15 Longest Fights in Anime History (Ranked)
There are a lot of great things about anime, especially when we are talking about shonen anime that tend to focus on fights and action scenes. However, one of the things that people have noticed when it comes to shonen anime is the fact that some fight scenes tend to take too long to the point that they could be as long as an entire anime season.
The fact is that anime fights take long because of the fact that there are a lot of things that go into an anime fight, such as backstory, monologues, and multiple phases within a single fight. Some people may hate long anime fights, but they have always been a part of anime culture. With that said, let’s look at the longest anime fights of all time
15. Naruto vs. Obito (Naruto Shippuden)
This fight is a bit tricky to judge in terms of how long it is because the entire battle is interrupted by other battles in the middle of the actual fight between Naruto and Obito. But the thing that we know is the fact that, like almost any monumental battle in Naruto, this is a pretty long one and occurs right in the middle of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
There are a lot of side stories included in this fight because of the fact that the entire arc is all about the Great War that Obito waged against the ninja world. But what we do know is that, from the start of the battle until Obito’s defeat, around 60 episodes have passed. Still, not all of those episodes involved Naruto versus Obito because, again, there are a lot of different fights in between the actual fight between those characters.
14. Akagi vs. Washizu (Akagi)
This isn’t necessarily a fight because it is actually a game of mahjong in an anime that’s all about mahjong. Some people might think that this is a boring fight, considering that mahjong isn’t the most exciting game you could play. But the fact is that the entire Akagi anime is more of a thriller and a mental experience rather than a visual one.
The battle between Akagi and Washizu is one of the longest showdowns in the history of anime because of the fact that it takes around 13 episodes for the bout to conclude. Meanwhile, in the manga, the entire game between the two characters lasted more than 200 chapters. In that regard, to say that this bout is long is an understatement.
13. Yusuke vs. Toguro (Yu Yu Hakusho)
Toguro has long been one of the most iconic 90s anime villains because of the fact that he is simply badass. Of course, the fight between him and Yusuke is one of the most popular fights in 90s anime history. It is also one of the longest when you look at the events that led to this iconic fight
In truth, the fight between Yusuke and Toguro in Yu Yu Hakusho lasted for only around four episodes. But the thing about this fight is that the entire series of events that led to it made the fight a lot longer than it was. In that regard, when the fight finally happened, it felt like an entire season had passed until Yusuke finally defeated Toguro’s 100% form in the conclusion of the Dark Tournament.
12. Yugi and Kaiba vs. Dartz (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters)
This is one of the most bizarre arcs in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, but that doesn’t take away the fact that this is also one of the longest battles in anime history. This battle involved rivals Yugi and Kaiba teaming up against Dartz, who is the main enemy of the Atlantis arc of the anime. And while this isn’t the most popular arc in Duel Monsters, it still is pretty iconic.
The entire fight lasts around six episodes when we only look at the card battle that Yugi and Kaiba waged against Dartz. However, after defeating the Divine Serpent, the Leviathan is unleashed. That means that the entire battle extended beyond the defeat of the Divine Serpent card. It took the combined efforts of the three Egyptian God cards to defeat the Leviathan.
11. Survey Corps vs. Beast Titan, Armored Titan, and Colossal Titan (Attack On Titan)
This is one of the most iconic parts of the entire Attack On Titan anime, as this was the battle that led to the entire discovery of a world well beyond the walls. The fight between the Survey Corps and the team of the Beast Titan, Armored Titan, and Colossal Titan was so iconic due to the fact that it was the peak of the entire humans versus titans storyline of the anime.
In this fight, the Survey Corps was on a mission to recover the lost territory of Shiganshina District by having Eren plug up the hole in the wall with his titan hardening powers. However, they know for a fact that Zeke, Reiner, and Berty were going to be there so that they could capture Eren’s Founding Titan powers. This led to a monumental battle that led to the defeat of the titans as the Survey Corps found Grisha’s secret under the Yeager family home.
10. Meruem vs. Netero (Hunter x Hunter)
The Chimera Ant arc is undoubtedly the peak of the Hunter x Hunter anime as the Hunters were up against enemies that they couldn’t defeat by relying on their strength alone. This was when the still-unnamed Chimera Ant King was on his way to terrorize the world before the leader of the Hunters, Chairman Netero, goaded him into battle.
There is no doubt that this is a ridiculously long arc, but we also know for a fact that the fight between the King and Netero lasted for a while as well. This fight only happened because Netero, the strongest human, goaded the King into battling him so that he would know the name that the Chimera Ant Queen gave him. It took until the end of the arc for us to learn that Meruem was his given name.
9. Goku vs. Jiren (Dragon Ball Super)
This is one of the fights that can be pretty difficult to judge in terms of how long it is because of the fact that Goku and Jiren fought numerous times throughout the entire Tournament of Power Saga, an arc that lasted 55 Dragon Ball Super episodes. While the fight between Goku and Jiren wasn’t even remotely close to 55 episodes, it still was pretty long when you look at how many times the battle was interrupted and how many fights happened in between this fight.
Goku and Jiren met quite early in the Tournament of Power as Goku didn’t waste time trying to defeat Jiren. Using all of his might, he wasn’t even able to force Jiren to put any effort into their battle until he unlocked Ultra Instinct. The entire battle involved Goku having to transcend into his Mastered Ultra Instinct form as the fight concluded with Goku and Frieza eliminating Jiren and themselves from the tournament.
