A great deal of popularanimecaters to the innate desire to watch characters fight each other or duel to the death. But certain shows carve a niche for themselves by dedicating a lot of time to physical interchange between characters with long cuts of just hand-to-hand fight choreography.
There are countless ways to animate action that incorporate tons of categories of animation, from walking to running, liquid animation to effects work, etc.Plenty of popular shonen excel at bombastic displaysof superhuman ability, displayed through unique and expressive effects animation and simple choreography made more special thanks to great key animation, or Genga (原画) in Japanese.
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While a lot ofanimehave great fights, there are some that go above and beyond to create action that borrows more heavily from real-world martial arts. The results are some of the most hyped fights that exist in anime. Specifically, this article covers shows or films that consistently deliver fights with this mentality.
5Vivy: Flourite Eye’s Song
Vivyis a love child of Wit Studio and director Shinpei Ezaki, and the anime is about an android whose mission is to make everyone happy and tries to save the world. It’s been lovingly referred to asTerminatorbut with an idol singer as the protagonist and the longer the show went on, the more that the action began to stand out to viewers.
By episode 9, there were already stand-out action scenes, but the ninth episode was likely what convinced a lot of viewers that hadn’t watched it yet to check it out. That episode’s big fight was animated by Masahiro Tokumaru who could be called a mad genius considering their work on this show and the pilot movie, seen below.
Choreography is impressive in animation because of how elaborate motion can be achieved through greaterorfewer frames and still look fantastic. The fast and frantic motion ofVivy’s fight scenes emphasizes powerful kicks andandroids punching each other through walls. In this way, the sound design helps the impacts land properly, but Tokumaru’s animation goes an extra step by implementing slow-motion.
Animating slow-motion in hand-drawn Genga is a complex process, and the effect seen inVivyisn’t just smooth, it’s edited with an eye-catching warp effect. The fact that the show is animated as smoothly as it iswhile preserving the detailed art designthat drew many eyes to this series is a testament to this production’s beauty. [watch here]
When the main theme hits and Vivy starts attacking her opponent, it’s impossible to look away. Tokumaru’s work, in particular, is so impressive that it boggles the mind how he hasn’t become more popular. It’s a source of compliments among his peers, such as character designer Shizue Kaneko, who said of Tokumaru’s past work on theMonster Strikemovie:
“Masahiro Tokumaru did the singing scene in this movie. I was impressed by his key animation, which was as thick as a dictionary.”
-Shizue Kaneko (source)
4Jujutsu Kaisen
Lots of shonen animate fights are based on martial arts styles of the east, as do several of the entries on this list.Narutois a great example of an anime that, despite its low points in production, has offered some of the greatest fights in the medium. MAPPA’sJujutsu Kaisenis the newest shonen to inspire awe, and its action choreography is some of the best in recent years.
In the same year thatJujutsu Kaisenaired, its Director, Sunghoo Park, also directedThe God of High Schoolfor Crunchyroll Originals. Needless to say, it was a busy year, yet their touch felt no less impactful onKaisen, which went on to receive critical acclaim for its characters, music, and of course, its animation.
Jujutsu Kaisen’s cast have unique weaponry, fighting styles, and abilities, but when characters get up close and personal, the fast-paced combat is a constant. Take for instance Itadori and Todo’s iconic battle against Hanami. Not only is the choreography tight, but the use of characters' abilities in tandem is highly clever, creating an added layer of tension.
A lot of metrics that went into selecting the anime on this list have to do not only with speed and the literal complexity within a time frame but also the character animation on display. “Character animation” broadly refers to sakuga focused on mimicking movement that is lifelike or otherwise expresses identifiable emotion.
In episode 17 ofJujutsu Kaisen,an episode centered on many of the female characters, the fight between Maki and Miwa illustrates character through action. The use of speed-ramping to slow down and emphasize expressions, and the lifelike responses to attacks add weight to the fight. This fills the moments between blows with tons of character and gives the battle a narrative flow.
3Mob Psycho 100
Mob Psychois remembered predominantly for its bombastic and at times abstract representations of psychic abilities, often leading to a lot of effects animation. However, certain characters' psychic fighting styles lend themselves to more close-quarters combat. And even with characters whose styles don’t, the action finds unique ways to get them involved.
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Some of the mostimpressive choreography and storyboards come from season 2when a group of psychics corners an adversary with a teleportation ability. Similar toJujutsu Kaisen, the action considers every combatant’s abilities and then has them clash together in a relentless brawl where every second counts. [watch here]
One group is trying desperately to make so much as a scratch on the teleporter but all of their abilities are rendered null. The fight has so many moving pieces to convey the urgency of the fight but also how dire the stakes are. A lot ofMob Psycho’s fights move at a mile a minute, but the best action scenes make a great case for how much planning goes into these battles.
2Cowboy Bebop (Specifically The Movie)
To favor theCowboy Bebopmovie over the seriesmight seem odd, but it isn’t done lightly. Yes, much ofBebop’s action takes inspiration from Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do fighting style and the 26 episodes in total have a lot of fantastic martial arts action. However, the movie is everything great about the show but taken to another level.
Studio Sunrise produced the TV series back in 1998, but the movie was created by then-new Studio Bones, a company spawned by ex-Sunrise executives. Bones has gained a reputation for anime with phenomenal action choreography now (Mob Psychoincluded), but theBebopmovie was something transcendent.
From the opening sequence in the convenience store to the fight with Elektra, to the train fight, and the final confrontation on the tower,theBebopfilm never misses with its action. The ways the action changes depending on the environment is also a testament to the detail put into the animation.
In the train fight scene, the arena is tight and claustrophobic, necessitating very precise strikes and trapping maneuvers to deal damage without getting cornered. When they have an open area to themselves at the end of the film,atop a huge tower, they don’t hold anything back. Neither did the animators, who put everything into topping the series' action by a mile.
1Sword of the Stranger
A cult anime classic, many might recall seeing this movie’s final battle on YouTube at some point in the last decade.Sword of the Strangerwas an original story by Fumihiko Takayama about a ronin who comes to protect a young boy from a militia planning to use them in a ritual.
Masahiro Ando, the animation director for theCowboy Bebopmovie, would go on to direct this film in 2007. It’s been remembered fondly as having one of the greatest sword fights ever put to animation.
As a whole,Stranger’s endearing tale of companionship is punctuated by some ofthe most kinetic and entertaining sword fightsin an original animated film. The final fight is what most take away from the experience, it being the culmination of an entire film waiting for the protagonist to unsheathe their sword.
What makes this fight truly a cut above is that it was key animated by one man: Yutaka Nakamura. Nakamura’s name is well known in sakuga communities where his work on Studio Bones anime has been praised to no end, but this fight was many people’s first exposure to his work.A two-minute-long cut of brilliant sword-playset against Naoki Sato’s triumphant original score.
This fight and this film are a big reason that many fans of anime began to take an interest in sakuga and the creative process behind the medium. Entire communities have formed over a shared passion for dissecting anime such as the ones on this list, finding out who worked on them, and giving credit where it is due.
