Naruto has made the news a lot this month, mostly thanks to the announcement that Lionsgate was moving forward with the live-action feature-length film via casting calls. Before we see the live-action Team 7 jump into battle, now seems like a good time to revisit the original series that kickstarted the ninja world in the anime industry. Five Naruto fights didn’t just steer the course for the story of Naruto Uzumaki, they became so big that they are routinely in the discussion for “greatest anime fights of all time.”
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5.) Gaara Vs. Rock Lee
What’s so unbelievable about the now legendary fight between Rock Lee and Gaara of the Sand Village isn’t just that it’s two young ninjas forging one of the biggest anime fights in history; it’s the fact that this is the first time we see either of these combatants in action. There is routinely an ongoing consensus that even the Rock Lee moment where he “drops the weights” is one of anime’s greatest moments, especially considering how it ups the pace of the battle fundamentally. While Gaara and Rock Lee would go on to have countless fights in Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, nothing has ever surpassed this first fight during the Chunin Exams for this pair. Ironically enough, the next time we would see Rock Lee in action, he got a much-needed assist from Gaara in fighting one of Orochimaru’s top lieutenants, showing how quickly that former enemies can become allies in Naruto.
4.) Kakashi Vs. Obito
Even though this fight didn’t involve Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Rock Lee, or Gaara, this one-on-one conflict between Kakashi and Obito both involved high-level choreography and the emotional backstory to make the hits land that much harder. The former allies were once the best of friends, with a young Obito even willing his Sharingan to Kakashi when his life was seemingly teetering on the edge. During the latter events of Naruto: Shippuden, we learn that Obito survived and was hiding out as the villainous Tobi of Akatsuki fame. On top of this long-awaited confrontation, the way that Studio Pierrot managed to effortlessly merge the present and the past as Kakashi and Obito trade blows helps to make this a timeless classic. This battle, ultimately, wouldn’t be the last fight of the sequel series, though it is still considered to be one of Shippuden’s best, ending in a way that put to bed the rivalry while also elevating Obito to a real threat to the Hidden Leaf Village. Thanks to his team-up with Madara Uchiha, Tobi would go from a seeming joke character early on to becoming a force to be reckoned with.
3. Naruto Vs. Pain
The fight between Naruto and Pain works on so many levels, outside of showing what both the hero and villain could truly pull off at the peak of their powers in Naruto: Shippuden. Aside from the amazing jutsus employed and the striking choreography, the emotional impact of this fight definitely made it worthy of this list. Throughout the battle, Konoha had been struck a serious blow as Pain nearly wiped the Hidden Leaf Village from the map. In eventually defeating the Akatsuki member, Naruto Uzumaki did what he had previously thought impossible, aka winning the hearts and minds of Konoha’s villagers. With this victory, the disdain and fear directed at the son of the Fourth Hokage had washed away, and Naruto was able to carve out his path to eventually becoming Hokage himself. Pain would be killed following this fight, never returning to the shonen series as a whole, but his legacy as the opponent who helped redeem Naruto’s public opinion was never forgotten.
2.) Naruto Vs. Sasuke
To be fair, we’re going to cheat a little with this entry as there are two distinct times where Naruto Uzumaki faced off against his rival, Sasuke Uchiha. The first was the main final fight of the original series, following Sasuke throwing in his lot with the villainous Orochimaru and gaining some serious power as a result. What worked so well about this initial confrontation wasn’t just finally seeing the two Team 7 members take cracks at one another, it was seeing the various phases of the conflict wherein both Naruto and Sasuke would show off all their powers. The original Naruto anime would end with this long-awaited battle, with Naruto: Shippuden doing the same in a fight that would redeem Sasuke, take an arm from both fighters, and set the stage for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
1.) Naruto & Sasuke Vs. Momoshiki
This particular confrontation might often be lost in the shuffle thanks to not being a part of the original two series that kicked off the shonen franchise, but the fight to kick off the next generation of Konoha remains a top-tier anime battle. Studio Pierrot managed to display how it remains one of the greatest anime studios around with this fight, as Naruto and Sasuke teamed up to fight against the Otsutsuki member who would eventually be far closer to Boruto Uzumaki than many had hoped. On top of the stellar animation used, the fight choreography itself is routinely thought of as one of the best of the franchise, and you can still find it regularly featured in anime compilations to this day. Even with both Boruto: Naruto Next Generations giving way to Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, the fight that would kick off the sequel story is still regarded as the sequel’s best, and for good reason.
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