Top 10 Anime Battles

Written by: Shiggins

I've been with Otakunuts for one whole year!


Hey there! First of all, a quick update on what's going on. Claydragon is no longer working on the Top 10 lists due to university work, so it's only going to be me, Shiggins, working on them for now. Sorry about that. This might mean some lists are only Top 5's, but that just depends on how things go with certain categories.

Secondly, it's time to celebrate the return of the Top 10's by providing one of the best reasons to watch anime. It's time for anime battles!

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

10.) Ryuko vs Nonon - Kill La Kill

This is definitely the newest entry on the list so chances are you haven’t seen this fight but you really need to! This anime series was made by the same company that made the widely-acclaimed anime Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, so you just know that Kill La Kill is going to be filled with the same batshit-crazy over-the-top madness that the previous mecha anime before it did. This fight is easily one of the best examples of chaos, as Ryuko Matoi literally fights four of the strongest characters in the entire series one after the other, with my personal highlight being her fight against the only female member of Honnōji Academy’s Elite Four, Nonon Jakazure.

Seems like a fair fight.

It would take forever to explain the entire backstory behind this battle so I’m going to sum it up as quickly as possible. Ryuko wants to find out who killed her father and to do that; she needs to defeat the Elite Four that make up the Student Council. Ryouka has the instant disadvantage, due to already having fought a massive masochist named Ira Gamagōri and a nerd with a laptop named Hōka Inumuta. However, she wields the blade that can cut through any special suit that is used for combat, called Goku Uniforms, and she also wears the extremely powerful and sentient uniform known as Senketsu. Meanwhile, Nonon wields her own special uniform which consists of band equipment, classical music and giant flying vehicles. 

Don't let the wink fool you. She's insane.

From Senketsu suddenly transforming to give Ryuko the gift of flight, to Nonon losing her temper and screaming crazy threats, this battle fits the series’ love for exaggerated battles and expressions perfectly. One of the best scenes of this battle might actually be Nonon’s dramatic entrance, which involves a marching band, loud music and the big fancy transformation scene that this series quickly became famous for.

9.) Kid vs Soul and Star - Soul Eater

Easily the funniest battle of the series, it is also one of the only times Maka doesn’t get involved; despite her partner Soul being one of the main fighters. When the new genius Death the Kid arrives at Shibusen, the Academy for people who can turn into weapons and people who can wield them, Black Star and Soul Eater are not happy. Kid’s reputation has instantly taken over the school and those two are being forgotten. Of course, they take it upon themselves to find out just how tough this new guy is. And the result is hilarious. 

Shot Through The Heart!

There’s not really a strategy in this battle but that’s mostly because the characters that are fighting don’t really have the IQ capable of such planning. With Star’s soul unable to synchronise with Soul, and making him unable to even lift Soul’s Weapon Form (an epic red scythe), problems arise almost instantly. Seeing him bleed and cry out in agony is one we all wanted to see from the world’s most annoying “ninja”. It just gets funnier as the two suddenly have some random and emotional “break-up” as if they were a romantic couple, and then decide to remain friends. Their embrace was quickly prevented by Kid’s “finger slipping” and blasting them in the face.

My body is ready!

More fighting ensues and the clear winner is Kid because he’s just that cool with his hand-to-hand combat and ability to remain cool in fighting situations. When the dust clears and it’s finally over, we all expected Kid to just walk away with a badass line, but instead he collapses in defeat. Why? It turns out he realised that his hair had been cut slightly on one side of his face. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention something: Death the Kid is so obsessed with symmetry that even the slightest imperfection causes him to collapse and cry. 

8.) Eren vs Female Titan - Attack on Titan

If you don’t know about this battle, where have you been for the past few months? Definitely not in the fandom of anime, as the first season of the brilliant Attack on Titan series concludes with the big bad Female Titan finally getting her ultimate match in the main character Eren and his terrifying Titan form. We all knew that as soon as the Female Titan mysteriously appeared as if out of thin air, we wanted her to die and we wanted Eren to do it. And although the fight did finally happen, it didn’t go the way we expected. 

