Deciding the best anime fight ever is a pretty subjective matter, but here’s a case as to why it’s Naruto vs. Sasuke.
Power battles are a mainstay of shonen anime. They provide the opportunity for the characters to display the force they have worked for or build up villains for their eventual showdown with the protagonist. The aftermath of these fights also often serve as moments for more intense character development for the combatants involved.
No two anime fights are the same, so it’s impossible to objectively choose the best one. However, Naruto and Sasuke’s final battle in Naruto: Shippūden makes a strong case for being the biggest anime fight of all time, here’s why.
Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry had years of buildup
Both Naruto and Sasuke have come a long way since they were first introduced as lowly genin. Their childhood rivalry back then eventually blossomed into an unlikely friendship, and as one half of Team 7, the two were capable of coordinating teamwork that baffled even the most seasoned jonin. Unfortunately, their bond back then wasn’t strong enough to keep Sasuke on his side when his past caught up with him, but his separation from him raised the stakes of his final battle with Naruto.
Along the Shippuden, both Naruto and Sasuke were experiencing the ninja world with unique perspectives. They had to decide for themselves what it meant to be a ninja, and their experiences informed the decisions that sent them further down the collision course they were already on. Having embarked on this journey with them, the audience knew exactly why the closest old friends could fight so fiercely.
They weren’t just fighting to find out who was stronger as they often did as genin, but as experienced ninjas trying to make the other understand their view of reality. Sasuke was trying to break his final bond while Naruto was trying to fulfill a promise he had made years ago. There was no clear right or wrong here, but a difference in philosophy.
Naruto vs Sasuke had an unmatched fight choreography
One of the naruto The franchise’s strongest points were always its fight choreography, and the series’ climactic battle didn’t hold back in the slightest. Somehow, the fight explored both offensive ninja arts, ninjutsu and taijutsu, to the fullest, while remaining a cohesive fight that viewers could follow with very little trouble. Although neither used genjutsu directly, the distractions of Naruto’s shadow clones and Sasuke’s myriad forgeries of jutsu preserved the spirit of the most deceitful shinobi art. These two were supposed to be the pinnacle of shinobi at the time, and their battle surely proved it.
Even after Sasuke activated his Susanoo, causing Naruto to use Nine Tails chakra mode, there was still a method to his rampage. His fight turned more or less into a kaiju battle, but the combat was still as technical as ever. His attacks had become more savage than any clash of shinobi shown before, but there were no wasted moves or rash decisions. Each attack flowed smoothly into the next or laid down an even more devastating jutsu that would incapacitate his opponent, but only for a moment. Both were determined not to give the other even a brief respite.
Naruto vs Sasuke showed the most advanced Shinobi techniques
Naruto and Sasuke’s final showdown came after nearly 700 episodes of both the original naruto series and its continuation Shippuden. The story had plenty of time to fully explore his world, his chakra power system, and the limitations of shinobi wielding his greatest powers. If everything that happened beforehand could be compared to lectures in the classroom, Naruto vs Sasuke was the final exam. Only two shinobi were unable to display all the jutsu mentioned in the show, but their fight delivered a complete study of everything that both of them had accumulated at that time. This included some fairly overt references like Naruto’s Rasengans and more subtle ones like Sasuke’s hand seals.
Even though it couldn’t cover all the jutsu presented in the story, just the ones learned by Naruto and Sasuke were more than enough. The sheer amount of jutsu at their disposal kept the fight exciting throughout, but at no point did any of their moves feel artificial. Each power they showed was one that the audience had encountered before and adhered to previously established chakra rules. There were no surprise technique reveals or moments where either fighter “outed” the other, but it still managed to be the perfect culmination of a decade-plus history.
The result of Naruto vs Sasuke
narutoThe Ultimate Fight delivered on all the basics of a classic anime battle, but what really sealed the deal was how shocking its ending was. No matter who one favored in battle, their ending would have been satisfying. The final clash confirmed what many had been theorizing for years: that Sasuke still felt as strongly about Naruto as he did when they were kids all along.
His ability to push those emotions aside and attack his friend with killing intent showed Sasuke’s dedication to his ideals and his conviction for revolution in the ninja world. Losing to Naruto forced him to understand that there were alternatives to peace that didn’t require him to remain in the darkness he had languished in for three years, and he began to atone for his crimes his way.
On the other hand, Naruto was stubbornly refusing to give up on his friend. Before he even understood the depth of Sasuke’s confusion, he had made a promise to return his best friend to the Leaf Village and intended to keep it. Naruto was forced to consider giving up on saving his best friend many times. He would be understandably distraught when news of Sasuke’s latest terrorist exploits broke, but even when his closest friends advised him to give up the rogue, he couldn’t. Succeeding in bringing his friend back home, and fulfilling a promise from years ago, ended Naruto’s story in a way that only becoming Hokage could never.
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