Most people who watch anime can’t stop talking about their favorite op characters sometimes. These characters are often good at fighting and are considered powerful when it comes to their skills. They usually belong to the action genre, which has a plethora of fight scenes that often leave us in awe. Not only this, but these characters can either lean towards a hero or a villain. Regardless, their combat skills are loved and recognized by many.
Although most of them have super powers, the characters who practice martial arts as their fighting style are considered to be on another level. Using martial arts as a form of attack and defense is something that is backed up by years of training. However, some characters have innate abilities to win battles in hand-to-hand combat. Below are ten anime with the best hand-to-hand combat scenes. Please note that this article may contain heavy spoilers before we dive into the list.
Bakic
When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, Baki is the first anime that comes to mind. Although it has been adapted before, this anime has some of the most brutal battle scenes out there. Also, the characters are usually ruthless, but are recognized no matter what they do. It is an anime adapted from a manga created by Keisuke Itagaki.
Baki is an anime that contains a lot of hand-to-hand combat as it tells us the story of Baki Hanma, a character who is training to become the best martial artist. As mentioned, we meet Baki Hanma, who thanks to his father has a talent for fighting in secret arenas. To outdo his father, Baki participates in many tournaments, which can be deadly if things go wrong. These tournaments usually have a “kill or be killed” atmosphere that is largely responsible for most of the best battle scenes we get.
High School God
The following anime was adapted from a webtoon manhwa called God of Highschool. It was written and illustrated in 2011 by Park Yongje. This manhwa has since become so famous that it even got its multiplayer online role-playing game, which features battles between different characters. God of Highschool introduces us to a fantasy world made up of three realms, The Human Realm, The Sage Realm, and The Heaven Realm. As expected, the inhabitants of these realms are made up of humans, mystical creatures, and gods. To protect themselves from demons, humans are allowed to borrow powers from these gods.
Among these people is the character Jin Mori who specializes in martial arts. Because of this ability, he participates in the “God of Highschool” tournament, which allows him to show his talents in intense battles. The fights in these tournaments may not be as bloody as in Baki. However, the hand-to-hand combat is definitely something that allows you to cheer on your favorite characters.
Hajime no Ippo
Another anime that includes boxing and tournaments is Hajime no Ippo. Hajime no Ippo is a series adapted from a manga written and illustrated by George Morikawa. However, instead of focusing more on bloody combat, it focuses on the character development of its protagonist Makunouchi Ippo. Ippo is portrayed as a good character who helps his mother run the family fishing business. In addition, he is a timid character who usually keeps to himself. However, this also makes him an easy target for bullies.
One day, when he was badly injured in a bullying case, he was taken to a boxing gym by a boxer named Takamura Mamoru. When the athlete made him use a sandbag to allay his anger and frustrations, he tasted his love for boxing for the first time. Finally, he started training and turned out to be a quick learner, ready to fight in tournaments. He faces several challenges, including winning the recognition of skilled fighters, and he indulges in many intense hand-to-hand combat. With this, Ippo builds his way to the top, taking on not only many intense battles in the ring, but also all the challenges that come his way.
Also Read: Top 10 Anime Series To Cope With Depression
Yawara!
Another series similar to Hajime no Ippo is the anime Yawara! However, the main character is a girl named Inokuma Yawara. Thus, the anime focuses on the development of Yawara, who wants to be an ordinary girl and lead an ordinary life. However, because of her strict grandfather, she has to practice judo every day, even though she hates it. Her grandfather forces her to do this because she is adept at the art and may be able to be the best at Judo. Unfortunately, she doesn’t value Judo as much as her grandfather.
It is only when she practices every day that she begins to get attached to judo. After a while, she becomes focused and takes her judo practice more seriously. Since it is an old anime, the animation of the fight scenes may not appeal to most viewers. Anyway, Yawara! is an anime that contains intense battles that the main character engages in.
Fist of the North Star
Also known as Fist of the Big Dipper, the anime introduces us to a post-apocalyptic world where people rob and cheat as a means of survival. The story is based on a manga by Buronson and Tetsuro Hara. It introduces us to the main character Kenshiro, an accomplished martial artist. However, his attack form involves hitting the opponent’s vital points in their body. Kenshiro was a man who wanted to live a peaceful life with his betrothed.
However, after being separated by some gangs, he decided to take it upon himself to beat up these gangs and defend the weaker ones. He travels and encounters the characters Bat and Lin. They then all travel as a team while encountering many rivals. This anime features a lot of hand-to-hand combat skills with “hit or miss” vibes.