Oh come on! We all knew it was her!

After finally discovering who the Female Titan was, Eren and the others set up a trap to try to catch her before she turns into her massive Titan form. Let’s be honest, we all know which character it was that turned into the Female Titan, but it was great to see her break down and start laughing her ass off. It took a while for Eren to transform into his Titan form to fight her, but the result was brilliant. From the Female Titan’s strange ability to harden any part of her skin into diamonds, to Eren’s relentless beating to as many parts of her as possible, the entire area was almost decimated.

Seriously, what the hell is that form though?

Another reason I thoroughly enjoyed this fight was because of Mikasa’s contribution to it. I despise a fight where the great supporting cast do nothing and just let the main character do all the work, so seeing the scary and cold Mikasa prevent the Female Titan from escaping by climbing the wall was great fun. Eren’s Titan form also got an anime-only Titan transformation which was inspired by the rage, and personally I loved its design. It was impressive and if its appearance hadn’t been so random, I would wish it was in the actual series so much more. This fight also caused a great plot twist and has left us all sobbing over not yet watching season two.

7.) Natsu and Gajeel vs Sting & Rouge - Fairy Tail

This was the match every fan wanted ever since the first appearance of Sting and Rogue. We all expected the Grand Games arc to conclude with this battle, but Hiro Mashima had other ideas and gave us our present a bit earlier. Fire and Iron fights Light and Shadow in the middle of an arena for the amusement of thousands and to prove just which generation is the ultimate. It turns out, the answer is surprisingly obvious.

I almost felt sorry for those two.

Yes, Natsu and Gajeel are tougher. This fight brings everything we were promised, including unique attacks such as lasers, transforming into shadows and even the ultimate upgrade for Dragon Slayers, Dragonforce. All this makes it all the more shocking when Natsu and Gajeel dominate this battle together and make Sting and Rogue look so utterly incompetent that we almost feel Wendy should have fought them instead so it was a challenge. Of course, it’s still great fun and nothing says “enjoyable” like watching some annoying idiots get smacked around while their cat-friends cry in the audience.

Uh oh. Krillin must have died again.

The real kicker of this fight is when Natsu actually decides to remove Gajeel by tossing him down a mineshaft, thereby making him the only fighter for Fairy Tail at the time. Natsu’s most powerful attack is a combination of fire and lightning, which we all later realise wasn’t even used once during this fight. In a lot of ways, this battle could have been irritating because of how overpowered Natsu seemed, yet because of the villain’s attitudes and the sheer awesomeness of every fight here, we can’t help but love the destruction that happens.

6.) Roy Mustang vs Envy - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

This is one of those fights where revenge causes a great man to lose his senses. When the Flame Alchemist known as Colonel Roy Mustang lost his best friend, he was devoted to finding the killer. Every person he met, he asked them if they had killed Maes Hughes. Every possible villain was threatened and glared at, so when we finally saw him come face-to-face with Envy, the killer of the loving father and husband, we just knew Mustang was going to go nuts. And of course, Envy showed his stupidity by mocking Mustang first.

Ready to hear about your damn Lord and Savior?!

After a bunch of laughing while looking like Hughes’ beloved wife, Envy suddenly realises she has to run for the hills because Mustang is pissed off! So with Envy running through the tunnels, trying to avoid the killer of so many, including Envy’s sister Lust. This is when we see just how cruel revenge can be. Mustang begins burning Envy to horrible levels of destruction, with Envy screaming and trying to fight back as much as possible. It’s clear from the start of this burning parade that Envy has no chance of winning, but it’s really Mustang that needs the most help.

Why don't anime characters ever just die?!

The fight doesn’t end with as much brutality as expected, although it really does bring a lot of emotions on the table. Edward Elric, Riza Hawkeye and Scar all come up, and work together to convince Mustang not to kill Envy. Mustang is losing his sanity and if he was to go through with this, he would never be able to become a good person again. The fight ends in quite a surprising way but I’m keeping quiet because the series is so good, I want you all to watch it right now and get that thrill of discovery for yourself.

