But what about the dudes? To be more precise, how many bodybuilders can leave an anime binge with either a new aspiration in life, or a significant lack of self-worth? Well we’re going to find out here as we rank our favorite muscular anime characters of all time. Flex those biceps and let’s get going!
20. Yami Sukehiro
Anime: Black Clover I want to start off with Yami as I think that a person could pull off his physique. You would have to cater your entire lifetime to it, but I think that it’s possible. And nothing less could have been expected from the Black Bull’s captain, considering how many walls he has to break in anger. Plus, he does wield a sword. So that added muscle really helps out in those clutch brawls against other heavyweight opponents. Asta could probably overtake this spot one day, but for now, it is for Yami.
19. Menthuthuyoupi
Anime: Hunter x Hunter (2011) Menthuthuyoupi beats out Yami strictly because of the number of biceps he’s able to have. Yeah, weird sentence. Don’t get me wrong: the man is an absolute unit whose abs are strong enough to grate cheese on. But he doesn’t get as ridiculous (muscle-wise) as some of the other characters on this list. He can change his body quite a bit, be it by growing two more sets of muscular arms, or by getting his Nessus cosplay down to the tee. So that’s something. He also looks like a sleep paralysis demon, so added intimidation points there.
18. Bulat
Anime: Akame ga Kill! I thought that Bulat’s physique was attainable, I really did. Until he took off his shirt once. He doesn’t show off very often, but when he does he really makes sure to target my self-esteem. As you’ll see later on in my ranking, I’ll be giving out bonus points to justify this list. And to shield my ego from criticism. Bulat not only gets bonus points for being the biggest sweetheart, but also for rocking a sick hairstyle. Not to mention one of the biggest bromances I have seen in a while.
17. Lordgenome
Anime: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Not going to lie, I did not expect for a king character to be my new inspiration to finally get to the gym, but here we are. The man stands at almost seven feet tall and has enough strength to toss around a mech. A small one, but still a mech. And the craziest thing is, he’s estimated to be like one thousand years old! That means that he’s well past his prime at this point. The second I turned twenty I could hardly do a push up. So this man has no business looking as good as he does at his age.
16. Thorkell the Tall
Anime: Vinland Saga Sure, his height might be part of his name. But his middle name sure as hell isn’t Scrawny. From his stature alone we can see that he has very broad shoulders, muscular and defined arms, as well as the eyes of a maniac. For a show that’s mostly based in reality, having him toss tree logs around already shows how heavily he scales to the other characters. Speaking of heavy, the man measures at 180kg (almost 400lbs). Let me tell you, that isn’t water weight he’s throwing around.
15. Guts
Anime: Berserk Pound for pound, most of these guys beat out Guts. But I cannot just sit here and not compliment how absolutely shredded Guts is. I mean, we all assumed he was jacked, you know since he’s constantly in battle and fighting for his life… not to mention that he’s one big testosterone of a guy. But volume 9 and 10 of the manga really put the question to bed. The man is built like a Greek god. Except, you know, what’s beneath his guts. So he might lose out in pure muscle mass. But he makes up for it with the quality of his build.
14. Rider
Anime: Fate/Zero With Rider, I want to say that he has a dad bod. But with an asterisk because the dad in question is Zeus. I mean, I could definitely see him throwing a mean barbeque. Or getting his servants to throw one at least. But I find it just as likely that he could one-shot a bear. The alcoholic within me also wants to give him bonus points because the man loves his wine. And being able to hold your liquor while also holding onto those gains is just mad impressive. You keep doing you, Redbeard.
13. Semyon Brezhnev
Anime: Durarara! I’m completely going out on a limb with this one, as this Russian does not like to show off his body. However, if we scale him to Shizuo we can see that the man is abnormally strong. He’s the only one Shizuo can’t just blow away. That, combined with his extremely large stature and the fact he has a very “peculiar” past, leads me to believe that under that restaurant wardrobe, mister Simon is absolutely jacked. Sign up now to send Brain’s Base studio an email and finally get a confirmation on this burning theory!
12. Escanor
Anime: The Seven Deadly Sins Base form Escanor is as far from this list as you can get. Yet when the sun rises, so does his spot. Just seeing how much he towers over Estarossa really puts into perspective how tall and how muscular Escanor really is. He seemingly gets even more shredded when that one special minute comes into play. And we have seen that it’s not just for show… I mean, no one has succeeded at even picking up his axe. And yet he swings it around carelessly. Plus, if we just scale him to Ban and Meliodas, people who broke a castle by arm wrestling, we can say without a doubt that he could punch a hole in the Earth.
11. Ira Gamagoori
Anime: Kill la Kill I never truly grasped just how massive this man was until he sat next to Mako. He was also shirtless so that helped. The man is almost 9 feet tall, and yet he still looks like a Minecraft skin. Do you know how jacked you have to be to still hold those proportions at that height? And you know what the saddest part is? The man is only 19 years old. Muscle decay starts off after you’re thirty! So this man still has a lot of room to grow. And yes, I will keep calling him man because he could crush my skull with his fingers.
