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Two characters from their respective anime series, Goku and Saitama, are two staple names in anime when it comes to strength. Goku from Dragon Ball dates back from 1984, while Saitama from One Punch Man is relatively younger, first made known in 2009. They both faced serious foes who are strong enough to defeat other anime characters, but between them, is Goku stronger than Saitama or the other way around?
Goku and His Powers
Goku first appeared in 1984 through the manga series Dragon Ball which had its very own anime series in 1986 and has been a staple name in the anime scene as it lives on until today. Undeniably one of the longest anime series in the industry, Goku has been idolized by generations and has been considered as one of the strongest characters created in anime history.
Goku is a monkey-tailed boy who has mastered martial arts, and he has superhuman strength. He joined Bulma in the quest of finding seven magical Dragon Balls, which grants the user one wish. Throughout his journey, he literally fought gods and saved the galaxy one too many times. Goku has proven his strength, as he has been rarely beaten in battles.
Goku has a Saiyan gene in him which grants him superhuman strength, speed, durability, sense, and endurance, even to heat. He also has the power of flight, Ki Sense or being able to feel the energy of other beings, Ki Transfer or granting his own energy to someone wounded, spirit control, energy cancellation, healing, and Ki Mastery at par with gods.
He is also a genius in combat; he has telepathy, mimicry, and ultra-instinct as well. His most iconic technique is the Kamehameha wave where he blasts energy using his two hands from concentration on a large amount of Ki. The Kamehameha has various effects depending on Goku's will. Aside from all these, he is also skilled in martial arts as well as other hand-to-hand combat techniques.
He can go from Saiyan to Super Saiyan, and even to Super Saiyan God-to-Blue switching. He even transformed into a Super Saiyan God.
Saitama and His Powers
On the other hand, Saitama is known for being the hero in One Punch Man released as a manga series in 2009 before having his very own anime series in 2015. Saitama is known for defeating his enemies by throwing just one punch, hence, the name of the anime series. He is an unassociated hero from City Z of supercontinent Earth, and he does all the hero work in freelance style.
His strength is unmatched, and he is undefeated, eventually giving him an overwhelming sense of boredom. He has good timing and does the hero thing for mere fun. He goes under intensive training with 100 each of sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and 10km run so hard, he lost all his hair giving him his iconic shiny bald head.
He is known to be the fastest, strongest, and most durable character in One Punch Man. He's well versed in hand-to-hand combat with incredibly high accuracy, strength, stamina, endurance, speed and reflex, and senses. He is immune to any attacks based on temperature, and he is invulnerable.
Is Goku stronger than Saitama?
On the plain reading of the innate abilities of Goku, one can easily say that he is stronger than Saitama. However, the question is still up for discussion on the table as there is one difference in their capabilities which could be extremely important in determining who is stronger: Goku has reached his full potential while Saitama hasn't yet which means Saitama still has room for more.
Despite not reaching his full potential yet, Saitama could face Goku in quite a fair battle. Consider this, Saitama's current strength can only be determined by the villains he took down in the series. He still hadn't faced anyone like Goku. Not knowing each other, we should consider that there is no limit put on the capacity of Saitama while Goku's limits are well-determined, giving him a restriction already.
Saitama seems to hold an infinite potential to date. This gives him a head start on Goku. Not concluding that Saitama is stronger or anything, but with all that he has already exhibited, he could go toe-to-toe with Goku in his current strength. Who knows how much Saitama could do if he reaches his full potential?
The only limit Saitama may have is that he is possibly human where he struggles in space, a battlefield Goku would have no problems in. Taking into consideration all the possible elements which could influence the fight between them like where it would happen and when.
Also, knowing Saitama is bored with all that he has faced, Goku being an opponent may give him a sense of a good time. With Goku being on the other side of the court, Saitama may be able to fight in an all-out manner that no other opponent he already had has given him. The challenge of facing Goku, a god-like entity, would definitely excite Saitama.
So who wins? It depends, of course. But if we are to witness such a fight, much to the delight of the characters would be that of the fans and viewers of both anime series. It would be a massive one and clearly an epic battle between Saitama and Goku.
Related: Will There Be a Season 3 of One Punch Man? When Will It Release?
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