Kengan Ashura
The following anime is set in the Edo period of Japan and introduces us to gladiator-style hand-to-hand combat. In this world, rich men put their money on gladiators to fight in an arena. These fights are called Kengan Matches and usually consist of deathmatches. The winners will be offered huge prizes. It is a story adapted from a manga written and illustrated by Yabako Sandrovich and Daromeon respectively. Kengan Ashura focuses on the character Tokita Ohma, also known as Ashura, who is picked by the CEO of Nogi Group to fight in these arenas. As expected, Ashura proves to be the best fighter around when he crushes his opponents. Not only this, but other businessmen want to hire him to fight on their behalf.
In addition to indulging in intense hand-to-hand competitions, Ashura is also shown battling his past while trying to figure things out for himself. This anime, like the ones mentioned above, has a lot of gore fights that are very intense to watch.
One Punch Man
As the name suggests, the main character of the anime, Saitama, uses punches to destroy his enemies. However, this is also one of the main reasons for Saitama’s boredom, as all his opponents are destroyed with one blow. Self-frustrated, Saitama, who claims to be a hero for fun, seeks opponents stronger than him. What excites Saitama the most, besides finding such a person, is the fight that follows.
While the anime doesn’t have many satisfying battle scenes at first, as the anime progresses we see him fighting stronger opponents than he is. So, One-Punch Man is definitely an anime that can get intense with hand-to-hand combat with extremely on-characters.
Naruto Series
While we have characters with powers, most of the hand-to-hand combat in the series leaves us in awe or emotional. Naruto is a famous series that has captivated many fans for its intriguing stories, characters and battles. It is a series created by Kishimoto Masashi.
Among most ninjas who use powerful Jutsu, Rock Lee and his sensei Guy are best known for their hand-to-hand combat skills. Incredibly, it’s a skill that at one point was most useful against a powerful enemy. As for the emotional aspects, Sasuke and Naruto’s battle in the valley had a lot of use of powerful Jutsu. However, towards the end they use hand-to-hand combat to punch each other. This scene gets emotional for viewers as two friends are seen not fighting, but using each other like a punching bag to take their frustrations out. A similar battle scene can be seen when Kakashi fights Obito.
Cowboy Bebop
The anime Cowboy Bebop is set in a futuristic world that radiates great western themes. After an attack that nearly destroyed the Earth, humans tried to adapt to their new environment in order to survive. The main character of the anime, Spike Spiegel, is a bounty hunter who helps the police catch criminals. Together with his bounty hunter friends, he works from a spaceship called Bebop.
The original story comes from the studio Bandai Namco Filmworks, Inc. as an anime with 26 episodes. Since this anime contains many “cat and mouse chase scenes”, it has a large number of fight scenes. However, the most intriguing hand-to-hand combat takes place between Spike and the character Vicious towards the end of the anime.
A piece
Finally, the anime with the most intense battles is One Piece. It is one of the longest running anime that has managed to gain a lot of fans for its intriguing story and interesting characters. The anime is adapted from a manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It tells us the story of the character Luffy who accidentally eats a devil fruit, giving him a rubber body. However, Luffy’s main goal is not to return his body to normal, but to find the world’s ultimate treasure, also known as “One Piece”.
This anime has become one of the greatest series ever made, and it’s given that fans are attached to the characters from here on out. However, this anime has some of the best fight scenes that can make the viewers cheer for their favorite characters or mourn their deaths.
Also Read: Crunchyroll Revealed Release Date Of English Dub, Staff And Cast For Various Anime
One Punch Man Manga Read Online
One Punch Man Manga Read Online: One-Punch Man is a Japanese superhero series created by the creator ONE. It is a story about Saitama, a super-hero who is able to take on anyone with just one punch, but is looking for an appropriate opponent after becoming frustrated by the lack of competition due to his incredible ability. ONE developed the original webcomic version at the beginning of 2009.
A digital manga remake began publication on Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website in June 2012. The manga's illustration is by Yusuke Murata. Its chapters are regularly collected and released as each tankobon book. At the time of writing, January 2021 23 volumes were published. For North America, Viz Media license the manga remake to be released in English version and has serialized in their Weekly Shonen Jump digital magazine.
A manga-anime adaption of the manga produced by Madhouse it was shown throughout Japan from October until December 2015. The second season, created by J.C.Staff and J.C.Staff, began airing from April until July 2019. This anime show is licensed to North America by Viz Media and premiered on the United States on Adult Swim's Toonami block of programming in July, 2016. The second season debuted in October of 2019.
In June 2012, the original webcomic was able to surpass 7.9 millions hits. By April 2020 the manga's remake had sold more than thirty million copies.