Shikamaru Nara is one of the smartest characters in the entire anime-verse. A character from Naruto, Shikamaru is a known genius and he boasts of an IQ over 200. If you have watched Naruto, then you'd know how many times he has wriggled out of a tough situation with his wits.

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Not many people from any anime series can boast of better feats by using their wits. However, there are certain characters who are smarter than Shikamaru Nara. In this list, we are going to discuss five characters who are smarter than Shikamaru Nara and five who aren't.

10 Smarter: Shikaku Nara

Shikaku Nara

First up, we have Shikamaru's own father, Shikaku. Shikaku was the leader of the Nara Clan and the Hokage's advisor. He served under three different Hokage. Shikaku's intelligence was second to none. He was also the main man who formulated plans for the Ninja Alliance during the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Shikaku died during the Fourth Great Ninja War after the Ten-Tails attacked their location. When Shikaku was still alive, he was never able to beat him at a game of Shogi.

9 Not Smarter: Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto Uzumaki is the main character of Naruto. He is currently the Seventh Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. Despite a lot of people thinking that Naruto is dumb, he actually isn't. Naruto is what you'd call street-smart. However, he falls pale in comparison to Shikamaru Nara. In fact, Shikamaru is his advisor.

Naruto is powerful without a doubt and in a fight, he would clearly wipe the floor with Shikamaru, but he's a long way behind Shikamaru when it comes to wits. Naruto definitely has improved since he was a kid, but he still falls short.

8 Smarter: Vegapunk

Dr. Vegapunk in One Piece.

Vegapunk is a character from One Piece. His face hasn't been revealed yet in the series, but a lot of amazing feats have been revealed so far. Vegapunk is an innate genius and his talent was recognized by World Government when he was still a kid. He is the smartest character on One Piece and no one else really comes close.

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Vegapunk has developed artificial devil fruits and he also created the Pacifista, who use the power of Kizaru's devil fruit to cause a lot of damage. He has also been working on another project that is going to help the Marines make up for the lack of power.

7 Not Smarter: Roronoa Zoro

Probably the best green-haired character in anime, Roronoa Zoro just stumbled on our list. It is fair to say that a man who gets lost on a straight path is someone who should be on a list of the dumbest characters, however, Zoro's sense of direction led him here.

The second strongest Straw Hat after Luffy, Zoro is a strong character no doubt, but he doesn't have the brains to plan ahead. He only knows how to slash and fight with Sanji all the time.

6 Smarter: Yagami Light

Yagami Light is from Death Note. He is without a doubt one of the smartest characters around. If you have watched Death Note, there are so many instances, where Light proved that he was truly a God.

He outwitted L in their battle. Light won the fight and it doesn't matter how he did it, but he managed to outmaneuver L. Light was always one step ahead of L. He did get cocky in the end, however, and he lost to a combo of Near and Mello.

5 Not Smarter: Josuke Higashikata

jouske higashikata jojo

Josuke Higashikata is the main protagonist of JJBA: Diamond is Unbreakable. Unlike his father, Josuke is an airhead, who doesn't really understand anything.

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Most of the things usually go above his head. He isn't completely dumb as that would be too harsh on Josuke. If Shikamaru and Josuke have a fight, Shikamaru will undoubtedly have the edge as he has a longer range and he is more intelligent than him.

4 Smarter: Joseph Joestar

Joseph fights Wamuu JoJos

Joseph Joestar is the main protagonist of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency. Joseph continued to appear in other JoJo parts after Battle Tendency finished. He took on the Pillar Men, who were very smart. Santviento, who was one of the antagonists of Part 2, was super smart. He was able to learn a new language in just a few minutes.

It must be kept in mind that Santviento was considered to be the lower class of Pillar Men. Esidisi, Kars, and Wamuu were all smarter than him. Also, Kars in his perfect form had an IQ of 400 and Joseph still managed to put up a great fight versus him.

3 Not Smarter: Son Goku

Goku powers up to Super Saiyan in the Other World tournament

There are very few anime characters who can boast of a huge fan base like Son Goku. Son Goku, or simply Goku, is the main character of the Dragon Ball series, which was created by Akira Toriyama. Since the beginning of Dragon Ball, Goku has only grown in popularity.

He is without a doubt the most popular anime character outside Japan. Contrary to popular belief, Goku is actually a pretty smart character. He carefully observes his opponents and many times he has stolen their techniques. But, he doesn't get anywhere close to Shikamaru's level of intelligence.

2 Smart: Lelouch VI Britannia

Code Geass Lelouch Unmasked

If you have been watching anime for a long time then you will definitely know the name of Lelouch. Lelouch VI Britannia is the main character of Code Geass. Lelouch gains a unique power known as Geass that allows him to manipulate people. However, Lelouch's biggest weapon is his intellect.

He is a master tactician and through the entire Code Geass series, we could see how clever he is. Lelouch's skills are undoubtedly top-notch and he is easily above Shikamaru's level when it comes to smartness.

1 Not Smarter: Midoriya Izuku

izuku eri

The final entry on the list is Midoriya Izuku. Midoriya is the protagonist of My Hero Academia. He is the wielder of All for One, and it was passed onto him by All Might. Midoriya is a very hard-working character and he is willing to do everything in his power to become what All Might used to be.

Midoriya is pretty smart and he is definitely among the smartest character in MHA. He will definitely improve in the future in terms of power. If we are comparing intelligence, he is way behind Shikamaru without a doubt.

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