Strength and children don’t usually go together. But in anime, it makes perfect sense that a child would be able to outmatch a grown adult. These genius characters are always exciting to watch when they decimate their surroundings. Or their strength may not simply be in fighting, but possibly in their innate abilities instead. Either way, messing with these kids would NOT be like taking candy from a baby.
25. Eri
Anime: My Hero Academia Alright, I know what you’re thinking. And you’re right. Eri is not a fighter. She’s a gentle and sweet caring little girl. But, her Quirk is not to be underestimated. She can reverse any living thing back into its previous state. That includes injuries, body modifications, one’s own age, and even lost quirks. This ability is very similar to Orihime’s power to reject events that occurred in a certain space. Her overpowered ability was praised even by the villain of Bleach, comparing it to a god’s abilities. Nevertheless, Eri has one of the most powerful Quirks in My Hero Academia. And as she learns to control it, she’ll be an indispensable ally to have.
24. Shiro
Anime: No Game No Life Shiro’s intelligence is unparalleled. Just to name a few accomplishments: She managed to learn a new language in under 15 minutes from little pieces of information, she has perfect aim, and she can even beat hackers in video games. I mean, she’s probably among the smartest characters in all of anime. And although she may not be physically strong in the real world or even in Disboard (the name of their isekai world), if you’re up against her in the virtual world, you might as well log off. An eleven year old so powerful in a video game, she’ll give Kirito a run for his money.
23. Sugar
Anime: One Piece This little girl (who’s actually 22 years old, but biologically 10) has one of the most overpowered devil fruits in One Piece. Just with one touch of her hand, she can turn anyone into a literal toy and afterwards she can then form a contract with them. The contract erases the memories of everyone who knew that person, and destroys their free will. They’re all forced to obey Sugar’s commands. With this power, she could theoretically defeat everyone in this list if they let her get close enough without suspecting a thing. But the next characters in our list aren’t nice or naive enough to fall for her cuteness.
22. Reisuke Houjou
Anime: Mirai Nikki Don’t be fooled by Reisuke’s childish behavior, because this little boy has the mind of a killer. He’ll use advanced chemistry and physics to incapacitate his targets and take their lives. And not only does his knowledge help him in his mission to kill, but his age comes in handy too. By making use of his childlike demeanor, Reisuke can take advantage of his unsuspecting seniors when their guard is down. Without Yuno’s impressive insight, Yuki would’ve fallen prey to his terrifying nature and died in a horrific way.
21. Wen
Anime: Cowboy Bebop Wen is nearly an immortal child. Nearly. In the anime, Wen died from the rapid age acceleration from the gem Spike shot into his head. However, without this gem, he can walk away from an explosion at the gas station from a car crash after getting shot in the head perfectly fine. Besides his implied intelligence, Wen can also handle a gun fairly well. Before he died, Wen was smiling and shooting bullets around Spike trying to toy with him—even grazing his cheek. With such precision, he clearly has proficiency with a gun. Even with a child’s body. Too bad he didn’t develop more useful skills that would’ve helped him in a fight. Or maybe he did, and we just didn’t get to see… After living 62 years, he learned to blow straight heat off a harmonica. Fair play.
20. Hibana Daida
Anime: Deadman Wonderland Yet another innocent looking kid, with a dark underside personality. Hibana is one of the most sadistic characters in this already twisted anime. She uses a giant iron cleaver that’s twice her size, which further elongates into a whip sword. The seven year old is an Undertaker, a title that only the worst criminals possess. Don’t think this sweet girl could ever be a criminal? She tortured and killed her entire class and mother. And that was when she was around 4 years old. Just some friendly advice: don’t make fun of little children. You could die.
