There's something to be said about a well-written absurdly powerful mascot character in anime. Whether it's an adorable little talking animal that can level a building, or even just a cute human character with some secret power, it's a fun trope every time.
So, let's take a look at some of the most well-known characters in popular anime/manga that would be considered "mascots" of their series, and talk about what makes them so shockingly strong.
8 Bleach: Kaizo "Kon" Konpaku
Kon, AKA Kaizo Konpaku, is absolutely worthy of being called the "mascot" character of Bleach. Kon originally comes off as a purely perverted comic relief, but as the events of Bleach progress, more and more of his backstory comes to light. To boil down the relatively complicated story of Project Spearhead, Kon is a modified Soul that was created with a specialty in mind to help Shinigami in their fight against the Hollows in this show centered mostly around the world of the afterlife.
Specifically, Kon is an Underpod-type Mod Soul, massively buffing the leg strength of whatever body his soul is currently residing within. As the stuffed Lion, Kon can kick the wind out of a standard human, and if he's given control of a human body, he can launch Hollows into the air on pure leg strength.
Later on in the story, Kon is experimented on by the 12th Division and is now able to transform his plush body into this gigantic muscular form. Kon is certainly much more powerful than his stuffed animal appearance would make him seem.
7 Hitman Reborn: The Man Known As Reborn
The Hitman Reborn franchise is honestly one of the most deceptively enjoyable IPs out there. Originally, the concept seems so incredibly stupid, since it's all about a baby with a magic pacifier training a middle-school kid to become a Mafia Boss using magical fire bullets that kill and then revive him.
But, as the story goes on, more characters are introduced, the power system is established, and more of the rules of this world are revealed, Hitman Reborn actually gets a lot better.
But, one aspect of the show/manga that never changes is that Reborn is the strongest Hitman in the world and is basically the John Wick of this setting.
6 Fairy Tail: Happy
Now, in comparison to many of the other characters in this anime, this next mascot won't seem all that powerful. But, in comparison to any normal human, Happy the Cat is exceedingly strong. For one, he's a durable little guy, proving himself capable of surviving even city-destroying explosions, such as one of the many city-leveling explosions caused by Jackal, one of the Nine Demon Gates of the Dark Guild, Tartaros.
Two, Happy is able to use an ability/magic called Aera which lets him fly even while carrying a decent amount of weight. And three, Happy can fly with Aera insanely fast if he needs to, which adds a considerable amount of force to anything he decides to charge into.
Again, this might not seem like much compared to Natsu's Fire Magic (taught by Igneel), Lucy's Celestial Spirit Magic, or any of the other magic-wielding characters in Fairy Tail, but it's enough to promote Happy from "just another talking animal mascot" into a mascot capable of helping out when it actually matters.
5 One Piece: Tony Tony Chopper
Arguably the most popular "powerful" mascot character on here, Tony Tony Chopper is of course the mascot for the Straw Hat Pirates and the One Piece franchise as a whole. The amount of merchandise out there with Chopper as the centerpiece is massive, and it's all because he's both a fantastically written character (though underappreciated) and an unbelievably cute one.
There have been numerous times throughout the 1000+ episodes/chapters of One Piece that Chopper has proven himself a worthy combatant of the Straw Hats, but just to name a few:
- Chopper and Usopp beat Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas in Alabasta.
- He survived and even outsmarted one of the Priests of Skypeia, Gedatsu.
- He managed to beat Kumadori, one of the CP9, though he was rampaging in his monster form.
- Chopper blocked a hit from a literal Kraken with his Guard Point on the way to Fish-Man Island.
- He beat Dosun, a superhuman Fish-man, in a one-on-one fight.
- And he's even held off Big Mom, albeit briefly, as they tried to escape from Whole Cake Island.
4 Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Kyubey
It's long past the point where anyone who knows the name Madoka Magica is tricked into believing it's a happy show. No, Madoka Magica is dark, incredibly dark, but it's meant to trick new viewers with its magical girl aesthetic and cute characters. Kyubey is the ultimate example of this as the mascot of the show.
Originally, Kyubey seems like this standard anime magical talking animal that grants wishes to girls (think Sailor Moon). But, it's quickly revealed that Kyubey is actually what's called an "Incubator", a race of creatures that harvest the energy created from human souls and emotions.
Other than the fact that Kyubey can turn people into Magical Girls (and eventually Witches), this "thing" also seemingly has an infinite amount of replacement "Kyubey". Whenever one is killed, another one pops out and instantly replaces it, even continuing the conversation where it left off while eating its old body. So, not only is Kyubey a great example of a strong mascot character, but it's also just an amazingly designed horror monster.
3 Re Zero: Puck
Puck, the adorable little cat spirit that's contracted with Emilia in Re: Zero, is another cheek-pinchingly cute animal that could also end the world if he so chose. Dubbed as the "Beast of the End" in his true form, Puck is one of the strongest characters in the Re: Zero setting, and could likely kill anyone on screen (and has with Suburu many times) at any time he wanted.
When not bound by his contract with Emilia, Puck can freeze everything (and everyone) around him by absorbing their mana, is able to use a variety of elemental magic at the highest level, and is apparently the most powerful Fire Magic-user bar none. This may not seem apparent given how carefree and jovial Puck is, especially around Subaru, but it's absolutely the truth.
2 Seven Deadly Sins: Hawk
Out of all the overpowered Mascots on here, Hawk is most likely the weakest in comparison to the rest of the characters around him, with Happy as a close second. But, he's still a Demon pig-like creature from Purgatory, so that counts for something. Plus, this pig-creature has a ton of potential to get even stronger thanks to his Transpork ability and absurd durability.
While it sounds ridiculous, Transpork is basically the Seven Deadly Sins version of Kirby's Copy power or Genya Shinazugawa's Demon Transformation power from Demon Slayer. Anything Hawk eats that has Magical Power in it, he can take on the attributes of, which opens the door to a ton of different fun possibilities, if he ever actually needs to fight.
1 That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime: Rimuru Tempest
Honestly, even though it's in the title of the series, it's easy to forget sometimes that Rimuru Tempest from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is actually a slime monster. Most times, Rimuru takes on the faux-Shizu human form and only reverts to his slime form when he's comfortable and at ease. But, even in his human form, Rimuru is adorable, so much so that Shion and Shuna usually spend way too much time dressing him up in all types of different outfits.
And, even though he's literally just a gelatinous ball, Rimuru is pretty adorable as a slime too, something that all of the other villagers in Tempest would agree with. But, just because he's adorable, doesn't mean he shouldn't be feared, as Rimuru makes it clear just how overpowered he is by the end of the first episode of the show thanks to his standard "isekai protagonist" overpowered starting skills.