The Mad Titan Thanos, as the Avengers well know, is a force to be reckoned with. Yet, the version of the villain that fans see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems much weaker than his comic book version, who is overpowered and nigh-unbeatable. While there may be some anime heroes who could give the comic book version of Thanos a run for his money, the focus here is on the Thanos fans see in the MCU universe before his acquisition of the Infinity Stones.
This version of Thanos is still an utter beast when it comes to fighting with near godly strength, speed, and reflexes while also possessing a supreme intellect, an eye for strategy, and ridiculous regenerative powers. Yet, even with all of this power, there are still some anime characters that could crush Thanos in a fight without playing on Thanos's greatest weakness, his arrogance.
Updated on February 20th, 2022 by Amanda Bruce: Though Marvel anime series do exist, it seems unlikely that fans will ever see iconic anime heroes take on Marvel villains on the screen. It's a shame because some of those match-ups would certainly be a fun fight to animate. Fans can imagine Thanos taking on the likes of One Punch Man's Saitama or RWBY's Ruby Rose though and wonder just who would come out on top.
Anime Characters Who Could Beat Thanos
Sailor Moon (Sailor Moon)
When it comes to the Magical Girl corner of anime, Sailor Moon is often the heroine fans think of first. Her story is a classic, and that's largely because her power literally comes from love and friendship. There's no evil in the universe she can't beat as a result.
Sure, Usagi Tsukino usually has to rely on her team of Sailor Senshi to do most of the work, but when push comes to shove, her own desire to help overpowers everything else. She would likely try to reason with Thanos before actually using her power against him, but considering she has enough power to bring about the destruction of a planet - or reset someone else's destruction - Thanos wouldn't stand a chance.
Ladybug (Miraculous: The Tales Of Ladybug And Cat Noir)
This French anime combines elements of the Magical Girl genre with more classic comic book superheroes, and the results are some incredibly powerful heroes. Ladybug, in particular, is powered by a Miraculous that has the "power of creation." It doesn't matter how bad the destruction from a fight gets, she can fix it.
At the end of any fight, her lucky charm allows the world to be reset to the way it was, fixing any damage, healing any injuries, and effectively turning back the clock without actually time traveling. There is nothing Thanos could do that she couldn't undo.
Shikamaru Nara (Naruto)
There's a reason many anime fans consider Shikamaru Nara the best strategist in all of anime. No one can outthink him. Thanos might make long-term plans, but Shikamaru is always three steps ahead of his enemies.
In the Naruto: Shippuden series, he's able to capture and dismember a functionally immortal member of the Akatsuki completely on his own - an enemy no one else has ever bested in a fight. Add to that his jutsu that allows him to control people with the use of his shadow, and Thanos wouldn't be able to escape him to come up with a new plan.
Mob (Mob Psycho)
Mob is the main protagonist of Mob Psycho and has access to some pretty epic psychic powers. Scarlet Witch, from the MCU universe, has similar powers as Mob and is shown to be more than a match for Thanos on her own.
Yet, Scarlet Witch could easily be overpowered by Mob's own psychic powers. Thus, a match between Mob and Thanos would end in a very solid defeat for Thanos. The scenario might go a different way if Thanos had the power of the Infinity Gauntlet. Maybe.
Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)
Ichigo Kurosaki could take down Thanos with one slice of his sword, no questions asked. This is due to the fact that Ichigo, by releasing his sword's final form, basically becomes a god or, as they say in the anime, a third-dimensional being. Yet, even without this greatly enhanced power, Ichigo would still defeat the MCU version of Thanos.
Ichigo's speed has been described as being many times faster than the speed of sound and his attacks, while facing Ulquiorra, easily show far greater strength than what Thanos is capable of without the Infinity Stones.
Goku (Dragon Ball Super)
Goku is the main protagonist of Dragon Ball Super and is at his mightiest in Dragon Ball Super. This martial arts expert constantly surpasses his own power and is approaching godlike levels as he manages to achieve a low-level form of Ultra Instinct, a technique that even some Gods of Destruction have a difficult time with.
Thus, when matched up against the MCU version of Thanos, this isn't a fight at all. Goku is just too strong. A comic book Thanos or an MCU Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet are different stories all together which should clue fans in on the immeasurable difference in power between the MCU version of Thanos and the comic book one, but, unfortunately for the MCU Thanos, he is not nearly as strong as his comic book version.
Ikaros (Heaven's Lost Property)
Ikaros is a Battle Class android and is an anime character who is once again immeasurably overpowered. What may be Ikaros's most powerful ability comes from her Transportation Cards which have the power to literally reshape the fabric of reality and grant just about any wish.
This ability alone could easily be a match for Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet. However, Ikaros without her cards is still a massively overpowered character. Her flying speed alone clocks in at over 18,000 mph, and this is before she takes on her ultimate battle form, the Uranus Queen. The MCU Thanos simply stands no chance.
