Anime fans can look at the shonen genre for a new yet lasting take on the hero's adventure. After all, the likes of Son Goku, Naruto Uzumaki, and Ichigo Kurosaki remained the iconic heroes that largely defined the childhood of many fans today. Young viewers today can now admire the likes of Deku Izuku, Tanjiro Kamado, and Yuji Itadori.
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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 would come out on top.
10 Kenshiro (Fist Of The North Star)
Trained in the Hokuto Shinken Style, Kenshiro 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.
Some argue that Kenshiro isn't as strong due to his lack of other supernatural abilities but 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 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. With One For All, Deku can release a huge amount of raw power that transforms his physical abilities into superhuman levels.
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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).
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, 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.
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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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