Superman might be considered foreign to Japanese audiences at times, but he's occasionally shown his influence on anime and manga, with plenty of characters inspired by him, some even having direct connections to him. There are even a few popular anime characters who were based on Superman parodies.
His influence can be seen all the time in all kinds of Japanese media and anime characters don tropes Superman helped popularize. For example, Superman probably helped popularize characters donning capes, which was likely once a shout-out to circus strongmen. That said, some Superman sendups are much less flattering than others, and not all necessarily look like the original, either.
10 Project A-ko: A-ko Is Literally The Daughter Of Superman & Wonder Woman
A-ko Magami has super strength and super speed but fancies herself as a normal girl. She is very protective of her friend C-ko, so when aliens kidnap her upon realizing she is their lost princess, A-ko's powers come in handy as she goes to rescue her and prevent an invasion.
The end of the first movie gives a hint as to where A-ko's powers come from: her parents are none other than Superman and Wonder Woman, who have apparently gotten married and moved to Japan. Not only is her mother seen cleaning a shirt with an "S" emblem and her father is seen reading "The Daily Planet," but a graphic novelization even gives them the names of Clark and Diana.
9 Doctor Slump: Suppaman Is Superman If He Liked To Throw Grenades At People
Hailing from the planet Okakaumeboshi, Suppaman is the alter-ego of reporter Kuraaku Kenta. He transforms by changing his clothes in a phone booth and eating plums.
That said, he's actually a bit of a coward and doesn't really have any powers, mostly using a skateboard to pretend he can fly. He's also not above kicking small children or blowing up buildings to cover up botched rescue missions. The other characters generally regard him as the village idiot. That said, Arale idolizes him, so he isn't completely without his fans.
8 Tonde Buurin: Super Pig Combines Superman, Sailor Moon, & A Pig
Kokubu Karin was a normal schoolgirl before given the power to transform into a superpowered pig after helping an injured alien pig. While Super Pig has the trappings of a magical girl and is something of a Sailor Moon parody, she also borrows a lot from Superman. For starters, she has an insignia on her chest and a cape.
Despite being a literal pig when transformed, Karin also has to deal with her crush being more interested in Super Pig than her, just like Clark Kent. There's even a character named Jimmy Matsumoto, who investigates Super Pig's real identity.
7 Astro Boy: Osamu Tezuka Based Him On A Superman Parody
Osamu Tezuka, the great godfather of anime, was once even a president of a Superman fan club in Japan, so it makes sense the character would have some influence in his work, even if as an indirect reference.
Tesuka even cited him as the "grandfather" of Astro Boy, due, in part, to having had based the character on Mighty Mouse, who himself was a Superman parody, to the point of originally being named Super Mouse. This might be more obvious to fans familiar with Astro Boy's Japanese name, Mighty Atom, and he even borrows some poses from the famous mouse.
6 Inuyashiki: Ichiro Inuyashiki Proves You're Never Too Old To Be A Hero
Ichiro Inuyashiki was once an elderly salaryman until an alien explosion turned him into a cyborg. He decides to take advantage of the situation to become a hero for the Earth.
Inuyashiki is essentially Superman when it comes to his new powerset: he can hear people around the world, he is super strong, and can even fly. He's also a fan of Astro Boy who, as mentioned, also has a connection to the famous hero.
5 Sailor Moon: Usagi Sure Has A Lot In Common With Superman
Usagi Tsukino successfully combined two genres fans love: superheroes and magical girls. She surprisingly has quite a bit in common with Superman. She was sent to Earth after her original world was destroyed, she can talk to a hologram of her mother like Jor-El, she dons a red and blue costume, complete with a nice pair of red boots.
In the original concept art, Sailor Moon was even going to wear a cape. Added to that, she's also the leader of a group of her own set of heroines.
4 Urusei Yatsura: A Superhero With A Long Name Turns Out To Be A Scam Artist
In one episode of this anime, Ten befriends a Western-style superhero with a surprisingly long name: Super Delicious Yuusei Golden Special Reserve Gorgeous Aftercare Kit #28. The hero seems to take Ten under his wing and gives him a costume that comes with powers. Ten tries to use this to get revenge on Ataru, but his attempts all fail miserably.
Eventually, however, Lum remembers the salaryman, or at least an associate from her childhood, revealing that the costumes and devices are all part of a pyramid scheme, and gets him to leave the planet. Luckily for him, just like Superman, he can fly. That said, Superman must have something of a following in this series: Ataru is shown to have a crush on Supergirl in a previous episode.
3 Dragon Ball: The Great Saiyaman & Even Goku Borrow A Bit From Superman
Son Goku is often compared to Superman but is a complicated case: he was originally influenced by Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. That said, he's taken influence from the character over time, like his origin of being sent to Earth to avoid his home planet's destruction.
His son Gohan's alter-ego, the Great Saiyaman, also seems to be a slight parody of the character, with his cape, secret identity, and a love interest who wants to figure out his identity, although Videl is slightly more successful in this regard than Lois Lane, even getting to become the Great Saiyawoman. The Great Saiyaman even gets a movie adaptation in the series. It's also rather prophetic that Gohan would eventually don a pair of glasses.
2 My Hero Academia: All-Might Even Gives A Shout-Out To The Golden Age Superman
All-Might even borrows Superman's famous poses at times, letting viewers know who he uses for inspiration. He even wore a cape in his prime and he does keep his color scheme close to Superman's. That said, it's kind of a plot point that his powers are passed down, rather than from an alien heritage.
He can't fly, but he can jump really high, which might actually be a shout-out to Superman's origins: originally he could leap tall buildings in a single bound until the cartoons realized it was easier just to make him fly.
1 Anpanman: Anpanman Is Superman If He Were Made Of Bread
Anpanman is like a cross between The Gingerbread Man and a superhero. Having a sweet bread pastry for a head, he helps people in need. In addition to his similar name, he has many similar powers to Superman, like the ability to lift heavy objects, although his abilities sometimes depend on the ingredients used to make him. He also notably wears a cape, which is explained to be what gives him the ability to fly.
He is also the leader of other bread-themed heroes. Like Superman, Anpanman would also prove to be an influential character; Saitama is something of a parody of him.
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