Japan Crowns Anime's Strongest — Not One Piece, Naruto, or Dragon Ball
Japan just crowned anime’s mightiest—and it’s not Goku, Naruto, or Luffy. Nearly 20,000 fans on Minna no Ranking cast their votes to rewrite the power rankings.
Japan just weighed in on the 'strongest anime character ever' debate, and the winner is not Goku, not Naruto, not Luffy. Not even Saitama. Nearly 20,000 fans voted on Japan's popular user-ranking site Minna no Ranking, and the top spot went to... a cheerful blue slime.
Rimuru beats the bruisers
Rimuru Tempest, from 'That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime,' took first place. If you know the show, you know why: Rimuru is less punch-you-into-the-sun and more rewrite-the-rules-of-reality. They absorb enemies, copy abilities, evolve mid-arc, and outthink basically everyone. It is not just raw power; it is the combination of intelligence, adaptability, and game-breaking skills that fans gravitated to.
'Ultimate Being'
That is the label voters effectively handed Rimuru. Not bad for a former salaryman who reincarnated as a blob.
The top five (and where to watch)
- 1) Rimuru Tempest — That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (IMDb 8.0) — streaming: Crunchyroll
- 2) Saitama — One Punch Man (IMDb 8.6) — streaming: Hulu
- 3) Zeno — Dragon Ball Super (IMDb 8.3) — streaming: Crunchyroll
- 4) Goku — Dragon Ball series (IMDb 8.8) — streaming: Crunchyroll
- 5) Koro-sensei — Assassination Classroom (IMDb 7.9) — streaming: Crunchyroll
Yes, Zeno, the literal universe-deleter, landed in third. Goku and his Ultra Instinct swagger came in fourth. And Naruto and Luffy did not crack the top five at all. It tracks, though: Saitama is unmatched in straight-up brawls, Zeno can erase anything, but Rimuru can copy, adapt, and rebuild the playing field entirely. Different toolkits, different results.
Will this actually end the power-scaling arguments?
Absolutely not. Expect the usual counters: Saitama has not shown his ceiling yet; Goku's potential is theoretically endless; somewhere out there a Naruto retcon is sharpening its kunai. But the poll is the poll. Nearly 20,000 voters in Japan put Rimuru on the throne.
So now I am curious: if Rimuru and Goku ever threw down, would there be a universe left to argue in afterward?