In the world of anime, there are a metric ton of tropes. Some of these tropes are brilliant, and some need desperately to be retired. It largely depends who you ask. But, one such trope is the anime series with an overpowered, or OP, protagonist.
An overpowered protagonist can sometimes be fun to watch, whether they’re overpowered in brains, brawn, or just plain luck. But, the lion’s share of them are exhausting to watch because they retread old ground or worse, their overpowered protagonist’s adventure simply isn’t fun to watch.
Here are 10 examples of anime that take advantage of the OP main character trope, to varying degrees of success. If you see an anime here you wouldn’t have picked, or if you don’t see one you would’ve, let us know in the comments!
10 anime with OP main characters
10. Sword Art Online (Kazuto Kirigaya/Kirito)
If we’re talking about OP main characters, we can’t ignore one of the poster children for the trope, Kirito from Sword Art Online. To be frank, any main character in a series featuring a ton of death is going to be a bit overpowered, simply because they’re the character whose viewpoint dictates the story.
But, not only is Kirito fairly overpowered, he’s also wearing the most dense plot armor of all time. If I had a nickel for every time Kirito was in a life-or-death situation and somehow managed to survive, I don’t know exactly how much I’d have, but I do know it’d probably be enough to afford a Blu-ray copy of Sword Art Online from Aniplex of America’s online store.
No, but seriously — you’re telling me a 14-year-old little boy became an elite hacker before being trapped in a VRMMORPG where if you die in the game you die in real life? Then, upon surviving said death game, he immediately starts taking favors from government officials and effectively becomes a part-time tech advisor, part-time in-game hitman? He does all this while making every woman he so much as glances at fall in love with him. I can suspend my disbelief, but there’s a clear limit here!
9. The Monogatari Series (Koyomi Araragi)
I am mostly including Araragi on this list because of his fight during Suruga Monkey. I don’t think I have ever seen an anime character be literally torn apart limb-from-limb and still somehow be okay to go to school the next day. Aside from that, some of the things he does on a regular basis make me surprised he’s never once been arrested or killed, and I’ll leave it at that.
But, I want to make it clear, it’s not just his ability to take a punch; the Kizumonogatari films are evidence he can pack one, as well. His fight against the immortal vampire Kiss Shot Acerola Heart Under Blade has him kick her head clean off — not a spoiler, she’s unable to die, being an immortal vampire and all.
8. Kakegurui (Yumeko Jabami)
I’d like to move on to a character who is overpowered in a very different sort of way. It doesn’t matter what game she’s playing, and it doesn’t matter how far behind she is in said game. There’s almost always a moment where Yumeko will give that iconic grin, laced with sadism, to the audience, at which point we should know there’s going to be a twist that puts her on top. It’s simply inevitable.
I count Yumeko on this list because the card games and games of chance played during Kakegurui’s run are hard-won battles, in a war of attrition designed to break an enemy’s very soul. And who else but Yumeko has the audacity, the determination, and luck to come out on top each and every time, even if she doesn’t win the game itself?
7. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Jotaro Kujo)
I admit, you could probably pick any generation of Joestar for this list, but I settled on Jotaro. To be frank, the way the plot moves to best serve Jotaro’s interests is phenomenal. I mean, there’s absolutely no real reason why Star Platinum should be able to use the time-stopping abilities of THE WORLD, except for the fact that Jotaro has to win against DIO.
And how do you stop the godlike powers of someone who can literally stop time in its tracks? You give the main character the same ability all of a sudden, with absolutely no foreshadowing. To be clear, I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, because I adore JoJo’s, and I adore Jotaro. But this is what makes him an overpowered protagonist, and I will not accept any arguments otherwise.
6. Dragon Ball (Goku)
I feel like not including Goku on this list would be a grave enough offense to crucify me in the anime community, but I felt there were characters more deserving of a spot in the top half of this list, so I compromised. The arguments why Goku is the “strongest of all time” make sense to me, but the man dies so often it’s hard to believe sometimes.
But, at the same time, there’s a whole story arc where the only way a villain could beat Goku was by infecting him with a heart virus. So, maybe he is stupidly overpowered. In any case, I still hold a belief that there are characters who could take Goku in a 1v1, but only if he doesn’t die first.
5. Overlord (Ainz Ooal Gown)
In the world of Overlord, main character Ainz Ooal Gown is an absolute nightmare. Not only is he ridiculously overpowered compared to a majority of the world’s inhabitants, but he’s also very lucky to have capable subordinates who worship the ground he walks on.
I can recall several moments where a plan comes together in the best possible way, except for the fact there was no plan. What really happened was his enemies mistook his actions as those with thought and care put behind them.
4. Jujutsu Kaisen (Satoru Gojo)
I am aware some might not consider Gojo to be a main character, but for the purposes of this list, he most certainly is and that’s all I’ll say about that. I believe an argument could be made that he’s actually deserving of a higher spot on this list, simply because in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, he’s the person everyone in Jujutsu society fears above all else.
Every time we see Gojo in action, whether it’s against Jogo when we see his Unlimited Void for the first time, or his knock-out match versus Toji Fushiguro, he’s the unknown factor. In the Shibuya Incident arc, while mangaka Gege Akutami is introducing brand new characters, there are countless times where it’s said a new character is incredibly strong, but compared to Gojo, they’re always going to be second best.
To add, the primary antagonist was only able to make his plan work as well as it did by removing Gojo from play — he couldn’t kill him, so he just rendered him useless. That’s how overpowered Gojo is. Instead of coming up with some way to kill him off, Akutami had him shoved into a box for a few years. I can’t imagine how it feels to have a character so powerful, even the author has trouble killing him.
3. Mob Psycho 100 (Shigeo Kageyama/Mob)
In Mob Psycho 100, the premise is effectively that the main character’s emotions are stunted, and should he reach full emotional capacity he’ll explode, and the results would be cataclysmic. In fact, we’re able to see the aforementioned explosion at varying points in the series, but each time it happens, Mob could easily decimate a city block if he so desired. I believe this qualifies him as an overpowered protagonist.
2. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Rimuru Tempest)
I believe the exact moment I fell head-over-heels for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime was when Rimuru Tempest decimated an entire army’s worth of enemy soldiers just to gain the powers needed to resurrect one of their own fallen. But, that’s just one example of Rimuru being overpowered.
Another example is how, anytime Rimuru is up against the ropes, it genuinely feels the truest solution is for them to simply consume the enemy and absorb their powers like a demented Kirby. By nature, Rimuru is practically unstoppable, and I can’t wait until they meet an enemy who can pose a real threat.
1. One Punch Man (Saitama)
I mean, can you blame me? It’s in the title. Saitama defeats his enemies in one punch. If having such an insane strength-based ability isn’t overpowered, I’d like to invite you to show me what is. The meme is always how Goku is stupidly powerful and seeks to fight every living being to attain some sort of thrill. But that meme is baked into Saitama’s backstory.
It’s not just a fun fact about Saitama, it’s an existential crisis. He seeks powerful enemies not only so he can be thrilled by battle again, but also so he can feel powerful, so he can feel useful. It’s for that reason we’re putting Saitama at the top of our list, in hopes that no one asks us if he can “solo Goku” or not.
