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Among the many villains of Naruto, Orochimaru will always stand out as one of the most notable.
I mean, his character design just speaks for itself.
After all, who in their right mind would think a reserved and crafty snake person is actually one of the good guys?
Although ironically, Orochimaru turned out as one of the very few villains in anime who turned over a new leaf.
And I say good for him! He’s a very valuable asset for the Hidden Leaf, given his knowledge and strength. So him having a change of heart is a win-win for everyone, really.
With that said, which anime characters are likely able to defeat Orochimaru despite his outstanding strength? Here’s our picks.
20. All For One
Anime: My Hero Academia
First up, we have one of the most nefarious and tyrannical villains in all of anime.
Seriously, this guy would put most anime villains to shame with how evil he is.
He’s downright diabolical and wouldn’t even think twice about killing people if it meant he could achieve greater power and control over the masses.
Like Orochimaru, AFO has also dabbled in human experimentation in order to create the Yomu.
Not only is he immensely stronger than Orochimaru going by pure feats alone, but he also has a certain itchy sidekick and a vast army of mutants at his beck and call.
19. Whitebeard
Anime: One Piece
Whitebeard is quite well known throughout the anime community as one of the most potentially destructive fighters of all time.
He has the power to create tremors with his Gura Gura no Mi — and by extension — the ability to cause earthquakes and tsunamis whenever he pleases.
This technically makes him a “Tremor Human”, and is said by Sengoku as someone who could destroy the world if he wanted to.
Realistically, Whitebeard could fold almost any anime character like a lawn chair in a straight fight.
Yeah, he’s just that strong.
This is the man who’s constantly being compared with the likes of the legendary Pirate King, after all.
18. Meruem
Anime: Hunter X Hunter
There’s nothing like a good old “Science vs Nature” debate.
And Meruem, unlike Orochimaru whose strength was mostly cultivated in a lab, is a stark representation of the power of evolution in nature.
Despite having only been several days old, Meruem could already wipe the floor with even the strongest of hunters with ease.
He was born a freak of nature from the get-go and was blessed with strength, speed, intelligence, and durability of the highest magnitude.
Not even the strongest hunter at the time could beat Meruem without blowing himself up with a nuke, although keep in mind that the king actually survived the explosion as well.
In a way, I think that Natsu actually mirrors Naruto – especially when it comes to their general character archetypes.
And the similarities don’t just stop there.
After all, both protagonists are the same in the sense that they both eventually developed to be the strongest characters in their respective series.
Natsu, despite being a bit of a fledgling wizard at the start of Fairy Tail, has become strong enough to defeat the “big bad” in the end.
16. Koro-Sensei
Anime: Assassination Classroom
Koro-Sensei is amongst the many anime characters whom I imagine won’t get along with Orochimaru at all.
He was, after all, a victim of human experimentation, and has lost his human body ever since.
That said, he did gain a significant power boost despite being an already strong assassin known as “The Reaper” upon being experimented on.
After being integrated with antimatter particles, Koro-Sensei has gained super speed, an enhanced healing factor, superhuman reflexes, and lots more.
He is not an easy opponent to deal with. And he’s more powerful than most anime characters – including Orochimaru.
15. Accelerator
Anime: A Certain Scientific Accelerator
When it comes to villains who managed to break away from the dark side and join the good guys, how could we ever forget about Accelerator?
Sure he was a bit of a jerk during the first season of the series. But like Orochimaru, he eventually came to his senses and turned over a new leaf.
This is a very good thing for the protagonists too!
After all, who in their right mind would want a ridiculously overpowered guy like Accelerator as an enemy?
14. Yoko Kurama
Anime: Ghost Fighter
Unfortunately for Orochimaru, this is yet another fox-man he wouldn’t be able to overpower.
Yoko Kurama is quite literally the Nine-Tailed Fox from myth who transferred his soul inside the body of an infant boy.
His power was limited for the majority of the series due to this, although anyone that has seen him fight in his true form would agree he is one powerful fighter indeed.