8. Ichigo vs. Ulquiorra (Bleach)
While this was not the concluding battle of the Bleach anime, it was still one of the peak moments of the series because that was when we saw one of the most visually appealing fights in anime history. The fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra happened in episode 266 of Bleach, as we were able to see both of these badass characters revealing new forms that we hadn’t seen before.
The fight was so intense and beautiful that it made Ichigo and Ulquiorra look like the strongest characters in the entire Bleach storyline. It took Ichigo’s new Hollow form to finally defeat Ulquiorra’s own hidden form, as the fight lasted seven episodes in an anime that doesn’t tend to drag out its fights.
7. Naruto vs. Pain (Naruto Shippuden)
The entire Pain Arc in Naruto is one of the peak moments of the anime because that was when we were able to realize how strong Naruto had become after he was able to learn how to use Sage Mode. In this arc, Pain was singlehandedly destroying the entire Hidden Leaf Village despite the best efforts of the village’s best ninjas.
However, Naruto arrived just in time to prevent Pain from killing everyone in the village as an iconic fight between the characters commenced. This battle between two ninjas with different ideologies never felt like it was dragged out too much, but we did see Naruto’s patented talk-no-jutsu in action as he was able to learn more about Pain’s life story while talking him into reviving everyone he had just killed.
6. Yusuke vs. Sensui (Yu Yu Hakusho)
While the battle between Yusuke and Sensui isn’t as memorable as the one that Yusuke had with Toguro, this is one of the most intense fights in the entire Yu Yu Hakusho anime because it allowed us to see Yusuke at his finest against Sensui at his strongest. This also happens to be the longest fight in the Yu Yu Hakusho anime, as it lasted nine episodes.
Of course, like most other anime series, the fight between the two rivals involved the two characters turning the tables against each other by revealing new powers. But it was when Yusuke finally achieved his strongest form that he was able to defeat Sensui in an iconic battle of one of the best 90s anime series.
5. Tsuna vs. Xanxus (Hitman Reborn!)
Even though Hitman Reborn! isn’t as popular as the other titles on this list, the thing you need to know is that it was still a very entertaining series that had its own fair share of iconic battles between the protagonist and the enemy. The longest battle in the series happened during the final match of the Vongola Ring Conflict.
The battle involved Tsunayoshi and Xanxus in a fight for the title of Vongola Decimo. Of course, like any good shonen fight scene, the odds in this fight constantly shift between the two characters as the entire fight lasts for around nine episodes. Of course, the fight ended in a victory for Tsuna, who ended up inheriting the Vongola Decimo title after defeating Xanxus.
4. Gohan vs. Cell (Dragon Ball Z)
Even though fans of the character aren’t too happy with the fact that Gohan has been sidelined ever since the end of the Dragon Ball Z anime, the Cell Games was the peak of the character’s storyline as he was able to defeat his rival in the form of Cell, who had been making quick work out of every enemy he faced after he had completely absorbed both Androids 17 and 18.
The fight between Gohan and Cell was the culmination of Gohan’s training as he was the first to unlock the Super Saiyan 2 state, which is leagues ahead of the original Super Saiyan form. It was when Gohan saw Android 16’s death that he was able to achieve this form and ultimately overpower Perfect Cell. The battle, which lasted 11 episodes, concluded with Gohan using a Super Kamehameha against Cell’s own Kamehameha.
3. Luffy vs. Doflamingo (One Piece)
Of course, because of how long the entire One Piece anime is, it isn’t a surprise that some of the longest fights in anime history come from One Piece. In this battle, Luffy takes on Doflamingo in episode 721 as it was first a tag team fight but eventually ended up becoming a one-on-one battle between them.
It was when Law got injured that Luffy eventually had to take on Doflamingo by himself as he had to activate Gear Four in this intense battle. Still, he ended up wearing down Gear Four as three episodes passed for him to recover from it. The fight ended in episode 733 when Luffy was able to recover and deal the final blow to Doflamingo.
2. Goku vs. Frieza (Dragon Ball Z)
When it comes to iconic shonen battles that tend to be quite long, there isn’t a fight as iconic as the battle between Goku and Frieza. This rivalry eventually became one of the biggest rivalries in anime history because of the fact that the fight was quite dragged out as it shifted between the two parties. Frieza survived Goku’s Spirit Bomb as he killed Krillin due to his anger. And that turned out to be his biggest mistake.
Killing Goku’s best friend was what forced Goku to become so angry that he was able to unlock Super Saiyan for the first time, as this is still the most iconic anime transformation of all time. Despite unlocking Super Saiyan, it still took a while for Goku to eventually finish Frieza off as his goodhearted nature didn’t want to kill the tyrant. The entire fight lasted 19 episodes, as every 90s kid fondly remembers just how long this battle was.
1. Luffy vs. Katakuri (One Piece)
While Goku versus Frieza remains the most iconic dragged-out fight in anime history, we cannot forget about the fact that One Piece still has a longer fight. This fight occurred between Luffy and Katakuri as the former was overwhelmed by the latter in their fight. Of course, a lot of different events happened between the start and the finish of the battle as Luffy finally found a way to turn the fight over to his side.
Still, despite that, Katakuri found a way to turn the odds in his favor once more as Gear Four wore off. Luffy had to run away but ended up meeting other opponents along the way. Eventually, Luffy was still able to find a way to defeat Katakuri in a battle that lasted 22 long episodes. The start to finish isn’t as long as the fight involving Goku and Frieza due to the different events that happened in between, but the fact that it lasted 22 episodes still is quite mind-boggling because that is already an entire anime series.