5.) Archer vs Berserker - Fate/Zero

I almost never approve of 3D animation in a 2D anime series, but Fate/Zero makes it beautiful. Both seasons look amazing, and it’s easily the best-looking series I’ve ever seen. Half the fun of this anime is when the characters fight someone they’ve never fought before. Saber fights Lancer in one episode, and then fights Caster in another. Archer fights Assassin and then fights Berserker and Rider. I have a personal love for battles where villains face off against each other and this is possibly the greatest one I’ve ever seen. One word: Dogfight!

It's not flying! It's called falling with style!

Yes, Archer and Berserker have their epic battle in the sky, by manipulating fighter jets into their own image, then flying through a dark and cloudy sky as they launch missiles and their own special attacks against each other. Archer manages to keep such a fun smirk and actually provide casual commentary as he flies through the sky. Berserker is nothing more than a 3D knight of darkness, but we can definitely tell that he’s getting pissed off at Archer’s great speed, calm love for the battle and his unlimited supply of missiles and arrogance.

Nothing says badass like having a throne on top of a jet.

If this fight isn’t enough for you because you’re an idiot who doesn’t appreciate the greatest soundtrack and animation of any anime ever, there’s also another monumental battle going on with Saber facing off against the scary Caster and his creepy love for virgins, tentacles and his murdering master. If I had one complaint, it’s that my all-time favourite anime character, the Rider, did not get his own fighter jet as well.

4.) Ichigo vs Ulquiorra - Bleach

You can’t have a true shonen battle scene without transformations. With every transformation, you’ll get stronger. And stronger. Until eventually, you can’t control it and the transformation becomes rage. We’ve seen it a million times but I’ve almost never had a problem with it. Ichigo has fallen a couple of times due to the wrath of Aizen’s 4^th Espada, Ulquiorra. Of course, this list refers to the final and most insane of the battles between Ichigo and Ulquiorra, where Ulquiorra unleashes his final forms and Ichigo goes to every length to save the orange-haired girl Orihime.

A sword battle in Bleach? I didn't see that coming!

This is when we see just how far Ichigo has come over the tons of chapters where he fought Grimmjow and Nnoitra, and he can now finally stand up to Ulquiorra. The two of them clash, and although the fight is randomly interrupted by these two random arrancar bitches who personally I felt were the biggest waste of time in the series, the battle stays tense. They talk about what they believe in and Ichigo states he has to win, no matter what. This small face-off ends with Ulquiorra unleashing one of my all-time favourite transformation forms: His own Resurrección which he calls Murciélago. (That means Black-Winged Great Demon in Japanese.) 

One of the greatest manga pages of all time.

Oh and it gets even better. Ulquiorra reveals he is the only Espada of the entire series who can unleash a second form of his Resurrección, and the results are terrifyingly awesome. This form even manages to kill Ichigo, although it’s only for one chapter before Orihime kills her own character and cries yet again. Ichigo’s transformation into the terrifying entity known as the Vasto Lorde is great and shows no mercy. After the fight finally ends, we see why Ulquiorra has so many fans as he says goodbye, and we see possible hints that maybe even Ulquiorra can have feelings for a human girl.

3.) Naruto vs Pain - Naruto

Many would agree with us when we say the Invasion of Pain arc is possibly the greatest arc in Naruto history. It had heartache, death, destruction and a major villain destroying everything around him while being a scary man. And in typical anime fashion, the hero Naruto arrives at the last second with a fancy new upgrade to take down the ones who caused evil. Naruto’s brand new Sage Mode brought out the best of Masashi Kishimoto and stunned us all as we saw Naruto take on various opponents, eventually ending with him fighting the spiky-haired corpse of Yahiko. Of course, Yahiko’s corpse was being controlled by his best friend Nagato, who was calling himself Pain at this time.

Admit it. You cheered at this part.

Strategy after strategy follows, in which Naruto finds ways to defeat them one-by-one. From smoke bombs to clones, Naruto brought out everything he could think of as he fought against a Pain that could summon monsters, a Pain that could absorb jutsu and even a Pain that can resurrect the dead. The final one has the power to repel and retract anything and everything, and it’s a perfect example of Kishimoto’s great writing that this manages to actually be threatening. 

