Top 5 Fights From Naruto — The Boba Culture

You know his name. One of the most iconic anime characters ever. Naruto is a shinobi from Konohagakure who just so happened to save the entire ninja world. The series is broken into two parts—Naruto/Naruto Shippūden—and together they amass a total of 720 episodes.

Due to its roots as a shounen series, fighting is a recurring theme that finds itself at the forefront of the anime. Naruto and Naruto Shippūden contain a signature fighting style in which viewers are made to feel each character’s emotions (talk no jutsu). It’s because of this, Naruto has been able to solidify his place amongst anime legends.

Despite the show diving into the world of “fillers” many times, the fights that occur always seem to make up for the time lost with the filler arcs. Below is The Boba Culture’s Top 5 Fights From Naruto!

5) Might Guy vs. Madara

Let’s set the stage. The Great Ninja War is reaching one of its many apexes, and Madara just got a crazy power up. The evil Uchiha is now the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and he has gained the power of the Sage of Six Paths. Our favorite ninjas must take a stand, and the one who heeds the call of action is none other than Might Guy.

It is in this moment that Guy Sensei has his defining moment. The only way to stop Madara is to match him in power. This ultimately leads Guy to unleash the Eight Gates, using the Evening Elephant.

The eight chakra gates have been in the anime’s plot since the Rock Lee vs. Gaara fight in the Chunnin Exams. However, the fight between Madara and Guy is the first time that we get to see the Eight Gates fully unleashed.

The battle is not a “six-episode drawn out epic” like some of the other fights in this series, but it’s a battle that many remember because of what it did to Guy and Madara. It forever changed the way Guy would be presented in the series, and it left Madara incapacitated. This fight also displayed the true power of the Eight Gates, showing just how powerful Guy Sensei is.

4) Naruto vs Sasuke Part 1

Naruto vs. Sasuke comes at the climax of the first half of the series. It’s long, and it’s drawn out. This is definitely a fight where talk no jutsu plays a major factor.

It’s in these moments that we see both of their ideologies come to a boiling point. Naruto wants to bring his closest friend back to Konoha, and Sasuke wants to achieve strength so he can avenge his beloved Uchiha clan.

Naruto did say that he would break every bone inside of Sasuke’s body if it came to it. In his rage, the power of the Nine-Tails began seeping out of Naruto, and in return, Sasuke unleashes the power of the curse mark he received from Orochimaru.

It’s an all out battle now. As the two “friends” go at it, you slowly start to feel the pain each of them feels as they fight each other. Each move is calculated and intended. In their finishing moves, the Rasengan finds itself up against the Chidori once again.

Not only does this fight do a lot of character building for Naruto and Sasuke, but it lays the ground work for what is to come in Shippūden. It’s an epic battle that not only turns the heads of Naruto fans, but it serves as an iconic anime battle in general. Naruto vs. Sasuke truly sets forth the idea of Naruto having a “rival.”

3) Naruto vs. Pain

Not only is this fight iconic, but it is extremely emotional. Here we have the Six Paths of Pain who are being controlled by Rinnegan wielder Nagato, against the (not yet) hero of the hidden leaf. Pain has killed Naruto’s master, and has laid waste to Konoha.

This fight is integral to Naruto’s entire story arc because it isn’t until after defeating Pain that he is revered as a hero. Up until this point, the villagers have only viewed him as a delinquent ninja. We get to see Naruto unleash his newly learned Sage Mode against Pain and his Rinnegan. It’s the first real fight that he has against someone of the “God” level.

This battle is loaded with drama, from Naruto wanting to kill Pain, to Pain wanting people to feel…well…pain. Not only is it a hard fought battle physically, but it challenges Naruto to reflect on his views of the shinobi world.

It’s after Naruto sees (his future wife) Hinata get defeated by Pain, that he loses all sense and grows four tails in his cloak form. He begins fighting Pain out of rage, and ultimately finds himself almost losing himself completely to the Nine-Tails. It’s in this moment that Naruto meets the fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze—his father.

