The Best Anime Fights Of The 2020s, Ranked

Anime has steadily grown in popularity for the past few decades, including an especially large uptick in its growth since the mid-1990s. As a result, the medium is now a major part of mainstream international media, with many of the world’s most popular television series and feature films originating from Japanese animation.

Because of the prominence of action-oriented anime, combat naturally factors into its appeal. While the medium has an extensive history of memorable fights, the 2020s have already seen some of the best anime battles of all time, ranging from sociopolitical conflicts to one-on-one tests of strength.

Related

20 Best ’90s Anime That Get Even Better With Age

’90s anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop explore modern topics, helping them hold up in today’s animation landscape.

10 Dimple Shows His True Colors Against Pyscho Helmet

Mob Psycho 100

A psychic middle school boy tries to live a normal life and keep his growing powers under control, even though he constantly gets into trouble.

Mob Psycho 100 is rarely mentioned as one of the best shonen anime of the 21st century, yet it has regularly ranked as one of the medium’s most popular titles since debuting in 2015. Thanks to its stellar animation and lighthearted tone, it’s proven itself to be more than capable of producing memorable battles, including a surprising candidate for the best fights of the early 2020s: Dimple’s clash with Psycho Helmet.

Dimple is introduced as a villain at the beginning of Mob Psycho 100‘s first season, but after being defeated by Mob, he joins the esper’s side as a tentative ally. That said, the evil spirit never completely lets go of his desire to become a superior being. After merging with the Divine Tree in the series’ third season, he spawns a terrifying creation, Pyscho Helmet, that threatens to destroy both Dimple and Mob. In a touching display, Dimple doubles down on his bond with Mob, kickstarting a fight between the spirit and Pyscho Helmet that highlights the effect Mob has on those around him.

9 Asta & Yami Become True Equals In The Fight Against Dante

Black Clover

Asta and Yuno were abandoned together at the same church and have been inseparable since. As children, they promised that they would compete against each other to see who would become the next Emperor Magus.

Release Date

October 3, 2017

Cast

Dallas Reid , Jill Harris , Christopher Sabat , Micah Solusod , Brandon McInnis , Lydia MacKay

Studio

Pierrot

Related

Black Clover: 15 Strongest Villains In The Anime

Black Clover is an anime especially stacked with villains, and even the weaker ones would be able to rule over most other anime universes.

Although Black Clover has been on hiatus since 2021, the show arguably ends with the best fight in the entire series: Asta and Yami’s tag-team battle against Dante Zogratis, the leader of the Dark Triad. The war against the Spade Kingdom starts brewing prior to Black Clover‘s six-month timeskip, so when Dante finally shows up at the Black Bulls’ hideout, it immediately ignites fireworks.

Initially, Dante Zogratis’ strength seems to know no bounds, and he nearly kills several members of the Black Bulls. However, when Captain Yami arrives, he and Asta start a furious assault against the Spade Kingdom’s leader, showcasing some of the most satisfying teamwork in recent memory.

8 David Martinez Fights Adam Smasher And Etches His Name In Night City History

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Set in the universe of Cyberpunk: 2077, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners follows David, a young kid living on the streets trying to survive in the perilous Night City.

Release Date

September 13, 2022

Cast

Aoi Yuki , Kenichiro Ohashi , Kenjiro Tsuda , Kazuhiko Inoue

Distributor

Netflix

Production Company

CD Projekt RED, Trigger

The anime medium has steadily grown in popularity since the 1990s; however, it’s still not popular enough to regularly command partnerships with other media monoliths. This is why Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and its close association with the Cyberpunk 2077 video game was such a noteworthy development. Its narrative, set one year before the events of Cyberpunk 2077, features many characters from the video game, including its most memorable antagonist: Adam Smasher.

Adam Smasher is a cybernetic supersoldier who appears throughout both Cyberpunk projects, and ultimately, he’s the person who kills Edgerunners‘ protagonist, David Martinez, in its final battle. That said, their bloody fight is an epic way to end the series, buying David’s love interest, Lucy, just enough time to live out her dream of escaping to the Moon.

