Out Of Every Commandment In The Seven Deadly Sins, This One Stands Above The Rest
In a willful subversion of the biblical meanings of both terms, fantasy shonen anime "The Seven Deadly Sins" positions the group after which the series is titled as its protagonists and a group called the Ten Commandments as its villains. Plotwise, the Seven Deadly Sins were formed with the explicit intent of serving as a deterrent to the Ten Commandments — though some fans are perplexed by the in-fiction decision to assemble only seven warriors to fight against a group of ten enemies.
"The Seven Deadly Sins" begins by chronicling the efforts of Elizabeth, the princess of the kingdom in which much of the series takes place, to reassemble the Seven Deadly Sins, who served as famous protectors of the realm before being framed by a group of knights as nefarious as traitors. Elizabeth wants first the Sins' aid in both retaking control of her kingdom of Liones from that group of knights and eventually combatting the Ten Commandments upon their re-emergence as the world's most fearsome threat.
Though the Ten Commandments as a group are a formidable force, not all the Commandments are equal in stature. In fact, in fans' estimation, one Commandment, in particular, stands out as the consensus favorite.
Estarossa is the most valuable Commandment
In a fan popularity poll published in conjunction with a chapter of the "Seven Deadly Sins" manga in 2019 and shared on the series' fan wiki, Estarossa is the second-highest-ranking Commandment behind only the group's leader Zeldris. However, while Estarossa is ranked seventh, behind Mael at sixth, Mael was Estarossa's identity before joining the Commandments. It's likely, then, that the number of votes Mael and Estarossa received combined would be enough to overtake Zeldris at fifth place. Similarly, a Reddit thread asking for users' favorite Commandment with an attached poll determined Estarossa to be the overwhelming fan favorite, receiving 38% of user votes. Zeldris, in the number two spot, received 16%.
One major factor for fans' high estimation of Estarossa is likely his strength relative to the other Commandments. An article on CBR ranking the Commandments by power, for instance, lists Estarossa in its number one spot. Though he wasn't always as powerful as Zeldris, who was initially the strongest Commandment, after absorbing the powers of Galand, one of his fellow Commandments, Estarossa, reached a power level of 88,000, compared to Zeldris' 61,000. The fan wiki, meanwhile, lists his power level as greater than 200,000. Furthermore, Estarossa's record in major battles amounts to two losses against six wins.
Though he may not be their leader, Estarossa is the fan favorite and strongest Commandment alike, earning him the distinction of the most notable Commandment from throughout "The Seven Deadly Sins."