20 Anime Heroes Who Would Crush Goku in a Fight

Since he was a child, Dragon Ball‘s Son Goku has had one wish, to be the best fighter in the universe, but despite that, there are a handful of anime heroes who could destroy the Saiyan warrior. He’s been fortunate in the fact that he’s largely been able to fulfill his childhood dream. Having trained with and fought against the most impressive of Gods, warriors, and fighters, no one can deny he’s in the conversation on who is the greatest anime fighter of all time. But all his accolades don’t mean he can’t be beaten.

As a lifelong warrior, with the thirst for fighting literally embedded in his DNA, finding a hero to defeat Goku is no easy task. However, with the breadth and diversity of characters found in anime, there are more than a few capable souls whose abilities can ultimately overcome whatever skills in battle Goku may possess. Goku might be incredibly powerful, but he’s absolutely not invincible.

20 Ryomen Sukuna

Character From MAPPA’s Jujutsu Kaisen; Based On The Manga By Gege Akutami

One of the most terrifying villains in Shonen Jump history, Sukuna’s over-the-top power has made the ending of Jujutsu Kaisen uncertain. Known as the “King of Curses” in-universe, Sukuna has been effectively built up throughout the horror action series’ run as a catastrophic threat to humanity. While he was still alive in the Heian Era, Sukuna was regarded as the world’s most powerful sorcerer and possesses a vast amount of cursed energy and is able to flawlessly control it.

Even early in the series, Sukuna is shown to be a threat to the powerful mentors and other sorcerers that Yuji meets. After consuming fifteen fingers, Sukuna devastates Shibuya with a level of power on par with Gojo – albeit, far more sinister. The threatening figure is capable of using a number of powerful jujutsu techniques as well as activating his own cursed domain, which would make him more than a formidable threat if he were to be pit against Goku.

19 Osamu Dazai

Character From Bones’ Bungo Stray Dogs; Based On The Manga By Kafka Asagiri

Osamu Dazai is one of the principal characters of Bones’ Bungo Stray Dogs. After meeting the troubled youth Atsushi Nakajima, Dazai takes him under his wing and recruits him into the Armed Detective Agency, a secret organization that deals with crimes committed by those who possess supernatural abilities, with Dazai being one of their best agents.

In addition to his physical abilities, Osamu Dazai’s power, No Longer Human, lets him negate any power that makes contact with his skin, making him virtually untouchable in a fight more often than not. No Longer Human has some specific stipulations in how it works, some of which negatively affect Dazai, but overall, it’s a power that leaves him as one of the strongest characters in all of Bungo Stray Dogs and easily puts him in the upper echelon of anime characters.

18 Hei

Character From Bones’ Darker Than Black; Created By Tensai Okamura

The ability for Darker Than Black’s Hei to crush Goku has two elements. First, there’s his martial arts skills. Like Goku, Hei is an accomplished martial artist whose prowess in hand-to-hand fighting would surely meet with Goku’s approval if circumstances were different.

Hie’s martial arts skills would be able to hold any initial attack Goku would present. It also gives him time to deliver the second element of Hei’s abilities, namely his ability to manipulate electricity. With this power Hei can deliver electric shocks and charges with enough capacity to fry Goku alive. In addition, Hei’s use of electricity allows him to change matter at the quantum level thereby giving him the ability to destroy matter – including Goku – with ease.

17 Saitama

Character From J.C.Staff’s One-Punch Man; Based On The Manga By ONE & Yusuke Murata

Considering One-Punch Man’s impressive history of effortlessly defeating a plethora of different types of opponents, and his means of melee success, a singular punch to the head or body, he is one individual on the list that Goku would likely come up against in a fight to see who is best.

Unfortunately for Goku, since he rarely arrives at a fight already in a “powered up” form Saitama should be able to knock Goku out fairly quickly and thus avoid a transformation that might prove more difficult to beat. Ending fights quickly seems to be a common One-Punch Man strategy, which would work well in this case.

16 Enrico Pucci

Character From David Productions’ JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 6: Stone Ocean; Based On The Manga By Hirohiko Araki

Though there is debate among JoJo fans about who the series’ strongest character is, the one most likely to give Goku trouble is Father Pucci. Pucci cycles through a few stands throughout Stone Ocean, and though his first two probably wouldn’t give Goku much trouble, Made in Heaven was powerful enough to restart JoJo’s universe. With Made in Heaven, Pucci has the ability to accelerate time at an incredible rate. Pucci can exploit this time acceleration to move so fast that his opponents barely have time to react, if they do at all.

