Without a doubt, Saitama the Caped Baldy is one of the strongest characters in anime! Updated by Caleb Bailey on 1/30/2020: He's also one of the most popular, if the success of Saitama's game A Hero Nobody Knows is anything to go by. The Caped Baldy is lightning fast, virtually indestructible, and can beat most of his foes with one punch. Boredom is the biggest obstacle faced by this hero. Because of his insane strength, many anime fans think Saitama is unbeatable!
However, we beg to differ - the Caped Baldy may have phenomenal physical power, but brute strength isn't everything. Saitama might be able to casually one-shot giant monsters, but the following characters can shatter solar systems and warp reality! If the One-Punch Man ever encountered any of these folks, boredom would be the least of his worries.
15 Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo)
Are you tired of reading the word "Bobobo" yet? Much like Saitama, the titular character of this insane series is a lovable, invincible hero with more than a few screws loose. Unlike Saitama, Bobobo's entire world is just as crazy as he is. For goodness' sake, two of the man's best friends are a talking mound of jello and a dude with an ice cream swirl for a head!
As overpowered as Saitama is, his powers are fairly simple in nature - the dude's really fast and he hits very hard. However, there's nothing simple about Bobobo; he's essentially a Japanese version of Big Head from The Mask franchise who uses his nostril hairs as his primary weapon. It'd take far more than one punch, from anyone, to take Bobobo out.
14 Izumi Curtis (Fullmetal Alchemist)
In many ways, Izumi is a stark contrast to Bobobo and Saitama; she's a logically minded woman with an extremely stern and intense demeanor. Aside from her excellent hand-to-hand combat skills, Izumi's greatest ability is her mastery over Alchemy - perhaps one of the most strenuous, rule-based powers in the history of anime or manga.
If you break the cardinal rules of Alchemy, it literally end up costing you an arm and a leg. But if you abide by them, however, then you'll gain the ability to deconstruct and reconstruct matter on a whim. As OP as Saitama is, the man's made of matter just like anything or anyone else. What's to stop Izumi from transmuting the Caped Baldy into a pile of granite if she ever got her hands on him?
13 Kenshiro (Fist of the North Star)
Kenshiro is anime's Patron Saint of Throwing Hands. This magnificent fusion of Mad Max and Bruce Lee can essentially perform miracles with his fists; he can unleash hundreds of strikes within milliseconds and he can hit a tank hard enough to make it detonate like a bomb!
Moreover, Kenshiro's just as unkillable as Saitama is, if not more so. He's been hit with knuckles, knives, bullets, bombs, and buildings, and yet the Fist of the North Star is still standing tall. Kenshiro also has a knack for turning his foe's power against them. Saitama could punch Kenshiro, expecting to take him out with one hit, only to find himself being torn into ribbons by his own strength! Truly, the master of the Big Dipper God Fist is a force to be reckoned with.
12 Lain Iwakura (Serial Experiments Lain)
For all the power that Kenshiro and Saitama possess, neither of these men ought to be considered gods by any stretch of the imagination. That term refers to a being that can bend the universe to their will, and is a literal force of nature in more ways than one.
Enter Lain Iwakura; a seemingly innocuous fourteen year old girl who's secretly a Goddess. By the end of her titular series, Lain becomes a being that simultaneously exists everywhere and knows everything that's happening at all times. By every definition of the word, Lain Iwakura is a genuine force of nature - something that Saitama has no hope of fighting, let alone beating with one punch.
11 Tenchi Masaki (Tenchi Muyo!)
Tenchi Masaki is another meek and humble character who's secretly a Deity. Now, it's probably impossible to compare Tenchi to Lain based on their power levels - that'd be tantamount to comparing two infinite values together, and this ain't a Math class. However, we can compare Tenchi and Lain based on their feats.
By the end of her self-titled Series, Lain sort of fades into the background and assumes her role as a Goddess. Tenchi, on the other hand, is revealed to be the creator of the entire Tenchi Muyo! Universe. Every series under the Tenchi Muyo! banner is a creation of our lovable, awkward protagonist. Saitama wouldn't even be a blip on Tenchi's radar - he'd be a flea trying to take down a Humpback Whale!
10 Haruhi Suzumiya (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
Haruhi seems like an ordinary Japanese schoolgirl at first glance. She's got an upbeat demeanor, is pretty and smart, loves the paranormal, and gets easily bored. All in all, Haruji sounds like your average high school best girl, right?
In reality, she possesses god-like power and can reshape the universe with a thought!
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya relentlessly parodies the perfect high school girl character archetype; the cosmos literally revolves around Haruhi and bends to her every whim. The thing is Haruhi is oblivious to her power. Suzumiya might not be able to consciously beat Saitama, but she could potentially erase him from existence once she gets bored of superheroes.
9 Saiki Kusuo (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.)
Characters from comedic anime tend to be among the most overpowered. For all his strength, Saitama is a joke character through and through. Saiki Kusuo is also living proof of this claim. Just like the Caped Baldy, Saiki is an unassuming guy who secretly possesses immense power!
