What makes an action anime great? The fights! We're talking about those off-the-walls crazy, fast-paced, non-stop thrill ride battles that show just how strong the heroes and their opponents are. What makes a great fight is the awesome and crazy strength of the combatants, and there are some insanely strong heroes in anime, but which are the strongest? It can be a bit difficult to gauge the strength of an anime character, mostly since they all exist in different worlds with different rules and power types, but there are also some clear differences in power between some of your favorite anime heroes. Does ki beat chakra? Is cursed fruit power stronger than magic? Just how strong is Saitama?
We'll answer all these questions and more as we analyze the strength level of the strongest anime heroes out there. We've got everything from mainstream heroes to some of the lesser known anime protagonists, just to keep things diverse and interesting. There are also a few curveballs thrown in there, mostly having to do with characters that are at a certain strength on their own, but almost always fight with some sort of augmentation — if that sounds confusing, don't worry, it'll make sense when we get there. With all that out of the way, it's time to get down to business, time to take a look at the most powerful warriors for good in anime, time to rank the 25 strongest anime heroes ever!
25 THE SAILOR SCOUTS
The powers of the Sailor Scouts are not quite on par with the likes of other action anime heroes, but that doesn't mean they won't put up a good fight. On their own, they might not make the list, but together, fighting as a team — as they almost always do — they can pull off some pretty great feats.
They even have some ultimate magical attacks that, though vague in their effects, have dealt pretty heavy damage in the final seconds of a fight. All that considered, the Sailor Scouts still only make the lower tier, as there are quite a few stronger heroes in anime.
24 CYBORG 009
The 00 series cyborgs were built to have great strength, speed, durability and additional powers unique to each member of the team. The strongest among them without a doubt is Cyborg 009, Joe Shimamura, who was gifted with most of the attributes of his predecessors.
He's practically bulletproof, he is super strong and, of course, he has his signature speed, otherwise known as his acceleration mode. With the flick of a switch in his tooth, Cyborg 009 can move so fast that time appears to stop to him, a nifty ability that makes him hard to catch and harder to beat. Joe is definitely strong, but, even with acceleration mode, he still ranks in the lower numbers.
23 EDWARD ELRIC
Alchemy is a powerful art, but not an all-powerful one. It is a science, one that requires years of study, even for a prodigy like Edward Elric. Edward has the ability to transmute without a circle, so he's definitely quicker than the average alchemist, but he doesn't particularly have any kind of specialty alchemy-type.
Regardless, Ed can still manipulate his surroundings in ways that prove tough to combat. All things considered — including his automail and martial arts proficiency — Ed is a strong and capable fighter, but not the strongest on our list, so he doesn't quite make the top 20.
22 YUSKE URAMESHI
Being a spirit detective ain't easy, so having some strong skills can keep your soul in-tact in the most dire situations. Good thing Yuske Urameshi has just that in the form of his fighting abilities and his signature spirit gun attacks. On top of his usual spirit gun, Yuske also has multiple, more powerful variations on the attack, as well as superhuman strength, speed, stamina and durability.
But, at the end of the day, the level of fights seen in Yu Yu Hakusho aren't quite on the same level as some other anime on this list, thus Yuske ranks pretty low.
21 KIRITO
For this entry, we're looking more at how strong Kirito is within the world of Sword Art Online. He is, of course, a normal human outside the virtual world, but within the game, Kirito is one of the strongest players online, so much so that he helped beat the game and free all the trapped players.
Kirito's skill is... well, like a video game, it came from experience, and with that experience he is able to take on hordes of monsters, bosses and other strong players, his biggest asset sometimes being his intelligence and quick thinking. All of this, within the game, makes him one of anime's strongest sword fighters.
20 RORONOA ZORO
Kirito proved that two swords are better than one, but what's better than two swords? Three swords. But how does one wield three swords? With their mouth, of course, and none other than Roronoa Zoro of One Piece has mastered this strange and powerful style of swordsmanship.
