From the shocking action to the beautiful, fluid animation, there’s a reason the most popular anime series incorporate rich fight scenes. Whether or not you’re a fan of the anime series itself, a true anime lover will appreciate these astonishing, timeless, and downright epic brawls.
Any anime with good fight scenes is one for the books. If you’re seeking out some action-packed, thrilling anime scenes, discover the top seven best anime fight scenes of all time below.
- Attack on Titan: Erin vs Annie
- Akame Ga Kill: Akame vs Esdeath
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Cioccolata vs Giorno Giovanna
- Naruto Shippuden: Naruto vs Sasuke
- My Hero Academia: Endeavor and Hawks vs Hood
- One Piece: Luffy vs Katakuri
- Jujutsu Kaisen: Itadori & Nobara vs Eso & Kechizu
#1 Attack on Titan: Eren vs Annie
At the top of our list for anime fight scenes, we have Erin vs. Annie. In the dark, alternate reality of Attack on Titan, a small civilization of humans is terrorized by towering, carnivorous monsters—known as Titans. Throughout the show, it’s revealed that certain humans within this society wield the power to transform into Titans themselves.
The Characters
While some humans, like our protagonist Eren Jaeger, use this power for good by protecting humanity, others choose to carry out an evil mission of destroying the world.
One example of these traitorous villains is found in Eren’s military comrade: Annie Leonhart.
When Eren and his fellow scouts suspect Annie of harboring titan powers, they concoct a plan to trap and seize her. Unfortunately, Annie discovers this plan and uses a bladed ring to cut herself and transform into a titan. This is what leads to one of the show’s most intense battles of all time, titan Eren vs titan Annie.
The Fighting Scene
Shortly after Annie takes titan form, Eren is impaled by a wooden beam from a fallen building. Through his superhuman abilities, however, Eren is able to push through this injury and transform. The anger and betrayal Eren feels fuels this fight, leading to an explosive climax.
Eren and Annie battle in the heart of the city, punching, kicking and throwing each other with a level of force that only 60-meter superhumans could possess. After much destruction and blood splattering, Eren finally takes down the titan Annie—ripping her limb from limb and attempting to eat her. At the end of the fight, Annie uses her final hail mary by freezing over her human form.
#2 Akame Ga Kill: Akame vs Esdeath
Fans of the series Akame Ga Kill are no strangers to violence, but the final battle between Night Raid assassin Akame and Empire general Esdeath is truly one for the anime history books.
The Characters
Esdeath is one of the most sadistic characters in the entire series. Her ability to kill, torture, and carry out horrific orders is nearly unmatched by anyone else in the show. And it makes for an unbelievable battle in the finale.
Akame, on the other hand, is an elite member of the night raid assassins. Her quiet demeanor is juxtaposed with incredible killing abilities, and one of her biggest hurdles throughout the show is Esdeath and her team of Jaegers.
The Fighting Scene
When Esdeath kills Tatsumi for rejecting her advances and infiltrating the empire’s regime, Akame vows to end her life. Esdeath uses her powers to isolate the two fighters, encircling them in a ring of ice and dead bodies. The two begin sword fighting with parallel strength, but when Esdeath begins to utilize her icy powers, Akame feels she has finally met her match.
In response, Akame must slit her own hand and summon her dark powers, as well. This leads Akame to sever one of Esdeath’s arms, but the fight continues despite this hit. Finally, Esdeath attempts to end the fight by freezing time—only to be deceived by an afterimage of Akame. In the end, Akame kills Esdeath with a sneak attack from above.
#3 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Cioccolata vs Giorno Giovanna
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a popular anime that follows the superhuman Joestar family across several generations, spanning from the 19th century to now.
The Characters
Giorno Giovanna is one of the series’ main protagonists. Giorno comes from a turbulent childhood, having grown up around bullies and an abusive stepfather. As an adult, Giorno’s main goal involves becoming an all-powerful gang star, and he spends a majority of his time fighting supernatural villains with his Stand powers.
Cioccolata is another Stand user, with only one goal: Kill Team Bucciarati.
The Fighting Scene
In episode 31, Giorno and Cioccolata go head-to-head in an unforgettable battle that’s marked as one of the best anime fight scenes. Some have even hailed it as the holy grail fight of the series. Toward the end of the fight, Cioccolata believes he’s gained the upper hand. Full of rage, Giorno pulls out one final move to stop his opponent. After asking the question “did you really think you’d be that luck
#4 Naruto Shippuden: Naruto vs Sasuke
Sasuke is a fan-favorite anime character among Naruto’s best anime characters. He is a main character in the show and one of the last remaining members of the Uchiha clan after the rest were wiped out by his older brother, Itachi.
The Characters
Following his dark past, Sasuke earns the ninja title and joins Team 7. Throughout his time with the team, Sasuke develops a complicated relationship with fellow ninja Naruto. Eventually, Sasuke leaves the team and his home for a life of solitude and practice. During this time, Sasuke learns the truth of his brother’s actions: That the city of Konoha forced Itachi to kill the Uchiha clan in order to break a curse and protect his younger brother.
