirmed feat is planetary-level (defeating Boros). His potential is limitless, but his shown feats cap around this level.
Advantage: Goku (on shown feats)
Durability
Goku: Has survived attacks from universe-level threats, been hit by Beerus, and fought Jiren. His durability scales with his power.
Saitama: Has never been seriously injured by anything. However, he’s only faced planetary-level threats at most.
Advantage: Unclear
Fighting Skill
Goku: Master martial artist trained by gods, angels, and the greatest warriors across multiple universes. Ultra Instinct is literally the perfection of martial arts.
Saitama: No formal training. Just punches really hard.
Advantage: Goku by far
Why Goku Probably Wins
Based on quantifiable feats and power scaling, Goku should win this fight:
- Speed advantage: Goku can likely blitz Saitama before he reacts
- Superior attack power: Universe-level > Planet-level
- Combat experience: Goku has fought opponents far stronger than anything Saitama has faced
- Transformations: If base Goku isn’t enough, he has numerous multipliers
Why Saitama Might Win (The Meta Argument)
Here’s the thing: One Punch Man isn’t about power scaling. It’s a comedy that parodies battle manga. Saitama’s power exists outside logical scaling because that’s the joke.
Arguments for Saitama:
- Narrative inevitability: In his own story, Saitama cannot lose. He’s designed to be unbeatable.
- Limitless potential: Unlike Goku, who has defined limits (Ultra Instinct is his current cap), Saitama’s power has no ceiling.
- The punch that matters: When Saitama gets serious, he wins. Period. That’s his character.
The Real Answer
This battle has no definitive answer because the two characters exist in different narrative frameworks:
- In a serious fight using quantifiable feats: Goku wins
- In a comedic scenario respecting both characters’ narrative purpose: Saitama wins
- In a story written by Akira Toriyama: Goku wins
- In a story written by ONE: Saitama wins
The debate persists because both answers are technically correct depending on how you approach the question.
What Would Actually Happen?
Honestly? They’d probably become friends. Goku would be thrilled to find someone strong, and Saitama would be excited to finally have a challenge. They’d spar, Saitama would realize Goku actually makes him try, and they’d go get food together.
That’s the real ending.
Related Articles
For more on these iconic characters, check out our complete Goku character evolution guide and our ranking of the best Dragon Ball fights of all time.