At this point in anime history, there can be no argument against Saitama and how strong the character is, as he is arguably at the top when it comes to some of the strongest anime characters of all time. As a superhero that could even be a gag character, Saitama is probably the strongest anime character there is and could even contend against the likes of Goku. But how much can Saitama lift?
Saitama can lift as much as he should be able to because there has never been a roof in terms of how strong he is. Simply put, the author can make Saitama as strong as he needs to be because that is just who he is and how strong he is. There is no logic behind his strength, but he is simply stronger than anyone.
The thing about Saitama is that he has always been a character that exceeded logic because there was never a reason why he became as strong as he is. Of course, that’s because he was always a parody character that defied logic. In that regard, we can never put a number in terms of how much he could lift. Nevertheless, let’s look at how physically strong Saitama is.
How Much Can Saitama Lift?
We know that there are plenty of different strong anime characters in history, but we often look at a few characters when it comes to those we believe are really the strongest. Of course, for the longest time possible, the guys over at Dragon Ball were the strongest to ever exist in anime history, but there have been a few other characters that were able to thin the line between them in terms of strength.
One such character that became quite popular in terms of ranking who is the strongest character in the history of anime is Saitama, who is the protagonist of the popular One Punch Man anime and manga. And there is an incredibly good reason why Saitama is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, anime characters in history.
Ever since the first few parts of One Punch Man, it was already clear that Saitama was always going to be stronger than anyone because he could simply punch his way through a fight without any effort at all. This came after this regular 9-to-5 employee embarked on a journey to become a superhero, and that was what prompted him to train his body by doing 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 air squats, and a 10-kilometer run. That may be impressive in terms of real-life fitness, but that isn’t even close to being impressive when it comes to training to become a superhero.
Nevertheless, for some reason that was never explained, Saitama was always stronger than anyone else in One Punch Man, as the characters that the incredibly strong heroes can’t defeat could easily get beaten up by Saitama with a single punch with minimal effort because he is simply that strong. But if Saitama is that strong, how much could he actually lift?
We did see Saitama lifting a few times during the One Punch Man manga and anime, and he exerted little to no effort in any of the lifting feats that he accomplished. But the problem is that there were no numbers given in terms of how much Saitama could lift, and that goes back to the very nature of Saitama as a character.
Often seen as a gag character, what we are sure of when it comes to Saitama is that he is a parody character because he was meant to parody the extremely powerful anime characters that seemingly have no limits to their power, especially after training extremely hard to get to that level. But here comes Saitama doing a simple training regimen that athletes do but was able to become stronger than anyone else in the One Punch Man universe. Basically, he parodies strong anime characters by being stronger than them for no logical reason at all.
So, going back to our question, Saitama can lift as much as he wants and as heavy as the author wants him to be able to lift. And that can be seen in the many feats that he has accomplished in the manga and the anime.
For example, in the manga, Saitama ripped apart one of Jupiter’s moons with a single hand when he table-flipped the surface of the moon and sent rocks flying over to Garou. And he did so with little to no effort at all, as there is no doubt that he could easily rip apart an entire planet if he wanted to.
As such, because he was meant to parody all of the powerful characters in manga and anime history, Saitama can be as strong as the author wants him to be because that is the very nature of his existence as a character. So, for example, if Goku can lift 2 trillion tons, then Saitama can also do it as well because he was always meant to be stronger than anyone else. So, in a sense, the entire joke in One Punch Man is Saitama himself, who can always outlift anyone because he is made to be stronger than anyone.
This is where you might have to wonder whether or not you should take Saitama seriously when ranking him in the list of some of the most powerful anime characters in existence. Nevertheless, One Punch Man does have a level of seriousness to it, except for the fact that it was never explained why Saitama is that strong.
How Does Saitama’s Strength Compare To Real-Life Records?
One of the things that were never a secret when it comes to Saitama is the fact that he was always just a regular human being that somehow trained hard enough to become as strong as he is. Nevertheless, how does this normal human being compare to real-life lifters who trained incredibly hard to break records?
In 2020, Julius Maddox achieved a world record of 770 pounds in the bench press category without the use of any special equipment to aid him in his lift. This is an incredibly impressive record that might not be so impressive when compared to the fact that Saitama could probably lift it with a single finger without even showing any effort at all. In that regard, a real-life person who trained himself to the limit in the bench press category could never defeat Saitama, who only did 100 pushups every single day for his chest workout.
Meanwhile, we do know that the world record for deadlifts is held by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who broke the deadlift record by going for 501 KG in 2020. The Game of Thrones actor was able to reach this record in the Strongman competition and still holds the record today. And he is 6’9” and probably somewhere close to 400 pounds of muscle.
In comparison, Saitama never trained himself in any movement that was close to mimicking the deadlift, which is often called the true test of a person’s strength. Nevertheless, despite being so much smaller than Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, he could break this deadlift record with a single finger because he is that strong.
So, when you compare Saitama to real-life lifters, it becomes even more ridiculous just how strong he is. He defies logic because he was always just a simple human being that became strong by performing simple bodyweight exercises for one year. Then again, no one should ever take Saitama seriously as a character because he was always what made One Punch Man a parody, albeit an incredibly entertaining one.