With the help of his father (in a very emotional scene), Naruto eventually gets the Nine-Tails under control, and destroys the final path of Pain with a signature Rasengan.

After winning the fight, Naruto was finally acknowledged by all in the Hidden Leaf.

2) Kakashi vs. Obito

Kakashi vs. Obito is not for the spectacle. There aren’t any crazy techniques being revealed, and it’s only the span of one episode. While it might not be the ultimate climax of the War, it is definitely an emotional climax.

As the story goes, everybody thought that Obito was dead, and Kakashi had to kill (with good reason) Rin—Obito’s crush. Obito happened to see Kakashi with his lightning bladed first through Rin’s chest, and yada yada yada, Akatsuki this, Akatsuki that, Obito starts a whole war, and pulls a “Winter Soldier” on Kakashi.

Throughout the series, there is this recurring theme of having a rival. Naruto/Sasuke, Hashirama/Madara, Hiruzen/Danzo, and yes, Kakashi/Obito. Kakashi was always shown as being better than Obito. Not only just in fighting, but in their personal lives as well. Obito was in love with Rin, but it looked like she only had eyes (not really) for Kakashi. There are extreme parallels drawn between these three, and Team 7. However, the way the story ends for Team Minato is much more depressing than, Team 7’s.

The fight between Kakashi and Obito is emotional because it is the most real feeling fight in the series. It features some of the best fight animation in the show, and it is choreographed very intensely. Each move is calculated and purposeful. Quick flashes of Kakashi and Obito sparring when they were children run parallel to the fight at hand.

This fight does a lot of talking without actually speaking words. Nobody won the fight, and that’s what makes it so real. Kakashi and Obito’s epic battle represents what Naruto and Sasuke could have been, if Naruto was not able to change Sasuke. It’s beautifully crafted, and it proves why Kakashi is worthy of the title—Lord Sixth.

1) Naruto vs. Sasuke (The Final Battle)

This fight is the culmination of all things that this series has to offer. It’s a spectacle to see, and it has grit like a real fight would. Emotions run high as this is the ending of Naruto and Sasuke’s character arcs in Shippūden. This epic battle will determine the shape of the shinobi world.

The “four-episode epic” can be split into three distinct parts. 1) The Ninja Fight 2) The Power Battle 3) The Scrap. The fight begins with Naruto and Sasuke going at it until it elevates into Kurama vs The Susanoo. It’s these images that provide the spectacle, but the heart of the fight comes shortly after.

After depleting themselves of chakra and energy, Naruto and Sasuke abandon ninjutsu and start scrapping. They are bleeding, and their faces are swelling up. Naruto can’t even run without tripping, and Sasuke is having problems with his visual prowess. Teeth are being lost, and we hear them once again scream out “NARUTO!” and “SASUKE!”

The Great War is over, but the fate of the shinobi world lies with the outcome of this fight. Sasuke wants to kill Naruto so he can reshape the world, and Naruto just wants to change Sasuke’s mind.

It gets to a point where Naruto and Sasuke are so tired, they can barely land punches on each other. Despite this, they both muster up enough chakra for one last jutsu. We get to see the Rasengan against the Chidori one last time, and with that, the fight is over.

What comes next is one of the most important episodes for Sasuke. He finds out that he doesn’t have to walk alone through life. Naruto wins the fight in this sense, and Sasuke admits defeat.

A fight like this makes the anticipation, worth it. Despite the extended filler arcs, and side tangents that occurred in the series, this fight makes everything bad about the show disappear. These are two characters that many viewers had grown up with. It is very noteworthy that the anime was able to do justice to something many fans had been waiting years for.

A Shounen Legend

You can’t have a conversation about shounen/battle anime without talking about Naruto. He’s a popular character that is identifiable by many, even by non-anime fans. It’s these fights that people remember, and it’s these characters that people know so well.

This series is truly a legend amongst shounen anime, and the fights just put the cherry on top.

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