The Most Iconic Anime Guilds, Ranked

It’s a pretty rare occurrence for a character to go completely solo in an anime show. Behind every strong character, there’s usually a tough crew not too far behind them. Some groups do their own thing and don’t really answer to anyone. Then, there are some that are part of larger guilds and work towards a common goal.

These guilds don’t necessarily work together side-by-side like some groups like the Straw Hat Pirates from One Piece or the Z Fighters from the Dragon Ball series. Instead, the guild will either send out one or more members to get the mission done. Good or bad, these are some of the best guilds in the anime world.

Updated on February 21, 2024, by Sarah Prado: Some characters are fine going on adventures or fighting by themselves, but it sure does help to have a strong group of friends to help them out. These guilds have proven there is strength in numbers, but it doesn’t have to be a large number to be the strongest. Some members work in groups of two or three and are well-balanced to overcome any adversaries in their way. These iconic anime guilds are some of the strongest groups in the anime world. Even if they aren’t all together, they trust each other to accomplish their goals.

Some groups/organizations do not call themselves guilds, but as long as they function like one, they will be considered.

26 Hestia Familia

Small And Led By A 14-Year Old, But Still Strong

A rather small guild or Familia compared to other Familias. Hestia Familia is pretty well-known, but none will join because of their debt. Despite this, Hestia Familia is one of the strongest groups and is considered a small elite faction among adventurers. They could easily be an A-rank Familia, but they stay as a B-rank to lessen the burden of paying taxes.

Though only 14 years old, Bell Cranel has grown to be a good leader for his group and works hard to get stronger. While he does let his emotions get the better of him sometimes, his group is there to balance him out. They might be an unusual group, but Hestia Familia works well together and very few can match their strength.

25 Team Haruhiro

Still Going Strong After Losing Their Leader

Haruhiro leads this six-member guild after Manato, the previous leader, dies. Haruhiro wasn’t experienced as a leader and was awkward at first. He compares himself to his stronger teammates and lacks confidence. Though his friends are regularly scouted by other guilds, they refuse the invitations and stay on Team Haruhiro.

Though he lacks Manato’s confidence and charisma, Haruhiro does his best to keep his team’s morale up and has a keen eye for observation. They may lack the numbers compared to other groups, but Team Haruhiro’s teamwork is strong and helps pave the way to victory.

24 The Dollars

A ‘Crime’ Organization That Does Good Deeds

The Dollars is an online group that originally was created as a joke between Mikado and some of his internet friends. They would take credit for strange events and even made a website to make them seem legit. The group continued to expand long after the original members left and started committing crimes and boasting about it online.

Mikado would come back and encourage them to do good deeds instead. Though some scoffed at this, others would do this to right the wrongs. The group will send email invites to those they want in the group and most of them prefer to remain anonymous to each other.

23 The Knights Of The Blood

Answered The Call For A Strong Guild To Fight Bosses

The Knights of the Blood were well-known in the game of Sword Art Online. With many casualties in the battle against the boss on the 25th floor and players despairing over the future, the need for a strong guild grew. The Knights of the Blood was formed with most of the guild being made up of experienced players.

The guild were the frontline fighters and helped organize fights against bosses. Asuna was second in command of the guild and leader of Team B within the guild. Kirito was also part of the guild for a short time, but both left not long after he joined.

22 Log Horizon

A Guild That Doesn’t Discriminate Against Inexperienced Players

This small guild was founded by Shiroe in order to drive out Hamelin, a malicious guild, from the city of Akiba. Though small in numbers, Log Horizon has a mix of veteran players and strong newcomers. Shiroe himself is known as one of the best players because of his strategist mind and unorthodox way of doing things.

Thanks to this, Log Horizon is one of the most influential and strongest guilds in the game. Shiroe takes his time to come up with a strategy to make sure that all members are efficient and use their strengths to their full capabilities.

21 Adventurer Guild

A Guild That Provides Quests, Information, And Jobs For Its Members

The organization that is in charge of supporting and managing quests for adventurers. They have two known locations in Axel and Arcanletia. These locations provide a place to rest, eat, and socialize with other adventurers. New adventurers can register here and the receptionists will help get them set up.

They also manage all the quests they give to adventurers and pick a variety of jobs that range from being very simple to monster exterminations that can be too tough for beginners. Their guild halls are also meeting places for emergency adventuring councils.