Equipped with his rose whips and a charismatic, effeminate swagger, Yoko Kurama can outsmart and sometimes even overpower crazy-strong opponents.
So much so that even S-class demons from the depths of hell fear his name.
13. Esdeath
Anime: Akame ga Kill!
This ice waifu could’ve been a great romantic interest.
Too bad she was fighting for the wrong side and is a little bit cray-cray.
Esdeath is sweet and romantic to those who catch her eyes, but she’s sadistic and ruthless to those who oppose her and the empire.
As a general, she has ordered several mass murders and has personally killed countless innocent civilians just to justify her twisted “survival of the fittest” ideology.
She’s strong, fast, has immensely strong control over ice – and d is also capable of freezing time itself.
Very few anime characters can beat this woman in terms of overall strength. But to those who can, who knows?
Maybe they might just be the “perfect one” for her considering how much she likes strong characters. I doubt that a long-term relationship with her would work out though…
12. Mayuri Kurotsuchi
Anime: Bleach
Due to his appearance and behavior, Mayuri often gets a bad rap for being a creepy and bizarre character.
The thing is, well, he is creepy and bizarre.
He’s the classic example of the “mad scientist” character archetype, and does his job so well that he once made a convincing villain back in the early episodes of the series.
He’s nihilistic in his approach to science and cares very little for other people’s emotions and opinions — seeing them more as potential experiments.
Sporting awesome speed, strength, and intelligence, and equipped with a Bankai that can release a lethal poison at will, Mayuri is one mime-looking scientist no one should ever mess with.
11. Dio Brando
Anime: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Speaking of characters who no one should mess with…
Dio Brando is yet another nihilist that comes to mind.
Not only is he a stand user, but he had also achieved what Orochimaru had been trying to achieve for several decades — eternal life!
Well, until he got cocky and messed with the wrong JoJo, that is.
Regardless, Dio with his The World (Za Warudo!) and time stop ability is still a force to be reckoned with even for the strongest of anime characters.
In fact, I think he’s completely capable of overpowering most of the JoJo cast if he weren’t so damn arrogant like Orochimaru.
10. Julius Novachrono
Anime: Black Clover
Here have Julius Novachrono, who’s the pinnacle of the words “overpowered” with his time manipulation spells.
Due to his wisdom and power, he was rightfully declared as the Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom.
And Julius isn’t just powerful. He’s also a great leader who even sacrificed himself once to save his kingdom and its people.
The surrounding kingdoms fear this man, and even the leader of the elves — Patolli — went out of his way to try and kill Julius just to ensure that their takeover would succeed.
Notice an emphasis on “try”.
9. Alucard
Anime: Hellsing Ultimate
Alucard might applaud Orochimaru due to his survivability and craftiness, but no one beats the No-Life King in these things.
He’s the original vampire, and is immune to all of the stereotypical weaknesses one might have. Garlic, wooden stakes, crosses — you name it.
Naturally, he has also attained the one thing that Orochimaru wants for himself which is true immortality especially after absorbing Schrodinger. Thus he can never be truly killed.
What’s worse is that he’s insanely powerful as well — so much so that his strongest enemies backed away as soon as he released his strongest form.
When he gets going, you cannot stop him.
You can only hope to — well, now that I think about it, you probably can’t contain him either…
8. Escanor
Anime: Seven Deadly Sins
Orochimaru has wielded his fair share of forbidden and powerful Jutsus.
But could he ever say that he can harness the power of the sun?
Well, Escanor can!
In fact, he’s so darn strong that he can even keep up with angels and demons that should be much, much stronger than a human like him.
Never underestimate his pride too. He submits to no one — not even an ancient Commandment that forbids him from attacking a particular demon.
We all know how well that turned out for Estarossa, and Escanor wasn’t even using his full strength!
7. Rimuru Tempest
Anime: That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime
Some of you who haven’t heard of the anime yet probably think this is a joke, but this particular slime isn’t anything like his cannon-fodder kin.
Due to him absorbing so many enemies and assimilating their abilities and traits, Rimuru has grown to be quite a powerful being in a relatively short time.