7 Roronoa Zoro And King The Wildfire’s Fight Launches One Piece To New Heights

One Piece

Follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew in order to find the greatest treasure ever left by the legendary Pirate, Gold Roger. The famous mystery treasure named “One Piece”.

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Studio

Toei Animation

Creator

Eiichirô Oda

Unlike most of the popular anime airing in the 2020s, One Piece‘s origins date all the way back to the 1990s. Eiichiro Oda’s flagship series is the best-selling manga of all time, but as of late, its anime adaptation has been making waves in the shonen community.

While Monkey D. Luffy’s fight with Kaido is a seminal moment in One Piece‘s narrative, it slightly polarized fans. On the other hand, Roronoa Zoro’s clash with King the Wildfire — Kaido’s second-in-command — was equally spectacular from an animation standpoint, and it didn’t suffer from any of the issues that some fans saw in Luffy’s climactic battle. This, coupled with the fight’s immense implications for Zoro, make it the series’ best fight since 2020.

6 Thorfinn Reignites His Fighting Spirit Against Snake

Vinland Saga

Thorfinn pursues a journey with his father’s killer in order to take revenge and end his life in a duel as an honorable warrior and pay his father an homage.

Studio

Wit Studio, Studio MAPPA

Creator

Makoto Yukimura

Number of Episodes

48 Episodes

Related

21 Anime To Watch If You Like Vinland Saga

Following the recent release of Season 2, fans will be looking for anime like Vinland Saga to deliver more thrilling storylines and stunning art.

The Vinland Saga manga has been published since 2005, but it wasn’t until 2019 that the series received an anime adaptation. Immediately, the Viking-laden series became a smash hit, due in large part to the mature presentation of its protagonist, Thorfinn.

After witnessing his father die in Vinland Saga‘s opening arc, Thorfinn goes on a brutal journey for revenge; however, when it’s time to exact his revenge, it’s much different than he expected. This event causes Thorfinn to lose his will to fight until well into the series’ second season, at which point he finds himself backed into a corner against the formidable opponent Snake. Seeing Thorfinn conquer his demons in real-time is arguably the highlight of the entire narrative thus far, easily qualifying it as one of the best anime fights of the 2020s.

5 Deku & Eri Combine Their Powers To Defeat Overhaul

My Hero Academia

First Film

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes

Latest Film

My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission

First TV Show

My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia‘s upcoming season is set to push Izuku Midoriya and Class 1-A to their limit. However, in terms of entertainment value, it will have a hard time overcoming the bar set by the iconic battle between Deku and the twisted villain Overhaul.

During the first half of My Hero Academia‘s fourth season, Izuku Midoriya and several members of Class 1-A take part in a mission to defeat the criminal organization Shie Hassaikai. The group’s leader, Overhaul, is incredibly strong, so when Deku goes one-on-one with the villain to rescue a young girl named Eri, it’s easily the protagonist’s most difficult task to date. Luckily, Eri’s Quirk allows Deku to utilize 100% of One For All’s raw power, resulting in the nail-biting defeat of Overhaul and his cronies.

4 Denji Exacts His Revenge Against Katana Man

Chainsaw Man

Following a betrayal, a young man left for dead is reborn as a powerful devil-human hybrid after merging with his pet devil and is soon enlisted into an organization dedicated to hunting devils. When his father died, Denji was stuck with a huge debt and no way to pay it back.

Studio

MAPPA

Creator

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Number of Episodes

12

MAPPA, the animation studio behind a slew of popular anime series such as Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen, has been the subject of scrutiny after several of its animators voiced concerns about an unhealthy work environment. That said, the studio still dominated 2023 thanks to its involvement in various anime, none of which made a bigger splash than Chainsaw Man.