Using Made in Heaven, Pucci could easily outpace and outlast Goku. The Saiyan fighter is incredibly tough, but many of his best techniques and forms take a great deal of chi, meaning that, unless he has a senzu bean or a new form to debut, Goku’s power wanes over time. Pucci is one of JoJo’s most powerful characters, and he might be one of the few who can take Goku down.

15 Najimi Ajimu

Character From Studio Shaft’s Medaka Box; Based On The Manga By Nisio Isin & Akira Akatsuki

Najimi Ajimu is one of the central antagonists of Studio Shaft’s Medaka Box. A being older than the universe, Najimi has spent centuries constructing the Flask Plan, a project designed to imbue the students of Hakoniwa Academy with supernatural abilities that would undoubtedly result in the loss of countless lives, all to find someone who could finally defeat her at something.

While the Medaka Box anime never got to explore it, Najimi Ajimu has over 12 quadrillion abilities, with many of them blatantly overpowered abilities like atom splitting, power nullification, and reversing causality, and the only character who could defeat her was Iihiko Shishime in the manga, someone as blatantly overpowered as her. Najimi’s power is overwhelming to the point of parody, but it still makes her one of the strongest anime characters, by far.

14 Lina Inverse

Character From E&G Films & J.C.Staff’s Slayers; Based On The Light Novel By Hajime Kanzaka

The classic fantasy anime Slayers stars Lina Inverse, a traveling sorceress who’s famous for both her immense power and her destructive short temper. Lina and her friends tend to only do things under the promise of a reward, but more often than not, Lina ends up involved in conflicts that, much to her annoyance, leave her as the only one who can do something about it and save the world.

Lina Inverse is explicitly not the chosen one in Slayers, but she more than earns her reputation with incredibly powerful magic and fighting sense, and she’s so talented that Giga Slave, a spell Lina invented as a child, can destroy the entire universe if used at full power. Even in a weakened state, Giga Slave can destroy the all-powerful demon lord Ruby Eye Shabranigdu, and there are few characters comparable to Lina in Slayers and in anime, overall.

13 Usagi Tsukino

Character From Toei Animation’s Sailor Moon; Based On The Manga By Naoko Takeuchi

One of the most iconic female anime characters brought up in discussions regarding who could be capable of taking down the legendary Saiyan warrior, the bubbly and airheaded Usagi from Sailor Moon is a fellow magical girl contender that could easily overpower Goku. While her cheery personality doesn’t make her seem relatively threatening at a glance, the leader of the Sailor Scouts is one of the most overpowered characters ever created.

Usagi has a number of high-powered abilities when she takes up the mantle as Sailor Moon, including the ability to fly across an entire galaxy in mere seconds; having the potential to completely alter reality as Sailor Cosmos, as well as controlling space-time in its entirety; she is also capable of healing the destruction of her body, mind, soul, and even abstract, otherworldy concepts. In the manga, she even managed to shrink an omnipresent force down to an infinitesimally small size to suppress the harm it was originally capable of committing.

12 Hao Asakura

Character From Bridge’s Shaman King; Based On The Manga By Hiroyuki Takei

Hao Asakura is the central antagonist of Bridge’s Shaman King. Hao developed a deep-seated hatred for humanity from the abuse he suffered as a child, so every time he reincarnates, he attempts to become the Shaman King and use the power of the Great Spirit to destroy humanity, and his latest reincarnation as the twin brother of series protagonist Yoh Asakura makes him the strongest he’s ever been.

Hao was already virtually indestructible thanks to his immense mana and the power of the Spirit Of Fire, but in the climax of the series, Hao obtains power on a universal scale by becoming Shaman King and fusing with the Great Spirit, with solar flares and black holes just a few of the forces he can create without breaking a sweat. Hao was stronger than everyone when Shaman King began, and all the ending did was escalate that to an incredible degree.

11 Haruhi Suzumiya

Character From Kyoto Animation’s The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya; Based On The Light Novel By Nagaru Tanigawa

Haruhi Suzumiya is the eponymous character of Kyoto Animation’s The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Seeking a life of adventure, Haruhi starts the SOS Brigade, a school club dedicated to uncovering supernatural oddities, but unbeknownst to her, most of the club members are the very oddities she’s been looking for, all of whom are gathered to observe Haruhi and the godlike abilities she unknowingly uses daily.