20 Ainz Ooal Gown (Overlord)

The Strongest Guild In The Game Who Embraced Their Villainous Sides

The best guild in the game YGGDRASIL, Ainz Ooal Gown was feared among other guilds in the game and possessed the most World Items. They started off with nine players who created the guild as a way to protect themselves from getting killed by other players. Because of their dark aesthetics and monstrous forms, the guild embraced their villainous image and behaved as such.

Compared to other guilds in the game, Ainz Ooal Gown was considered small, having only 41 players in it. They kept their guild small and were very defensive of each other. Though they disbanded before YGGDRASIL’s shutdown, Momonga has kept the guild’s legacy alive in the New World and changed his name to Ainz Ooal Gown to honor them.

19 Black Order

A Secret Organization Protecting Humanity From Akuma

The Black Order is an organization whose mission is to stop the Millennium Earl and his Akuma. Alongside this mission, they have other missions like collecting Innocence, and finding and training more Accommodators to help them. The Black Order has several branches that are spread out in the world and each one has its own branch head. Though there is a specific chain of command, some branch heads will act independently if they feel the need to.

If one of the members were to receive an order from the Pope, all chains of command would be skipped and his orders must be followed. The general public doesn’t know about the existence of the Black Order, but government-run services like the police and train stations will recognize a member if they’re wearing their uniform.

18 Sabertooth Guild

A Guild Who’s Strength Rivals Fairy Tail

If there is one guild that comes close to being as strong as the Fairy Tail guild, it’s Sabertooth. They weren’t well-known before Natsu and the others went missing but became one of the strongest guilds during that time. They have powerful mages like Yukino, Orga, Minerva, and Rufus, but’s it their two Dragon Slayers that help make them stand out. Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney are the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth and Dragon Slayers who are very powerful and almost equal in power to Natsu and Gajeel.

Though they’ve been defeated by members of Fairy Tail, it can’t be denied that Sabertooth members have done a great job of making a name for themselves. With Sting as their leader, the guild has focused more on building friendships and loosened their high requirements to join the guild.

17 Maple Tree

Unorthodox In Their Methods, But Still One Of The Strongest Guilds

Maple Tree is a small guild consisting of Maple and a few friends that she met in the game. All the members are familiar with Maple’s unorthodox way of doing things and are fine with it even if it scares them at times. They know that Maple just wants to have fun and do her best during in-game events.

Luckily for Maple, the rest of the guild picks up where she lacks. Sally is her best friend in real life and the game, and will often help Maple travel since Maple moves slowly. The guild is also known for Yui and Mai, twin sisters who maxed out their strength stat. This makes Maple Tree a strangely balanced guild that has a bit of a scary reputation.

16 The Magic Knights

Working Together To Keep The Kingdom And Its People Safe

This group is made of nine squads who have very different ways of doing things, but keeping their kingdom and its people safe is the number one priority. Most of the missions they take are combat-based and the leaders of each squad determine which person would be the best to send. The Black Bulls had a reputation for being one of the worst squads because they tended to be more destructive than the threat they were sent after.

Thanks to Asta’s success, they have since become one of the best and strongest squads among the Magic Knights. Overall, the Magic Knights are pretty proficient at their jobs and have competitions with each other to determine which squad is the strongest.

15 Hero Association

Keeping The Public Safe From Villains, But Often Causes Destruction

The Hero Association was actually created because of Saitama (unbeknownst to him). After he saved the Ball-Chinned Kid from Crablante, the kid’s grandfather, Agoni, started the Hero Association to help with public safety. With four different classes: S-Rank, A-Rank, B-Rank, and C-Rank, the Association will send out whatever ranked hero they deem fit to complete a mission.

However, though the Association has done plenty of good, the public is starting to see the darkness and corruption behind them. It also doesn’t help that the Hero Association has little to no real control over their S-Ranked heroes, who often cause a lot of collateral damage and do not suffer the consequences of their actions.

14 Yorozuya/Odd Jobs

Multiple Groups With The Same Name, But “Under New Management”

In this shop, freelancers work and can do odd jobs for a fee. The group only consists of Gintoki, Kagura, and Shinpachi, but it used to have more. The funny thing about Odd Jobs is that former members left and created their own Odd Jobs groups with the same name just “under new management.”

Despite having only three members in the original group, Odd Jobs has many affiliations with other groups like Shinsengumi, Hyakka, and the Katsura Faction. It sounds very odd to have all of these groups as associates, but considering how strange, funny, and weird Gintama can get, this is normal.