On top of being an impossibly powerful swordsman, Zoro is superhumanly strong and agile, which only further enhances his skill with his swords. Add to this his ability to hone Haki and use it to harden his blades, and Zoro looks to be one of the strongest swordsman in all of anime, with few others surpassing his abilities.
19 VASH THE STAMPEDE
Moving past swords and into guns, one might think that Vash the Stampede is just a crack shot and not much more. His gun skills are impressive and definitely push his ranking up a bit, but he didn't earn two destructive nicknames for nothing. Known as both a "stampede" and "the humanoid typhoon," Vash has a secret destructive power that has given him quite the reputation.
Vash's revolver also acts as the activation device to trigger (pun intended) his angel arm, a powerful weapon that transforms his right arm into a cannon capable of wiping out an entire city. This makes Vash incredibly strong, but since he can't control it and doesn't use it as fighting technique, he loses a few ranking points.
18 SOUL EATER AND MAKA
The very fact that Maka and Soul are, by the end of Soul Eater, a bonafide grim reaper and death scythe should put them at the top of this list since they are literally death incarnate. But, the rules of grim reapers and death are a bit different in the world of this anime.
Regardless, Maka and Soul are still a powerful combo; the former is brilliant, hard-working, and knows how to apply her smarts in a battle while the latter is a powerful weapon capable of using a god-slaying technique. These two are definitely not to be messed with.
17 GUTS
Guts might not be an actual superhuman of any kind, he might not have any powers, but he is the closest thing to a force of nature that a normal human can actually get. Incredibly strong and gifted with skills honed by two decades of constant battle, Guts is an immensly powerful swordsman who is notable for escaping death.
Armed with his Dragonslayer sword, his berserker armor and his cannon arm, Guts is not someone you want to encounter in battle, and while he does not possess any actual superhuman abilities, the stunts he can pull off definitely challenge that idea.
16 INUYASHA
If we're comparing Guts to Inuyasha, the latter is a step above, since he has all the same fighting skills with the addition of enhanced strength, speed and durability due to his demonic powers. These powers do more than enhance his physical abilities too, since he has a long list of demonic attacks that are powerful enough to take on some of the other heroes on this list.
Inuyasha also has his purified form, which greatly increases his power, and his sword is capable of a few transformations and demonic techniques as well. He might not be on the level of Goku, but Inuyasha is strong in his own right.
15 ROCK LEE
What Rock Lee lacks in special ninja abilities, he more than makes up for in his taijutsu skills, which makes him one of the strongest, and more importantly, fastest ninjas in the world of Naruto. Since he could use Ninjutsu or Genjutsi, Rock Lee put all his efforts into training his physical ninja capabilities, and thanks to the teachings of Might Guy, they are far beyond that of normal shinobi.
When Rock Lee opens his chakra gates, he can move faster than the eye can track him, and he knows how to use that speed, which is what makes him one of the most dangerous ninja of all time.
14 ERZA SCARLET
Erza Scarlet's requip ability is a form of spacial magic that, on its own, isn't great for offensive attacks. However, since Erza uses this power to store and switch out her various armors and weaponry, it makes her one of the strongest wizards in the Fairy Tail guild.
Erza is an incredibly gifted and skilled fighter, able to use a variety of weapons that become deadly with her superhuman strength, speed, durability and stamina, all of which are powered by her great capacity of magical power. She earned her S-Class for a reason, and the various special abilities and powers of her armor and weapons makes her one of the strongest mages in the world.
13 RYŪKO MATOI
Ryūko is a strong and capable fighter on her own, though not superhumanly so; she knows how to handle herself in a fight and can adapt pretty quickly to new situations. Add to this the superhuman strength she gets from Senketsu, her living uniform that can transform into a revealing, but powerful battle suit.
With Senketsu, Ryūko's strength, speed and durability are enhanced to superhuman levels, though it does drain on her personal stamina since her unison with Senketsu is triggered by her own blood. It's a give and take that places Ryūko somewhere in the middle of the ranking.
