Telekinesis is a psychic ability that allows its user to move or affect objects without making physical contact. In anime, there are many other psychic abilities belonging to different characters, but telekinesis is one of the strongest on a large enough scale. From moving relatively small objects like swords to lifting large masses of land, the possibilities are endless.
Anime characters with telekinetic abilities have been around for a long time. Though their powers can be used for various things, a lot of characters are known for employing these powers in battle. The characters on this list are proficient telekinetics, most of whom can easily be recognized by many anime fans due to their iconic status.
10 Lucy – Elfen Lied
In the world of Elfen Lied, the Diclonius are a new species that can be identified by their small horns, which somehow resemble cat ears. They also have special telekinetic abilities in the form of invisible hands called vectors.
Lucy is a Diclonius with immense power. Her vectors are especially strong, stretching as far as two meters with the ability to kill any humans in her range. They are also referred to as vibrating arms and are invisible to normal humans, making it nigh-impossible to prepare for an attack from one of them.
9 Hina – Hinamatsuri
Hinamatsuri was a series well received in the spring of 2018, with Hina contributing massively to the positive reception. She was introduced as a powerful psychic from a place with technology that enabled them to travel through dimensions. However, despite her strong powers, she also proved to be rather lazy and seemed insufferable to live with.
Her strength was the real deal, as early on in the series, she took out an entire gang with her telekinesis alone. In direct confrontation with the second psychic to appear in the anime, she also showed her superiority, defeating her opponent in a telekinesis-enhanced form of Rock Paper Scissors.
8 Erza Scarlet – Fairy Tail
From the iconic Fairy Tail series, Erza is an equally iconic character known by many anime fans. She is a strict mage and a member of the Fairy Tail guild, the titular group of the series. She is one of the strongest members of the guild, and she has a host of abilities that serve to aid her in battle.
Though she may be known for her ability to switch weapons and armor in the blink of an eye, Erza can also employ telekinesis to help her mentally control multiple swords simultaneously. This power was awakened while she was still a child and was used unknowingly after the death of her friend, teacher, and savior named Rob.
7 Mewtwo – Pokémon
Mewtwo is an artificial pokémon recognized as one of the strongest in the series. Furthermore, it is a legendary pokémon, possessing an advanced sense of awareness. Early on after its introduction, Mewtwo displayed cruel and malicious behavior, but it was later shown to possess some compassion, actually performing some heroic acts.
As a psychic-type pokémon, Mewtwo possesses both telepathy and telekinesis. As a result, he can converse with others within their own minds and can use telekinesis to move objects, create force fields, and attack others directly. It is one of the most popular characters in the series, partly due to its strength and uniqueness, and has been around for a long time.
6 Tetsuo Shima – Akira
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Tetsuo was the main antagonist of the late 80’s hit anime movie Akira. He was originally on the side of the main protagonist Kaneda, but after learning how to use his psychic powers, he went on a rampage in search of even more power.
He had astoundingly potent psychic abilities and was capable of spreading destruction on a massive scale. For example, he was able to stop shells fired out of tanks and could make the tanks themselves explode. In addition, he was strong enough to lift an entire bridge and tilt it so far that everything present on it was thrown into the water underneath. Unfortunately, however, at the movie's end, he loses control of his powers, and a large mass of flesh overtakes his body.
5 Saiki Kusuo – The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K.
Saiki is one of the most popular psychics in anime despite coming from a series that focuses mainly on comedy. He is rather antisocial but has expressed feelings of wanting to live a regular life surrounded by normal circumstances. He also seems to enjoy helping others, using his powers to resolve conflicts and sometimes encouraging other people's relationships.
He has a wide range of abilities involving telekinesis, clairvoyance, hypnosis, shape-shifting, and many more. They are displayed multiple times throughout the series as they play a great part in many of the events that occur. Saiki is extremely proficient with his powers and, even outside the show, is considered one of the medium's strongest psychics.
4 Gilgamesh – Fate/Stay Night
Gilgamesh is one of the strongest characters in Fate and is known by many as the King of Heroes. He is a recurring character, appearing over multiple installments, and plays a significant role on most occasions. He has an extremely arrogant and prideful personality, and even when summoned as a servant, he commands respect from his masters.
As the King of Heroes and one of the first to ever exist, Gilgamesh possesses a vast treasury filled with powerful weapons that can individually count as noble phantasms. He can access them through the Gate of Babylon, which serves as one of his well-known noble phantasms. He displays his ability for telekinesis, much like Erza, in the way he manipulates swords and other weapons from his treasury, using them like projectiles to mercilessly skewer his opponents.
3 Tatsumaki – One Punch Man
Tatsumaki is a short yet arrogant woman who is ranked second of all professional heroes in the world of One Punch Man. Despite her irritable demeanor, she accepts all jobs to hunt monsters from the Hero Association and cares deeply about her younger sister, Fubuki. She also had a rather complicated past as she was taken away from her family at a young age and experimented on due to her powers.
She has frequently been touted as the most powerful esper in the series and has proved this on multiple occasions. During the Alien Conquerors arc, she lifted massive piles of debris and took control of equally large bombshells, sending them all toward the invading spaceship. In addition, her telekinesis was strong enough to lift the entire Monster Association headquarters, and she defeated the fusion of Psykos and Orochi, some of the strongest beings in the anime.
2 Shigeo Kageyama – Mob Psycho 100
Shigeo is a reserved middle schooler who, along with being one of the strongest on this list, is also one of the youngest. He is a character who strives to keep his powers in check for fear that they may end up hurting others around him. Furthermore, he is extremely modest and caring, constantly taking into account other people’s feelings and trying his best to help them.
Like many other espers in anime, Shigeo has a wide range of abilities and is skilled enough to learn new ones over the course of the series. His telekinesis is especially potent, and he can use it with extreme precision. For example, he could perfectly reassemble tiny pieces of paper back into their original pages and could reconstruct the broken parts of a school building despite not being in the right state of mind.
1 Frieza – Dragon Ball
As one of the most prominent antagonists in the Dragon Ball franchise, Frieza is undoubtedly among the most well-known characters in all anime. He is a ruthless tyrant who bears the title of The Emperor of Universe 7 and is famous for conquering and destroying planets.
The cruel villain is one of Goku’s toughest adversaries, possessing immense strength and other abilities that enable him to challenge the popular Saiyan. One such ability is telekinesis, as he has shown it to be powerful enough to lift a large mass of land from the ground and throw it straight at Goku. However, arguably his most famous telekinetic feat is when he lifted Krillin into the air, murdered him, and inspired Goku to go Super Saiyan for the first time.