13 Night Raid

Taking Dangerous Missions To Bring The Empire Down

This covert division of the Revolutionary Army is the main group of Akame Ga Kill. Night Raid handles reconnaissance and assassinations in the Capital and as assassins for hire to the public. But they don’t just take any mission and usually investigate both the client and target before accepting the job.

Each member has their own strengths and all of them work well together. Naturally, they are skilled in combat, and it took a lot of effort to bring down one member. While most of them met their end throughout the series, Night Raid was overall successful in bringing the Empire down.

12 The Order Of The Black Knights

Lelouch’s Answer To Fighting The Holy Britannian Empire

This group of vigilantes was founded by Lelouch disguised as Zero. Thanks to Lelouch’s genius intellect, the Black Knights were successful in their missions and made themselves a threat to their enemies. Because their mission was protecting those who had no power, they quickly got the support of the general Japanese population and many people sought to join them.

Other resistance groups would join the Black Knights and the group would even get sponsored by Kyoto House, the group in charge of running Japan’s industries. Thanks to this sponsorship, the Black Knights were given Knightmare Frames, giving them even more power.

11 The Armed Forces Of Eldia/The Military

The Survey Corps Are The Only Ones Trying To Make A Difference

The Military in Attack on Titan does try its best to keep the population safe and everything in order within the walls. The Survey Corps is arguably the most notable one since they’re the ones fighting the Titans and trying to reclaim the land that has been lost. However, because of the high amount of lives lost during these missions, many in the military and even the public look down on them since the missions usually ended in failure.

Sadly, those in the military working within the walls are mostly corrupt and have done very little to improve anything. From lack of technological advancement to social issues, the Survey Corps is arguably the only group trying to make a difference.

10 The Hunter Association

An Association Who Has Something For Almost Every Skill In The World

The best thing about the Hunter Association is that there’s just about a category for everyone. From the typical bounty hunter/Blacklist Hunter to finding rare cards as a Card Hunter to maintaining beauty as a Cute Hunter, anyone who can pass the Hunter Exam can be a Hunter in whatever they’re skilled at. Those who are to find and pass the Exam will have a tough time because passing the various tests requires a pretty large skill set or knowing how to use a respective skill to their advantage.

It’s a very large and versatile world to be a part of, and only the strongest, smartest, or cleverest people can join its ranks. There are plenty of interesting characters who are Hunters and even if they’re a Gourmet Hunter or Ruins Hunter, they have pretty deadly skill sets.

9 Pro Hero System

Has Heroes Who’ve Managed to Become Iconic

Since so many people have Quirks, it was only natural that some want to use them for good and become Heroes, or use them for bad reasons and become villains. The Pro Hero System is in charge of managing the heroes and overseeing their hero work. All Might was arguably the best hero around along with being a symbol of hope, and it was bittersweet seeing him use the last of his power to defeat All for One. The torch was passed onto Endeavor, the number two, and father Shoto Todoroki.

However, Endeavor isn’t exactly the most liked hero because of his gruff manner and he’s seen more as a symbol of how the heroes are declining. The System is still going strong, but with the Paranormal Liberation Front ready to take them on, a lot of heroes might not make it out alive or not be heavily scarred from the upcoming battle.

8 State Military

Known For Having Powerful Alchemists In Their Ranks

There are mixed feelings about the State Military, but there is no doubt that it’s one of the strongest groups in the series. The State Alchemists are usually doing other missions that common soldiers can’t do. Edward is a State Alchemist, but he tends to do his own thing. He will do missions when Roy tells him to, but he’s usually reluctant to do so.

Deep within its ranks, the State Military is largely divided and there is a power struggle among the people in it. Everyone has their own individual goals and the most common thing they have is just trying to do what’s best for them.

7 The Gotei 13

Divided, But United In Their Mission

The Gotei 13 are the main military branch in the Shinigami world. Their mission is to protect the Soul Society, guard souls going through the cycle of transmigration, and purify Hollows terrorizing the Living World. The 13 divisions each have their own specialty and they don’t work together as a cohesive group. The Captain for each division runs their operation however they want and will do things as they see fit.

Getting all of them together for a meeting might take some time since they’re usually very busy doing their own thing. It’s normal for the division to not interact with each other for a very long time, but all of them work in harmony in the Soul Society.