In the most recent physical issue of the “Icebox,” I discussed criteria for a good anime fight and listed a couple of my favorites. However, there are yet more to place in the spotlight. Be sure to read part one from the previous issue first.
Last time, I mentioned that I was actually not a big fan of fights in “Naruto” because they were frequently interrupted by flashbacks and filler episodes. Also, the main character, Naruto, barely has a diverse kit which makes it boring to watch him fight anyone. However, the anime does still have some great fights overall.
My most favorite fight in “Naruto” is probably Madara Uchiha vs. almost everyone. The anime builds up to the moment he is brought back from the dead by displaying his backstory and regarding him as the “Ghost of the Uchiha.” When he finally arrives, he fights the entire world by himself and succeeds. The only ones to get even close to him were Might Guy, Kakashi Hatake, and Obito Uchiha before the main characters, Naruto and Sasuke, take over and barely defeat Madara.
Another amazing fight in this anime was Naruto vs. the Six Paths of Pain. The entire Pain backstory has viewers sympathizing with the concept of poverty and war. The villain, Pain, shares the same master as Naruto, so the fight is like watching darkness and light clash.
First, Pain destroys the entire Hidden Leaf Village and even kills a bunch of important characters. Then, Naruto makes a grand entrance after mastering the “Toad Sage Arts” and destroys all of Pain’s six bodies before tracking down the real person controlling them. Afterwards, Naruto uses his special “talk no jutsu” to convince the real identity of Pain, named Nagato, to obtain peace without violence. Nagato eventually realizes his mistakes and sacrifices himself to revive the people he killed.
Naruto’s “talk no jutsu” is a technique named by fans. In short, he would rather talk to his opponent and convince them to change their ways than to kill them. Most of the time he accomplishes this by relating to the opponent and having an absurdly long flashback. If you plan to watch Naruto, consider yourself warned about this technique.
The next anime to discuss is the increasingly popular, “Jujutsu Kaisen.” This anime is known for its killer soundtrack, dark themes and hardcore action scenes. There is a lot of gore and death in this anime, especially with characters you want to root for.
My favorite fights in “Jujutsu Kaisen” might be very different from the average fan’s choices. I enjoy fights that are technical, rather than just watching Gojo “aura farm” as he defeats his opponents in a quick minute.
After having read the manga, I still remember one of the earliest fights in the story where Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro team up to fight a sorcerer, Jiro Awasake, during the earlier stages of the Shibuya arc. Basically, the two of them struggle to beat Awasake, who seems not to budge after eating even the strongest attacks. Eventually, Itadori and Fushiguro figured out the secret behind Jiro’s technique, which was that he could switch the intensity of damage inflicted upon himself. For example, a flick of the finger could send him flying if he has his technique active. At the same time, a severe blow would do nothing. With this knowledge, Itadori and Fushiguro synchronize their movements to draw out Awasaka’s technique and defeat him.
Another fight during the Shibuya arc that I enjoyed was Toji Fushiguro versus the cursed spirit, Dagon. First of all, Toji’s entire existence in “Jujutsu Kaisen” is to be an unstoppable force that is untouchable by way of sorcery simply because he has absolutely zero cursed energy. What this means is that he uses sheer physical strength to flawlessly defeat curses and sorcerers. Originally, he fought for money and was hired to kill Satoru Gojo. After nearly succeeding, he was defeated by Gojo’s “Hollow Purple” technique, which is so powerful that it has its own theme song.
In Shibuya, however, Toji is revived by a curse user who failed to control him simply because he doesn’t abide by the way of sorcery. He then proceeds to rip a hole in Dagon’s domain and kill him effortlessly. The fun part about this scene was witnessing Toji’s menacing presence as he makes a second appearance in the anime. Dagon had been quite powerful and was holding a group of jujutsu sorcerers at bay before Toji tore him apart like it was nothing.
The next anime to discuss is “Sakamoto Days”. This anime has recently been adapted on Netflix, but I still prefer the manga. The story is about a retired hitman, Taro Sakamoto, who fell in love with a woman that runs a convenience store. He gets married and has a daughter and then becomes fat. Although his appearance is very different from his assassin days, his fighting skills are still in prime condition. Sakamoto is known to fight enemies with random objects and improvising solutions.
In the manga, Sakamoto is targeted by the Japanese assassin syndicate at which he used to work. The story eventually dives into a main antagonist whose goal was to turn everyone in Japan into an assassin with free will.
The fights in this story are simply genius. There are so many characters with unique skills and random weapons that make you question your own creativity. Simply put, every fight has you thinking that it can’t get any better before it does just that.
For example, a recent fight that happens in the manga involves a fight between skilled snipers. At some point, one of the snipers shoots down a helicopter so that it explodes and creates a wind tunnel underneath an arched bridge. As a result of this spontaneous hot wind, the underside of the bridge causes a draft that launches air towards the opponent. In other words, one of the snipers turned that bridge into a giant sniper to defeat his enemy.
There was also a moment where one of the main characters is fighting a master swordsman and almost dies by getting slashed right through the head. However, the slash was so powerful and had enough speed to pass through every atom in the character’s body, meaning that he avoided death due to the tunnel effect.
It is the impossible, yet somewhat realistic technical aspects in “Sakamoto Days” that makes it a goldmine for good fights.
Finally, the last fight to mention is not a physical fight. In the soccer anime, “Blue Lock,” the main character, Yoichi Isagi, is constantly battling the prodigy, Rin Itoshi, for the top spot at the Blue Lock program. It was really interesting to see how the writer depicted a soccer rivalry. Both Isagi and Rin analyze the playing field to a scientific level, and their egos clash even when they are expected to work together.
That will be all for the anime fights that I enjoy. There are plenty of others out there, but it’s time to switch back to game reviews. Keep it cool!