Battle scenes in anime have always been its strength. Battle shounen anime like Dragon Ball and Naruto have globalized anime to where it is right now.
With current hits like My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Demon Slayer, a few other battle-centric anime carry that legacy forward. Among them are some of the most epic battles in anime history that have left an everlasting impression on the viewers.
And I’m here to discuss some of these epic battle sequences and a few facts about behind-the-scenes of the animation. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the list of the top 10 most epic anime battles.
10Madara vs. Shinobi Alliance
Anime: Naruto Shippuden
Everything about this battle is epic. Revived, Madara is stronger than his prime and takes on hundreds of the Shinobi Alliance forces without hesitation. His cool against the anxiety and hesitance of the Shinobi shows the clear difference in power but more so in experience.
The animation portrays these things alone; there’s hardly any dialogue in these epic battle sequences. Madara awakened his Rinnegan within a few minutes of this battle and ended it within a blink of an eye.
9Luffy vs. Katakuri
Anime: One Piece
One Piece has some iconic battle sequences, but very few stand out. Among them, the one that stands out even more is Luffy’s fight against Katakuri. This battle isn’t only a power struggle, but it also involves the pride of a pirate, the pride of being a captain, and most importantly, the pride of the fighters who want to win the battle fair and square.
Throughout this fight, Luffy strengthened his observation of Haki while also debuting Gear 4: Snakeman to match Katakuri’s speed. An epic battle from the beginning till the end, where both pirates earned each other’s respect.
8Mob vs. Koyama
Anime: Mob Psycho 100
Every fight in Mob Pyscho 100 is highly entertaining, especially when Mob is involved. But among all of them, the most satisfying of them all has to be Mob’s duel against Koyama, an esper and a member of Claw, who mistook his brother for him and roughed him up a bit, not knowing Mob’s emotional state heightens his psychic abilities.
And Koyama ends up paying the price. Mob showed him the reality and the power gap they have while toying with him. If not for the cursed perfume that put Mob to sleep, Koyama would be traumatized for the rest of his life.
7Naruto & Sasuke vs. Momoshiki Otsutsuki
Anime: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Clean, Crisp, and Catastrophically Beautiful. This summarizes Naruto and Sasuke’s battle against Momoshiki very well. Momoshiki, as always, underestimates the duo and pays the price when Naruto and Sasuke fight in unison.
The duo fights as if they already know the next move of each other and executes the best possible combination of their attacks to overwhelm Momoshiki in a way he could’ve never thought of. A very satisfying and rare moment where Boruto witnesses his father and master’s power on display.
6Levi vs. The Beast Titan
Anime: Attack on Titan S3 P2
Arifumi Imai is one of the few names among animators that most anime fans know. Besides his Saitama vs Genos action sequence, he also animated one of the most epic battles in the entire Attack on Titan series, Levi vs The Beast Titan. It took him 1 month to storyboard and 3 months to draw it; it took 4 months.
When the Beast Titan was having fun killing Erwin and his soldiers, Levi sneaked in from his blind spot to cut him down into pieces. Finally, he took him out of his titan body. It would’ve been a crime if this wasn’t included in this list of epic anime battles.
5Saitama vs. Genos
Anime: One Punch Man
One Punch Man S1 is an action marvel. Every fighting scene is bliss for an action genre fanatic. Among all the action scenes, two battle sequences stood out the most, Saitama’s fight against Genos and Boros, but the former stood out more because of the slow-motion sequences, and mainly the sequence key animated by Arifumi Imai, also responsible for Levi vs. Beast Titan sequence.
To figure out the secret behind Saitama’s power, Genos drags him to a practice match and asks him to go all out. But Saitama, being Saitama, dodged every single attack of his, but when Genos ticked him off in the end, Saitama threw his signature Death Punch, but stopped midway not to do any harm. Genos got his much-deserved reality check.
4Broly vs. Goku & Vegeta
Anime: Dragon Ball Super: Broly (Movie)
Dragon Ball has become the standard of an exemplary battle shounen anime. Uncountable battle scenes of the Dragon Ball series have left a long-lasting impression on us. But among them, the one that has earned its place on this list is the battle between Saiyans from the 2018 movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
Goku and Vegeta take turns to fight Broly. But even in their Super Saiyan Blue form, Broly counters them because of his high adaptability. He quickly learns how to tap into his latent power. Broly becomes so strong that both our heroes have to teleport far away to fuse into Gojeta, after which they finally beat Broly, the mighty Saiyan. The choreography, the camera angles, the sound design, and the animation harmonized to bring this epic anime battle scene to life.
3Ippo vs. Sendo
Anime: Hajime no Ippo
Hajime no Ippo is criminally ignored by many; this boxing anime needs to be watched and read by everyone. It’s that good. And the boxing matches don’t disappoint you either. Among all the matches, Ippo’s match against Sendo is a blessing for boxing fans.
To call this entire match epic would be an understatement. From Sendo’s persistence till the end to Ippo holding onto his dreams, his passion for boxing to delivering the Dempsey Roll he has polished during the match is a must-have in the list of epic anime battles of all time.
2Takamura vs. Bryan Hawk
Anime: Hajime no Ippo
Another entry from Hajime no Ippo, and deservingly so. Unlike Ippo and Sendo’s match, this boxing match between Takamura and Hawk is more violent, a battle between monsters who fight with instincts, a battle you will never forget.
Also, make sure to sit far away from your screen because, with the adrenaline rush, you might end up punching it; it’s that good. Hawk has been disrespecting and taunting his fellow boxers, mostly Takamura. But when he crosses the line by hitting his coach Kamogawa, the match’s fate is sealed. In the end, Takamura won and sent Hawk into a trauma of a lifetime.
1Rock Lee vs. Gaara
Anime: Naruto
Besides Dragon Ball, another series that has set the standard for epic fight sequences is undoubtedly Naruto. Who can forget the iconic scene when Lee throws those weights off him and breaks through Gaara’s impenetrable defense, as far as going to physically injure him.
Although it led to an unfortunate end of the match for Lee, he proved that even without Ninjutsu and Genjutsu he can take on any ninja of his class. And, the animation of the entire episode was way ahead of its time, and sadly, in the current age where technology has improved, the overall quality of animation has become stagnant, with obvious exceptions.
Final Thoughts
There are countless Epic Anime Battles, but these are the ones that will stay epic till the end of the time. It’s impossible to name them all in this list, so comment down some of your favorite anime battle scenes you consider epic.
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