I mean, he’s so strong that he could even contend with high-level dragons and demons that could easily wipe out entire cities whenever they get serious!
Not bad at all for a non-human isekai protagonist.
And it’s also important to point out that he’s still getting more powerful, despite having Orochimaru already beat at his current level of strength.
6. Toriko
Anime: Toriko
Toriko would eat anything.
And by that, I mean any beast or monster that he can get his hands on and beat the hell up.
This is due to the demons that occupy his body — giving him immense strength and special abilities in exchange for a bottomless appetite.
Toriko embodies the common traits that every Shounen MC ever has. Namely, he’s always itching for a good fight along with being oftentimes hard-headed and overly energetic.
And much like Rimuru, he had grown so strong after eating so many creatures by the end of his series that he can outright delete almost any anime character you can put him up against.
Never underestimate the gluttons, I guess?
5. Kabuto Yakushi
Anime: Naruto
The student who has surpassed his master: Kabuto Yakushi.
It’s pretty obvious that Kabuto was nowhere near Orochimaru’s level during the earlier episodes of the anime.
After the 4th Shinobi World War Arc, though? I’d say he’s done more than enough to be considered at least on par with Orochimaru.
Kabuto has mastered the Snake Sage Mode while Orochimaru could not, and has also held his own against the likes of Sasuke and Itachi.
In the end, he followed his master’s footsteps and turned over a new leaf by running an orphanage at the Hidden Leaf Village (heh) as a homage to his mother.
Again, good for him!
4. Saiki Kusuo
Anime: The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
Saiki is no ordinary high school boy, and there’s no shame in being weaker than him.
If he were a game character, he’d be one of those who started their game with every cheat turned on while also playing on easy mode.
Saiki’s powers are so numerous that it would be hard to list them all here, so let’s just say that he’s broken.
Simply put, he has the power to destroy the world by merely thinking of it if he ever loses control of his powers.
As you can see, it’s pretty understandable just why he’s considered among the most powerful espers ever in anime.
3. Gojo Satoru
Anime: Sorcery Fight
Speaking of overpowered characters who remained unfazed through anything, we have Gojo Satoru, who not only gives 0 fricks about his opponents – but is pretty darn cocky as well.
After all, why not?
He’s arguably the strongest character (as of now anyway) in his series, and not even the 2nd strongest comes close to his level of power.
He’s quick, strong, and is so well-versed in using cursed energy and cursed techniques that he just makes it look easy.
There’s no doubt that Satoru Gojo is one of the most overpowered side characters in anime, who coincidentally also stole the show and became an established fan favorite.
2. Saitama
Anime: One Punch Man
Saitama has been known to decimate huge monsters with one punch, and could undoubtedly do the same to Manda — Orochimaru’s trusty ol’ pet.
It’ll be Centichoro all over again…
Moreover, I’m pretty sure he’d one-shot Orochimaru as well if they ever fought one-on-one.
Going by pure feats alone, Saitama pretty much outstrips everyone in the Narutoverse — including even Kaguya Otsutsuki herself.
It’s a controversial take, I know.
But you have to admit that it’s hard to make a case against someone who exterminates terrifyingly strong monsters on a daily basis.
1. Cell
Anime: Dragon Ball
Cell is exactly like Orochimaru in the sense that his strengths were also cultivated mostly in a lab.
And they both seem to have a penchant for throwing up a part of themselves every time they get in trouble.
Pretty icky, yes, but I actually find this similarity oddly hilarious! That’s why I decided to put Cell on this list over the likes of Goku and Vegeta.
Despite being significantly weaker than both Saiyans, Cell is more than powerful enough to be considered leagues above Orochimaru.
After all, this green cockroach-looking man with a fancy voice (which oddly sounds like Plankton’s voice from SpongeBob) can blow up an entire solar system if he so wishes.
An average enjoyer of memes, movies, anime, manga, light novels, and video games. He also LOVES gambling — er, playing all sorts of gacha games mostly F2P in his free time.