12 ICHIGO KUROSAKI
A scissor blade is cool and all, but a full on sword is way cooler, especially if it has a variety of forms, each more powerful than the last. Ichigo Kurosaki might only be a substitute soul reaper, but he's still one of the strongest among them. On top of the usual strength, speed, durability and stamina of a Soul Reaper, Ichigo has the blood of a quincy in him, which only further increases his power.
Ichigo also has a lot of powers, too many to name, since he went through a long list of transformations, augmentations and upgrades that made him stronger and stronger. So, while he might be strong, since the extent of his powers can be rather vague, he lands around the middle.
11 EREN YEAGER
The powers of a titan are pretty straightforward; they're big, they're strong, they are hard to kill and some have various additional abilities. Eren Yeager's power as a titan is not particularly special, but that doesn't mean he's not strong, since he's a great fighter and his titan form is in tip-top shape.
Eren eventually gains hardening powers, but otherwise, his strength and speed were usually enough to get him through battles with hordes of titans. However, all things considered, his powers just come from his size, and beyond his physical capabilities, Eren's titan form is not that impressive against some other anime characters.
10 THE JOESTAR FAMILY
This one is a bit of a strange entry, both because JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is easily the strangest action anime of all time, and because we're including the whole family as an entry. The reason for the latter is because each member of the Joestar family featured in the series is powerful in their own right, so powerful that it's often a point of debate between fans who is the strongest among them.
We're not going to open that can of worms, so we'll just put them together and average out their power, which we think puts the family in the top tier of our list, their mastery of strange and crazy powerful techniques making each of them a force to be reckoned with.
9 GON FREECSS
The level of Gon's strength might not be on par with the likes of Goku, but the sheer number of enhanced abilities working in unison make him a tough opponent. Gon has enhanced strength, speed, hearing, sight, durability, stamina, endurance, agility and healing.
But that's not all, Gon is also a very VERY skilled combatant, trained to be an expert in martial arts, various weapons, stealth and tracking. Gon is also very intelligent, which allows him to strategize in battle and, when all his skills are used with his strength and aura-based abilities, is easily one of the strongest hunters of all time.
8 DEVILMAN
Not quite a devil, not quite a man, he's the Devilman, also known as Akira Fudo. Akira was once a frail teenager who, after becoming a demon, gained superhuman physical prowess in his human form while also gaining a secondary demonic form, a hulking, devil that could tear any other demon to shreds without so much as breaking a sweat.
In his Devilman form, Akira is, without a doubt, the strongest of the demons, easily ripping them apart before they even have a chance to attack them, his claws and teeth acting like razor-sharp swords. Add to this his wings, superhuman strength, speed and durability, and Devilman easily makes it into the top 10.
7 GURREN LAGANN (SIMON & KAMINA)
This is another curveball in the ranking, since Kamina and Simon, though full of fighting spirit and determination, are regular humans with no notable special abilities. However, while fighting in their mech, Gurren Lagann, they are an almost unstoppable team.
Gurren Lagann is capable of insane feats, including producing countless drills for piercing attacks, the Giga Drill Break being the strongest among them. They are also very determined warriors, motivating each other to raise their fighting spirits even while facing the most grim situations. If Kamina and Simon are determined enough, their fighting spirit will get them and Gurren Lagann through any challenge against any opponent.
6 NATSU DRAGNEEL
Of all the magic types in the world of Fairy Tail, perhaps the strongest kind is dragon slaying magic. Natsu Dragneel was raised by a dragon who taught him said magic, allowing him to wield fire in a number of powerful and interesting ways.
Natsu has quite a few signature attacks, including his fire dragon roar — which gives him fire breath — and his fire dragon iron fist — a powerful fire punch. His spells only get more powerful along the way as he adds more and more power to his arsenal, including wielding lighting and fire at the same time. Add to this his ability to recharge his magical power by eating fire, and Natsu shapes up to be one of anime's strongest heroes.