10 Ridiculously OP Webnovel Characters Who Started Broken

You know that feeling when you're playing a video game with cheat codes enabled? That's basically what these webnovel protagonists are living 24/7. While most heroes start as weaklings who get sand kicked in their faces, these absolute units said "nah" to character development and went straight to god mode.

Let's dive into the hall of fame of characters who made "starting from the bottom" look like amateur hour.

1. Ainz Ooal Gown - Overlord

Status: Still going strong (16 light novels and counting since 2012)

Oh boy, where do we even start with this guy? Imagine being so overpowered that your biggest problem isn't "how do I get stronger?" but rather "oh crap, everyone thinks I'm some 4D chess master when I'm just winging it." Ainz literally starts as a max-level MMO character with reality-breaking magic, a fortress full of loyal NPCs who could solo most anime verses, and enough firepower to delete countries.

The man can stop time, kill people by just thinking really hard about it, and has backup plans for his backup plans (even though he's making most of it up as he goes). Watching him try to live up to his subordinates' expectations while internally screaming is peak comedy. It's like being handed the nuclear launch codes when all you wanted was to play some games with your friends who've all moved on with their lives. Relatable? Maybe not. Hilarious? Absolutely.

2. Saitama - One Punch Man

Status: Still punching things (208+ chapters and probably bored out of his mind)

This bald cape-wearing legend broke his power limiter by doing the most mundane workout routine imaginable. 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run daily for three years. That's it. No mystical training, no ancient techniques, just basic gym class exercises that somehow turned him into a walking apocalypse.

Saitama's struggle isn't finding worthy opponents—it's finding literally anyone who can make him feel something other than crushing boredom. He's so strong that he's basically playing life on creative mode while everyone else is stuck on nightmare difficulty. The guy saves the world on Tuesday and nobody notices because he missed the flashy hero entrance by showing up late to his own fights. It's the most beautifully absurd take on the superhero genre ever written.

3. Rimuru Tempest - That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Status: Still sliming around and accidentally conquering nations

Started as a slime, became a walking natural disaster with a customer service smile. Rimuru's cheat skill is basically "I eat you, I become you, but better." It's like Pokemon but instead of catching them all, you're absorbing them all and getting their entire skill tree in the process.

This adorable blue blob went from office worker to demon lord faster than most people change careers. His Great Sage skill is basically having Wikipedia, Google, and a supercomputer crammed into his head, giving him solutions to problems he didn't even know existed. The best part? He's too nice to properly abuse his ridiculous power set, so instead of world domination, we get the most wholesome nation-building story ever told. Who knew being overpowered could be so... neighborly?

4. Yan Zhaoge - History's Strongest Senior Brother

Status: Mission accomplished (1836 chapters of pure domination)

Meet the guy who speedran becoming a legend in under 200 years, which in cultivation novel terms is basically yesterday. Yan Zhaoge didn't just get isekai'd—he got the deluxe package with future knowledge, modern sensibilities, and enough meta-awareness to basically break the entire cultivation world's game balance.

This absolute madman treats ancient profound techniques like collectible cards and fellow cultivators like NPCs in his personal power fantasy. He's out here casually defeating people multiple realms above him while probably thinking "ah yes, just like the simulations." The scary part isn't his power—it's how methodically he uses his future knowledge to completely reshape reality according to his plan. It's like watching someone play Civilization with future tech cheats enabled.

5. Anos Voldigoad - The Misfit of Demon King Academy

Status: Still redefining what "overpowered" means

This guy makes other overpowered characters look like they're playing with training wheels. Anos doesn't just break the rules—he looks at logic itself and says "I disagree." His heartbeat can level castles, he can resurrect from conceptual deletion, and his response to impossibility is basically "watch me."

The man literally argues with reality and wins. Magic says something is impossible? Anos says "skill issue" and does it anyway. Someone tries to erase him from existence? He comes back out of sheer spite and mild annoyance. Watching him navigate high school while casually rewriting the laws of physics is like watching Superman try to fit in at a daycare center. The audacity is unmatched.

