Top 15 Strongest Anime Characters in 2026 (Updated Rankings)
The eternal debate rages on: who is the strongest anime character of all time? With new series constantly raising the power ceiling and classic favorites getting updated powerups, the answer isn’t as simple as it used to be.
In this comprehensive 2026 ranking, we’ve analyzed feats, scaling, and in-universe statements to bring you the definitive list of the 15 strongest anime characters. Whether you’re settling an argument with friends or just curious about where your favorite stands, this list has you covered.
Note: This list focuses on individual combat strength within their own universes, scaled relative to each other. Gag characters and omnipotent beings are listed but noted appropriately.
15. Satoru Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Power Level: Planet-threatening (with prep)
Notable Feat: Manipulating infinity at an atomic level
Gojo Satoru holds the title of strongest sorcerer in the JJK universe—and for good reason. His Limitless Cursed Technique creates an infinite barrier around him that makes him virtually untouchable. Combine that with the Six Eyes (which allow him to use techniques with nearly zero energy cost) and Infinite Void (his domain expansion), and you have someone who can defeat almost anyone in his universe.
However, Gojo does have limits. He can be sealed (as shown in Shibuya), and his techniques, while incredibly powerful, operate within the bounds of the JJK power system. Against universe-busters, he falls short.
Why He’s Here: Gojo is the strongest in JJK and represents the peak of what a “normal” powerful anime character can achieve without reality-warping abilities.
14. Meruem (Hunter x Hunter)
Power Level: Country-threatening
Notable Feat: Tanking a nuclear-equivalent attack and becoming stronger
The King of the Chimera Ants was designed to be the perfect organism. His raw physical stats—speed, strength, durability—surpass every other character in Hunter x Hunter by a massive margin. Even after taking a direct hit from Netero’s Zero Hand and the Poor Man’s Rose (essentially a nuclear bomb), Meruem survived and evolved.
What makes Meruem terrifying isn’t just his power—it’s his ability to grow infinitely stronger by consuming Nen users. Given time, there’s no ceiling to his potential.
Why He’s Here: Meruem represents the peak of biological evolution in anime, a being designed to be unbeatable within his universe.
13. Madara Uchiha (Naruto Shippuden)
Power Level: Country to continent-threatening
Notable Feat: Dropping meteors, fighting the Five Kage simultaneously
Madara Uchiha in his Six Paths form is one of the most powerful villains in anime history. With the Rinnegan, Wood Release, Six Paths chakra, and access to the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Madara was essentially playing a different game than everyone else.
His fight against the Shinobi Alliance demonstrated power levels that the Naruto universe had never seen—summoning meteors, absorbing ninjutsu, and regenerating from virtually any attack.
Why He’s Here: Madara showed what happens when you give one character every powerup in the series. He’s the benchmark for Naruto-level threats.
12. Aizen Sosuke (Bleach)
Power Level: Planet-threatening
Notable Feat: Transcending the limits of Shinigami and Hollow, fusing with the Hogyoku
Aizen’s intellect alone makes him dangerous, but his Kyoka Suigetsu (complete hypnosis) combined with the Hogyoku evolution makes him nearly unbeatable. Even in his sealed state, Aizen’s reiatsu is so high that lower-level beings can’t even perceive him.
The Thousand-Year Blood War arc reminded everyone why Aizen was feared—his contribution to defeating Yhwach proved that even among god-tier threats, Aizen remains relevant.
Why He’s Here: Aizen’s combination of reality-warping illusions and transcendent evolution puts him above most combat-focused characters.
11. Sukuna (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Power Level: Country to continent-threatening
Notable Feat: Cleave and Dismantle cutting through space itself
The King of Curses in his prime (twenty fingers) is confirmed to be stronger than Gojo. Sukuna’s domain, Malevolent Shrine, doesn’t create a separate space—it simply imposes his technique on reality itself. His Cleave adapts to the target’s cursed energy, meaning he can cut through any defense.
What elevates Sukuna is his combat IQ. Unlike many powerful characters, Sukuna doesn’t rely solely on brute force—he’s a technical fighter who has mastered every aspect of Jujutsu.
Why He’s Here: Sukuna is the benchmark villain of JJK, and his recent manga feats place him above even Gojo in raw combat ability. Compare him to Naruto here.
10. Giorno Giovanna with Gold Experience Requiem (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Power Level: Reality-warping / Infinite
Notable Feat: Resetting Diavolo’s death to zero, creating an infinite death loop
Gold Experience Requiem breaks the rules of power scaling. Its ability to “return anything to zero” means that no attack can ever reach Giorno—the action itself gets negated before it happens. This includes time manipulation, reality warping, and even causality manipulation.
The infamous Diavolo death loop demonstrates what happens when GER targets someone: infinite deaths, forever. It’s one of the most conceptually broken abilities in anime.
Why He’s Here: GER represents the “no limits fallacy” taken to its logical extreme. Within the rules of the ability, nothing can beat it.
9. Rimuru Tempest (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime)
Power Level: Multi-universal (by end of series)
Notable Feat: Consuming and analyzing multiple demon lords, achieving true godhood
Rimuru starts weak but eventually becomes one of the most powerful beings in isekai fiction. By the end of the light novel series, Rimuru has:
- Perfect analysis and replication of any ability
- Time manipulation
- Creation and destruction of universes
- Immortality across all forms of existence
The “Predator” ability alone would make Rimuru dangerous, but it’s the combination of every absorbed skill that makes him unstoppable.
Why He’s Here: Rimuru is the ultimate example of power creep done right—his journey from slime to god is earned through countless absorptions and evolutions.
8. Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)
Power Level: Planet to small star-threatening
Notable Feat: Fighting Yhwach, combining all racial powers
True Bankai Ichigo is the culmination of every power system in Bleach: Shinigami, Hollow, Quincy, and Human. His Mugetsu form temporarily transcended dimensions, and his True Zangetsu forms would have defeated Yhwach without interference.
What makes Ichigo unique is that his power seems to have no ceiling when emotionally driven. Every major arc saw him breaking his limits against impossible odds.
Why He’s Here: As Bleach’s protagonist, Ichigo represents the peak of what that universe can achieve—and that universe has some of the highest power levels in anime.
7. Son Goku – Ultra Instinct (Dragon Ball Super)
Power Level: Multi-universal
Notable Feat: Fighting on par with Jiren, mastering Ultra Instinct
Goku in Mastered Ultra Instinct is, by Dragon Ball scaling, capable of destroying universes with his attacks. The Tournament of Power demonstrated that top-tier fighters in Dragon Ball create shockwaves that threaten reality itself.
UI’s defensive capabilities are equally absurd—Goku’s body dodges attacks automatically, faster than thought. Combined with his ever-increasing strength, UI Goku is a threat to virtually any opponent.
Why He’s Here: Dragon Ball’s power scaling is infamous for a reason. Even “base form” modern Goku would destroy most anime universes.
6. Saitama (One Punch Man)
Power Level: Immeasurable / Narrative-based
Notable Feat: Defeating any opponent in one punch, time-traveling via serious punch²
Saitama exists as a parody of power scaling. His strength isn’t defined by numbers—it’s defined by the narrative that he can defeat anyone in one punch. The recent manga arc against Garou proved this when Saitama punched through a time-altering attack and casually exceeded his own “limits.”
Whether Saitama could beat Goku is a meaningless question because Saitama’s power is whatever the story needs it to be.
Why He’s Here: Saitama is the ultimate gag character with legitimate feats. His narrative role supersedes traditional power scaling.
5. Anos Voldigoad (The Misfit of Demon King Academy)
Power Level: Conceptual / Omniversal
Notable Feat: Killing the God of Destruction, resurrection from being erased from existence
Anos doesn’t play by normal rules. He can:
- Kill concepts themselves
- Return from complete erasure
- Destroy universes with his heartbeat
- Time travel casually
The Demon King of Tyranny is so overpowered that his own story acknowledges it—enemies often try convoluted methods to defeat him because direct combat is meaningless.
Why He’s Here: Anos represents the peak of “demon lord isekai” power creep, taken to its logical extreme.
4. Zeno (Dragon Ball Super)
Power Level: Omniversal
Notable Feat: Erasing multiple universes casually
The Omni-King can delete universes by simply willing it. He’s not a fighter—he’s an existence so far above everyone else that combat is irrelevant. During the Tournament of Power, Zeno erased multiple universes without effort or hesitation.
The only reason Zeno isn’t #1 is that he doesn’t “fight”—his power is pure deletion.
Why He’s Here: Zeno establishes the ceiling for Dragon Ball, which is essentially infinite.
3. Anti-Spiral (Gurren Lagann)
Power Level: Infinite / Conceptual
Notable Feat: Throwing galaxies, existing outside the concept of evolution
The Anti-Spiral is a collective consciousness that has suppressed all Spiral races to prevent universal destruction. It can:
- Create pocket universes
- Manipulate probability
- Exist in infinite dimensions
- Match any power level (its power equals its opponent’s plus infinity)
The final battle of Gurren Lagann involved galaxy-sized mechs—and the Anti-Spiral was still holding back.
Why He’s Here: Gurren Lagann’s power scaling is ridiculous by design, and the Anti-Spiral represents its ceiling.
2. Simon (Gurren Lagann – Post Series)
Power Level: Infinite / Conceptual
Notable Feat: Defeating the Anti-Spiral, wielding Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Simon’s spiral power is theoretically infinite. By the end of the series, he’s piloting a mech larger than the observable universe, throwing galaxies as shuriken, and defeating an enemy with mathematically infinite power.
Post-series Simon gave up his power, but at his peak, he could probably defeat any character on this list through sheer determination.
Why He’s Here: “Believe in the you that believes in yourself” turned out to be a universal-level power buff.
1. Truth (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
Power Level: Omnipotent within its universe
Notable Feat: Being the universe itself
Truth is not a character that fights—it IS existence. It’s the concept of equivalent exchange made manifest. Truth cannot be defeated because defeating it would mean defeating reality itself.
Unlike other omnipotent beings, Truth doesn’t interfere arbitrarily. It simply enforces the rules of the universe, which makes it both the most and least powerful character in anime.
Why Truth Is #1: True omnipotence—not just “really strong,” but the literal embodiment of universal law.
Honorable Mentions
- Mob (Mob Psycho 100): ???% form is conceptually broken
- Naruto Uzumaki: Baryon Mode puts him in top-tier discussions
- Kurama: Before his death, one of the strongest Bijuu
- Whis (Dragon Ball Super): Angels are above destruction
- Yhwach (Bleach): The Almighty is absurdly overpowered
How We Ranked
Our methodology considered:
Final Thoughts
Power scaling is inherently subjective—different series have different rules, and comparing cross-universe is always contentious. That said, this list represents our best attempt at ranking the strongest anime characters based on feats, statements, and logical scaling.
Disagree with our rankings? Have a character we missed? The debate is half the fun. What matters is that anime continues to give us incredible displays of power that spark these conversations.
For more anime discussions, check out our comparison of Sukuna vs Naruto, Gojo’s strongest attack, and Kurama vs Sukuna.