10 Strongest Fighters In Martial Arts Anime History, Ranked

One of the hallmarks of the best martial arts anime is the quest to determine who’s the strongest. This mirrors the challenge fights that were historically common in China and Japan. The idea was simple – fighters compete against one another until there’s only one fighter left standing. Anime expanded the duel format into a tournament-like formula where the winners of individual bouts face off against each other. Whether the bout takes the form of a no-holds-barred brawl, or a formal combat tournament – the goal in martial arts anime remains the same: to determine who is the best of the best.

Despite the formula’s simplicity, martial arts content delivers some of the most compelling entertainment in the medium. The constant comparison of fighters, a core aspect of martial arts anime, extends beyond individual series. Fans have always enjoyed comparing the strongest fighters in crossovers of different anime titles. In this context, “strongest” can refer to a variety of traits, ranging from flight to supernatural abilities. However, the purest metrics are those that harken back to the original real-life martial arts competitions, specifically focusing on physical strength, cunning, willpower, and win rate.

10 Naoto Date

Tiger Mask

Orphaned and driven to escape a bleak future, Naoto Date discovered his ticket to success in the Tiger’s Den – a secret organization that turned orphans into professional wrestlers by instilling them with a ruthless win-at-all-costs mentality – and a cut of their earnings. As the infamous Tiger Mask, Date’s meteoric rise was matched only by his brutal tactics. But when a young boy condemned him as a thug, something shifted. Date’s newfound conscience puts him at odds with the Tiger’s Den, and made him the target of the Tiger Den’s violent wrath.

To thrive in the ruthless Tiger’s Den, Naoto Date mastered the art of combat, learning to outmaneuver opponents who were willing to disregard all rules. He became a formidable dirty fighter, adept at exploiting any advantage. However, Tiger’s Den wrestlers were more than mere cheats – they were elite athletes forged through brutal training regimens, surpassing even the best competitors from law-abiding organizations. As the Tiger Mask, Date stood out as the greatest among his peers, a testament to his exceptional prowess in the ring. His dominance reflected the Tiger’s Den’s relentless pursuit of victory at any cost.

9 Takamura Mamoru

Hajime no Ippo

Takamura Mamoru didn’t initially set out to become a fighter. In fact, if he had followed his parents’ plans, he might have ended up as a doctor or lawyer. However, their rigid approach lacked excitement and support, leaving Takamura feeling stifled. So, like many teenagers, he rebelled. Takamura’s rebellious nature could have led him down a destructive path were it not for the intervention of boxing coach Genji Kamogawa. Under Kamogawa’s guidance, Takamura found a sense of inner peace and learned to channel his anger and rage into a more constructive outlet: the boxing ring.

Takamura exhibited two traits common to all great fighters or warriors, whether real or fictional. First, he was blessed with incomparable raw talent, including natural strength, speed, and agility that might take years —or even a lifetime— for an average person to achieve. Second, he possessed an unquenchable will to succeed in whatever he deemed important. When these traits were combined with Kamogawa’s training and the experience Takamura gained over the years, they forged a formidable pugilist that no one could afford to underestimate.

8 Joe Yabuki

Ashita no Joe

Determined to escape the bleakness of orphanage life, Joe Ashita flees during a countryside outing, vowing never to return. To maintain his independence, he resorted to various means – street scams, underground fighting, and high-stakes gambling. Joe eventually carved out a tough but stable existence as a small-time hustler and street fighter. Everything changed when he met Danpei Tange, a former boxer forced into retirement by injury. Under Tange’s mentorship, Joe’s raw talent was refined and honed, transforming him into a formidable contender with world-championship potential.

While Joe might not be the most physically intimidating opponent, what he lacks in size, he more than makes up for with a hero’s abundance of talent. First, there’s his durability. Joe can absorb massive amounts of punishment without significant harm, all while forcing his opponent to expend energy and leave themselves vulnerable. Second, Joe’s natural strength allows him to hammer opponents into submission in short order. Third, years of fighting in the streets have given him exceptional in-fight tactical expertise. Lastly, he possesses an indomitable will that often enables him to overcome injuries that would floor a lesser man.

7 Kuze Sousuke

Hinomaru Sumo

The son of a sumo living legend, Kuze grew up in an environment where sumo excellence was not just encouraged but expected. He was under constant pressure to meet the rigorous demands set by his father. However, after losing control during a bout and injuring an opponent, Kuze found himself largely ignored by his father, left to toil in the shadows. Now in high school and permitted to compete openly in sumo matches, Kuze is determined to reclaim his father’s respect and achieve the lofty status he once aspired to.

Being the son of a champion comes with its advantages, including gaining an early understanding of what it takes to be the best. Training and competing in the shadows have also fostered extraordinary patience in him, enabling him to perform with remarkable calm and confidence, even in the most chaotic situations. Big and strong like his father, he has also mastered a few of his signature techniques, including the “Great Serpent Cleaver”—a massive, nearly unstoppable arm throw capable of toppling even the sturdiest opponents.

6 Joe

Megalobox

While Joe’s formal training history remains somewhat obscure, his raw, natural ability is undeniable. The most crucial factor contributing to his prowess is his extensive experience. Scratching out a living in the brutal underground fight scene, where he was often coerced into deliberately losing matches without arousing suspicion, demanded a unique set of skills just as challenging as those required for victory. This precarious existence on the margins of the professional fighting world takes an unexpected turn when he receives an unprecedented opportunity: a chance to legally challenge the reigning champion.