Chainsaw Man pushed the boundaries of shonen anime, transforming Denji’s journey from an above-average dark fantasy series to a groundbreaking, cinema-quality experience. Its combat scenes are fantastically choreographed, as most clearly evidenced by the second battle between its protagonist and Katana Man. Their clash wraps up the first season on a high note, setting up what is sure to be one of the biggest sophomore seasons for an anime in recent memory.

3 Paradis Strikes And Takes Back Eren Jaeger

Attack On Titan

Original title: Shingeki no Kyojin.
After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Jaeger vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction in Attack on Titan.

Seasons

4 Seasons

Studio

Wit Studios, MAPPA

Creator

Hajime Isayama

Despite its unusual production schedule, Attack on Titan has been a mainstay in the shonen genre since its debut in 2013. Its main character, Eren Jaeger, and his allies slowly turn the tides against their Titan enemies throughout the anime’s first three seasons, only to find out that their true enemy has been the rest of humanity the entire time.

Starting in Attack on Titan‘s fourth season, the series’ main characters mount an attack on their oppressors, starting with a brutal assault on the War Hammer Titan and the people of Marley. Although Eren and his allies emerge victorious from the battle, their acts of war cause many Eldians to question whether they’re the ones in the wrong. This type of moral ambiguity has always been a part of Attack on Titan, but the fight between Eren, his allies, and Marley marks a notable shift in its presentation.

2 Rengoku Gives His All To Save Demon Slayer’s Heroes

Demon Slayer

When Tanjiro Kamado returns home to find his family was attacked and killed by demons, he discovers his younger sister Nezuko was the only survivor. As Nezuko slowly becomes a demon, Tanjiro sets out to find a cure for her and become a demon slayer so he can avenge his family.

Release Date

April 6, 2019

Cast

Natsuki Hanae , Zach Aguilar , Abby Trott , Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Studio

ufotable

Creator

Koyoharu Gotouge

Related

Demon Slayer: Every Hashira, Ranked According To Strength

Displaying impressive power on the field of battle, the Hashira have repeatedly cemented their status as the strongest Demon Slayers.

Demon Slayer was one of the most popular manga of the 2010s, but even its biggest fans couldn’t have predicted the success of its anime adaptation. While the first season of the series was universally praised, it was the franchise’s first feature-length film — Mugen Train — that truly changed the anime landscape by becoming the highest-grossing Japanese move of all time.

Mugen Train follows Demon Slayer‘s quartet of protagonists as they battle against Enmu, one of Muzan Kibutsuji’s Twelve Kizuki. However, the movie’s final sequence, which features Rengoku the Flame Hashira taking on Akaza of the Upper Six Kizuki, steals the show en route to becoming one of the best anime fights of all time. Its stellar animation, emotional weight, and narrative consequences are all noteworthy, and it culminates in the hardest-hitting death of the series thus far.

1 Yuji Itadori’s Fight With Choso Is A Love Letter To Anime

Jujutsu Kaisen

A boy swallows a cursed talisman – the finger of a demon – and becomes cursed himself. He enters a shaman’s school to be able to locate the demon’s other body parts and thus exorcise himself.

Studio

MAPPA

Creator

Gege Akutami

Number of Episodes

47 Episodes

For many years, Shonen Jump’s Big Three — Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece — had a vice grip on the anime medium. Thankfully, contemporary series like Jujutsu Kaisen started to create legacies of their own, giving life to a brand-new generation of shonen media and pushing the boundaries of the genre. A major part of Jujutsu Kaisen‘s appeal is its tremendous production value (even in light of the issues plaguing its animation studio), and nowhere is this on display more than Yuji Itadori’s fight with Choso.

Choso isn’t the strongest character in Jujutsu Kaisen, but he easily qualifies as a Special-Grade Curse. As a result, he’s the perfect test for Yuji Itadori, who is gearing up to fight Mahito a few episodes later. The pair’s fight is as well-choreographed as any in recent memory, and it’s the perfect balance of gritty, close-quarters combat and dazzling displays of cursed energy manipulation. In addition to this, the fight slowly reveals a previously unknown bond between the two characters, making it the perfect example of a modern-generation anime series using combat to subvert expectations.