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However, it’s inevitable that fans of these protagonists would wonder who would win if they duked it out. There have been some truly powerful characters in the world of shonen anime, so it’s interesting to wonder who comes out on top.
Updated December 16, 2021 by Rhenn Taguiam:Shonen anime are always known for their depiction of the Hero’s Journey, where a protagonist rises among challenges to prove the power of hard work, friendship, and perseverance. Despite the popularity of shonen anime, there’s no doubt that some anime in the genre feature protagonists that outright break the power level scale. Alone, they seem like ordinary individuals. But with their friends — and especially when fired up — they can become outright behemoths with their power levels. Just how do these additions to the list fare against other shonen protagonists?
15 Maka Albarn (Soul Eater)
Maka Albarn of Soul Eater might seem like an impressionable student — except when she’s wielding her partner Soul Eater. Then, she becomes the embodiment of power. In the Soul Eater series, Maka Albarn is a Weapon Meister in the Death Weapon Meister Academy, a school designed to train humans to wield Death Weapons against supernatural foes.
While Maka Albarn is only one of many Weapon Meisters, her skill is almost unparalleled. While some of her companions are faster and more durable, Maka Albarn’s soul perception is remarkable, to the point of earning the praise of villains and attracting assassins. She’s the only one in her generation to transform Soul Eater into a Death Scythe, a weapon that consumes malevolent souls to grow stronger.
14 Yusuke Urameshi (Yu Yu Hakusho)
Perhaps the protagonist that popularized the shonen trope of saving the world through a tournament, Yusuke Urameshi of Yu Yu Hakusho isn’t hero material at first glance. Outspoken, arrogant, and prone to fights, Yusuke got into the business of world-saving after he saved a little boy at the cost of his own life. Seeing his potential for goodness, Yusuke is granted a second shot as a Spirit Detective.
Through his Spirit Gun and his sheer determination, Yusuke managed to eliminate Toguro, arguably one of the largest threats on Earth. When Yusuke manages to go toe-to-toe against the likes of Sensui, an S-Class Demon, his true lineage is revealed. Yusuke is a descendant of the Mazoku, one of the strongest demons in existence. If he taps into his lineage, Yusuke can attain power that can upset the balance of the Spirit World and the Human World alike.
13 Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)
Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail possesses two hallmarks of a shonen protagonist: sheer persistence and determination. Even without his innate abilities, Natsu’s sheer drive to succeed and defeat his foes make him a formidable threat. However, among his peers in the Fairy Tail Guild, Natsu is known best for his usage of Fire Dragon Slayer Magic.
Natsu has an incredible control over fire, which intensifies depending on his emotions. When he channels this energy through his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, he gains a wide range of abilities. Aside from empowered melee abilities, Natsu can unleash breath weapons, make explosions, and even use Secret Arts to gain an edge against his targets. Consuming certain elements also unlocks stronger forms.
12 Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)*
Among the Straw Hat Pirates, it’s Monkey D. Luffy that gained the most infamy. His appetite, hijinks, and penchant for mischief earned him fame across all of the Seven Seas. Fans of One Piece love him not just for his sense of humor, but his remarkable range of abilities as well.
Having consumed the Gomu Gomu no Mi Devil Fruit, Luffy gained the superhuman ability to stretch his limbs to the point of elasticity. This allows him to become almost nigh-indestructible, while giving his limbs leeway to become stronger or longer as needed. During his training, Luffy maximized his usage of his Devil Fruit further, accessing Gears that expanded his battle abilities. And thanks to Haki, Luffy gained supernatural sensing abilities that made him one of the most formidable fighters around.
11 Mob Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100)
Despite his meek appearance, Mob Kageyama of Mob Psycho 100 is one of the most powerful beings on the planet. When provoked, Mob can tap into a wide array of psychic abilities. In addition to psychic energy absorption, Mob has vast spiritual awareness, can perform astral projection, and can even unleash various bouts of telekinesis against enemies. His penchant for explosions made him infamous inside and outside his own series.
Other unique abilities include chlorokinesis or growing plants, and even transferring his psychic energy. His powerset and abilities vastly differ depending on the percentage of his emotional state. However, reaching ???% under extreme stress would have Mob unleash all his latent psychic energy at once, becoming one of the most dangerous beings in existence.
10 Kenshiro (Fist Of The North Star)
Trained in the Hokuto Shinken Style, Kenshiro of Fist Of The North Star can utilize the full 100-percent of his fighting abilities. With this style, Ken can channel his energy into a single blow. When used on one of the 708 Keiraku Hiko (acupoints) in the body, the recipient is almost always destroyed from the inside of their body.
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Some argue that Kenshiro isn’t as strong due to his lack of other supernatural abilities. However, his training, alongside his Style and natural aura, meant Kenshiro has achieved the peak of a normal human’s abilities.
9 Gon Freecss (Hunter X Hunter)
Aside from his trusty fishing rod, fighters praise the Rookie Hunter Gon for his astute powers of observation makes him an effective and strategic combatant. As an Enhancer, Gon has great strength and endurance. His techniques, the Jajanken, allowed him to unleash devastating attacks based on rock-paper-scissors. These include close-range punches (Rock), a transmuted blade (Scissors), and a long-ranged blast (Paper).
However, Gon of Hunter X Hunter unleashed his full potential through a Vow, a limited transformation at the cost of using his Nen and left him afterwards in a comatose state. In this form, Gon can overpower Meruem, the second-most powerful entity in the franchise. While Gon can never use Nen again after this Vow, this momentary power boost revealed there’s more to Gon than his cheerful appearance.
