Throughout the anime industry, power-ups or transformations are easily some of the most iconic aspects of any given Shonen series. Usually, these franchises start with powerful characters whose strength is sometimes insufficient in the face of a truly terrifying opponent, often forcing them to unlock an even greater state.
This state either gives them powerful new abilities or boosts their already broken stats to a much higher level compared to before. In this article, we're going to go through the strongest power-ups in all of anime to see which one is the most powerful of them all and why they were all such important additions to their franchise.
Jujutsu Kaisen: 7 Strongest Modulo Era Characters, Ranked
Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo introduced some of the strongest characters in the franchise's history, with powers far beyond anything seen in OG JJK.
7
Baryon Mode took Naruto's power to its highest level
Anime: Boruto
Naruto has undergone many incredible transformations over the years, though they all pale in strength compared to his ultimate Baryon Mode. Using Kurama himself as a fuel source, the power-up drains the Tailed Beast's Chakra to enhance Naruto's strength by giving him an entirely new type of energy.
Although this is a double-edged sword, due to what it does to Kurama as well as the risk it poses to the user's own longevity, Naruto's strength with it is unmatched, as every attack that connects drains its target's longevity as well. Due to it giving Naruto a whole host of new abilities and drastically increasing his strength and speed, Baryon mode is definitely overpowered.
6
Mugetsu unlocks Ichigo's ultimate powers
Anime: Whiten
Mugetsu, activated through Ichigo Kurosaki's Final Getsuga Tensho, represents the absolute pinnacle of his powers and the strongest state the hero has ever been in. Basically, Ichigo fuses with his legendary Zanpakuto to become Getsuga himself, which was such an overpowering ability that it allowed him to fight Aizen, who possessed god-like strength.
Through Mugetsu, Ichigo's strength, speed, and overall power are multiplied to an insane degree, through which he was able to defeat Aizen with very little effort, which is pretty good since Aizen's strength was at its peak due to his fusion with the Hogyoku. Although Ichigo loses his Shinigami powers after using it, Mugetsu's strength is in a league of its own.
Click or tap the games that match the category
Start
5
Gold Experience Requiem is the best defense in anime
Anime: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Part 5: Golden Wind
Although some anime fans tend to put Gojo's Infinity off Jujutsu Kaisen as the best defensive technique in the business, the one that really holds this spot is the Gold Experience Requiem from JJBA. Basically, this stand resets all actions to 0, meaning that any attack that tries to damage it is essentially made to be as if it never happened at all, which is true for any type of attack used.
The stand also seems to work independently of Giorno and is sentient, meaning it protects its user at all times without his knowledge. Additionally, it can also send its target into an infinite death loop, where they experience death over and over again for an infinite amount of time in every way imaginable, making Gold Experience Requiem one of the most broken power-ups ever.
4
Cosmic Garou gained incredible strength
Anime: One Punch Man
Although Saitama is still the single most powerful being in his entire universe, he has reached this unprecedented level of strength in his base state, having never needed a power-up. As such, the title of greatest power-up in the series goes to Cosmic Garou, who was already an incredibly powerful villain in his own right.
However, after receiving a small power-up from God, Garou's strength grew to astronomical proportions, becoming the first character in the series' history to ever truly match Saitama, performing feats of strength and speed that far surpassed almost anyone else. Although he would be left in the dust by Caped Baldy, Cosmic Garou definitely proved his power.
Dragon Ball: 6 Strongest Divine Techniques, Ranked
Dragon Ball Super introduced the concept of God Ki, paving the way for absurdly powerful divine techniques capable of shaking the multiverse.
3
Ultra Instinct allowed Goku to use the angel's legendary technique
Anime: Dragon Ball Super
At the very beginning of Dragon Ball Superfans got a small glimpse of Ultra Instinct, which eventually turned out to be something the series was slowly building towards. Eventually, Goku unlocked this legendary technique for the angels in the Tournament of Power, becoming the first mortal to seemingly ever do so.
As the ultimate martial arts technique in the multiverse, this legendary ability allows the user's body to instinctively react to danger on its own so that the user can focus entirely on their offense. This results in an almost untouchable technique that is easily one of the most broken in the entire anime industry, so Goku remains one of the strongest anime characters of all time.
2
Shadow Monarch State is Jinwoo's ultimate form
Anime: Solo Leveling
Sung Jinwoo from Solo Leveling began his journey as a very weak hunter who would then come across the ability to empower himself by using the system. Although his journey in the anime is far from complete, the manga tells a completely different story, as he gains the powers of the Shadow Monarch at the end of the series.
The Shadow Monarch state, bestowed upon him by Ashborn, is Jinwoo's greatest power-up, transforming him into a universal being in full control of death and darkness. Not only does he have an army of millions of souls to do whatever he wants, but his control over shadows allows him to transcend even mortality to become the strongest being in his entire franchise.
Dragon Ball: Every Hero's Most Iconic Enemy, Explained
Every hero in Dragon Ball has an iconic enemy above all others, with these bad guys continuing to leave a mark on the franchise.
1
Super Tengen Top Gurren Lagann Defies All Scale
Anime: Gurren Lagann
Although this anime started with standard mechanics that, while large, did not break the imagination in terms of size, everything changed towards the end of the series, where things only got bigger. In the final battle, Simon's ultimate mech was born to go up against Anti-Spiral's Granzeboma mech.
The reason this remains the biggest power-up in anime history in terms of strength is because nothing else is even close in size, meaning all hax and overwhelmed abilities are completely pointless when pitted against it. Due to the fact that it uses the entire universe as projectiles, nothing in anime can beat this insane power-up.
All of these series can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
