No verified ranking places five manga characters above Saitama, the bald hero of ONE’s One-Punch Man, and five below him. Any list that claims to do so is an editorial judgment, because the characters come from different series with different power systems, and no shared measurement exists to compare them. A matchup only has a clear answer once you fix three things: which version of each character you are using, which kind of strength you are measuring, and whether you mean overall power or the outcome of one hypothetical fight.
Below we explain how those choices change the result, where the four names that recur in secondary comparisons currently stand, and how to test a claim against the source material yourself.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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One-Punch Man, Vol. 1 | $7.79 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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One-Punch Man, Vol. 33 | $8.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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One-Punch Man Series (Vol. 1-32) Manga Set, by ONE (32 Books) | $285.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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One-Punch Man, Vol. 2 | $6.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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One-Punch Man, Vol. 34 | $9.59 | Buy on Amazon |
What “stronger” can mean
Most arguments about who is stronger use the word for several different things at once. Separating them is the first step, because a character can win on one measure and lose on another.
| Reading of “stronger” | What it asks | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Raw physical force | Who hits harder or moves faster | Feats shown on the page or screen, in a specific chapter or episode |
| Demonstrated feats | What the character has actually done | The version and scene. Another character describing a feat does not count as the feat itself |
| Special abilities | Whether a power changes the fight, not just the damage | How the ability works, what it costs, and what limits it |
| Defense and counters | Whether attacks can reach or harm the character | Shown defenses, survivals, or ways an opponent neutralizes an attack |
| Hypothetical winner | Who wins a staged fight | The rules, starting conditions, and each character’s known behavior, including whether either would hold back |
Saitama’s appeal in his own series is that he wins most fights with a single blow, which makes him a useful test case for these distinctions. A character who would break him physically may still have no means of reaching him, and a character with a powerful ability may never get the chance to use it.
#1 Best Overall
Why no official ranking exists
The characters in this comparison belong to different works, and their creators did not design their powers against one another. No creator or publisher statement we could find sets a shared scale across series, so any cross-series ranking rests on the editor’s own standard.
A secondary ranking, manhwaindex’s “Strongest Anime Characters of All Time Ranked” (updated 4 October 2026), states its method plainly: it judges each character by the biggest thing their series shows them doing. That is a reasonable standard for a list, but it is the page’s own choice, not a universal rule. The same page also notes that stories use different scales for strength, which is the core problem. Its ordering is editorial opinion and should not be treated as a fact about who would win.
Rank #2
Ranking pages are useful evidence of how fans and editors argue about these characters. They are not evidence of an official hierarchy.
The four names that keep coming up
Secondary comparisons most often name Goku, Zeno, Rimuru Tempest, and Giorno Giovanna as candidates for the “stronger than Saitama” side. None of them has been established as clearly above or below him, and no comparison we could check supports a set of five names below him, so we do not offer one.
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| Character | Series and version to specify | Placement status |
|---|---|---|
| Goku | Dragon Ball; manga and anime differ in places | Not established. Depends on the feat and version chosen |
| Zeno | Dragon Ball Super | Not established. Depends on shown feats rather than stated power |
| Rimuru Tempest | That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime; began as a light novel, with manga and anime adaptations | Not established. The version used can change the answer |
| Giorno Giovanna | JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 5: Golden Wind | Not established. Requires an ability-based comparison |
Goku
Goku is the most frequently named of the four. His strength changes considerably across Dragon Ball, so a fair test begins by naming the arc and the form being used. Check whether the feat comes from the manga or from anime-original material. A scene that appears only in the anime is not manga evidence, and the two can differ in what they show.
Zeno
Zeno is named in some comparisons as a power ceiling. A claim about him should separate what he is shown doing from what other characters say about his power. Those two can differ, and a placement built only on the second is weaker than one built on an action.
Rank #4
Rimuru Tempest
Rimuru is the clearest case for version control. His story began as a light novel in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and it has been adapted into manga and anime. Feats that appear in one version may be altered, expanded, or absent in another. Before comparing him with Saitama, name the version you are using and confirm that the feat appears in that version.
Giorno Giovanna
Giorno, from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5, Golden Wind, is usually compared on ability rather than raw force. The useful question is how his power interacts with Saitama’s: whether one can be prevented, evaded, or outlasted by the other. Because this is a special-ability matchup, any verdict about overall power needs a stated standard for how abilities are weighed.
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How to test a matchup yourself
The same procedure works for any pair of characters, and it shows where a disagreement actually lies.
Quick Recap
- Fix the version. Note whether the source is the manga, the anime, a light novel, or a spin-off, and record the chapter or episode number.
- Record the shown feat. Write down what the character does on the page or screen. Do not substitute what another character says about them.
- Sort the power. Mark each feat as physical force, a special ability, or a defense or counter.
- Apply the same standard to Saitama. Use his shown feats and limits from the One-Punch Man manga, and do not rely on the anime alone.
- Choose the question. For “stronger overall,” compare each character’s largest demonstrated feats under the same standard. For “wins a fight,” state the setting, the starting conditions, and each character’s known behavior, including whether either would hold back.
- Label the result. Present it as an interpretive judgment, and name the version and rule set it used. A different reader using different rules may reasonably reach a different answer.
Where to check the evidence
- One-Punch Man manga volumes. The manga is the most direct source for Saitama’s own feats and limits. Cite the volume and chapter when you make a claim about him.
- Wikipedia’s list of One-Punch Man characters. This is a useful index of who appears in the series and what the character profiles cover. Use it to find names and context, not to settle a feat.
- Secondary ranking pages. Pages such as manhwaindex’s ranking (updated 4 October 2026) show which names fans compare. Treat them as evidence of that discussion rather than as a ranking to copy.
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