25 Best Anime with Overpowered Main Characters

It’s important for our main characters to be strong. How else are they supposed to defend the world? These days anime are producing overpowered characters left and right. While most of us would think their story would be boring because they already have great power, I can assure you that these characters are interesting enough to keep you watching.

Mangakas and anime producers have to up their game when it comes to creating a story for their characters. While it’s been a difficult feat, I’ve encountered numerous shows with overpowered characters combined with a story that fits them just right. The list is a bunch of anime with overpowered Main Characters, but are nonetheless great watches.

1. One Punch Man

In One Punch Man, Saitama has always dreamed about being a hero. To make that dream a reality, he trained relentlessly for 3 years. While he may have lost all his hair because of his training, he gained unimaginable strength. Now he is strong enough to defeat any foe with a single punch.

With his strength, he has no equal, leaving him with no fights to enjoy. This changes when he meets a cyborg who wishes to become his disciple, Genos. Genos tells Saitama they should join the Hero Association so he can become a certified hero, the hero that he has dreamed about. 

Saitama takes Genos’ word for it. The two head out to join the Heroes Association, where Saitama will challenge even stronger villains and meet new allies. 

2. Dragon Ball Series

How can you go wrong with Dragon Ball? No matter how overpowered Goku gets, Dragon Ball fans will always come back to this series every time a new release comes out. Dragon Ball Super even showed us that Goku and Vegeta might be able to surpass the God of Destruction.

Dragon Ball follows the adventures of Goku, a saiyan orphan that was picked up by master Gohan. As he ages, he meets new allies and strives to protect the world he lives in. Goku learns about his origins and his capabilities with the new enemies and allies he encounters. 

Goku also loves the idea of fighting and is excited every time an opponent that tests his limits appears to challenge him. So what was originally a story to collect the Dragon Balls is now a journey on becoming the strongest in the universe.

3. Overlord

Since anime like .hack//G.U. and Sword Art Online have become popular, more anime with similar themes have been popping out. However, what makes Overlord different is that there is only one player, and everyone else is an NPC.

The virtual reality game called Yggdrasil is coming to a close. The game will no longer have online support. However, Momonga, a wizard of the game’s dark guild, decides to stay in the game as the server shuts down. Instead of automatically logging off the moment the server shuts down, his character still continues to function, and he hasn’t gone back to the real world. In addition, the NPCs seem to have developed deeper personalities.

As the only player of this world, he builds an army and investigates the strange occurrence of the virtual world. He also begins to wonder if there are other players stuck in the virtual world with him.

4. The Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Slimes are known to be that level 1 creature a lot of us would have to beat in any RPG setting. But this time, this slime is shown to grow and change form and may even be the strongest slime you’ll get to encounter in anime. 

Satoru Mikami was an ordinary thirty-something-year-old man who was unfortunate enough to get killed in the real world. His death allowed him to get reincarnated as a slime. While he does turn out to be regular blue slime at the start of the series, he becomes strong enough to transform into a demon slime.

As a slime, he also has the ability to use “mimic,” which allows him to take on any shape, creatures, and humans included. In the beginning, he could only transform into a small androgynous child.

He can now transform into an older version of the child from earlier seasons at his current state.

5. Assassination Classroom

While he isn’t the story’s protagonist, he is a main character. Korosensei acts as the homeroom teacher of Class 3-E, with the goal of teaching the class how to effectively kill him before graduation. 

Assassination Classroom is about the graduating class, 3-E, also known as the “end” class, the students with the lowest marks in the prestigious school of Kunugigaoka Junior High School. The class is chosen to undergo assassination training under the tutelage of their target, an octopus-like alien they named Korosensei.

6. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

A person would normally think that having superhuman abilities is some sort of blessing. Well, for Kusou Saiki, his superhuman abilities bring his life nothing but disasters. For him, this “blessing” is more of a curse.

Because of his bad luck, Saiki strives hard to obtain an ordinary quiet life by keeping his power a secret. This proves to be difficult because of the odd group of friends he seemed to have attracted. It looks like Saiki has to just accept his life with powers.

7. Mob Psycho 100

Everyone should be familiar with the saying “With great powers, lies great responsibility” for Mob Kageyama; it couldn’t be more accurate. Mob managed to tap into his power at a young age; however his powers bring in potential danger, so he chooses to suppress it. 

At present day, he uses it to impress his crush Tsubomi, who doesn’t seem too interested in him. Mob eventually enlists himself to Arataka Reigen. Mob now uses a bit of his abilities on a daily basis to exorcize evil spirits. However, not all of Mob’s power is controlled.

8. Death Note

There are no fancy fights in this anime, but the power Light holds in his hand can bring about imbalance in the world. Light owns the Death Note that allows him to write anyone’s name on it. If a person’s name is written on it, then the person will die.

