The golden age of Shonen series during the 1990s and 2000s saw many rising stars in the industry, but very few could compete with the popularity of One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. All these series eventually earned the title of the “Shonen Big Three,” as a testament to their popularity and unparalleled storylines not just in Shonen Jump, but in the entire demographic. One Piece, being the oldest one, is still continuing, while Bleach and Naruto have long concluded their manga series. Bleach’s anime is planning to wrap up the main story this year, and Naruto’s spin-off, Boruto, is serializing its second part of the manga.
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Each of the Big Three villains has unique powers thanks to the incredible power systems built by the authors. The stories follow their journey as they learn more about how to control their abilities until they are basically unstoppable. So, here’s how they would rank in terms of powers.
3) Kaguya Otsutsuki
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki is one of the most powerful and mysterious characters in the Naruto universe. She was the first being to possess chakra on Earth, consuming the fruit of the God Tree to gain divine power. Her abilities are so immense that she is considered an existence far beyond the realm of mortals.
Kaguya is functionally immortal, a trait that makes her nearly impossible to kill. Even when she was defeated by Naruto, Sasuke, and the rest of Team 7, they didn’t kill her — they had to seal her away using Six Paths techniques. Her signature technique, the Expansive Truth-Seeking Orb, has the power to obliterate entire dimensions and reduce everything in its path to nothingness. This level of destruction is unparalleled.
2) Imu
Imu was introduced in the story in Chapter 906, which was released in June 2018. However, the series only revealed a silhouette of the villain to build more hype around the mysterious ruler of the world. The Empty Throne represents the notion of equal power between the 20 Allied Nations, which is why it’s not supposed to be occupied.
However, only a handful of people, even in Mariejois, know that it’s being occupied by Imu, who has been existing since the Void Century. In Chapter 1179, the story takes an unexpected turn when Imu descends into the lower world and arrives in Elbaph. The chapter introduces him as Saint Nerona Imu, the King of the World and the creator of the World Government, as a member of the 20 Allied Nations.
1) Yhwach
Yhwach is the undisputed most powerful character in Bleach and, honestly, one of the most powerful beings in anime history. His Schrift, The Almighty, doesn’t just let him see the future; it allows him to twist and reshape it to his advantage, essentially guaranteeing the best possible outcome. This power is so ridiculously overpowered that he can literally break weapons in the future before the fight even starts, like when he shattered Ichigo’s Tensa Zangetsu.
What makes Yhwach even more terrifying is his ability to steal others’ powers, experiences, and knowledge just by touching them, and his merger with the Soul King elevated this strength to cosmic levels. As the father of all Quincy, he can distribute and reclaim power from his entire race, making him a constant source of growing strength. Yhwach truly embodies the ultimate final boss, whose defeat required not just Ichigo’s power but the combined efforts of multiple transcendent beings. And even then, he was only defeated due to his overwhelming arrogance and belief in his invincibility.
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