Favourite Anime Fight (30 Days of Anime – Years 1 to 5) – Day 26

30 Days of Anime Year 1 to 5 The Otaku Author Favourite Anime Fight

As much as I’ve seen my appreciation of chilled anime increase, I still can’t help but enjoy a good fight. I love the choreography and the way it reveals just who these characters are. Let’s get it on!

Favourite Anime Fight (30 Days of Anime – Years 1 to 5) – Day 26

I believe that writing fights is one of my strengths when it comes to writing fiction and I’m sure that’s come from the way I love to watch them over and over again. When DVDs became a thing, I must have watched the fights from Blade and The Matrix countless times. A great fight is like a dance. The movement should flow and snap. There should be pauses to give you a chance to breathe and nothing more. Any fight that has time for exposition or monologues is not a fight. It needs to feel real and it must be relentless. These are some of the best!

Year 1 – Hinawa versus Arrow – Fire Force (Season One)

Fire Force uses such a vivid and exciting art style that it’s hard not to get caught up in the action. So, when Hinawa and Arrow came face to face in an abandoned subway tunnel and the tone shifted to more of a greyscale, you knew things were about to get intense. Both use a ranged attack, however, they were also standing at opposite ends of a tunnel with nowhere to hide. They stood there like gunslingers from a Western taking shots at one another, however, it was like each of them was using a cannon instead of a gun. Eventually, Hinawa won by firing his shot instantly after Arrow. His bullet stole the flames from her arrow as they passed, giving it the power it needed to take her down. This was an intense fight which was beautifully enhanced by the direction.

Year 2 – Akame versus Esdeath – Akame ga Kill! (Season One)

Akame ga Kill is packed full of exciting fights and fast-paced action, however, there is one fight that takes things to another level. Having destroyed most of the revolutionary army with a single attack, Esdeath found herself facing Akame in what was sure to be the final battle for one of them. Tatsumi had just died saving the citizens which caused Esdeath to believe that he was weak. However, she still had feelings for him. Akame was forced to use her trump card, cutting her skin with her cursed sword. This swung the fight in her favour and even allowed her to cut Esdeath’s hand. However, Esdeath instantly sliced off her own arm and continued to fight. She used her ability to freeze time, but Akame was ready for her. After failing to locate Akame, Esdeath’s grip on time slipped allowing Akame to land a killer blow. Before Esdeath died, she embraced Tatsumi’s body and then froze them both in a block of ice which shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. I know the anime ending gets a rough ride from a lot of the fans, but for me, that is the better ending.

Year 3 – Nobara versus Kechizu – Jujutsu Kaisen (Season One)

I could have picked any of five or six fights from Jujutsu Kaisen, but this one stands out to me as being a little bit special. Nobara fights with nails and a hammer. If she hits a nail into something connected to a cursed spirit, she can destroy it without actually touching it. However, the cursed spirits they were fighting seemed to understand this and gave her no chance. Well, that was what they thought. Kechizu used his blood to poison Nobara. That was her opening. She grabbed a nail and drove it into her arm, using Kechizu’s poisoned blood that was flowing through her veins to target him. That moment showed us who Nobara is. She is utterly fearless and not someone that you want to mess with.

Year 4 – Mundane Mann versus Iris Midgar – The Eminence in Shadow (Season One)

Once more, I could have picked several fights from The Eminence in Shadow and been happy, but this one was by far the most interesting for several reasons. Cid had entered a fighting tournament disguised as Mundane Mann and made it to the semi-final where he faced Iris Misgar, the tournament favourite. However, as soon as the fight began, Iris leapt back in a panic after seeing how her attack would cost her head. She struggled for some time trying to get a read on Mann, but each attack would be countered and cost her a limb. Eventually, she loses it and charges in regardless. That’s when she notices that Mann hasn’t even drawn his sword. But she was sure he had. Cid defeated her by breaking her resolve through a series of feints using his insane speed. It reminded me of a real sword fight where it is usually won with a single strike. I loved how clever this fight was. It just goes to show that you don’t need flashy animation to make a fight exciting.