6. Shiba Tatsuya - The Irregular at Magic High School

Status: Still pretending to be a normal student (32+ volumes of this charade)

Tatsuya is what happens when you give someone nuclear weapons and tell them to keep a low profile at school. This guy can decompose matter at the atomic level, restore anything to its original state, and casually trigger explosions that make actual nukes look like firecrackers. Oh, and he does it all with the emotional range of a particularly sophisticated toaster.

The funniest part? Everyone calls him "irregular" because he's bad at party tricks like lighting candles with magic, while he's over here casually solving national security crises before lunch break. It's like failing art class while secretly being Michelangelo. His idea of holding back is only destroying half the enemy fleet instead of all of it.

7. Kirito - Sword Art Online (Alicization Arc)

Status: Still logging in to break more virtual worlds (25+ volumes)

Kirito in Alicization basically became Neo from The Matrix, but with more dramatic monologues and protagonist hair. Once he stopped having his existential crisis and remembered he was the main character, he gained admin privileges to reality itself (well, virtual reality, but who's counting?).

This guy went from "I'm stuck in a game" to "I AM the game" real quick. His Incarnation powers let him override system limitations through pure willpower and main character energy. Need a better sword? Just believe really hard and manifest one. Someone trying to kill you with game mechanics? Just ignore them. It's the most anime solution to overpoweredness ever conceived.

8. Meng Hao - I Shall Seal the Heavens

Status: Sealed all the heavens successfully (1614 chapters of absolute chaos)

Meng Hao is what happens when the universe's RNG decides to smile upon one very confused scholar. This guy stumbled into every possible cultivation cheat code like he was following a walkthrough guide written by the gods themselves. Perfect Foundation? Check. Ancient inheritance? Check. Impossible techniques that shouldn't exist? Double check.

The man's cultivation journey reads like someone playing with unlimited resources enabled. While everyone else is grinding for scraps, Meng Hao is out here collecting legendary techniques like they're Pokemon cards. His biggest challenge isn't finding power—it's figuring out which overpowered technique to use in any given situation. First world problems, cultivation edition.

9. Wang Lin - Renegade Immortal

Status: Finished being renegade (2000+ chapters of beautiful suffering)

Wang Lin got the cultivation equivalent of a Swiss Army knife that also happens to be a nuclear weapon. His Heaven Defying Bead doesn't just give him power—it gives him the good stuff that's been illegal for millennia. Dual cultivation paths? Sure. Ancient forbidden techniques? Why not. The ability to make other cultivators question their life choices? Absolutely.

This guy approaches cultivation like a min-maxer who read all the guides beforehand. While others are still figuring out the basics, Wang Lin is already exploiting advanced mechanics that most people don't discover until endgame. His analytical approach to becoming overpowered is both terrifying and oddly satisfying to watch unfold.

10. Fang Yuan - Reverend Insanity

Status: Got too real for the censors (2334 chapters before the ban hammer)

Fang Yuan is what happens when you give someone 500 years of experience and remove all moral limitations. This guy didn't just get a second chance at life—he got a PhD in "How to Game the System" and decided to write his thesis in blood and betrayal.

The scariest part isn't his power level—it's how casually he uses centuries of future knowledge to manipulate everyone around him like chess pieces. He's playing 4D chess while everyone else is still learning checkers. His approach to problem-solving is basically "what would a sociopathic genius do?" and then doing exactly that with zero hesitation. Terrifying? Yes. Effective? Unfortunately, also yes.

Why We Love These Broken Characters

Let's be real—sometimes we don't want to watch the underdog struggle for 500 chapters before becoming relevant. Sometimes we want to see someone walk into a room and have everyone immediately realize they've made a terrible mistake just by being there.

These characters scratch that particular itch of "what if someone was just... better at everything?" They skip the training montages and go straight to the fun part where physics becomes more of a suggestion than a rule. It's vicarious wish fulfillment at its finest, wrapped up in the comfortable knowledge that we're reading fiction and nobody's actually getting hurt by these walking natural disasters.

Plus, there's something deeply satisfying about watching overpowered characters navigate mundane problems. Watching Ainz stress about meeting expectations or Saitama missing a grocery store sale because he was busy saving the world adds a delightfully human touch to otherwise godlike beings.

Whether you're here for the power fantasy, the comedy, or just want to see what happens when someone treats reality like a suggestion, these characters deliver entertainment in the most gloriously excessive way possible. Because sometimes, subtlety is overrated.