There is no doubt in the minds of One Punch Man fans that Saitama has not faced a stronger opponent than Garou. This anti-hero turned villain was extremely powerful and for a few moments, fans were having doubts about how Saitama would defeat him.
Naturally, our favorite baldy had no problem taking down this galactic horror, even going all the way back to the past to prevent so many deaths. Garou is a villain who deserves respect for his incredible power and outstanding abilities. Nonetheless, there are still many other villains in anime whose powers make Garou look like a petty criminal.
Continue reading to learn more about nine anime villains who make Garou from One Punch Man seem like a novice fighter in terms of strength.
Disclaimer: This list reflects the author’s opinion and contains spoilers.
Kars and 9 other anime villains who are much stronger than One Punch Man's Garou
1) Goku Black (Dragon Ball Super)
Garou’s fighting style consisted of copying and using the moves of his opponents against them. This ability allowed him to obtain an insane number of different powers that he tried to destroy Saitama with. When talking about anime villains who copy powers, Goku Black is miles ahead of Saitama’s enemy.
This imposing villain took it into his own hands to obtain Goku’s body to prevent the Saiyan from defeating him. Like One Punch Man’s villain, Black became stronger with increasing time.
Nevertheless, his power growth was exponentially higher than Garou’s, who was easily overpowered by Saitama. In a fight, it is likely that Goku Black would come out victorious without much trouble.
2) Kars (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Garou undoubtedly had a massive amount of stamina, an incredibly fast regeneration, and could move at outstanding speeds. However, he was still a human beyond all the powers granted to him by God’s influence. Kars stopped being human centuries ago and was still looking for a way to overcome the weaknesses his vampire body had.
After achieving this goal, Kars became not only an immortal being that could not be harmed by almost anything but also one of the most powerful beings on Earth. To defeat him, our heroes had to send him flying into space, where he roams around, frozen, but not dead. Kars could come back to the planet one day and things would get bad really fast.
3) Kaguya Otsutsuki (Naruto)
Most of Garou’s powers and abilities were obtained by training and brandishing his skills, although some of his most insane abilities were granted to him by God. While he was not himself a godly creature, Kaguya Otsutsuki was revered as a goddess in her time and has the power to back up the title.
Kaguya is amongst the most powerful anime villains in existence, with massive strength and a plethora of abilities that can destroy almost anyone. Her bone blades can obliterate anything they touch. She can control time and space, and even has the power to create pocket dimensions.
She had to be sealed in her own dimension, as this was the only way Naruto and his friends could defeat her, which speaks volumes about her power.
4) Sosuke Aizen (Bleach)
One Punch Man’s cosmic horror never once tried to act like something he was not. He always fought face-to-face and never tried to use manipulation in his fights. Aizen, on the other hand, was delighted by the idea of his former comrades believing his meek and polite act. He is a master manipulator, as well as one of the most powerful Shinigamis ever.
Aizens can teleport without any problem, regenerate from the most gruesome wounds, and even control a person’s senses to effectively make them unable to fight him. He seemed almost invincible for a long time and was only defeated after Ichigo used his most powerful attack on him. Undoubtedly, Aizen is leagues above Garou when talking about power and special abilities.
5) Gilgamesh (Fate Stay Night)
As we saw during his last encounter with Saitama, Garou is nowhere near powerful enough to destroy a planet. If Saitama’s sneeze got to him, he would have most likely died right then and there. That is why Gilgamesh would only need his trusted sword Ea to get rid of Bang’s student.
Gilgamesh's weapons have every secret of the universe stored inside them, as well as enough power to destroy entire planets with a single slash. If that is not enough, he has an almost impenetrable armor that rarely ever gets damaged.
He is also the user of the Gates of Babylon, a massive pocket dimension where he stores all kinds of weapons. Gilgamesh would make quick work of One Punch Man’s strongest villain without even breaking a sweat.
6) Naraku (Inuyasha)
The ability to copy powers that Garou showed in One Punch Man was extremely powerful, as it gave him the skills of heroes who were born with them. Still, this power is not as overwhelming as Naraku’s absorption, which gave him permanent control over the skills of any demon that he absorbed.
Thanks to this power, Naraku had hundreds of different powers that made him the most imposing demon in his show. If being strong was not enough for him, he also had the ultimate defensive techniques like barriers and deflecting spells. Naraku had to be wished out of existence to be defeated, proving how mighty he was while alive.
7) Ainz Ooal Gown (Overlord)
At the end of the day, Garou’s biggest weakness was not being the protagonist of One Punch Man. It was obvious that he was going to be ultimately defeated by the almost omnipotent Saitama. Unlike the previously mentioned villain, Ainz is the protagonist of his show and also the most overpowered being in his world.
Ainz is a powerful mage who has thousands of spells under his belt, which he uses to overwhelm any opponent. He can also access something called Super Tier Magic, the most broken ability in the series. As of yet, he is the only villain on this list who has never been defeated, and it looks like this will not change in the near future.
8) Misogi Kumagawa (Medaka Box)
Garou’s powers go beyond what many heroes in One Punch Man might think is possible. He fought against Saitama in space without the need for air or an atmosphere. Yet, as powerful as he was, he never got close to controlling reality itself, like Misogi with his All Fiction ability.
With this power, Misogi was able to alter the reality around him with a simple touch. If he wanted the concept of color gone from the universe, it would simply disappear. He could control death itself with this power. No matter how hard One Punch Man’s cosmic villain tried, he would never even get close to Misogi, thanks to his control over the universe itself.
9) The Anti-spiral (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan)
We already talked about how Garou, as strong as he was in One Punch Man, is still weaker than being someone who can control reality itself. Now imagine how weak he would look against an all-powerful creature that can control reality, time, and space at the same time. The Anti-Spiral is exactly that.
This creature is a deity who wanted to create a universe without the dangers of evolution. Not only could it control the entire universe itself, but also probability and fortune, meaning that most fights were considered victories for the Anti-Spiral before they even began. Very few beings in all anime are capable of facing this universal threat, and Garou is not one of them.