8 Eren Yeager (Attack On Titan)
Before becoming Attack On Titan’s final antagonist, Eren Yeager already demonstrates remarkable strength and sheer determination. His training as a Scout Regiment member with the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment showed a keen understanding of anatomy and fighting in 3D space.
When used with his Titan powers, Eren becomes the biggest threat to both humanity and Titankind himself. His most used Attack Titan form gives him ridiculous strength, endurance, and regeneration. With his martial arts, Eren can obliterate most other Titans with ease. As the Founding Titan, Eren can also control other Titans. Lastly, the War Hammer Titan form allows Eren to create various armaments and items from his flesh.
7 Midoriya Izuku (My Hero Academia)
Izuku’s natural heroism caught the eye of All Might and made him worthy of the transferrable quirk, One For All. Outside of his quirk, Deku has extensive knowledge and training of heroics — useful in the My Hero Academia universe, where almost everyone has superpowers. With One For All, Deku can release a huge amount of raw power that transforms his physical abilities into superhuman levels.
Deku is also granted access to other Quirks from the previous One For All users. Deku can store and release energy while moving (Fa Jin), detect threats (Danger Sense), release tendrils (Blackwhip), create a smoke cloud (Smokescreen), and float (Float). With Full Cowl releasing the full extent of One For All, and with super moves such as Detroit Smash, Deku can arguably become the strongest human in existence.
6 Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)
Throughout the Naruto series, Naruto Uzumaki’s journey to become the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village led him to save the world. As a shinobi of a special lineage, Naruto received training in various shinobi disciplines, with his massive chakra reserves allowing him to perfect his signature techniques. He can mold chakra into a powerfully devastating ball (Rasengan), and summon multiple clones (Shadow Clone Technique).
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With his Sage Mode, Naruto can use nature itself to provide him with energy. And as the vessel of the Nine-Tailed Fox, one of the most powerful chakra beasts in existence, Naruto can devastate entire armies with various chakra cloak modes.
5 Meliodas (The Seven Deadly Sins)
Meliodas of the Seven Deadly Sins personifies Wrath. As the Demon King’s son, Meliodas is essentially a demigod who can achieve power levels that of a deity-level entity. Moreover, his power level is so great that his defection tipped the scales of power so greatly that the Goddess Clan managed to start the Holy War in the first place.
With his lineage, Meliodas can manifest and manipulate the power of darkness. Through his swordsmanship, he can strike a thousand slashes in an instant. Additionally, his Full Counter allows him to “reflect” magical attacks with much greater power. Moreover, his Assault Mode drains all emotion while releasing his full demonic power.
4 Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)
While known as a heroic Soul Reaper in Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki’s best skill is his growth rate. Ichigo can adapt to disadvantages and use his Reiatsu (Spiritual Power) to counteract them. Thanks to his Soul Reaper and Quincy lineage, as well as his natural Hollow, Ichigo has potential that rivaled that of Yhwach, the son of the Soul King himself.
As a Soul Reaper, Ichigo has immense physical attributes and swordsmanship, able to use an incomplete Zanpakuto for a majority of the series. His signature Getsuga Tensho can annihilate most of his foes. It’s surprising, even, that Ichigo managed to use his incomplete powerset to defeat the god-like Aizen. It’s revealed that his complete powers can best the likes of Yhwach, whose godlike abilities can alter time itself.
3 Goku (Dragon Ball)
Perhaps the pinnacle of limitless potential, Goku of Dragon Ball remains as one of the most powerful beings to exist. Born a natural warrior as a Saiyan, Goku received martial arts training and a voracious appetite. Despite his goofiness, Goku steps up when it comes to protecting the world against threats. In the face of a strong opponent, Goku always finds ways to go beyond his current limitations.
As a “regular” Saiyan, Goku can use the Kaio-ken to boost his raw power by as much as 100-percent. However, in times of great need, Goku can tap into his potential through the Super Saiyan, a birthright shared by all Saiyans. Through training and battle, he can expand his power levels a million-fold to become as strong as Super Saiyan 3. Goku’s godly potential helped him become a Super Saiyan God, its improved form Super Saiyan Blue, and rival a universal entity through Ultra Instinct. His signature Kamehameha has been proven to obliterate enemies.
2 Saitama (One Punch Man)
Despite being an unrecognizable B-Class Hero, Saitama of One Punch Man is arguably the strongest person to ever exist in his universe. Outside his offensive power, Saitama possesses ridiculous reflexes and speed on top of his durability. No opponent has ever managed to land an injury against him. And no opponent ever survived one of his weaker punches.
While his power level doesn’t have an accurate description, some of his Serious Series attacks can elaborate a more serious Saitama. One Serious Punch can release a shockwave so vast that it can part clouds around the world. However, its recipient Boros, in his dying moments, said that this is still Saitama barely showing his true power.
1 Giorno Giovanna (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Giorno Giovanna serves as the fifth-generation JoJo in Part 5 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Wielding Gold Experience, he’s arguably one of the most overpowered characters in the entire series. At its core, Gold Experience can create life energy. In turn, Giorno can transform anything into plants or animals. He can also create body parts and sense life.
However, Gold Experience becomes broken when upgraded into Gold Experience Requiem. In this upgraded form, Gold Experience Requiem can use Return to Zero. With this ability, the Stand can “zero-fy” actions and willpower, “denying” causality itself and preventing things from happening. In terms of fighting, what even is the point of having the most powerful punch when Requiem can “unhappen” it?
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