To be victorious in anime, one must never underestimate their opponent — even if that opponent is a child. The kids who occupy the various anime worlds are often capable of far more than your average adolescent, utilizing their genius intellects and innovative thinking to overcome the odds and defeat the stronger, more experienced adults.

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Some are incomparable savants and can outthink adults while still a kid. Others capitalize on their perceived inferiority, waiting for an adult to let down their guard before taking advantage. Whatever their method, some kids have a knack for outthinking the grown-ups.

8 Shikamaru Utilises His Immense Intellect To Defeat Hidan (Naruto)

shikamaru with blood on his face

With an IQ over 200, Shikamaru Nara can defeat physically stronger opponents simply by outthinking them.  The most prominent example of this was his battle with Hidan of the Akatsuki, an immortal psychopathic shinobi with immense skill.

Coordinating his plan alongside Kakashi, Shikamaru separated Hidan from Kakuzu and tricked the terrorist into performing his blood ritual on his partner. Shikamaru then buried Hidan under massive amounts of rubble, ensuring the immortal never returned. Both Hidan and fans of Naruto were impressed with the young genius' flawless strategy.

7 Light Yagami Tricked An FBI Agent Into Revealing His Identity (Death Note)

Light Yagami from Death Note

Although just 17 years old, Light Yagami's intellect was rivaled by only a select few in the entire world. He constantly outsmarted adults belonging to the best law enforcement agencies in the world and eventually claimed victory over the world's greatest detective, L.

Arguably his most impressive intellectual display involved using the Death Note to stage a bus jacking and have FBI agent Rei Penber reveal his identity to Light. The young genius then used this information to kill all FBI agents in Japan — signifying his ruthless and twisted ideology.

6 Gon And Killua Escape Nobunaga (Hunter X Hunter)

gon and killua smiling at each other

After messing with the notorious Phantom Troupe, Gon and Killua find themselves trapped in a room with the Spider called Nobunaga. The Troupe member is blocking the only door and threatens the kids with death if they approach him. Despite their natural strength, the duo are hugely outmatched, but not outsmarted.

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Seemingly able to read each other's minds, Gon and Killua run at Nobunaga before breaking through the walls in separate directions, forcing the Troupe member to give up on one and recapture the other. Fortunately, both escape with their lives by creating other holes to act as diversions and confuse Nobunaga about their location.

5  Armin Convinces The Military Of Eren's Strategic Value (Attack On Titan)

Armin crying in Attack On Titan.

Eren's sudden transformation into a Titan shocked the world, and despite him killing many titans, no one knew whether to perceive him as an enemy or an ally. After reverting back into human form, Eren finds himself surrounded by the Garrison regiment, with Armin and Mikasa by his side.

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A paranoid and terrified military commander is moments away from ordering his soldiers to kill Eren until Armin steps up and delivers a passionate yet pragmatic speech that advocates Eren's strategic value. Armin successfully outsmarts the irrational military commander and convinces Commander Pyxis to use Eren in the fight against the Titans.

4 Norman, Ray, And Emma Finally Outmanoeuvre Mom (The Promised Neverland)

Norman and Ray From The Promised Neverland

After discovering the true purpose of their orphanage was to harvest children as food for Demons, Norman, Ray, and Emma combine their collective talents and devise a plan to escape. But their Mom remains one step ahead, constantly adding obstacle after obstacle. Eventually, Mom breaks Emma's leg, ensuring she can't escape.

Norman is shipped off as Demon food, and Ray and Emma appear defeated. But this was all part of Norman's plan — Mom's single-minded focus on the gifted trio caused her to forget the capabilities of the other children. A collective effort by almost all the orphans meant Norman's complex plan — involving Ray's fake death and a house fire — was successful.

3 As A Teenager, Lelouch Took Down The Entire Britannain Empire (Code Geass)

Lelouch Geass Eye in Code Geass

It would discredit Lelouch's significant accomplishment of dismantling the Britannian empire if only a singular occurrence was highlighted. There were many times Lelouch outsmarted the adults, such as his military victories against his sister Cornelia and brother Schneizel.

Throughout the anime, Lelouch remained one step ahead of everyone, using his intelligence in combination with his Geass to earn victory after victory. It seemed an impossible task for one boy to defeat an empire with a stranglehold over the entire world, but Lelouch was special. And fortunately, he made some competent allies along the way.

2 Kurapika's Flawless Strategy Defeats Uvogin (Hunter X Hunter)

Kurapika from Hunter X Hunter

As the level-headed and rational member of the group, it's easy to forget that Kurapika is just 17 years old. The Scarlet-eyed hunter possesses confidence and skill far beyond his years, and he feels at home amongst the Nen-wielding elite despite his young age. Kurapika utilized his Nen to create his judgment chains — a powerful and diverse technique ideal for capturing and killing the Phantom Troupe.

During his battle with Uvogin, Kurapika deployed a perfect strategy. He tricked the Spider into believing he was a Manipulator and that his chains were real, when in reality, he was a conjuror who could make his chains disappear if necessary. This simple misdirection allowed Kurapika to trap Uvogin in his chains without him realizing it, leading to his defeat.

1 Asta Uses Valtos' Portals Against Him (Black Clover)

Asta from Black Clover

Asta has a lot of outstanding qualities, but intelligence is usually not one of them. The young protagonist is a bit of an airhead, similar to other protagonists like Goku and Yuji Itadori. However, he does occasionally surprise everyone with a creative solution in the heat of battle. When facing Valtos — a portal magic user — Asta is overwhelmed by the many portals surrounding him and the bullets exiting those portals. All he can do is stay on the defensive, using his sword to bat away the oncoming fire.

Asta then realizes his enemy is on the other side of the portals and decides to jump through one to reach his opponent. It was an intelligent — if not slightly insane — strategy that ended in victory for the Black Bulls powerhouse.

NEXT: Black Clover: Magic Knight Captains, Ranked