The Top 14 Anime Fights Of All Time, Ranked

With its sense of kinetic animation, stylized choreography, and tendency to heighten spectacle for the sake of emotional stakes and scope, the anime medium has some of the best-rendered fight sequences in animation or live-action. Considering the ever-present reminder that anime is a medium, not a genre as occasionally misattributed, the fights can be as sci-fi as a multiversal martial arts tournament to a serene duel between samurai. With that in mind, here are the 14 best anime fights of all time, from the early days of concerted fight staging with the original '80s "Dragon Ball" to memorable scuffles from contemporary anime series.

Across such an exhaustive medium, many of the fights included in this article could stand as anime's very best but we've narrowed it down to singular, standout battles within different series and movies. Whether serving as the explosive punctuation to longstanding rivalries and character arcs or incorporating unique tactics and techniques, anime has delivered some truly impressive action set pieces. With anime becoming an increasingly prominent fixture of the mainstream, here are the best fights that the medium has to offer that everyone from seasoned fans to newcomers should check out.

Compared to the graceful martial artists and casually cool science fiction heroes leading other shows, "Vinland Saga" is nowhere near as elegant and that's by design. In the story of obsessive revenge framed against the backdrop of England at the height of the Viking Age, protagonist Thorfinn sets out to avenge his father's death. This leads Thorfinn to face off against his own uncle, Thorkell the Tall, with the two facing each other in a bitter rematch after an earlier skirmish costs Thorkell two of his fingers.

The second fight between Thorfinn and Thorkell runs longer than their initial duel, heightening the graphic violence as the uncle and nephew square off, culminating in Thorfinn breaking an arm and Thorkell losing an eye. Though Thorfinn has grown considerably as a fighter since he last fought his uncle, Thorkell overpowers him for much of the bout, easily knocking him around as Thorfinn endures a harrowing gauntlet of punishment. The ugliest and most visceral fight in this article, the duel highlights that "Vinland Saga" is well done but may not be everyone's cup of tea.

The latter half of "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood" has a shadowy figure known as Father unleashing the homunculi, the sinister personifications of the seven deadly sins. Father is a particularly personal enemy for protagonists Edward and Alphonse Elric's estranged father, resembling their father Van Hohenheim after being made from Hohenheim's blood. After absorbing the soul of an omnipotent being beyond the Gate of Truth, Father ascends to godhood, resulting in Edward and Alphonse leading everyone to stop the villain from subjugating humanity.

The final battle with Father brings together all the surviving allies of "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood" for what is truly the most epic fight in either anime adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa's fantasy adventure. Father shrugs off the combined military might assembled against him and it's all hands on deck in the chaotic struggle. Perhaps a bit too overwhelming — and with Alphonse's heroic sacrifice to defeat Father undone too quickly and neatly in the aftermath — the Elric brothers' last stand is still a tremendous, extended set piece.

Eiichiro Oda's "One Piece" has become an enduring global phenomenon that has run for over 20 years and 1000 episodes as it tells the adventures of young pirate Monkey D. Luffy. Across the entire series, one of the most formidable opponents Luffy has ever faced is Big Mom Pirate Commander Charlotte Katakuri, who is a vicious hand-to-hand combatant. After several minor skirmishes, Luffy and Katakuri finally have it out in the 850th episode of "One Piece," in the most grueling challenge for Luffy yet.

In the face of Katakuri's overwhelming strength, Luffy essentially plays rope-a-dope with the rival pirate, enduring an intense, prolonged beating as Katakuri unleashes a barrage of attacks. As Katakuri begins to falter in stamina and Luffy grows accustomed to his fighting style, the Straw Hat Pirate turns the tables to defeat Katakuri in a stunning reversal. The only thing holding back Luffy and Katakuri's brawl is that Katakuri injures himself to make up for his sister Charlotte Flampe interfering in the duel in a display of honor. Still, this fight still stands head and shoulders above the rest in "One Piece" and demonstrates a quiet strategic side to the series' normally cheerful protagonist.