Saitama (One Punch Man)
Saitama's powers are literally ridiculous. This hero easily survives attacks that send him flying from the Earth's surface to the moon and has been shown destroying a massive meteor with a single punch. Saitama's strength and speed far outstrip even the Mad Titan's own, and these abilities would allow Saitama to easily overcome Thanos's regenerative abilities.
The only question in this fight would be "how many times would Saitama have to punch Thanos to win?"
Anime Characters Who Could Not Beat Thanos
Sakura Kinomoto (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Sakura essentially has all of the same powers held in the Infinity Gauntlet, however, she has that power in the form of a deck of cards that resemble Tarot cards. Each card has its own unique ability for her to use in a fight.
Over the course of the original series, Sakura masters the use of those cards, and in Clear Card, she begins creating her own from her own immense magical abilities. While all of that means she's incredibly powerful, she's also still a young child. Her story begins when she's just ten years old, and her fear often gets the better of her during a confrontation. She also takes her time deciding on which cards to use, and time would definitely be a factor in battling Thanos. Sakura would likely be overwhelmed and take too long to make a decision.
Ruby Rose (RWBY)
With superspeed and a powerful scythe, Ruby Rose cuts down a lot of Grimm in her world. She's a great fighter, and even a pretty good strategist, who is growing into a great leader as the series goes on. Eventually, she might be strong enough to take on Thanos in a fight.
At seven volumes into RWBY though, Ruby still has a lot of learning to do. While she might be able to go up against Thanos' minions, she wouldn't be able to take on the big guy without a little backup. He would quickly overwhelm her, tiring her out and using up her Aura, leaving her to have to escape and regroup.
Mikoto Misaka (A Certain Scientific Railgun)
While Mikoto Misaka is only a girl in middle school, she is amazingly overpowered. Misaka has the ability to manipulate any form of electricity at will and has a crazy maximum voltage of one billion volts. She can hack computers, increase her body's physical speed by controlling neuron signals in her body, and can magnetize and control any metal around her, including iron sand which she can form into a sword that cuts just about anything as it vibrates.
A fight between Misaka and Thanos would be an amazing spectacle to watch, but, unfortunately for Misaka, she would lose. Thanos has proven to be highly shock-resistant, even without the infinity gauntlet, easily taking Thor's lightning attacks along with Ironman's beams. While a typical lightning strike maxes out around 300 million volts, fans can assume that Thor's lightning deals a much greater voltage. Misaka may be able to do some serious damage with an all-out attack and could potentially avoid Thanos's counterattacks for a while, but her endurance, strength, and speed are no match for the Mad Titan.
Shinra Kuskabe (Fire Force)
Shinra has a hefty amount of power. A fight between Shinra and Thanos, though, ends with a defeat for Shinra. Shinra's pyrokinesis allows him to create flames from his feet that can propel him to insane speeds, easily outstripping the speed of Thanos. Yet, Shinra lacks the firepower necessary to do any real damage to the Mad Titan, even with his newly gained abilities in season two.
Shinra does have the ability to move faster than the speed of light, something Thanos would be very hard-pressed to beat. But, unfortunately for Shinra, he needs Adola's grace in order to use this ability, and Shinra currently has no way of gaining this grace on his own.
Vash The Stampede (Trigun)
Vash is the main protagonist of an old-school anime called Trigun. He is an expert gunman who can throw a coin just before his opponent fires his gun to change the shot's trajectory. Vash also has an amazingly powerful weapon in his right arm that left a crater on the moon that is visible from the planet.
Unfortunately for Vash, this weapon seems to take some time to charge up. While Vash's angel arm could do some massive damage to Thanos, the Mad Titan has Vash beat in every other category except, perhaps, in the perception area. Thus Thanos should be able to take Vash down quite easily as long as he doesn't let Vash get off a shot with his angel arm.
Katsuki Bokugo (My Hero Academia)
Bokugo is a hero in training from My Hero Academia with the ability to ignite his nitroglycerin sweat to create some pretty massive explosion.
He is an amazing fighter who knows how to use his quirk in some pretty creative ways to increase his speed and fighting power, but he is no match for Thanos, who easily withstands attacks that far outstrip Bokugo's firepower, such as Tony Stark's missiles and Thor's lightning. Bokugo could put up a decent fight against Thanos for a bit, but he has no way of actually harming Thanos.
Hawk (The Seven Deadly Sins)
This little piggy has been shown to possess some incredible regenerative powers, but, unfortunately for Hawk, that's about all he possesses.
The question in this battle wouldn't be who would win; Thanos could easily dispatch this little piggy. Rather the question is, "would Thanos even care to make the effort?" He would likely see Hawk as beneath him.