Behind several anime protagonists are senseis who helped them reach greater heights. Either through detailed instruction or leading by example, these mentors acted as an exemplar their pupils could learn how to be the best from. Some of these overpowered instructors were undeniably better than others though, which is why they’ve made our list of the 20 best anime senseis that we’d want to train with.
All Might (My Hero Academia)
Best Anime Senseis
Don’t let the sunken eyes and monstrous build fool you; All Might is easily one of the most caring anime senseis to ever grace the screen.
In the superhero-filled world of My Hero Academia, he is the closest approximation to Superman available. His very existence has ushered in an era of peace, and his overwhelming strength allows him to take down most any threat he comes across with ease.
He hasn’t let this power warp his ideals though. As an inheritor of the immensely powerful quirk One for All, he understands the importance of doing right by those who came before him and using one’s power to help as many people as possible. This is something he tries to instill in his students, whether that means giving them a rousing speech or fighting with them in bouts that’ll push their quirks and strategizing to new heights.
However, he also knows what it’s like to be powerless, having had no quirk before he inherited One for All. It’s this knowledge that allows him to better sympathize with people like Deku, or even Bakugo, when they’re feeling helpless and incapable of growing further.
Even after his powers fade, these elements of his character remain, helping to cement him as a mentor that Class-A and the world as a whole can look to for inspiration.
Master Roshi (Dragon Ball)
Best Anime Senseis
Goku may be one of the strongest there is in Dragon Ball Z, but a big reason he reached that point is thanks to Master Roshi.
A hermit who has dedicated his life to martial arts, Roshi understands close combat in a way few in his world could ever hope to. His strength and speed are still exceptional despite his age, and he’s even capable of attaining a semi-perfect form of Ultra Instinct – one of Goku’s strongest transformations.
However, he isn’t concerned with using this strength for himself. Instead, he seeks to pass it on to others, helping them to grow stronger and improve in the same way he has.
This is what led him to take on Goku, Krillin, and so many others as students when they were younger, and what motivated him to continue instructing them as they grew up. No matter how old they get, he makes sure they keep wanting to learn and improve too, either by showing them new heights they can reach or acting as proof that there’s still someone stronger out there.
To be sure, he isn’t perfect – his perverted nature continues to age like milk – but he’s still the best anime sensei the Z Fighters could have hoped for.
Hatake Kakashi (Naruto)
Best Anime Senseis
It’s hard to understate how integral Kakashi is to Naruto‘s story, and why he is deservedly one of the best anime senseis of all time.
A wunderkind of the Hidden Leaf Village’s ninja forces, he proved from an early age that he could handle even the most dangerous missions. He could quickly strategize a plan to deal with any given scenario, and knew how to combine his natural jutsu with those afforded to him by his Sharingan.
However, he also gained an appreciation for prioritizing the safety and lives of allies over completing a mission, having lost his closest friends during different conflicts.
These elements remained with him even after he began instructing students, and in many ways bolstered his teaching goals. Instead of simply turning them into efficient soldiers, he helped teach them how to become strong enough to get through missions without losing those they cared about; all the while fighting alongside them to ensure they had a leg up in increasingly dangerous situations.
It’s safe to say that without him around, Naruto and his friends wouldn’t have had the same moral compass they boast by the series’ end, and they may have even met an untimely fate.