"Jujutsu Kaisen" depicts a vision of Japan packed with fiendishly personified curses that terrorize the populace, prompting a private high school to train its students on how to hunt the curses down. The most frenzied battle for the series yet comes in the two-part finale to the anime adaptation's first season, with protagonist Yuji Itadori and his friend Nobara Kugisaki taking on two powerful curses at once. As the Death Painting Curse Kechizu is cornered, his older brother Eso attacks Nobara, leaving Yuji to continue his confrontation with Kechizu alone.

This heated two-on-two fight demonstrates just how formidable Yuji and Nobara have both grown since the start of the series in their most harrowing battle yet. With Eso and Kechizu both using respectively unique attacks and operating as a team, Yuji and Nobara are similarly forced to learn how best to work together to take on the dual threat. Blending supernatural horror with frenetic magical action, the "Jujutsu Kaisen" season finale showcases what the show does best before coming to an abrupt end.

The second season of "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure," subtitled "Stardust Crusaders," sees the vampiric villain Dio Brando emerge and target protagonist Jotaro Kujo and those close to him. Possessing the ability to temporarily freeze time, Dio is a sadistic enemy who kills Jotaro's reformed friend Noriaki Kakyoin and grievously wounds his grandfather Joseph Joestar. Despite the overwhelming odds against him, Jotaro takes on Dio in a brutal brawl that spans the final three episodes of the season.

What makes this fight stand above the rest in "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" is its sense of dynamics in dominance, with Jotaro and Dio's control over the battle alternating in surprising turns across the skirmish. Dio's limited time manipulation makes for a visually interesting action sequence, while Jotaro's strategy in turning it against the vampire underscores how brilliant a tactician he can be. Sheer spectacle, Jotaro and Dio's showdown is a long time coming and a bloody masterclass on how to maintain a viewer's attention across such a prolonged conflict.

True to its title, "One Punch Man" hinges on the gimmick of its goofy protagonist Saitama being able to dispatch even the more intimidating enemies with a single blow, with this fatal move occasionally delivered by accident. In contrast to the simplicity with which Saitama defeats his opponents, his greatest desire is to finally face someone worthy enough of withstanding more than one of his punches. This wish appears to come true at the end of the first season, with Saitama repelling an alien invasion led by the extraterrestrial conqueror Boros.

The battle begins (to Saitama's visible joy) with Boros surviving his first punch thanks to his otherworldly armor as the alien unleashes his full power. Following this, Saitama and Boros' resulting skirmish ends up tearing across the entire invading spaceship, creating widespread damage from within as they continue their duel. Of course, as with all things "One Punch Man," Saitama ends up easily taking down Boros with a single punch when he gets serious, but the fight leading up to this moment is a neon-lit showcase for the series.

Though much of "Cowboy Bebop" is a sci-fi romp blending western and noir aesthetics set to an uptempo jazz soundtrack, the show takes a melancholic turn by its final stretch of episodes. After his long-lost love Julia is tragically killed, Spike has nothing left to lose and decides to take on the man responsible for her death, his arch-nemesis Vicious. Despite Vicious' entire crime syndicate sitting between the two longtime rivals, Spike launches a one-man assault on Vicious' headquarters to avenge Julia.

Each level Spike ascends in the syndicate's headquarters ups both the stakes against him and the emotional intensity of each subsequent set piece. This extended sequence really works best within the context of the larger "Cowboy Bebop" series, with viewers finally getting to learn why Spike is the way he is and getting to know him across two seasons. With the one thing Spike truly had to live for yanked away from him as soon as he reunited with Julia, he embarks on a vendetta guaranteeing his certain death. Emotionally, Spike is dead long before he reaches Vicious and the series' ending has the heartbreaking quality of watching this protagonist audiences have come to love lose himself to reckless self-destruction.