Haruhi’s powers allow her to constantly manipulate reality to satisfy her random whims, even if she’s unaware of what’s going on, and as shown in the first arc, Haruhi’s powers are strong enough to destroy and rewrite the entire fabric of reality if she’s so much as in a bad mood. In many ways, the scale of Haruhi’s powers are comparable to Zeno’s, and that perfectly illustrates how powerful she’s supposed to be.

10 Yuki Nagato

Character From Kyoto Animation’s The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya; Based On The Light Novel By Nagaru Tanigawa

Yuki Nagato is one of the main characters of Kyoto Animation’s The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. On the surface, Nagato is just a quiet, tech-savvy bibliophile, but her true identity is that of a humanoid interface, an alien being sent to Earth by the all-powerful Data Integration Thought Entity to observe Haruhi Suzumiya and the godlike powers she unknowingly possesses.

Not only does Nagato have superhuman strength and speed and the ability to alter reality through her data-based powers, but as shown in The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Nagato is even capable of stealing Haruhi’s godlike powers, thus allowing her to make the same changes to space and time Haruhi does by accident completely on purpose. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya rarely focuses on action, but it still made Nagato one of the most overpowered characters in all of anime, by far.

9 Sinbad

Character From A-1 Pictures’ Magi: The Labyrinth Of Magic; Based On The Manga By Shinobu Ohtaka

Sinbad is a major supporting character in A-1 Pictures’ Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic. As the king of Sindria and the head of the Seven Seas Alliance, Sinbad is seen as one of the biggest forces of good in the story and Aladdin and Alibaba’s strongest ally in the fight against Al-Thamen, but at the same time, something sinister connected to the wider lore of the series is lying beneath the surface.

Sinbad is introduced as the strongest character in the series with his mastery of seven Metal Vessels, and in the parts of the story that extend past the anime, Sinbad ascends to a position of godhood that grants him the power to manipulate every aspect of reality in the universe. It was a feat of power few other characters could match, and even someone like Goku would have trouble overcoming it.

8 Bernkastel

Character From Studio Deen’s Umineko When They Cry; Based On The Visual Novel By Ryukishi07

Bernkastel is the Witch of Miracles in Studio Deen’s Umineko When They Cry. While Bernkastel was introduced as Battler’s benefactor in his game with Beatrice, her true motives were purely selfish, and in the part of the story continuing from where the anime left off, Umineko When They Cry Chiru, she slowly showcases her true sadism as she evolves into the central antagonist of the series.

While the anime didn’t get to show off her abilities, Bernkastel’s witch powers are strong enough to both destroy and weaponize entire universes, her ultimate defeat only came about from very specific rules unique to the setting. Add in her ability to make the virtually impossible possible, and Bernkastel easily ranks among the strongest characters in Umineko and anime, in general, thus making her someone who could easily defeat Goku.

7 Eua/Featherine Augustus Aurora

Character From Passione’s Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou; Based On The Visual Novel By Ryukishi07

Originally appearing in Umineko: When They Cry and later returning as the being “Eua” in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou, Featherine is one of the most powerful individuals in the When They Cry universe, and perhaps one of the strongest fictional characters ever created. Featherine is technically ranked among the franchise’s other witches with godlike abilities.

Featherine boasts a number of over-powered abilities – and, at her peak, was capable of instantly killing a fellow witch named Lambdadelta. Despite her vast power, Featherine prefers the role of an observer, and as of the most recent animated installment in the Higurashi series, it seems as though Featherine has lost some of her memories, which could have potentially subdued some of her more powerful abilities. Regardless, she’s still capable of thrusting mortals into seemingly never-ending timeloops and affecting their memories, maintaining her position as a dire threat against someone like Goku.

6 Rimuru Tempest

Character From Eight Bit’s That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime; Based On The Light Novel By Fuse

Eight Bit’s That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime opens with ordinary office worker Satoru Mikami dying and reincarnating in a fantasy world as a slime. Satoru soon adopts the name Rimuru Tempest, and with the power to copy the abilities of anything he absorbs, Rimuru gradually becomes one of the strongest characters in the series who’s constantly at the center of major political conflicts.

