Main character energy stands no bigger and no brighter in any entertainment media than it does in anime. (2009’s Prototype video game is one of the rare exceptions.) Most anime actually follow an established recipe when it comes to power scaling. There’s always a new overpowered (OP) antagonist that makes the protagonist look and feel weak; the protagonist then goes through a training arc, only to emerge so OP that the antagonist doesn’t stand a chance (Son Goku of the Dragon Ball anime series being the most obvious example).
But then, there are characters such as Saitama from One Punch Man, who is ridiculously powerful — despite not having supernatural or magical abilities — that he flattens the landscape and splits the clouds with nothing but air pressure generated by his punch. One punch: hence the name. This list aims to be a love letter to all the anime protagonists who do the cosmos a favor by not blowing up their respective universes every time they sneeze… or pass gas…
Ichigo Kurosaki — Bleach
Bleach takes a rather traditional approach when it comes to power scaling, and Ichigo really goes through a lot. He gets turned into a Shinigami (or a Grim Reaper, if you prefer) of unusually high power, only to be defeated and killed several episodes later, after which he’s revived, trains, and wipes the floor with Byakuya Kuchiki in one of anime’s best fights, which doesn’t actually show just how powerful Ichigo is but shows the depth of his potential.
The fight that really shows just how powerful Ichigo becomes is the one with Aizen (the anime’s first supervillain) in which the antagonist remarks how drastically the landscape changes with the swing of his sword. In fact, the landscape did change, but the swing of the sword that changed it was Ichigo’s.
Escanor — The Seven Deadly Sins
Escanor, also known as the One and the Lion Sin of Pride is one of the main protagonists of The Seven Deadly Sins anime and the manga it was based on. Escanor has been described as the strongest member of the Seven Deadly Sins, the single strongest true human in the series, and one of the series’ strongest characters overall.
However, his strength stems from his combat magic, which allows him to gain immense physical and magical power during the day (which peaks at monstrous levels at noon) and gradually wanes with the setting of the sun, making him frail and submissive at night. Even Meliodas, the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins, has acknowledged that Escanor is far stronger than he is when the latter is in his powered form.
Mash Burnedead — Mashle: Magic and Muscles
Mash is a 15-year-old anime protagonist attending Easton Magic Academy with dreams of becoming a Divine Visionary in order to live a peaceful life. However, he stands out at the Academy as the only person unable to wield magic — something he makes up for with the strength and might of his muscles.
Mash is so physically powerful that the fans dubbed him Saitama’s Descendant and Saitama with Hair. Yet, despite all of his physical power, bluntness, and boldness, Mach is often open to a peaceful resolution and doesn’t harbor any desire to find and fight stronger opponents.
Eren Jaeger — Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan just recently ended its prolific run, turning out to be a much more massive success than anyone had expected. The final season manages to recontextualize most of the characters in a terrifying way and ends up turning Eren into the most powerful of all Titans, despite the fact that he was victimized by the human-eating Titans at the beginning of the series.
For those who haven’t seen the anime, humans have been struggling against human-eating titans for as long as the world can remember. But the show slowly reveals different truths during its progression and leads its MC from becoming a Titan hunter to becoming the single most powerful Titan being in existence.
Saitama — One-Punch Man
One-Punch Man excels in satirizing the superhero and shonen genres whilst also indulging in some of their biggest stereotypes. Its protagonist, Saitama, is so powerful that he has grown endlessly bored since he’s able to defeat any enemy he comes across with a single blow. While this sounds like a stale premise, the anime actually derives its humor and narrative from Saitama’s melancholy and his desire to finally find a worthy challenger.
What makes this anime even funnier is the fact that Saitama gained his divine-level strength and endurance through nothing more than pushups, sit-ups, and running, and the fact that his truly terrifying levels of strength are complemented by a completely unassuming and minimalist character design.
An Honorable Mention: Goku — Dragon Ball Super
Son Goku might not be the most powerful anime character, but he’s most certainly the most recognizable OP MC of anime of all time. In the most recent series, Dragon Ball Super, Goku has finally reached Ultra Instinct, an ultimate fighting technique that’s also known as the “state of the gods,” which separates the consciousness from the body, allowing it to move and fight at a divine level and completely independently of Goku’s thoughts and emotions.
Final Thoughts
The characters presented in this list are recognized as some of the most OP main characters in anime, but the list is far from complete since there are some great anime out there with some really powerful characters. With that said, what we’re really interested in knowing is who would win in a fight: Saitama or Son Goku? That’s a really good question worthy of its own discussion. Also, why hasn’t there been a crossover between One-Punch Man and DBS? Saitama would make a great Universe 7 fighter.