19. Rudeus Greyrat
Anime: Mushoku Tensei Rudy is technically a 34 year old man – but in his reincarnated life he takes the form of a young boy. And a prodigious mage at that. Magic ranks are divided into seven titles: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Saintly, Kingly, Imperial, and Divine. At the age of 2, he used an intermediate level spell. At the age of 5, he acquired the Water Saint magic rank upon performing a spell after watching his teacher cast it once. Having knowledge of a 34 year old in another world helps to express his intelligence… But that’s not how he acquired his strength. He worked hard. Harder than he ever did in his previous life. Granted he may not have been special in our world, but he certainly was a genius in his isekai. Despite his perverse behavior, he’s probably bound to become one of the most powerful characters in Mushoku Tensei.
18. Eris Boreas Greyrat
Anime: Mushoku Tensei Eris’s skill does not come as a surprise. She was trained by Ghyslaine Dedorudia, a Sword King, who follows the Sword God Style of swordsmanship, said to be the strongest of the three schools of swordsmanship. The style which focuses on speed and aggression is perfect for the red haired tsundere. And although Rudy is an extremely talented mage, his water spells won’t be enough to stop Eris’s quick blade from penetrating his flesh. Let’s hope he doesn’t get on her bad side.
17. Kabane Kusaka
Anime: Kemono Jihen A zombie child is cuter than you think. And to prove my point, I present to you Kabane. He has superhuman strength and regenerative ability. He can literally tear off his head and regrow his body. Not only that, but this apathetic child does not feel any pain. If you were to set him ablaze in a raging fire, he would say “This is fine”. Kabane does have another monstrous form that’s potentially far stronger than his human one – but that has yet to be put into use. So for now, he’s just a young boy trying to learn to be human with his friends and foes.
16. Child Emperor
Anime: One Punch Man The fifth ranked S-Class hero is a child, all in a world where most everything is stupidly strong and trying to kill you. That’s pretty impressive. And may I just comment on that badass hero name? It’s one of my favorite names in the show. In any case, Child Emperor is a fan-favorite hero— the underdog in a world full of narcissists and bloodthirsty monsters. He may not be the strongest S-Class hero. But his leadership skills, superior intellect, and ironically, his maturity, landed him as the fifth rank. He also hasn’t really fought in the anime. But in the manga, he uses his gadgets and their technological prowess to their fullest extent. If the anime gets greenlit for a third season, we’ll get to see his tech against one of the most highly anticipated villains waiting to be animated. That is, if the anime gets a third season.
15. Ururu Tsumugiya
Anime: Bleach Not much is known about this mysterious little girl, other than the fact that she’s the most adorable little girl you’ve ever seen. Until she enters Slaughter Mode. Ururu has incredible strength, speed, and combat ability. Sometimes she’ll pull out a rocket launcher the size of herself for long ranged attacks. She’s definitely not someone you want to mess with (unless you’re Jinta). She bullied an arrancar, a foe that one of the main characters in his secondary form couldn’t easily defeat. And she beat him up so bad that he was forced to go all out. As cute as Ururu is, she’s terrifying when she gets serious.
14. Pride
Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood The most powerful homunculi next to Father himself is Pride. He’s a scary and evil boy that uses shadow manipulation as his main form of attack. Those wicked eyes and those twisted teeth caused so much trouble that Hohenheim had to step in to contain him. And he can grow even more powerful by consuming other beings and gaining their abilities, like Kimbley’s alchemy knowledge or Gluttony’s enhanced sense of smell. Other than his abilities and his monstrous amounts of chi, he’s also very smart. He used Morse Code to send Kimbley his location while trapped in the dark. There’s no doubt that you need more than one person (or homunculus) to take this kid down. Even though he’s over 300 years old.
13. Gon Freecss
Anime: Hunter x Hunter Gon may look like a joyous, carefree, friendly child—which he is— but it’s best not to underestimate him in a battle. All the base stats of a human like strength, reflexes, senses, stamina, etc are all beyond human. In any fight, he can analyze his opponent and himself to form a strategy to win. And don’t get me started on his Nen… Disregarding his rock-paper-scissors ability, Gon’s talent at learning nen is described by Wing as “terrifying”. Before he even learned Nen, he was using it in the form of Zetsu during the Fourth Phase of the Hunter Exam. It takes little-to-no instruction for Gon to learn something new. And it’s this bottomless talent that makes Gon so amazing.