As simple as Rimuru’s abilities might be, his powers slowly develop to absurd degrees, and soon enough, Rimuru’s abilities are so strong that they allow him to fight on a universal and multiversal scale. The nature of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime‘s story doesn’t force him to use those powers too often, but it still has him stand out as one of the strongest light novel protagonists to ever be written.

5 Simon The Digger

Character From Studio Trigger’s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann; Directed By Hiroyuki Imaishi

Simon the Digger is the main protagonist of Studio Trigger’s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Simon joins his sworn brother Kamina and the other members of Team Dai-Gurren in the fight against the tyrannical Beastmen, and after tragedy forces Simon into a position of leadership, he slowly grows into a figure that the entire universe will look to for protection.

Spiral Power is an ability that weaponizes willpower to an extreme degree, and thanks to his mastery of it, Simon can use Spiral Power to give his Gunmen, and even himself, power strong enough to manipulate and destroy entire galaxies, if not the entire universe, with the finale showing that off by having Simon create Gunmen larger than galaxies. It’s the ultimate representation of Gurren Lagann‘s hot-blooded character writing, making Simon a character few others can handle.

4 The Truth

Character From Bones’ Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood; Based On The Manga By Hiromu Arakawa

One of the more abstract entities from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Truth is an omnipotent figure in the series that is recognized as a God that will initially be rather jovial and friendly toward its visitors before turning them into victims of their own hubris. By using the “Gate”, Truth punishes the selfishness of a number of alchemists and the Seven Deadly Sins throughout the series, and has abilities that emulate existential discussions like what the meaning of life is.

While not a traditional combatant for Goku to face off against, Truth’s unique propensity to feed off of and punish one’s hubris and lack of self-awareness would be capable of doing serious harm to a character like Goku, who, depsite his heroics, often struggles with the exact traits Truth preys upon.

3 Madoka Kaname

Character From Shaft’s Puella Magi Madoka Magica; Created By Gen Urobuchi

One of the most powerful contenders that could easily face off against Goku is the perfect example of not judging a book by its cover. Madoka Kaname, the lead protagonist from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, a seinen magical girl series that is commonly recognized as being one of the most notable subversions of the popular genre, has abilities that would even make the most diehard Goku supporters wince.

As revealed in the series, Madoka has the potential to be so powerful due to another character in the series, Homura, traveling across multiple timelines to attempt to stop her from becoming a magical girl – a task that inadvertently caused Madoka to be at the center of multiple timelines, generating her a massive amount of power. In the series’ main lore, young girls are required to make wishes in order to become magical girls. In the original series, Madoka makes a wish to eliminate all witches before they’re born – past, future, and present. This wish causes Madoka to ascend to Godhood, and while her main abilities are still technically unknown, she gains control of the ‘Law of Cycle’ and is capable of controlling and manipulating light to deliver devastating attacks.

2 Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

Character From Toei Animation’s Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo; Based On The Manga By Yoshio Sawai

In Toei Animation’s Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, the world is under siege by the Chrome Dome Empire, a tyrannical empire seeking to leave everyone in the world bald. Leading the fight against them is Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, the bizarre master of the Super Fist of the Nose Hair, and in his fight against the Chrome Dome Empire, he slowly assembles a team of allies to help him who are just as weird as him, if not weirder.

Owing to the anime prioritizing comedy over logic, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo ’s titular hero has some of the greatest feats of strength of any anime character, with things like destroying stars, moving planets, and manipulating reality all being things that take zero effort on Bobobo’s part. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo prides itself on never taking itself seriously, and thanks to that, its hero has a level of power few others can hope to match.

1 Arale Norimaki

Character From Toei Animation’s Dr. Slump; Based On The Manga By Akira Toriyama

Dr. Slump was the debut work of Akira Toriyama and stars Arale Norimaki, a robot created to be the perfect little girl. Arale’s naivety, superhuman strength, and bizarre personality make her anything other than that, though, and most stories involve the many misadventures she and her friends go on, many of which involve one of her father’s inventions going awry.

Much like Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Dr. Slump being a gag story means that Arale casually has incredible feats of strength such as throwing the sun around and breaking the fourth wall to alter reality, and whenever she cameos in Dragon Ball, Arale has been shown to hold her own against some of Dragon Ball ’s strongest fighters without so much as breaking a sweat. There are few characters in fiction capable of what Arale does, seriously or otherwise, and that easily makes her the strongest anime character who could easily beat Goku.