Updated October 2, 2023 58.3K votes 12.9K voters 164.0K views
Over 12.9K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The 20 Manliest Anime Men Of All Time
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Anime is filled with big and tough heroes and villains, but some are bigger and tougher than all the rest. To be a memorable and impressive one, you've got to be strong, forceful, authoritative, muscly, and preferably sport some kind of impractically large hair - either on your head, chi, or upper lip. It doesn't hurt to be popular with the ladies either.
Basically, you've got to be the most macho man you can be. Shonen anime in particular attracts a lot of this archetype, whether they be handsome leading men aiming to be the undefeated champions of the world or conniving bad guys hoping to rule the galaxy. Bonus points if you can do it all shirtless, too.
The "Black Swordsman" of medieval fantasy saga Berserk is every inch the stalwart and rugged warrior he looks. His loyalty to his BFF, Griffith with his dreams of grandeur, are continually tested, as well his own noble sense of morality.
But, though deeply cynical, Guts never lets the darkness take him over completely - mainly out of pure, manly stubbornness. He also wields a ridiculously big sword, which is impressive enough on it's own in the manliness stakes.
Anime doesn't get much more macho than Fist of the North Star. Anime heroes also don't come much more macho than Kenshiro (also known as simply "Ken") who is essentially a leather-bound mash-up of Jesus and Bruce Lee by way of Mad Max.
Fist of the North Star is notorious for its ultra-violence and Ken is usually at the center of it. A story arc in which he doesn't end up with a huge heap of dead side characters around him are as rare as him keeping his bulging muscles contained within his shirt.
Not to be confused with the famous jazz musician of the same name, Full Metal Alchemist's Alex Louis Armstrong is also known as the "Strong Arm Alchemist," and that almost tells you everything you need to know about his machismo qualifications.
He's far from a one-of-a-kind model though: the entire Armstrong family have been nobly serving the Armestrian military for generations; each member (both male and female) bursting with pride and rows of gleaming washboard abs.
In a world like One Piece, filled with seafaring warriors, Whitebeard is considered to be the strongest of them all. Given his huge size - about three times as big as an average man - this isn't hard to believe.
He also isn't exactly a spring chicken either, reaching the grand age of 72 before his death - which he did standing up like an absolute badass. Even more badass: his back was revealed to be unscarred, meaning he never ran away from a fight. It doesn't get more macho than that.
Dragon Ball's infinitely quotable Saiyan Prince is perhaps the franchise's best-loved character besides Goku. Unlike the latter, who can be naive and goofy, Vegeta is short-tempered, egotistical and overly-serious to a fault.
It's hard to tell where the bravado ends and the real Vegata begins, though he has on very rare occasions let his guard down to show a modicum of affection towards his son and wife (as long as Bulma doesn't make him wear anything pink...)
When someone's real name is "Alexander the Great," there's a lot of pressure for them to actually be, y'know, great. Luckily, Fate/Zero's Rider doesn't disappoint. The "King of Conquerors" seems to have it all: good looks, brains, a godly heritage and a warrior's strength.
Standing at well over 6 foot, Rider is really the perfect specimen of idealized manhood. After all, if he wasn't, he'd have had a hard time invading and rebuilding entire civilizations.
