10 Best Anime Fights Of All Time

6. Luffy Vs Usopp - One Piece

Sasuke Vs Naruto
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This isn't what most people think of when they think of great One Piece fights, but in my opinion, it trumps them all by being a perfect example of "I can do anything" vs "I know, that's why I've thought of EVERYTHING". In other words, what the Batman and Superman fight in Dawn of Justice SHOULD have been.

The Straw Hat Pirates' ship, the Going Merry, has sustained too much damage in order to continue. Even the best shipwrights in the world tell Luffy that fixing it would basically mean building it back up from scratch so it would just be cheaper to buy a new one.

Usopp disagrees. He's been the one repairing the ship since the beginning, so when he hears that they have to replace it, it only feeds his inferiority complex that tells him he's worthless and expendable. When the ensuing argument pushes Luffy to pull rank as captain for the first time in the series, Usopp challenges him to a duel for ownership of the Merry. Win or lose, he's leaving the crew.

You'd think this would be a short fight. But then, if you do think that, then you must be new to the fandom. Usopp is a genius, and he knows that the best way to fight Luffy is to keep your distance, keep him running, and never let up. Usopp pulls out every trick he has to win the fight, and he comes damn close. All the while Luffy is the most serious he's ever been before or since, somberly pondering to himself how he could have let things get so bad between them.

It's no surprise that Luffy wins, taking Usopp down with one punch. But if you watch the episodes this fight encompasses, you clearly see that no one won this fight. Usopp's self hatred has isolated him from his only support group, Luffy had to cast out one of his best friends, and the crew could only watch all of it.

It's a heart-crushing duel in one of the best arcs in One Piece.

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John Tibbetts is a novelist in theory, a Whatculture contributor in practice, and a nerd all around who loves talking about movies, TV, anime, and video games more than he loves breathing. Which might be a problem in the long term, but eh, who can think that far ahead?