Monkey D. Luffy's Gear 5 became the pinnacle of power in the Wano Country Saga, and the Emperor of the Sea has since remained a top-tier fighter in One Piece. Representing the complete realization of his combat philosophy, this upgrade allows him to fight with absolute freedom, and bend the world to his imagination. While it couldn't beat Kizaru or Imu, Gear 5 has still allowed Luffy to stand among the strongest in the series.

That said, anime history is packed with transformations operating on a scale that makes Luffy's peak seem painfully insignificant by comparison. Although it's a godlike ability capable of bending physical laws, Gear 5 pales before the unstoppable power of anime characters whose transformations allow them to reshape worlds and universes.

Sung Jinwoo's True Shadow Monarch Is a Divine Force in Solo Leveling

Sung Jinwoo began as the weakest Hunter in Solo Leveling, before eventually rising above and beyond his world's powerscaling. Inheriting the full power of Ashborn — potentially the biggest event of Season 3 — makes him much more than an ordinary human enhanced by the System.

As the True Shadow Monarch, however, Jinwoo's transformation represents absolute dominion over an entire supernatural force. It is this form that defeats the Monarch of Destruction at the story's conclusion, leaving a vanquished trail of overpowered opponents in his wake.

Those awed by Jinwoo's current power, surpassing S-Rank levels and squashing the Ant King like a bug, will be gobsmacked by the difference between now and the birth of the True Shadow Monarch. Blessed with immortality, unyielding might, and a Shadow Army filled with countless elite soldiers, Jinwoo effortlessly eclipses Gear 5.

Tomura Shigaraki Elevated All For One's Power in My Hero Academia

After acquiring All For One, Tomura Shigaraki undergoes multiple stages of metamorphosis, each of them signifying different levels of fusion. While on UA's flying fortress, he takes on his most grotesque transformation, one with an aesthetic that continues to rely on his obsession with human hands.

Gear 5 would definitely rubberize Tomura's body, but Luffy cannot avoid being touched by My Hero Academia's final villain for too long. As proven by someone as seemingly invincible as Star and Stripe, a single touch is capable of infecting literally any target with Decay — and this Quirk is unstoppable once it begins.

Assuming that Luffy manages to prevent Tomura's hands from reaching his body, he still has to counter AFO's Quirk library. Against Hyper Regeneration, Heavy Payload, Air Cannon, and Impure Beam, it's only a matter of time before Luffy gets hit by Decay. And that's not taking the villain's raw physical strength into account, which supposedly is on par with prime All Might's.

Yhwach's Soul King Transformation Rendered Him Invincible in Bleach

Yhwach was already dangerous when he waltzed into Soul Society and defeated Yamamoto Genryusai, although it could be argued that he cheated, but he certainly didn't use any trickery on Ichibei Hyosube and Shirafude Ichimonji. The Almighty Schrift was naturally empowered following the Soul King's absorption, resulting in Yhwach's demonically divine transformation.

The imagination of Gear 5 Luffy is theoretically limitless, but there are practical boundaries he cannot cross. Meanwhile, Yhwach casually glimpses an infinite number of futures and forces reality to acknowledge his timeline selection. As long as there's a future where victory is certain, Bleach's overarching antagonist can simply manifest it.

As a testament to Yhwach's ludicrously overpowered transformation, Ichigo's magnificent Bankai reveal was brutally cut short, preventing fans from enjoying the true form of Tensa Zangetsu just to showcase the villain's terrifying dominance. Luffy can bend the rules of his reality, whereas Yhwach determines which reality is allowed to exist.

Super Saiyan Blue Evolution Took Vegeta to the Top of Dragon Ball Power Rankings

Goku's Ultra Instinct will obviously trivialize Gear 5 Luffy, but the same applies to Vegeta's Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Evolved. A crystal-clear example of the former villain's refusal to lurk in the hero's gigantic shadow, Vegeta achieved his magnificent transformation during the Tournament of Power.

In contrast to Ultra Instinct's focus on harmony and balance, Vegeta's state reflects his relentless pride and determination. Simply known as Blue Evolved, this technique dramatically boosts its user's abilities and crushes opponents with God of Destruction-level power.

The best demonstration came when Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta failed to conquer Toppo, only for its upgraded version to easily dominate the fight. The reality warping of Gear 5 is meaningless against Vegeta, whose body and spirit eclipse previous limitations to make him a force of cosmic nature.

Ultimate Madoka Can Reshape the Multiverse to Her Will

Madoka Kaname's transformation into Ultimate Madoka transcends the boundaries of mere mortality, elevating her into a divine entity with the ability to modify multiversal rules of physics. In fact, she explicitly claims that she would "rewrite laws" to ensure peace for every magical girl in existence.

Ultimate Madoka is the embodiment of Law of Cycles, which was established when Madoka Kaneme performed her wish to Kyubey. In the process, the titular protagonist of Puella Magi Madoka Magica created a reality where magical girls are no longer fated to become witches.

In some ways, Ultimate Madoka fulfilled Luffy's greatest dream by erasing the foundations of oppression itself. Meanwhile, Gear 5 recently demonstrated its inability to overcome the strongest authority in One Piece, meaning Luffy will likely need a new transformation to become Pirate King.