Megalobox
was directly inspired by
Ashita no Jo
e and was actually made to celebrate the latter series’ 50th anniversary.

Joe’s background remains unclear in the anime, but one thing is certain: he’s a fighting prodigy. His genius doesn’t rely on brute force, although advanced gears – the high-tech exoskeletons commonly used in boxing – could amplify his strength, power, and speed. Instead, Joe excels through tactical prowess, lightning-quick speed, and razor-sharp reflexes. He conserves energy, striking only when he identifies a vulnerability, and lands blows with maximum intensity. Driving his exceptional performance is an insatiable thirst for victory, enabling him to consistently dominate without superpowers and ultimately emerge triumphant.

5 Rock Lee

Naruto

In a world where chakra-powered ninjutsu, genjutsu, and dojutsu are considered essential tools for a shinobi, Rock Lee stands out as a truly unique figure in Naruto. Despite lacking the supernatural abilities common in Naruto, he embodied the traits of a top-level anime martial artist. What he lacked in special powers, he more than compensated for with an unrelenting work ethic and grueling training methods. These allowed Lee to elevate his taijutsu (hand-to-hand combat) to such an extraordinary level that he could hold his own against shinobi with supernatural abilities.

Through rigorous training, Lee mastered several formidable martial arts techniques, including Strong Fist —a karate-like system capable of shattering bones with a single strike— and Drunken Fist, an unorthodox fighting style characterized by unpredictable movements that leave opponents bewildered. When combined with his ability to unlock the Eight Gates, tapping into his body’s internal energy, Lee’s strength, stamina, and speed increase exponentially. This synergy renders him a virtually unbeatable martial artist, with few capable of matching his prowess.

4 Jin Kazama

Tekken

In martial arts anime, a fighter’s abilities are often enhanced by their bloodline. Bloodlines play a significant role in shaping a character’s prowess, as seen in Jin Kazama’s skill set. Jin’s foundational martial arts abilities were inherited from his mother, Jun Kazama — a highly skilled martial artist who trained him in her family’s Kazama style. He also received training from his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, a master martial artist in his own right. However, it was Jin’s father, Kazuya Mishima, who passed on the ultimate inheritance of their bloodline: the Devil Gene.

Through rigorous training with his mother and grandfather, Jin evolved into a formidable fighter. En route to facing Ogre in the King of Iron Fist tournament, he triumphed over numerous martial arts masters. However, upon fully embracing the Devil Gene, Jin’s innate abilities underwent a profound transformation. His speed, strength, and resilience increased exponentially, rendering him nearly unbeatable. Furthermore, he gained access to a spectrum of extraordinary powers that significantly amplified his combat prowess.

3 Kuroki Gensai

Kengan Ashura

As a fighter who honors and observes the more traditional approach to combat, it should come as no surprise that Gensai disapproves of the common underground fighter practice of mixing their martial arts. Indeed, as a lifelong student and practitioner of the Kaiwan style, Gensai has all the techniques he needs to put him in a position to win any fight. He also can rest assured that his style has a proven track record of overcoming almost any attack thrown against it.

The Kaiwan style is no ordinary martial art. Rather, it is a martial art dedicated to assassination and human extermination. As such, it trains adherents to be “one-shot” killers with every blow. Gensai’s “Devil Lance” technique allows him to use his fingers as bullets or daggers able to pierce his opponent’s skin, muscle, or bone, just as if they were shot with a gun or stabbed with a knife. Moreover, Gensai can use his fingers as a crippling defensive strike against an enemy’s assault. It forces opponents to attempt a longer-range fight that gives Gensai the advantage.

2 Shouzan Matsuo

Garouden

Widely considered the strongest character in the Garouden series, Shozan Matsuo is no simple back-alley brawler, he is the founder and grand-master of his own Karate style – the Hokushinkai School. Practically speaking, what that means is that Matsuo is not just someone who fights, but rather someone who has dedicated himself to the art of fighting. Put another, while another fight might see a punch as a means to defeating his opponent, Matsuo also sees it as an expression of the science, theories, and ideas that went into the punch’s creation and perfection.

When facing off against Matsuo, he’s likely already won the fight before it even begins. This is because he has probably analyzed his opponent, considered various factors, and processed that information through his deep understanding of Hokushinkai and fighting in general. This allows him to determine what he needs to do to win and anticipate how his opponent will likely react. As a result, many of his opponents feel like he’s reading their minds or wonder why he’s always one step ahead of them. Additionally, Hokushinkai is known as one of the hardest-hitting styles ever created, making him even more formidable.

1 Yuchiro Hanma

Baki Hanma

No one knows why Yuichiro is so powerful but like his son, it was first revealed while fighting soldiers. In Yuichiro’s case, the circumstances were the attempt by American soldiers to take control of a Japanese island during World War II. Unfortunately for them, Yuichiro was present on the island and not about to give up without a fight. He ended up single-handedly repulsing the effort with such ferocity that the commander in charge of the operation ended up calling for a nuclear bomb to eliminate him.

Later he went on to have a successful career as a prize-fighter. Although the story doesn’t depict any instances of Yuichiro and Yujiro engaging in combat, it is implied that Yujiro’s greatest fear was his father, Yuichiro. This inference is based on Yujiro’s reaction to Yuichiro’s ghost appearing during his fight with Baki. While Yuichiro may seem less intimidating than his son, he undoubtedly had a darker side, which his son Yujiro would have been most familiar with.