In this moment, he has a revelation that leads Sasuke to a life of hatred, crime, and revenge.
Troubled by his dark path, Naruto leaves to find Sasuke and bring him home. This meeting ultimately leads to one of the most anticipated fights in the Naruto storyline: Naruto vs Sasuke.
The Fighting Scene
During this battle, the long-standing love-hate relationship between these two ninjas becomes even more apparent making for an epic scene.. Naruto begs Sasuke to return home to Konoha, in order to avoid death at the hands of terrorist leader Orochimaru. In response, Sasuke decides to kill Naruto in order to unlock his Sharingan powers. Naruto is distraught over the realization that Sasuke would truly hurt him, eventually activating his nine-tails power in self defense.
At the end of the battle, Naruto is nearly defeated—laying on the ground, unconscious, and waiting for death at the hands of his former friend.
Sasuke, however, comes to the conclusion that he cannot end Naruto’s life.
#5 My Hero Academia: Endeavor and Hawks vs Hood
The nomu of My Hero Academia—artificial humans—are one of the biggest threats our superhero protagonists face. These horrific monsters typically attack with brute force and little intelligence; that is until the high-end nomu Hood makes an appearance.
The Characters
Hood is an abnormally intelligent nomu that can talk, regenerate quickly, and produce other nomu through its storage quirk.
The Fighting Scene
In this epic anime fighting scene, the fiery Endeavor and suave Hawks must come together and defeat their common enemy. Civilians are terrified and even thrown out of a building during this intense battle, but in the end Hood is met with a fiery death that leaves fans stunned. By utilizing All Might’s Plus Ultra move, Endeavor effectively ends the battle and solidifies his spot as #1 hero, making it a fan favorite scene in the series.
#6 One Piece: Luffy vs Katakuri
One Piece is one of the most popular and longest-running anime series on television. With nearly 1,000 episodes available, it’s tough to pick a single favorite anime fight scene from the series—but we’re going to anyway.
The Characters
Monkey D. Luffy is the show’s beloved, straw-hat-sporting protagonist. He is the head of the straw hat pirates, often leading them into battle with the series’ many enemies. Charlotte Katakuri is a commander of the rival Big Mom Pirates.
The Fighting Scene
In this epic fight between the giant Katakuri and scrawny Luffy, viewers are in for quite a surprise. Katakuri quickly launches Luffy into the air, sending him flying backward. Luffy doesn’t give up, however, immediately launching back and utilizing his armament hardening, but Katakuri hits back with an even harder punch.
Throughout this incredibly long brawl, Luffy is met with unbeatable fighting techniques from Katakuri. Towards the end of the battle, however, Luffy transforms using his gear 4 snake arm. Landing one final punch that cracks the earth beneath him, Luffy falls into the deep cavern; but not before he is able to knock Katakuri to the ground.
#7 Jujutsu Kaisen: Itadori & Nobara vs Eso & Kechizu
Jujutsu Kaisen is an action-packed, horror anime that takes place in a world of cursed spirits. These spirits feed on humans, as well as body parts from the demon Ryomen Sukuna.
The Characters
In this universe exists a school of sorcerers who are destined to save humanity from these evil spirits. In this awesome scene, Yuji Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki are two of the bravest heros in the Jujutsu academy, and oftentimes these characters find themselves in the midst of a horrifyingly epic battle.
The Fighting Scene
In episodes 23 and 24, Itadori and Kugisaki are on a mission to defeat Kechizu—a spirit that lives below the Yasohachi bridge. Yuji begins to take on this cursed spirit alone, while Nobara continues ahead in an attempt to exorcise the curse. Unfortunately for Nobara, she is unable to get very far before Kechizu’s brother, Eso, violently drags her from the barrier.
While there is plenty of good-old-fashioned action to be enjoyed in this fight, there is one element that truly brings this battle to the next level. The spirits attempt to poison Itadori and Nobara, but Nobara uses her sorcerer abilities to create voodoo puppets that reverse the direction of the poison. Nobara then aims an attack at Kechizu, ultimately blowing up his entire body. Meanwhile, Itadori severs Eso’s arm, which Nobara uses to pull him back into the barrier. Finally, Itadori kills the trapped Eso—leaving the bridge spirit-free.
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Sources:
Akame Ga Kill. Esdeath. https://akamegakill.fandom.com/wiki/Esdeath
JoJo Wiki. Giorno Giovanna. https://jojowiki.com/Giorno_Giovanna
Naruto.Fandom. Sasuke Uchiha. https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Sasuke_Uchiha
CBR. My Hero Academia: 10 Best Fight Scenes. https://www.cbr.com/my-hero-academia-best-fights/
One Piece. Charlotte Katakuri. https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Charlotte_Katakuri