Ryuu, a bored shinigami, decides to visit the human world to find something entertaining. While he was there, he dropped a Death Note, hoping that the human who finds it is an interesting one.

The Death Note ends up under the possession of Light Yagami, who uses it to “cleanse” the world of evildoers. However, while he is making attempts to create a crime-free world, a special task force headed by a detective known as L tries to track him down.

9. Noblesse

Noblesse is a title that is given to the strongest Noble. The Noblesse are the Nobles and Lords hidden protector, judge and sometimes even their executioner. The only known person to hold the Noblesse title in the series is Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, also known as Rai.

Noblesse follows the journey of Raizel upon his return after he’s gone missing for 820 years. He currently attends Ye Ran High School and has trouble adapting to the modern world.

10. First of the North Star

A warrior named Kenshiro has been betrayed and left for dead in a post-apocalyptic world. After he recovers, he looks for his rival Shin, who kidnapped his fiancé, Yuria. While on his journey to retrieve his fiancé, he makes use of the Hokuto Shinken to defend helpless people from ravagers.

Instead of simply rescuing his loved one, Kenshiro becomes involved in several battles and incidentally becomes a savior towards the weak. So now, Kenshirou is constantly put in a situation where he has to use Hokuto Shinken to save others.

11. How Not to Summon a Demon Lord

If you spend countless hours on a video game you love, you’re bound to get good at it, or even if you don’t, your stats will make up for it. Takuma Sakamoto plays the Demon Lord Diablo in the MMORPG Cross Reverie. 

One day, he gets summoned as his character by a Pantherian named Rem and an Elf named Shera. The two characters attempt to make Takuma their servant, but to their dismay, the spell rebounds, making them his servants instead.

Now, Takuma is trying to help Rem and Shera dispel the magic by traveling with them. He uses his vast knowledge about the lore of the MMORPG that he loves to navigate around the world.

12. I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level

Killing slims may not be the fastest way to level up. Generally, you journey and deal with monsters that give out more experience as you level up. But what if you had all the time in the world before you needed to progress?

Azusa Aizawa, a corporate slave in the real world, passes away due to extreme exhaustion. Then, in a vision, she meets a goddess who gives her immortality and a new life in another world. Azusa lives out her days for the next 300 years by tending the farm, protecting the village, and slaying about 25 slimes per day.

At one point, she learns that she has maxed out her level. This attracts several comrades and foes to her once quiet life for the last 300 years. Her life starts to become more chaotic but enjoyable from when she was just slaying slimes alone.

13. My Hero Academia

Suppose you’re looking for a good Shonen anime with a main character that gets stronger as the story progresses. In that case, you can count on My Hero Academia to be one of the best shows out there. In a world where  “quirks” or superpowers are a norm, people who are quirkless are often the victims of bullies.

Izuku Midorya, a superhero fanboy, happens to be quirkless. Still, his state doesn’t stop him from enrolling in a prestigious Super Hero School. He encounters his favorite hero, All Might, who gives him a powerful quirk. The problem is, Izuku’s body cannot handle the Quirk at full power.

The series is about how he learns to control one of the strongest quirks known to the world and make it his own. 

14. Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

This is here because Shirou Emiya, the protagonist of the story, suddenly becomes overpowered at the end of the series. He manages to defeat Gilgamesh, the King of All Heroes, during the final battle of the series, something a non-servant mage shouldn’t even be capable of doing.

The series is about Emiya Shirou and his journey as the last participant of the Fifth Holy Grail War held in Fuyuki City. He, along with his servant Saber, form an alliance with Rin Tohsaka, another participant of the battle royale.

The battle becomes more complicated with the involvement of Gilgamesh, the king of heroes, who was not a summoned servant for this war. In addition, Rin’s servant Archer decides to work on his own, against the wishes of his master.

15. Jujutsu Kaisen

At the start of the series, Yuuji Itadori is a high school student who possesses odd strength for someone his age. He and his Occult Club friends tamper around the school and find a sealed finger that turns out to be a finger of a Special Grade Curse. The finger then attracts other curses nearby, endangering Yuuji’s friends. As an attempt to save his friends, Yuji eats the finger and awakens Sukuna.

Yuuji now finds himself enrolled in Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School. In the school, he has a mission to collect Sukuna’s other fingers so the sorcerers can destroy them all. The anime showcases Yuuji, a new sorcerer who shows incredible talent and a large amount of Cursed Energy. Even without control of Sukuna, Yuuji is shown to be experienced when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.

16. Seven Deadly Sins

Originally the Seven Deadly Sins were loyal knights of the Liones Kingdom; however, they were forced to disband and flee due to being accused of planning to overthrow the kingdom. It was the Holy Knights who supposedly dealt with the Seven Deadly Sins. However, a decade after their disappearance, the Holy Knights ran a coup d’état and captured the king. The third princess, Elizabeth, now sets out on a journey to find the Seven Deadly Sins to help liberate her kingdom.

17. The Irregular at Magic School

Magic is something viewed as a norm in the 21st century. It’s no longer something mythical that is only found in fairytales. The anime follows a pair of siblings, Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba, who are enrolled in a high school meant to teach magic.

The siblings score differently in their entrance exam, with Miyuki scoring high and automatically placing in the First Course. Her brother, Tatsuya is placed in the second course but is given an irregular status due to his capabilities. It turns out Tatsuya is magically inept, has advanced technical knowledge, combat capabilities, and unique magic techniques.

18. Magi

Aladdin, a young magi, has no idea about his origins or the extent of his power. According to legend, Magis are a particular type of magician who won Solomon’s Rukh’s favor. They are also described to be the magicians who will shape the world. 

The people of the world believe that a Magi will be the one who will choose the king of the world as a whole. However, Aladdin doesn’t seem to be aware of his duties to the world. So, together with his newfound friends Alibaba and Morgiana, the three set out for the world, trying to see what destiny has in store for them.

Unlike other magicians, a magi has access to an unlimited source of Magoi from their surroundings. Therefore, they are said to be the strongest Magicians.

19. Durarara!!

While he seems weak and timid, the anime’s main protagonist turns out to be far more ruthless than anyone expected in the series. The anime follows the story of Mikado Ryuugamine. The young teen moves to Ikebukuro, hoping for some excitement in life. 

While he witnesses the city life around him, Mikado also starts moving his own pieces to make things more exciting. Unknown by his friends, he is also the founder and leader of a group called the Dollars.

20. Black Clover

The story begins with two boys promising to compete for the title of Wizard King—a title said to be given to the strongest mage in the kingdom. Yuno is talented at a young age, being able to wield and control his magic without a problem. However, Asta is shown unable to use his magic. He desperately tries to awaken his magic through physically training his body.

At the age of 15, Asta receives a five-leaf clover grimoire with an Anti-Magic devil inside. He joins the Black Bulls squad of the Magic Knight and continues to get stronger to become the Mage King.

21. Beelzebub

Tatsumi Oga is known to be a legendary first-year student of Ishiyami High that is known to be the most vicious and ruthless fighter out there. After trying to save a man by the river, a baby attaches himself to his back one day. The baby is actually Kaiser de Emperana Beelzebub IV, or Baby Beel,  the son of the Demon Lord.

Now Tatsumi has to raise this child in the middle of attending a school known for delinquents. To make matters worse, now even demonic powers and magic are involved in his daily life.

22. The Saga of Tanya the Evil

Don’t let this young girl fool you; Tanya is merely a vessel of a man who challenged a god. The result of the challenge had him get reincarnated as a little girl in a world of magical warfare. Instead of accepting his defeat, he decides to join the ranks of the military and works her way up the army.

She becomes well-known for her predatorial-like brutality to the point she earned herself her own nickname as the “Devil of the Rhine.”

23. Cautious Hero: The Hero is Overpowered but Overly Cautious

Even with overpowering stats, you can never be too cautious. Seiya Ryuuguuin gets summoned by the goddess Ristarte to save the world. Unfortunately, Seiya decided to be overly prepared before setting out on his noble journey. His preparation is to max out his level by beating up weak enemies, practicing his strongest skills, and buying heaps loads of expensive items to stay safe.

24. Noragami

Considering the main character is actually a god that brings about calamity, there’s no way he cannot be overpowered. But the people who are working on Noragami made sure to balance him out by having him partner with a new regalia and care too much about being a good god.

Yato is introduced as the self-proclaimed “Delivery God,” hoping to get worldwide popularity by doing every small favor the humans need, all for the price of 100 yen. Unfortunately, things don’t look too well for the god since none of his weapons want to stay with him for too long since he has sweaty hands and is terrible at managing his cash.

This all changes when he meets Hiyori Iki, who tries to save him from becoming a car accident victim. This causes her soul to occasionally leave her body at random. Wanting to get back to normal, she pays Yato to fix her. However, the god still has no idea how to solve her problem.

25. Hellsing Ultimate

Vampires apparently exist, and they roam around the world and kidnap their victims. Wouldn’t society be aware of their existence if they had enough victims? This is why the Hellsing Organization is alive. They make sure society is kept unaware of vampires and exterminate them before the news goes out.

How exactly does this organization fight off the vampires? With a vampire of their own, of course! Alucard is known as the strongest weapon of the Hellsing Organization. Although he isn’t an ordinary Vampire, the series constantly implies that he may be the most powerful vampire alive.

According to Volume 8 of the manga Hellsing, Alucard is actually Vlad III Tepes Dracula.