And I’m sure this list is bound to spark some fierce arguments either way, but there’s a lot of great ideas to consider here. Plus to keep things more interesting I’ll avoid the obviously OP choices like Saitama or Goku, so this is about to get heated. Let’s go!
12. Asta
Anime: Black Clover Okay, we’ll need a bit of head-cannon for this one. One of the first things we learn about Asta is that he can wield anti-magic. And sure, there are some obvious examples of it, like destroying a spell. But I think it could actually destroy Gon’s nen entirely. In the fight against Dante, Asta basically destroyed Dante’s infinitely healing demonic form and put him out of commission with a single slash. So I think it could be argued that he could to the same to Gon’s final form. And if you take nen out of the picture, even though Gon has some ridiculous base stats, I think Asta could take him.
11. Satoru Gojou
Anime: Jujutsu Kaisen Besides just being a god in his own universe, Gojou absolutely stomps anyone that relies on physical attacks. His limitless ability makes it so that attacks basically slow down to a stop whenever they’re near him, while he can move around as he pleases. So Gon would definitely not be getting any hits in. But what about other metrics, like speed and destructive power? Well we’ve seen Gojou blitz hundreds of meters (if we’re lowballing it) in the middle of a fight to grab his trusty student and make him watch as he stopped a special class curse. So speed should not be an issue. And when it comes to raw destructive power, Gojou is definitely comparable to Gon, as he’s able to destroy entire mountains with a single ability. Therefore it’s only a matter of time before Gon gets stomped in this fight.
10. Meliodas
Anime: The Seven Deadly Sins Even if we’re not talking about full-power Meliodas, I think Gon stands little chance. This is because Gon mostly relies on very powerful attacks that have quite a long wind-up period. So guess what Meliodas is going to do when he sees a very predictable powerful attack coming his way? That’s right, he’s full-countering that baby right back into Gon’s face. Even in terms of physical strengths, the two are pretty equal in my opinion, as Meliodas can tear down an entire castle just by arm wrestling with Ban. And since Meliodas isn’t exactly new to the battlefield, I think he would outrank Gon heavily when it comes to battle tactics and strategies.
9. Naruto Uzumaki
Anime: Naruto Even if we completely disregard Shippuden, I think Naruto has the victory in the bag. This is because Gon could not keep up with the shadow clone spam. Even though Gon has some decent AoE and his durability is nothing to laugh at, Naruto’s hundreds of clones would inevitably break down his defenses. And if Gon decided to go all out and use his adult form, Naruto could just as easily unleash his Nine Tail chakra and still win pretty convincingly. Because if we’re taking about a true life or death battle, a fully enraged Kurama can easily destroy an entire country, while adult Gon is city level at best.
8. Akame
Anime: Akame ga Kill! This one is a bit more controversial, but hear me out. It relies heavily on Akame being able to blitz Gon, as we’ve seen Akame make afterimages even after time itself had stopped moving forward. So while Gon is also really fast, I think it’s a reasonable estimate that Akame could blitz him if she went all out right away. From that point, all Akame would have to do is get a single cut on Gon. And I don’t think that would be impossible to achieve either, as Gon’s skin doesn’t seem to be as tough as the average shounen protagonist. If small explosions are enough to tear his muscles apart, I think a well-placed stab could puncture the skin and apply the one-shot curse.
7. Eren Yeager
Anime: Attack on Titan This battle would be a fight of durability. And I simply don’t think Gon would be able to keep up. Final season Eren is able to produce multiple Titan bodies, all of which pack a similar punch to Gon. And since the size difference is so large, I don’t think even a fully charged attack from Gon would be capable of reaching Eren’s main body – especially if we take hardening into account. Although I doubt that the fight would be all that one-sided, I think that Gon could manage the first two rounds, but would then be chucked 100 miles into the air like a football.