12. Killua Zoldyck
Anime: Hunter x Hunter Killua has very similar proficiencies to his best friend Gon, with slight differences in personality and mentality. Killua has been trained as an assassin since birth. He’s been recognized by his family to be the most talented assassin in the entire history of the Zoldyck ancestry, the family of assassins. This talent, like Gon’s, helps him adapt to any situation in conjunction with his intellect and knowledge. His emotional maturity lets him think calmly and quickly, whereas Gon otherwise cannot. Through torture and training, Killua acquired a ruthless and bloodthirsty nature and an affinity for electricity. The creativity of his lightning ability placed Killua’s power as my favorite electricity-based power in all of anime. But it’s ironic how such a fast character exists in a manga with a slow production rate. Godspeed, Togashi. Godspeed.
11. Kagura
Anime: Gintama The kind side of this hot-tempered girl is hidden by her violent nature. It can be blamed on her blood that she inherited from the Yato clan, renowned in the galaxy for their terrible strength and fighting ability. This clan has an awakened state which unleashes the full killer instincts and destructive tendencies of a Yato. Kagura keeps this locked away, however, due to her loss of self-control. Even amongst the Yato, Kagura has been appraised as an elite fighter, ranking amongst the best in the clan. Yet despite her enormous strength and power, Kagura’s best features are expressed through the interactions with her friends in the Yorozuya. A place where her Yato bloodline is irrelevant to their bonds.
10. Mariko Kurama
Anime: Elfen Lied One bigger sadist than HIbana Daida is a psychokinetic little girl bound to a wheelchair. Her vectors, or invisible arms, are recorded to have the longest range and the greatest in number. Amongst all the Diclonius, she’s the most powerful. She could effortlessly kill humans, ripping off their limbs like wings off a fly, or exploding their heads into fireworks of blood. Mariko has no guilty conscience as she is not human. There’s no restraint when it comes to abusing and ending someone’s life. Although she may smile when she’s torturing and killing, it’s only a veil to hide her sadness and longing to be with her family— to live a regular life as a normal child. At least she got a taste of what she wanted in her final moments.
9. Akki
Anime: Shinsekai Yori In the world of Shinsekai Yori, humans cannot kill other humans. For if they do, they will die themselves. This process is known as Death Feedback. Akki was raised by monster rats. She thinks of herself as a monster rat, even though she’s human. Since she doesn’t think of humans as her own kind, she’s unaffected by the Death Feedback. Which means she can kill any human with her psychokinesis without anyone able to harm her. Akki can erupt humans into flames and twist their bodies into the shape of licorice. She was triumphant in a fight against the strongest telekinesis user of Kamisu 66. And she was raised by the monster rats as their ultimate weapon against the humans. Ironically, it was the humans’ fault that she was born in that environment in the first place.
8. Sho Suzuki
Anime: Mob Psycho 100 The son of the most powerful esper is strong – but not strong enough to meet his father’s expectations, unfortunately. Despite that, Sho remains a brilliant young esper, on par with the Ultimate 5. He can defeat super powered espers like Ishiguro and Hatori with ease. He’s shown that he’s adept at telekinesis too, when using complex techniques like Light Distortion and Psychic Energy Storage. Sho could possibly get to Toichiro’s level of telekinesis… or he never will. But either way, he’s an indispensable ally and friend to Shigeo.
7. Yachiru Kusajishi
Anime: Bleach This pink haired ball of joy is the best friend to the strongest shinigami. You know she’s gonna be strong. With just her reiatsu alone she’s able to scare those under her command despite having a childlike appearance. In the Thousand Year Blood War arc in the manga (spoilers ahead if you haven’t read it), Yachiru is shown to have incredible reflexes and instincts, enough to attack an enemy she doesn’t even know exists. In the manga, she was able to defeat her tricky opponent with simply a shikai, the likes of which was never seen before, as noted by Isane. But what’s even crazier is it was hinted that Yachiru might be the manifestation of Zaraki’s zanpakuto (which is probably why her “shikai” was so unique). Knowing this recontextualizes Yachiru’s entire character and interactions with Kenpachi. I can’t wait to see her animated once more.