Year 5 – Jinwoo Sung versus Igres the Bloodred – Solo Leveling (Season One)

One thing that Solo Leveling did that was amazing was the way that each fight was better than the last one. The first season ended with the Job-change Quest which put Jinwoo up against Igres the Bloodred, a monster of a knight with unbelievable power and incredible skills. The fight was insane and I loved how Igres was a far more honourable opponent than many Jinwoo had faced. When Jinwoo put away his dagger, realising it wouldn’t work on Igres, Igres lay down his sword and fought on, hand to hand. Maybe that was its undoing, or maybe it was just Jinwoo’s determination. Either way, the fight was spectacular to watch and left me desperate for more. The second season has just started and after reading on in the manwha, the fights are only going to get better.

Final Thoughts!

Wow! I’ve got myself all pumped up just writing about these incredible fights. Luckily, these aren’t the only amazing fights that I’ve seen over the years and there are many that came close to taking the spots from the ones listed above. This is one category where I could probably have done a top ten fights from each year, maybe even more. Anyhow, that’s for another day… For now, I must prepare for the next post.

Next, I’ll reveal my five Favourite Male Anime Characters from the last five years of the Otaku Author. I’ve seen this category referred to as best boy before, but that doesn’t sit well with me. Anyhow, we’re approaching the end of my 30 Days of Anime challenge. It’s been a lot of fun and is definitely something I will do again. Thanks for visiting.

Other Posts in the Series

30 Days of Anime (Years 1 to 5)

DayChallenge
1My First Anime
2Most Nostalgic Anime
3Most Emotional Anime
4Favourite Hot Springs Episode
5Favourite Action Anime
6Favourite Anime Villain
7Favourite Fantasy Anime
8Favourite Horror Anime
9Favourite Sports Anime
10Most Rewatched Anime
11Favourite Anime Couple
12Favourite Anime Protagonist
13Favourite Supernatural Anime
14Favourite Romance Anime
15Most Episodes of an Anime
16Favourite Science Fiction Anime
17Favourite Isekai Anime
18Favourite Drama Anime
19Most Shocking Anime Ending
20Favourite Ecchi Anime
21Favourite Mystery Anime
22Weirdest Anime
23Most Chilled Anime
24Favourite Comedy Anime
25Favourite Harem Anime
26Favourite Anime Fight
27Favourite Male Anime Character
28Favourite Female Anime Character
29Favourite Rewatched Anime
30Favourite New Anime

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9 Comments

  1. Sometimes a fight scene can work with exchanged dialogue between opposing sides, but yeah, long-winded monologues (and sometimes flashbacks that take up one whole episode) make the fight feel unbelievable. Bleach is one series which could’ve been more impactful without such stuff, but I guess early 2000s seem cool to listen to their reason to defeat their enemy.

    Still figuring out my future fight scenes, given the subgenre I’m writing with, and somebody should let me know if I exceed the budget limit if it was “translated in drawing panels”.

    • I can see the occasional word or phrase being acceptable, but as soon as someone has time for a monologue, I get frustrated. You don’t see sports matches where ever stands around to listen to one player tell a story. You wouldn’t see it in actual conflict.

      While I enjoyed Record of Ragnarok, it has to be one of the worst offenders for dragging out fights. I think one fight was less than a minute long and somehow filled four episodes with flashbacks and exposition.

      That’s the best thing about writing – don’t worry about budget for the fight. That’s something someone else can worry about at a later stage. Just write the best fight you can and see what happens.

    • Nice! There are so many great fights in anime. The medium definitely lends itself to it.

    • I’m holding back on season two for a little while. Don’t have time at the moment and I’d rather not wait a week between episodes. I’ve read a lot of the manwha though so I’m not missing out just yet.

What did you think?