6. Rimuru Tempest
Anime: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime In this particular battle I don’t think it’s raw strength that would determine the victor, but rather the huge gap in utility. Gon’s arsenal is pretty basic, as he can just use nen to enhance his attacks, his defense, or his perception. On the other hand, Rimuru has dozens of unique skills, all with their own specialized utility. That on its own wouldn’t mean much. But when we take into account that Rimuru also has the Great Sage, an analytical voice that can analyze how to best defeat Gon, the tables start to turn. And being that Rimuru is also no pushover in actual combat, with the ability to destroy an entire army in one swoop and to regenerate most damage inflicted onto them, I think it’s only a matter of time before Rimuru could come up with the best possible strategy and take Gon down.
5. All Might
Anime: My Hero Academia This one would be the most interesting by far, if you ask me. The battle is basically just two muscular dudes punching the hell out of each other. So, why do I think that All Might would win? Well there are two main reasons: First, the experience gap. Although Gon is no spring chicken when it comes to battle, he can’t even come close to the superhero veteran that is All Might. Second, I think that All Might’s damage is simpler to pull off. The two characters have a similar output, circa town level, but All Might doesn’t need any prep time. And since we’re taking adult Gon as the fighter, it’s only fair that we take prime-time All Might as well – who has said that all his feats in the anime are about 50% of what he could have done back in the day. It would be a close one, but I think All Might would pull the W at the end, be it with severe effort and damage taken.
4. Whitebeard
Anime: One Piece This battle would not last long, in my opinion. While Gon has showcased some pretty hype feats, I still think that he just cannot stack up to prime Whitebeard. Because when you look at it, even in his old age, Whitebeard can just shrug off hundreds of bullet wounds while also punching the air so hard it causes a fricking tsunami. Gon also has some impressive durability, as he barely even flinched when his arm got torn off. But the mere fact that he even lost a limb while going 1v1 showcases that his physical toughness isn’t as great as his mental toughness. Gon could maybe blitz Whitebeard and get in a few good hits. But I doubt that he could ever do enough damage to take down the king of the seas – while if Gon received a full-power punch to the face, Gon would go down instantly.
3. Tatsumaki
Anime: One Punch Man I’m going to be honest with you, the only way Gon pulls a W in this situation is he if manages to jump Tatsumaki while her back is turned. But in a proper 1v1 fight, Gon would get rocked. He doesn’t really have a good answer to Tatsumaki just flying away and putting up barriers to stop his long-range attack, while Tatsumaki can just drop an asteroid onto Gon and be done with it. And even if you high-balled Gon’s speed and claimed that he could easily dodge the meteor, the fact still remains that Tatsumaki could yeet him into space like it was nobody’s business. Telekinesis just counters hand-to-hand fighters on so many levels.
2. Ban
Anime: The Seven Deadly Sins First, let’s talk about regular Ban. Regular Ban would beat Gon simply by virtue of tenacity. I mean, you can’t really outclass a dude who’s literally immortal, especially if your body is strained to hell and back because of the nen pact. Plus, Ban could slowly drain away Gon’s energy as the fight went on, eventually just overpowering him completely. But if we take Ban at his prime, as he was during the ending of the manga, the situation is even more dire for Gon. After what Ban went through, I think it’s safe to say that he wouldn’t even feel Gon’s attacks, let alone take any damage. So immortal or not, Ban would pull ahead in this fight.
1. Meruem
Anime: Hunter x Hunter I want to end off with this particular fight combo, as I see people low-balling Meruem way too often. Yes, Neferpitou did state in the anime that adult Gon could be an equal to Meruem in terms of power. But that still doesn’t mean he could win. First off, Meruem basically has the intellect of a computer and could outwit Gon several times over. And second, Meruem is an extremely beefy boy that could probably just tank all of Gon’s attacks on come out on top. And most importantly, even if you were to somehow reason out why prime Gon could beat base Meruem, that’s far from his strongest form. Plus if we’re talking about a powered-up Meruem, even the biggest Gon fanatics have to agree that Gon would get his butt handed to him.