6. Nataku Son
Anime: Fire Force This child is someone that anyone can relate to. Expectations are placed on this young student to become smart at an early stage in life. Even if he has the power to destroy the entirety of the Tokyo Empire, Nataku’s upbringing forced him to become a strong and smart boy. Yet that was too much to ask from him. And this only made him want to feel weak and fragile instead. But the truth is, he’s not. When he went into a berserking mode, the radioactive energy he shot out reached all the way to the moon. So basically, this kid is a nuclear bomb. I wonder if his parents would be proud of that feat.
5. Toshiro Hitsugaya
Anime: Bleach Do you know who’s the coolest Bleach captain? Well it’s not Toshiro! (If you read the TYBW arc in the manga you’ll know what I mean). The prodigious shinigami became the youngest captain ever in the Gotei 13. His talent runs so deep that Shunsui, one of the strongest shinigami to ever exist, stated that in about a century Toshiro will surpass him. But even in his current form and in the TYBW arc, Toshiro uses his ice abilities creatively, exhibiting more techniques than any other captain. Even after Bleach ended, Toshiro still has room to grow. Perhaps we’ll see him as captain-commander one day in the future.
4. Sho Kusakabe
Anime: Fire Force Time manipulation is always a cool ability. They’re broken, but they’re cool. In Sho’s case, he cools down the area around him, which in turn reduces the thermal expansion of the universe and thus slows down time for him. So in Sho’s perception, three seconds for him would equate to one second to his opponent. You’d have to be able to move at light speed like Shinra just to match him in a fight. Confused yet? Don’t worry, all you gotta know is that he’s very powerful, exceptionally fast, and extremely cool.
3. Shigeo Kageyama
Anime: Mob Psycho 100 One of the most powerful espers is a socially awkward boy. While it may seem like a setup for a joke, Mob’s character gives an insightful view into the human condition, and provides a coming of age story; one that has middle school espers and adults with a sense of humor. Essentially, it’s Earthbound. Besides the inspiration, Mob’s power is so superior to all his peers and his esper seniors, that it’s literally limitless. We do not know the true depth of his power when he goes into ???%. But even though he has all that power, Mob stays a humble caring boy who keeps his heart through all the hardships of those who challenge his beliefs and ideologies. Shigeo is truly a strong kid.
2. Beatrice
Anime: Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World Here’s the most powerful librarian you’ll ever meet. And she’s a 400+ year old tsundere loli with drilled twin tails. Once again, I assure you this is not a joke. Beatrice is a magic user who can manipulate space, time, and reality itself. She can open doors to other dimensions and conjure barriers that block any magical attack. Maybe I should start reading some books as well… But it’s quite a shame the last order given to her was to merely wait for someone to save her. Now Subaru’s by her side, we’ll get to see much more of her abilities put to use instead of rotting away in that library. Not that it did rot after 400 years but you get what I mean.
1. Tet
Anime: No Game No Life The most powerful anime child we know is a god. Of course it is, this is anime. What did you expect? The “One True God” is his official title. He rules over Disboard as its main authority. Tet’s true extent of his powers remains unknown, but we can get a glimpse of his powers through Jibril. She noted that the Old Deus would have a difficult time summoning someone from another world, and yet, Tet managed to bring two for an expansive period of time. As a god that’s more powerful than his predecessors, Tet can be assumed to have control of all matter and the fabric of reality. In the light novel, he roams parallel dimensions and other worlds to learn new strategies and games. That’s where he met Shiro and Sora. Now I wonder how they’ll deal with the title of the One True God if there’s two of them? Maybe we’ll find out in the second season.