Kusuo has a vast array of psychic abilities at his disposal: He can move objects with his brain, read other peoples' minds, and give himself new powers on the fly! At the very least, we imagine a fight between Saitama and Saiki ending in a stalemate. However, if push comes to shove, we also imagine Saiki could scatter the Baldy's molecules like marbles.
8 Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Gurren Lagann)
Gurren Lagann is an anime series about humungous robots, friendship, humanity, and giant drills. Created by the same team that gave us Kill La Kill, Gurren Lagann is just as over the top and action packed. Throughout the series, Simon gradually gains access to bigger and stronger mechs.
Dig this - Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a mecha that utterly dwarfs the Milky Way Galaxy! This being is composed entirely of Spiral Energy and exists in multiple universes at once! Saitama's whole deal is beating opponents with one punch. How can you hit pure energy or beat a being that's basically a god?!
7 Kami Tenchi (Tenchi Muyo!)
Tenchi Muyo! initially seems like a harmless enough series. Tenchi Masaki is a meek and affable guy. One day, he runs into a harem of beautiful women who teach him about the cosmos. For many volumes and episodes, Tenchi trains hard to hone his skills.
Kami Tenchi is the result of Tenchi Masaki reaching his full potential and ascending to godhood! As it turns out, Tenchi is a god who lost his memories some time ago. Kami Tenchi is Masaki's original form - the form he had when he created the entire Tenchiverse! Saitama is very strong, but he can't create or destroy universes with a thought.
6 Light Yagami (Death Note)
Opposed to the other combatants in this article, Light Yagami seems like he'd be the easiest to beat. Almost everyone else is either an alien, a psychic, or a god in human form. In comparison, Light is a normal man with no superhuman powers of his own. However, he possesses the Death Note - an artifact that allows Yagami to kill anyone by writing down their name.
There are rules to using the Death Note, and Light has to know the face and name of his target, but that wouldn't stop this mad genius. Saitama used to be a normal guy with a day job. We imagine Yagami could dig up his old info, visualize the Baldy's plain as bread face, then take him out while eating chips!
5 Alucard (Hellsing)
Hellsing is probably the shortest series in this article. Its manga only consists of 10 volumes and its anime adaptations give us a total of 23 episodes, although only Hellsing Ultimate is worth seeking out. Alucard is the main character of the series and he pulls off some insane feats throughout the series.
This vampire is impossibly strong and immensely durable. You can shoot him, stab him, burn him, and blow him up. In the end, Alucard will shrug it off. Good old Vlad also has a vast array of dark magic powers at his disposal. The way we see it, Saitama doesn't have the tools to kill Alucard.
4 Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)
Naruto Uzumaki is a character that hardly needs an introduction. Even non-anime fans know of the Number One Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja! Naruto ranks so highly on our list because of his exploits - this man's defeated master assassins, demons, and gods before he reached his 20's!
A fight between Saitama and Naruto would probably start off evenly enough. However, Naruto would adapt to the Caped Baldy's abilities and adjust his fighting style accordingly. Uzumaki has a myriad of skills and tools at his disposal. He's also got access to Kurama's chakra and his various Sage Modes! In the end, Naruto is so overpowered because of his versatility.
3 Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
Monkey D. Luffy is another member of the Shonen Big Three. For the last few decades, this Straw Hat Pirate has kicked tons of butt and grown stronger than anyone could've imagined. Early in One Piece, Luffy could only stretch and contort his body. With time, Luffy mastered a number of creative abilities that helped him trade blows with unfathomably powerful foes.
These days, Luffy is also a master of Haki - a sort of spiritual energy. Luffy's creativity, determination, and grit make him a hard man to keep down. Also, Luffy's rubber body would likely deflect or absorb the kinetic energy from Saitama's punches!
2 Goku (Dragon Ball)
Whenever the topic of overpowered anime characters arises, Goku always has to be mentioned. Since childhood, Goku's traded blows with killer robots and psychopathic aliens! Over the years, Goku's trained ceaselessly to surpass his limits. He's also gained access to increasingly powerful forms and special techniques. As of Dragon Ball Super, Goku's even mastered God Chi!
Saitama's bored all the time because none of his opponents are on his level. However, Goku matches the Caped Baldy in terms of speed, strength, and goofiness! Moreover, Goku could also come back from the dead to continue fighting a la the Majin Buu Saga.
1 Rimuru Tempest (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime)
If you don't take away anything else from reading this article, we hope that you remember this: overpowered things really can come in small packages. Some of the strongest fighters in anime are high school kids. Others are lovable simps who just think about eating and training. However, Rimuru Tempest may have everyone else beat.
As the name of his series suggests, Tempest spends most of his time as a slime. Yep, one of the most overpowered characters in anime resembles the weakest enemies in the Dragon Quest series. However, Rimuru uses his new form to his advantage. He absorbs other objects and creatures into his body, then replicates their power. In other words, Rimuru is Kirby with even greater magical power!