Most Powerful Gods In Shonen Manga

Shōnen anime and manga excel in many different areas, with one of the most fascinating (and often underappreciated) ones being their deep world building. The lore in some of these beloved stories often gets so complex and incredible that many of their most powerful characters are the assigned deities or gods of their respective worlds.

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Needless to say, any character that is considered a legendary entity within their series’ mythology is always going to be one of the most powerful beings (if not, the most powerful one) of their story. But, how do these world-defining deities compare with each other? The following gods are the most powerful in the entire shōnen category.

8

Kars (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

The Pillar Man Who Became The Ultimate Lifeform

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Release Date

October 6, 2012

In the whacky world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, there was a mythical tribe of ancient humanoid beings known as the Pillar Men, which humanity saw as both gods and demons. Their most notorious member is Kars, who massacred his entire race in his quest to finally overcome his weakness toward sunlight. He was already quite powerful as a regular Pillar Man, since his main weapons were his sharp light blades that worked like biological chainsaws.

But when Kars finally got the Red Stone of Aja, he became the Ultimate Lifeform, a godlike entity that not only was no longer weak to sunlight, but that could also adapt to pretty much every situation, to the point he became immortal. There’s no denying that Ultimate Lifeform Kars is arguably the strongest character in all of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, but he pales in comparison to other gods in other shōnen manga, mainly because he was tricked and defeated by Joseph Joestar, and he’s now doomed to drift through space for all eternity.

7

Ryuk (Death Note)

A God Of Death With A Deadly Notebook

Death Note

Release Date

October 4, 2006

Ryuk, from the classic mystery series Death Note, is a Shinigami AKA a God of Death, who lives in the Shinigami Realm and extends his life by killing humans. He kicked off the entire plot of the series when he got bored with his home realm and decided to drop the titular Death Note – a supernatural notebook that can be used to kill anybody when their name is written in it – to the human realm. Light Yagami eventually finds it, which leads to an intense plot of justice, chaos, and murder.

It’s very interesting to think that this all happened because Ryuk, a god of death, was bored, and it was all a game for him, to the point that he unceremoniously killed off Light the moment he decided he had “lost” and it was time for everything to end. Needless to say, Ryuk was involved in a story with regular human beings, meaning that, unlike the deities of other action shōnen manga, he didn’t have to fight any super-powered beings.

6

Soul King (Bleach)

The Linchpin That Keeps The Balance Between The Three Realms

Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War

Release Date

October 10, 2022

During the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, Bleach fans finally got a glimpse of the Soul King, the deity that holds the three realms – the human world, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo – separated and in balance. Curiously enough, however, Adnyeus is not much of a character, since he’s basically a static linchpin that was sealed away by the Shinigami many years in the past.

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The Soul King’s impressive power level is not only evident by his ability to maintain the balance between the three worlds but also by the actions of his three sentient body parts: His Left Arm, Pernida Parnkgjas, and his Heart, Gerard Valkyrie, became two of Yhwach’s most proficient Quincy warriors, while his Right Arm, Mimihagi, became a separate deity of its own.

5

Nika (One Piece)

The Sun God Of Liberation

One of the most mind-blowing plot twists in all of One Piece was the reveal that the protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, didn’t actually eat the Gomu Gomu no Mi, but a Mythical Zoan known as Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, a Devil Fruit that allows its consumer to obtain the traits and abilities of a once-forgotten deity known as Nika, the friend of slaves over the world and the Sun God who cheers everybody up with his smile and laughter.

When Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit, he became one of the strongest combatants in the series, thanks to his newfound cartoony abilities that allowed him to confront and defeat monsters like Kaido or Jaygarcia Saturn, which is already enough proof of how incredibly powerful the original Nika was. But ancient texts in Elbaph state that the Sun God was present the two previous times the world was destroyed, which is an important clue that hints at Nika’s true power.

4

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki (Naruto)

The Infamous Progenitor Of Chakra

Naruto: Shippuden

Release Date

February 15, 2007

Technically speaking, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki (alongside all the other members of her clan) is an alien, but her reputation and her actions led her to become the biggest and most important deity in Naruto. Pretty much every important aspect of this world’s power system was indirectly created by Kaguya, from the existence of Chakra to the appearance of the Tailed Beasts.

If that wasn’t already impressive enough, she was able to wield some of the strongest powers in the series while in combat, like a Byakugan, a Rinne Sharingan, and her devastating All-Killing Ash Bones. Kaguya was so undeniably powerful that nobody could ever kill or defeat her, and she was sealed away by her two sons in the past, and by Naruto and Sasuke (the reincarnations of her grandsons) in the present.

The God Who Punishes Those Who “Play God” With Alchemy

The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is mainly centered on the power of alchemy, the ancient combination of science and magic that allows humans to manipulate nature and transmute its different elements. While alchemy can have some noble uses, like in medicine or construction, some people don’t hesitate to go beyond and try to play god with it. Nevertheless, there’s an all-powerful entity who keeps them in check, and they are simply known as The Truth.

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They stand behind the Gate of Truth and will meet and punish anybody who tries to perform Human Transmutation, the biggest taboo in all alchemy. But The Truth is not inherently evil; it’s just an unbiased entity that represents the consciences of all living beings in the world. Needless to say, this is one of the most abstract portrayals of a god in shōnen anime and manga and is not a character that could ever be fought physically, let alone be defeated.

2

Zeno (Dragon Ball)

The Supreme Ruler Of The Multiverse

It’s very funny to think that in Dragon Ball, an action-packed series with multiple strong fighters and even powerful gods, the most powerful entity is not someone like Goku, Zamasu, or Beerus, but a small child-like character simply named Zeno. Also known as the Omni-King, he’s the supreme ruler of the entire Dragon Ball multiverse, and other similar gods can’t even compare to him.

It’s important to clarify that, as Beerus once stated, Zeno doesn’t have any real combat abilities, but he more than makes up for that with his other impressive powers. He’s 100% immortal, he can fly, he can control the inner energy of any living being, and he can both materialize and erase anything he desires, including entire universes. Fortunately, Zeno is more of a neutral force because not even Goku and his allies would be able to defeat him.

1

Sun And Luna (Undead Unluck)

The Entire Human World Is Just A Fun Video Game For Them

Undead Unluck

Release Date

October 7, 2023

The ruthless world of Undead Unluck is plagued with three bizarre phenomenons: Negators, people who are cursed with the ability to negate a specific aspect of the universe, UMAs, deadly creatures that represent a specific rule of the universe, and Artifacts, mysterious objects with their own unique powers. All of these elements are key aspects of a sick game that was created by two all-powerful gods: Sun and Luna.

Negators are tasked with completing quests and if they fail them a certain number of times, the entire world will come to an end. Surprisingly enough, Sun and Luna have destroyed the world 100 different times, and only in the 101st loop was the Union finally able to defeat them with the help of all the combined Negators and the three most powerful artifacts; Aegis, Rebellion, and the Heart. Even after their victory, Sun and Luna didn’t cease to exist, they just admitted their defeat and let humanity live in peace. They are both still there, and they will always be there. It’s just their cruel game is over… for now.

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