10 Most Violent Fights in Shonen Anime History, Ranked
Descriptions
The world of shonen anime features plenty of action-oriented series where martial arts, magic, and swords will usually win the day. These combat-oriented shonen series rank among the most popular in the entire anime industry thanks to their eye-popping combat sequences. This includes older series from the 1980s and '90s that still hold up, and plenty of new series that keep the action going.
Some fight scenes in shonen anime are defined by clever tricks and resourceful thinking, such as Stand battles in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Other shonen action scenes are all about extreme violence, where the heroes and villains go all-out to beat each other senseless with their fists, kicks, and even bone-shattering magical attacks. These fight scenes aren't for the faint of heart, but for action fans, anime doesn't get any better than this.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood includes plenty of painfully violent and gruesome fights, such as Heinkel the lion chimera biting Kimblee's neck or Scar tearing apart state alchemists' faces with his hand. This shonen series' most violent fight, meanwhile, pitted the tsundere Roy Mustang against the homunculus Envy.
During the Promised Day, Roy took on a full-strength Envy in a one-sided fight, torturing his foe to death over and over. Roy's devastating flame alchemy repeatedly burned Envy to the bone, and Roy showed no mercy. He used such extreme force, Roy wore out Envy's entire Philosopher's Stone, an incredible feat born of violence.
9 Naruto Uzumaki Vs Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)
The Naruto anime has dozens of classic shonen fights to its name, some of them shockingly graphic and savage for a kid's show. One such fight is protagonist Naruto Uzumaki's first all-out duel against his friend turned enemy Sasuke Uchiha at the Valley of the End.
This fight concluded the Sasuke retrieval story arc, where Naruto and Sasuke pummeled each other with their fists, jutsu, and even Kurama's chakra. It was a lengthy and brutal affair, and even though Sasuke won with sheer talent, it was a close and painful victory for him.
8 Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Vs Anti-Spiral (Gurren Lagann)
The final battle in Gurren Lagann was fought on an incomprehensible scale, depicting the Super Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann fighting the mighty Anti-Spiral one last time to decide the fate of the universe. In a way, the fight doesn't feel palpably violent, since it doesn't show people getting hurt and bleeding. But the sheer scale of this fight makes up for it.
Anyone who loves a climactic, all-or-nothing battle of good vs evil will love this incredible fight. The violent force used by both sides is almost incalculable, with the fighters being bigger than the universe itself while hitting each other with galaxies. No other fight in anime is quite like this, and it was a memorable experience for all mecha anime fans.
7 Takemichi Hanagaki & Friends Vs Taiju Shiba (Tokyo Revengers)
The second season of Tokyo Revengers introduced a terrifying new villain, the brawny Taiju Shiba. During the Christmas Showdown arc, the dandere protagonist Takemichi Hanagaki sought a way to end the fighting and save everyone, but he couldn't avoid fighting Taiju Shiba hand to hand.
The fight in that church was brutal, even by Tokyo Revengers' standards. Partway through this battle, Taiju's own sister Yuzuha stabbed him, but Taiju was far from finished. Takemichi was beaten within an inch of his life fighting Taiju, but he refused to surrender, and his friend Hakkai also fought bravely until help finally arrived.
6 Kenpachi Zaraki Vs Nnoitora Gilga (Bleach)
The Bleach anime is packed with terrific and bloody fights, including some truly savage battles in the Hueco Mundo story arc. Soon after Ichigo's duel with Grimmjow ended, Captain Kenpachi Zaraki crossed blades with the 5th Espada, Nnoitora Gilga, in a duel to the death.
Kenpachi and Nnoitora tore each other apart, and Nnoitora punches his hand clean through Kenpachi's chest twice. Still, Kenpachi refused to go down, and he used kendo to hack off five of Nnoitora's six arms to turn the tide of battle. Then, on request, Kenpachi struck down Nnoitora for good, finishing him off.
5 Videl Vs Spopovich (Dragon Ball Z)
The venerated Dragon Ball franchise features some of shonen's most savage and iconic fight scenes of all time. Many of these ultra-violent fights involve the series' strongest characters, but for variety's sake, Dragon Ball Z also depicts cool fights between minor characters such as Videl.
In the World Tournament arc, Videl took on the massive Spopovich in a straightfoward battle of fist against fist. Videl fought well, but she couldn't handle Spopovich's overwhelming power, and she was defeated in their brutal match. Then, Gohan took Videl to the hospital for much-needed medical care, where he gave her a Senzu Bean to recover.
4 Captain Levi Ackerman Vs The Female Titan (Attack On Titan)
In Attack on Titan's first season, Captain Levi Ackerman intended to escort Eren through the forest and avoid combat with the Female Titan if possible. Then the fearsome Female Titan caught up and massacred Levi's allies, forcing Levi to enter the bloody fray.
The violence reached new heights when Levi drew his swords and ferociously attacked his Titan enemy. He tore the Female Titan apart from head to foot, including stabbing both of its eyes at once, and Levi's actions freed Eren from that Titan's mouth. Then, the overwhelmed Female Titan was captured, ending the fight conclusively.
3 Monkey D. Luffy Vs Charlotte Katakuri (One Piece)
In One Piece's Whole Cake saga, Luffy challenged the Big Mom pirates to get his crewmate Sanji Vinsmoke back, and that meant fighting Charlotte Linlin's top general, Charlotte Katakuri. Luffy and Katakuri duked it out in Brulee's mirror world, where they fought as true equals. Both had martial arts expertise and stretchy Devil Fruit powers.
This savage fight lasted for many episodes, and Luffy took a serious beating. Despite his horrific injuries and exhaustion, Luffy fought on, and finally triumphed with Gear Four's newest form. Also, defeating such a high-bounty opponent drove up Luffy's own bounty, a fitting reward for this hard-won victory.
2 Yusuke Urameshi Vs Younger Toguro (Yu Yu Hakusho)
Yu Yu Hakusho is a 1990s anime with many brutal fights to its name, including protagonist Yusuke Urameshi's battle against the younger Toguro brother in the Dark Tournament. This incredibly violent and exciting fight is a prime example of why the Dark Tournament arc is so famous.
This was an all-out slugfest between two mighty martial artists, and it was a total nail-biter. Yusuke was pushed to the limit, especially when Toguro unveiled his horrific demon form, and at first, it seemed Yusuke had actually died. This fight was also an early and excellent example of the villain revealing ever-stronger forms to keep upping the stakes.
1 Goku Vs Frieza (Dragon Ball Z)
Son Goku's lengthy battle against the villainous Frieza was the battle of a generation in Dragon Ball Z. Goku went all-out fighting to defend Namek from Frieza, and it was an absolutely brutal affair. Frieza famously powered up several times, assuming new forms to challenge Goku even more.
In this fight, Goku used everything he had, from underwater Kamehameha attacks to the mighty Spirit Bomb and Kaio-ken x10 and x20, among other moves. It was tough to watch the lovable Goku getting beaten so savagely in this fight, but Goku fought on, determined to save the day against impossible odds, no matter the pain.
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