10. Joseph Joestar
Anime: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure It’s no secret that JoJo’s men are peak male performance in anime. So it’s fitting that the original was the most jacked of all. Before things like Stands were introduced, it was all about raw strength. And good breathing techniques, I guess. Joseph was extremely adept at both of these things. So not only could he blast Dracula away with some sunlight beams, but his single bicep is bigger than my entire head.
9. Alex Louis Armstrong
Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood I was originally going to put Sloth here because the guy is massive, and also being that lazy and that jacked at the same time is every man’s dream. But I had to go for Armstrong. I mean, his nickname is literally the Strong Arm Alchemist. He also really knows how to strike a pose and show off his impressive build to anyone who might be watching. You know that in our modern era, he would be one of the best fitness YouTubers the world has ever seen. The dude is like a mixture of Pringles, Markiplier, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
8. Toriko
Anime: Toriko Let me set the scene. Your anime friend suggests that you watch a show called Toriko. You think “sure why not?” and go to search it up on MAL. At that very moment you’re faced with the flexiest promotional poster you have ever laid your eyes on. The center of the picture showcases one large blue-haired man flexing at full force at you. You can already tell that his bicep is bigger than your head. You look him up on the wiki and see that he weighs at 230 kg (over 500lbs!) and is over 2 meters tall (6.5 feet). You know that you’ve already lost. Toriko is your new dad now, no other options left. The man is massive.
7. Raoh
Anime: Fist of the North Star Okay, just a friendly reminder that this isn’t the “strongest” tier-list, but the most muscular. So me putting Raoh on here instead of Kenshiro does not mean I think Raoh is stronger. However, if we take the wiki’s word for it, Raoh is almost 50% heavier than Kenshiro. And is also taller by 25 centimeters (almost 10 inches!). The amount of muscle he’s throwing around is definitely larger than what Kenshiro can muster. They’re both beasts. But Raoh maxed out that growth stat to an unbelievable degree.
6. Broly
Anime: Dragon Ball Super Most of the characters in this show are pretty in-Saiyan when it comes to muscle mass… but Broly is just bonkers. He has the type of build that The Mountain would have nightmares of. I’m of course talking about his Saiyan form, as his “base” form is a lot more down to earth. And that’s another thing. Not only is he this strong, but you’re telling me he can also fly, shoot ki, zap me out of existence and look cool while doing it? No wonder he slapped Goku and Vegeta around for quite some time.
5. Younger Toguro
Anime: Yu Yu Hakusho This guy jumps all over the place when it comes to his physique. When he’s just chilling around, he looks like your average gym bro. Then he gets more serious and suddenly his traps become bear traps. Then he gets even more serious and he looks like he could carry every millennial’s hopes and dreams of owning a house. And then he gets fully serious and you think “Oh yeah, he’s like a demon or something” as you promptly run for the hills before the demon with shoulder muscle wings notices you.
4. Muscular
Anime: Boku no Hero Academia I mean, it’s literally in his name. And it’s not just a flex… I mean, it is but you know. In his “base” form, Muscular already looks pretty jacked. But when you take his quirk into consideration he goes beyond what any human can accomplish. His quirk, Muscle Augmentation, is capable of enhancing and even manipulating his muscle fibers. This lead him to become a walking bicep, if he chooses to. And this power boost is clearly visible in his brawl with Deku. If only he knew how percentages work, damn it.
3. Machio Naruzo
Anime: Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? (How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?) Imagine going to the gym. That’s it. Okay seriously, imagine going to the gym, getting this guy as your trainer, thinking “what could this pipsqueak ever teach me?” seconds before he flexed and sent all of his clothes across the room. I for one know that I would never doubt his abilities again. Bonus points because the character is actually human, and is shown to grind at the gym constantly. But we’ll take away some points for breaking the illusion of a gym rat. Because this dude definitely does not skip leg day. And I for one find that to be too much of a fantastical belief for the show. And real life.
2. Yujiro Hanma
Anime: Baki the Grappler Within the show, Yujiro called the strongest human on Earth. And honestly, it’s really hard to argue with that. Just type his name into Google Images to see how often he’s shirtless and flexing on all of us mortals for not having a 20-pack. And he couldn’t even stop just there, oh no. Even his back is so incredibly ripped that it looks like an angry praying mantis ready to eat you for dinner. God knows if I ever saw his back I too would be praying. Either for a quick death, or for the god of gains to look my way every once in a while.
1. Superalloy Darkshine
Anime: One Punch Man Man, I really wanted to put Puri-Puri Prisoner on here. But looking at the stats, Darkshine is just too muscular to ignore. Plus he outranks Puri-Puri. We haven’t seen much of Darkshine so far, but even with what we have seen, it’s obvious that he’s a walking tank. Now you might be wondering why he’s at number 1 when we have barely seen any of him… plus he isn’t too muscular as far as this list goes. To that I’d say, go look at the manga, anytime he has ever flexed. The man nearly becomes a ball of pure muscle and veins. With that picture in your head, I can confidently say that there’s no character quite as muscular as Superalloy Darkshine.
