When it comes to incredibly strong anime protagonists, no two heroes are mentioned more than One-Punch Man’s Saitama and Dragon Ball’s Goku. The two have a lot in common: incredible physical strength, a natural predisposition toward developing said strength, and a seemingly insatiable need to find an opponent worthy of facing them in combat. It’s a natural progression to then wonder who would come out on top if the two were ever to battle each other.
It’s also a topic that generates a ton of debate online; most die-hard fans can agree that both Saitama and Goku are some of, if not THE strongest characters in anime, but when it comes to who would best the other in combat, all bets are off. It’s undeniable both are incredibly strong, or this debate topic wouldn’t be so popular, but here’s my take on who would win between the two. DISCLAIMER: this article is solely my opinion, and I am not the definitive resource on either Saitama or Goku. Without further ado, on to the article!
One Punch Man’s Saitama
As the name of his anime implies, Saitama’s whole thing is that he can generally defeat any and all opponents with just one punch. Before deciding to become a hero as a hobby, Saitama was an ordinary convenience store clerk/office worker who had grown bored with his mundane life, but now, thanks to his incredible strength, he has grown bored with being a superhero.
Saitama is gifted with increased superhuman strength, super speed, fast reaction time, enhanced senses, and invulnerability. Thanks to an “intense” training regimen — 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats, and a 10km run — Saitama followed every day for three years, he has developed god-like strength. The stress of this routine leads him to lose all of his hair, while granting him the power to defeat most enemies with one punch.
While Saitama has no trouble with most enemies, his biggest obstacle is the existential crisis he finds himself in due to his unparalleled strength. He originally became a hero for fun and profit, but he no longer finds joy in fighting as he defeats all enemies without breaking a sweat. He continues to search for an enemy that will actually prove to be a challenge and force him to take a battle seriously. Even when an opponent is strong enough to require more than one punch, it usually takes only one of Saitama’s special “Serious” punches to do the trick — his “Serious” sneeze during his fight with Garou was enough to blow all the gas surrounding Jupiter’s core away.
Dragon Ball’s Goku
Goku hails from a long line of alien warriors and has the supernatural abilities that come with that, like being able to fly, having super speed and reaction time, as well as being able to use Ki energy in powerful blast attacks. Unlike Saitama, who’s just a regular human with seemingly only one base form, Goku develops the ability to go Super Saiyan, powering up his abilities. Throughout the franchise, Goku continues to gain new Super Saiyan forms, which enable him to constantly improve his skills and defeat increasingly stronger enemies.
In addition to his natural skills and techniques like Kamehameha and Ultra Instinct, Goku also trains hard. He is a skilled martial artist who is obsessed with improving himself; I joked earlier about Saitama’s “intense” training routine, but Goku actually trains like a superhuman, famously using a gravity machine set to over 100 times Earth’s gravity to improve his physicality. Goku’s Saiyan heritage combined with his indomitable will helps him achieve nearly god-like abilities and defeat cosmic entities.
Like Saitama, Goku is always looking for an opponent who can challenge him, but unlike Saitama who is generally more lazy than not, Goku will actively search for opportunities to better himself. Goku will constantly challenge anyone (including his own children) to a fight and is always on the lookout for a new obstacle to overcome.
Would Goku or Saitama win in a fight?
In the unlikely event that an all-out anime character brawl were to happen, it seems Goku would win on paper. Goku not only has the natural strength of being a Saiyan, but is also constantly shown to strive toward becoming even stronger, making battling strangers his hobby. Meanwhile, Saitama has stuck to his daily fitness regimen for over three years without making any adjustments, and regularly plays video games, reads manga, and naps in his downtime.
With that said, there are a couple of things that tip the odds in Saitama’s favor; the first being that Goku takes no joy in defeating an opponent unless they’re at peak physical form. If his enemy isn’t going all out, Goku’s not interested. Saitama has arguably never needed to push himself in battle and has proven to be incredibly strong. What would happen if he actually put in half of the effort Goku does? A Saitama at his peak potential would be a formidable sight indeed, and could potentially best Goku.
Saitama’s potential, while intriguing, isn’t enough to declare him the winner in this battle. The second thing that helps him edge out Goku, is the nature of his series. One-Punch Man is, at its core, a parody of shonen anime; while the world Saitama lives in is actually pretty serious, the hero is not. The whole series hinges on examining and deconstructing shonen tropes and that includes things like power scaling. Saitama’s powers are supposed to be ridiculous; we’re shown time and time again that he can go up against superpowered villains and decimate them for no reason other than he was going to miss the sale at his local supermarket. The real question is not “can Saitama beat Goku,” but “would it be funny if Saitama beats Goku.”
In the end, it’s impossible to declare a true winner. If we’re looking at power alone, Goku would beat Saitama. If we’re looking at narrative intent, Saitama would beat Goku simply because it seems preposterous that he could do so. Because of that ambiguity, this question will likely continue to spark heated debate in online forums for eternity.