Top 10 Best Animated Fights in Naruto
Script written by Garrett Alden
#10: Rock Lee vs. Gaara
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This tournament matchup between Lee, the kid who won’t quit, and Gaara, a monstrous sand user who rarely has to try, is cemented in the minds of many fans as one of the franchise’s best. Lee’s incredible speed is beautifully realized, with his punches, kicks, and body blows being rendered well, as is his striking transformation. Meanwhile, Gaara’s sand flowing about him and being used against Lee holds up wonderfully too. While its animation is far from the series’ peak, given that it aired relatively shortly into “Naruto”’s run, Rock Lee vs. Gaara is still an early example of what the show’s animators were capable of.
#9: Naruto vs. Pain
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This might be a somewhat controversial choice, since it has become something of a meme among “Naruto” fans, but bear with us. Naruto’s fight with Pain and his six paths is one of Naruto’s peaks in many ways. A heartbreaking death leads Naruto to unleash his inner Nine Tails and wreck the final Pain body in an incredible action sequence. Although individual frames of this part don’t look great, the brutality of the attacks and the speed at which it all moves is still enough to warrant a spot on our list. Plus, the fight overall has many awesome moments and quality animation throughout.
#8: Sasuke vs. Itachi
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The long-awaited face-off between the Uchiha brothers does not disappoint! Sure, Sasuke’s fated battle with his hated sibling provides plenty of hype, but it’s made even better by how great it looks! Sasuke and Itachi both use powerful techniques against each other, ranging from illusions, to fire, to lightning, and there’s even some last-minute interference from Orochimaru. Their hand-to-hand combat is smooth and flows perfectly, while the flashy jutsu pop off as well. Even something as simple as the duo throwing shuriken at each other looks great! You don’t need the Sharingan to appreciate every detail of this fantastic fight.
#7: Naruto vs. Isshiki
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The most recent fight on our list, Naruto’s fight against Isshiki Ōtsutsuki may not last long, but it certainly impresses. Naruto activates Baryon Mode, a powerful last-ditch form that gives him a tremendous power boost, albeit with a deadly side effect. While it drains life energy from the user, contact with an opponent also drains their life force. Because of that, most of this battle is fought up close and personal, which leads to plenty of well-animated beatdowns. Although the power eventually takes its toll on Naruto, while it lasts, he doesn’t take a single hit, and doles out some gorgeous moves, including one of the best-looking Rasengans EVER!
#6: Madara vs. Fourth Division
He may be one of the franchise’s big bads, but the first time we get to see Madara Uchiha in action is a real treat! The legendary ninja is resurrected and battles against an entire division of the Shinobi Alliance - and dominates them all! His close combat against a large portion of them is a particular highlight! The fluid way he moves among them, punching, kicking, slashing, and using their own explosives against them, is gorgeously rendered. Other major moments of sakuga, or high-quality animation, include his jaw dropping meteor drops, as well as Madara revealing he can rapidly grow trees in their desert environment. Madara spends most of the fight flexing on his opponents, as usual, but the animators follow suit!
#5: Kakashi vs. Obito
Another battle a long time in the making, Kakashi confronts his one-time friend and teammate Obito Uchiha in the Kamui dimension they both have access to. After some initial mental trickery, they go at it hand to hand, and kunai to, uh, rod. Not only is the animation incredibly smooth throughout their bout, but the seamless cutting between their fight in the present and a practice match in the past lends an emotional edge to their confrontation, while also looking amazing! Kakashi emerges the victor in their clash, despite taking a grievous wound, although Obito escapes. As far as percentage of sakuga goes, this is easily one of the best animated fights in the series and if it’s your favorite, we can’t argue with you.
#4: Naruto vs. Sasuke, Round 1
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Naruto and Sasuke’s first major battle is a major milestone for the story, and for the show’s animation! Key animator Norio Matsumoto is famous for his less exact, but better flowing animation style, and it's on full display during this fight! So many little moments of animation during this fight are iconic - from Naruto punching Sasuke upwards, to both of them skating along the water, to Naruto’s conga line of clones, to his Nine Tails transformation! And it all culminates in that iconic clash in front of the waterfall! The original “Naruto” anime may have gone on after this, but this was its peak for story and animation!
#3: Naruto & Sasuke vs. Jigen
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When he shows up looking for a fight, Naruto and Sasuke square off with Isshiki Ōtsutsuki’s vessel, Jigen, after relocating to another dimension. The pair of rivals throw their most powerful, gigantic forms against Jigen, but his shrinking powers let him go through their defenses and make black spikes pop up seemingly out of nowhere. Jigen’s movement throughout is an animated spectacle, and Naruto and Sasuke’s moves look fantastic as well. The duo may lose, and Naruto is captured, but as far as the visuals go, we see this fight as an absolute win!
#2: Naruto vs. Sasuke, Round 2
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The climactic showdown between these two is one for the ages, not only for acting as the finale of the O.G. “Naruto” story, but also because of how drop dead gorgeous it is! There are callbacks to the duo’s first battle in the choreography. Each uses their massive kaiju forms to reshape the landscape with huge, incredible attacks rendered in loving detail. But even once they’ve expended all their chakra and are just beating each other up in a bare-knuckle brawl, the animation quality, like Naruto and Sasuke, just doesn’t quit! It takes each nearly killing the other for them to reach an understanding, but anyone that sees this fight can understand how great it is!
#1: Naruto & Sasuke vs. Momoshiki
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Most of these fights have at least some moments where detail is sacrificed for fluidity - but not here! Impeccably detailed and as smooth as butter, this fight is the “Naruto” animation team giving 110% effort! Naruto and Sasuke teaming up to take on Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki is a straight-up banger of a battle! The fists are fast, the moves are clever, with one even calling back to their first fight in the franchise, and they even pool their powers for a Susano’o armored Nine Tails against Momoshiki’s lava creature form! There might be technically better, more important, or more hype fights, but this is the best animated fight in the “Naruto” series to date!