I can push things! That makes me a God!

Featuring the Nine-Tails going insane, a visit from the wielder of the greatest coat in history and a confession that made almost every fan excited for huge changes, this fight gave us everything we wanted. If this had been the series’ final fight, we would have probably been quite happy. Unfortunately, plot holes and nuisances caused us to continue and trudge through more battles, all of which have yet to surpass the great battle of Naruto fighting against Pain in the destroyed ruins of Konoha. (Just try to forget that one episode with the shit animators.)

2.) Spike vs Vicious - Cowboy Bebop

The final battle of the series and the moment we’d all been waiting for. Spike Spiegel has had enough and with his trusty firearm, goes on his own to take down his mortal enemy Vicious and his entire Red Dragon crime syndicate. What follows is Spike fighting through an entire tower of the criminals to fight his way up to finally take on Vicious one-on-one, like men do. 

Not a very happy reunion, huh?

While this scene doesn’t have much compared to other anime series, such as no flashy superpowers, magic, strategy or cliché friendship speeches, it does have a huge impact on the audience and the characters themselves. Both characters knew that they were unlikely to survive this ultimate confrontation and they were okay with that. That’s not to say this battle isn’t impressive. In fact, it’s startling how intense this battle turns out because none of us can truly guess how it ends. Vicious’ sword against Spike’s gun isn’t as obvious a result as you expect it, with the latter actually having to use his gun like a mini-sword just to defend against overwhelming attacks. 

And the dirt is gone.

When it’s all over, there is a strange sense of pause we all feel inside us, as if shocked to see it suddenly over. The words “finish it” echoed greatly throughout our bodies as Spike and Vicious had both uttered those two words over the course of the series. And for those expecting Spike to suddenly take out a cigarette, smirk and walk off in an extremely cool way. You were poorly mistaken. If I had to say the moral of this battle, after watching Vicious die and Spike’s fate remain ambiguous, I would say this: Never get involved with a bad girl.

1.) Goku vs Bills - Dragon Ball Z

I bet you thought the fight with Frieza would be here instead but you were wrong because that fight with Frieza is too long! It’s massive and too much of it is spent powering up or transforming. No, the winner of this list goes to Goku’s most recent battle against the God of Destruction himself, Bills. Since this fight is canon thanks to Akira Toriyama creating it, we can put this in the list and we are very thankful for that because this fight is amazing. Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God specifically for this fight, Bills is showing his true terrifying God-power and an epic Japanese song called Hero, sung by Flow. (Flow also sang Naruto Shippuden Opening “Sign” and the Beelzebub Opening “Hey!”)

I was expecting SSG to look so much more interesting.

The best part about this fight is just how far Akira Toriyama went due to not being restricted by having to draw it on paper first. From near-3D animation of the characters, to beautiful artwork and angles, the fight looks great from the beginning and never once falters, unlike many anime battles of the past. Although none of the moves are that special or surprising, the amount of power, destruction and violence in each punch and kick is the perfect example of how shonen should be and how intense Goku and Bills are.

And we used to think Frieza was tough...

Wait, there’s more! You expect this fight to end with the villain Bills being beaten and then leaving back to his home planet or dying because he got thrown into the sun, but the result is almost the exact opposite. Despite Goku actually absorbing his own God-form and battling it out in space at full power, he wasn’t enough to defeat Bills. When you hear Bills only used 70% of his power, it completely throws you off and makes you realise that not even Goku can win them all by just punching something. In the end though, a new friendship was forged and the Earth was saved. So in a way, Goku did win by making Bills have a change of heart. 

Any battles you feel I left out?  Which battles got you super-excited? Or which Top 10s would you like to see?  Let me know in the comments below!

This episode caused my pain to be far greater than yours!

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Shiggins enjoys many strange forms of communication, especially those including cosplayers or presents or videos. However, until that wonderful day comes when people care enough to give him things for being him, you can contact him on his Skype; shigginsishere. He can also respond to you if you contact him through GMails at shigginsishere@gmail.com, and you can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere.