An anime protagonist needs to be special in some way, or extremely powerful, but usually, they have one defining superpower that’s focused on the most, even throughout their growth in their respective anime.Whether they just have one additional power or a multitude of powers, these heroes are in their own leaguewhen it comes to how invincible they are from the dangers of their world.
Shōnen anime protagonists in particular often have multiple physical abilities, but it’s less common for them to have multiple different powers, especially when those superpowers are unrelated to each other. If one superpower is enough to prevail, then multiple superpowers are enough.
10Vash the Stampede
Trigun
Vash is not only known as “the Stampede”, but he’s known as “The Humanoid Typhoon” because of how much chaos and trouble he invites. He appears human but is part of a race of living energy generators called Plants. Due to this,he’s physically enhanced and capable of wielding both his Generator Power and Angel Power, which gives him the ability to transform his body, teleport, fly, and heal or calm other Plants.
His dual powers don’t give him invincibility, but they do give him the ability to protect himself and defend those around him.His powers, particularly the Angel Power, require a tremendous amount of energy, but luckily he can use the shade of his hair to determine how much energy he has left in him.
9Giorno Giovanna
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Giorno has one of the most adaptable Stands in the anime, called Gold Experience, and he uses it to create and manipulate plants or small animals. He most often uses his abilities to deal lethal blows, especially Gold Experience Requiem. Being a Requiem Stand, this powerful ability gives his Stand an immense boost and, when used to kill someone, prevents them from truly dying and reaching “the truth” of their death.
Giorno isn’t the picture of morality that many anime protagonists are, but that doesn’t make him any less powerful. His past and his desire to join the gang known as Passione both give a lot of context to his brutality in combat, too.
8Shigeo (Mob) Kageyama
Mob Psycho 100
This reserved, straight-faced protagonist has many abilities, but they all stem from the same psychic energy.Shigeo had the majority of his emotions repressed from his early childhood in order to better control his abilities, but there are moments when those emotions bubble over, causing him to release large amounts of often destructive energy and strength, known as ???%.
He possesses six separate psychic powers, including psychic energy absorption and transference, which are amplified considerably when Mob’s emotions are provoked. From astral projection to potent telekinesis, there are few things that can stand in Shigeo’s way.
7Koro-Sensei
Assassination Classroom
One of the few anime protagonists who doesn’t present as a human, Koro-sensei is extremely deadly and although he is known for being a ruthless assassin, he cares deeply about his students and will protect them no matter what.Most of his abilities and superpowers are inherently animal-like, such as his ability to regenerate his tentacles, his immunity to poison, and his ability to change the color of his skin at will.
Koro-sensei also has heightened senses, and he can cause explosions or even laser blasts with his tentacles. Even though his abilities mostly stem from him being a genetically modified octopus, that doesn’t stop him from easily being one of the strongest characters in Assassination Classroom.
6Tanjiro Kamado
Demon Slayer
Tanjiro is not only a powerful swordsman, but he also has two powerful breathing styles, Water Breathing, and Sun Breathing, that give him an elemental advantage in a fight even without using a sword. His second breathing style, Sun Breathing, is of course the polar opposite of Water Breathing.He was powerful even before he became an experienced demon slayer, though, especially since he’s known how to use Water Breathing since his childhood.
These two powers would be enough to carry a protagonist’s strength on their own, especially with the magnitude of destruction they can cause, but on top of that,Tanjiro is also able to predict his opponents' next moves based on how their body moves in a fight. That’s a lot of power for one kid!
5Monkey D. Luffy
One Piece
Luffy is a protagonist who can keep increasing his power even in the middle of a fight, and his Devil Fruit ability which allows him to stretch and manipulate parts of his rubber body is only the baseline of his power.With the introduction of his Gear abilities, essentially enhancements of his Devil Fruit power, he’s become a more versatile opponent each time he fights a new pirate crew or army.
His Gears Two, Three, Four, and Five are all different from each other, too - Gear Two allows him to move faster, Gear Three allows him to inflate and grow parts of his body to deal more damage, Gear Four inflates his muscles, and Gear Five essentially frees him to stretch however and wherever he wants.
4Son Goku
Dragon Ball Z
Goku is one of the first incredibly powerful anime protagonists that most people think of, and for good reason. He has multiple massively damaging attacks, and he only grows in strength the more he fights. Not only that, buthe can come up with new and improved versions of his attacks and techniques, such as the infamous Kamehameha move, which quickly became his signature move while in Super Saiyan form.
His attacks are typically energy-based, whether that’s sensing the energy of others or manipulating the air and energy from his surroundings.His most powerful technique, Spirit Bomb, allows him to draw energy from the lives of things around him, so it’s no wonder he usually saves this move in dire situations.
3Natsu Dragneel
Fairy Tail
Natsu is a Fire Dragon Slayer, which seems like a less complex superpower on the surface. But, when we get a look into Natsu’s origins and how he became so powerful so quickly, we begin to see a darker, much more powerful side to him.He does possess the ability to turn into a Fire Dragon, although he was given antibodies for this transformationby the dragon who raised him, so his power lies mostly in the manipulation of fire.
He is reckless and often overconfident, although this doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the power level for fights over his head. Natsu is one of the most powerful characters in Fairy Tail, both as the guild and as an anime, and that’s not just because of his demonic origins.
2Izuku Midoriya (Deku)
My Hero Academia
Deku started out with no quirk, but he gained a quirk directly from All Might while training with him, known as One For All.The One For All Quirk on its own gives him the ability to harness immense amounts of energy, but even before that, he was very intelligent and analytical. His enhanced speed, calculative fighting style, and access to the wisdom of the previous One For All holders in a different realm make him the master of combat in the My Hero universe.
Although all of his power lies in physical attacks, the mystical parts of his Quirk and abilities are what set him apart.When Deku gets his Quirk, he gains access to all of the Quirks of previous One For All holders.That’s eight total Quirks that Deku can use all at once!
1Kusuo Saiki
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
Kusuo has the most amount of distinct powers on this list, with a total of twenty-nine superpowersthat can only be limited via the pink antenna on his head. He also wears tinted glasses to prevent anyone from being petrified, which is one of his many superpowers. He has the abilities of flight, telekinesis, mind control, petrification, and astral projection, just to name a few, and yet he hates being the center of attention.
Kusuo is proof that too much power in the hands of someone who could do without that power is more of a curse than a blessing, yet he still uses his powers in the most selfless ways he can to help others. He’s a model protagonist and the epitome of versatile superpowers.
