The Shonen genre has many amazing traits ranging from funny tropes & expansive power systems to unpredictable storylines and epic endings. One of the best things most fandoms look out for in the Shonen world is how well the protagonists measure up to the villains and oppositions that oppose the forces of good and threaten world peace.
One of the best tropes in the Shonen world all fans love seeing is the final, ultimate form reached by a Shonen protagonist. The moment Shonen protagonists reach the peak of their powers is usually lined with breathtaking battles and the defeat of the final villains. In the anime world, there are ultimate forms that deserve to be called the best, following the power they hold and their aesthetic appeal. So, which final forms can be considered the best?
Warning: This post contains unfiltered developments from the manga series of different anime
10 Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann – Gurren Lagann
The classic action-comedy series Gurren Lagann belongs to the category of iconic shonen anime of all time. The Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann is the final form of the mecha belonging to Team Dai-Gurren. The mecha’s final form made its appearance in the battle Team Dai Gurren had with the Anti-Spiral, an alien whose goal was to eliminate all intelligent life forms with the ability to evolve, humans included.
The Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann, piloted by Simon, possesses the ability to manipulate space, time, love, and even thoughts. The mecha's alternate form, Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, is purely made out of spiral power, an energy form humans use to evolve in the world of Gurren Lagann. In this state, the mecha’s height, powered by Simon’s infinite supply of Spiral Power, exceeded 51 billion light-years. With the awesomeness of this final form, there was no better way to end Gurren Lagann.
9 Goku’s Ultra Instinct – Dragon Ball Z
When it comes to powerful characters, Dragon Ball Z has its fair share. The Dragon Ball franchise has impacted the anime world in such a way that anime fans can’t discuss the strongest anime characters without adding Saiyans to the mix.
Leading the franchise is none other than Goku's Ultra Instinct. This power-up proved to be extremely mighty, even against the gods in the world of Dragon Ball. The technique involves Goku separating his consciousness from his physical body, allowing him to fight void of emotions and thoughts. In this form, Goku can be regarded as one of the strongest characters in the Dragon Ball series.
8 Etherious Natsu Dragneel – Fairytail
Fairytail has an impressive cast with different interesting personalities and abilities. The story's theme centers on friendship and its importance in everyday life. However, the story doesn't sideline other important developments, such as the main characters' extraordinary magical abilities despite the core friendship theme.
The protagonist of the series, Natsu Dragneel, had an impressive ultimate form that is notable in the Shonen world. The form, Etherious Natsu Dragneel, surfaced after Natsu accessed his demon power, allowing him to easily traverse a time-distorted world and also defeat Zeref, one of the main antagonists of the series.
7 Adult Gon – Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter is an adventure-based series that presents a power system where individuals utilize their internal energy, Nen, to perform outstanding feats. The main character of the show, Gon, was able to use it proficiently but was forced to go beyond his capacity when his mentor was killed.
To seek vengeance, Gon sacrificed all the Nen he would ever use throughout his life to increase his offensive capabilities to kill Neferpitou. The power boost was terrifying as fans witnessed Gon grow into an adult, muscular form with heightened abilities and immense strength. Even though the power-up was obtained at an expensive cost, it can still be regarded as one of the strongest abilities/power-ups in the Hunter x Hunter series.
6 Demon King Tanjiro – Demon Slayer
In the Demon Slayer anime-manga series, “Demon King Tanjiro” was one form no one saw coming. Through the combined efforts of powerful Demon Slayers, Kibustuji Muzan, the strongest Demon of the series, was slain. However, before leaving his immortal husk permanently, he turned Tanjiro into a demon at the last minute, making him an inheritor of his evil will.
This unprecedented development allowed Tanjiro to regenerate his missing hand instantly, allowing him to gain extraordinary regenerative abilities. What's more, unlike any demons that existed before, Tanjiro could walk freely in the sun without any repercussion. This shocking power-up is definitely among the best in the Shonen world.
5 Ichigo’s True Bankai Form – Bleach
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The orange-haired Shinigami Ichigo altered the Bleach power scaling after he joined the ranks as a Shinigami. At different points in the series, Ichigo possessed different power forms, ranging from his hollow form & his Fullbring version to his final Getsuga Tensho form. For anime-only fans, these forms are Ichigo's strongest.
However, for the hardcore manga readers, the true form of Ichigo's Bankai allowed him to be at his strongest. By combining his dual Zanpaktous, Ichigo was able to create a final powerful Bankai that aided the Shinigami in defeating Yhwach, the story's final villain.
4 Naruto’s Baryon Mode – Boruto Next Generations
Ironically, even though Naruto has so many powerful forms, such as Sage of Six Paths Naruto and the gigantic Kyuubi form in the original Naruto series, his true, final form wasn’t revealed until the Boruto sequel. During the fight with the Kara Clan, Kurama boosted the Seventh Hokage’s powers, allowing him to achieve the Baryon Mode.
However, this power boost came at a great cost as Naruto’s lifelong partner, Kurama, lost his life. Regardless, Naruto’s peak form was effective against Isshiki as it enabled the Hokage to stop him temporarily to prevent the hatching of his sick, genocidal plan.
3 Eren As The Founding Titan – Attack On Titan
Attack on Titan is set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with different forms of gigantic, human-like creations called 'Titans." The protagonist of the series, Eren, who starts out as a benevolent, caring character with a strong hatred for titans, metamorphs into a cruel villain after learning the harsh truth behind the world he lives in.
In the second part of the anime's final season, Eren Jaeger managed to gain the power of the Founding Titan, the apex Titan form of the series. Using Founding Titan's power, Eren now marches around the world with an army of Colossal Titans with the goal of wiping out humanity.
2 Demon God Shinra – Fire Force
Fire Force is set in a world of infernals, and fire-wielding humans referred to as Pyrokinetics. The main protagonist of the series, Shinra, is first introduced as a Third Generation Pyrokinetic with powerful fire-manipulation abilities and a connection to Adolla, an otherworldly flame. At the end of the series, The Evangelist tried to destroy the Earth and create another sun from it.
However, her plan failed as Shinra managed to stop her using the Demon God Shinra form. In this state, Shinra gained immense power and was able to push the moon back into its orbit after the villain, Faerie, manipulated its gravitational force. With science, fans can estimate that the raw power used by Shinra to push the moon without using light speed exceeds over 10 trillion megatons of TNT. 9,999,999,999,950 megatons. Simply put, Shinra's action packed a lot of punch since the gravitational force surrounding the moon was multiplied, thanks to Faerie. This iconic feat alone places Shinra well above most shonen protagonists.
1 Gear 5th Luffy – One Piece
Luffy, One Piece’s protagonist, first introduced fans to his Gear series in the Enies Lobby Arc in his battle against the CP9. The power constantly evolved throughout the future arcs and finally climaxed in the Wano Arc. In the Wano Arc, the final form of Luffy, termed "Gear Fifth," allowed the young pirate to reach the peak of his powers as Joy Boy's living incarnate. Gear 5 is based on the true nature of Luffy's Devil Fruit, once misconstrued as the Gomu Gomu No Mi.
In reality, it is the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, a Mythical Zoan fruit with the ability to change the nature of things into rubber. Using this power, Luffy could change even the nature of lightning to rubber. However, Luffy's greatest achievement with this power-up was defeating one of the Strongest Yonko, Kaido, in the world of One Piece.