Top 10 Sanji Fights in One Piece

If Sanji is the filet mignon of chefs, then Wanze is a day-old hot dog. This wild-eyed, annoying Cipher Pol agent stands, or rather skates, between Sanji and company rescuing Robin on a train. Yet, despite his silly demeanor and disgusting cooking methods (who strains noodles with their nose?!), Wanze succeeds in forcing Sanji to do something no other fighter has - use weapons! Because Wanze encases himself in noodle armor, Sanji can’t use his favored kicks. Instead, he uses knives to prepare the food making up Wanze’s suit. Not only that, but he also rearranges Wanze’s face with his kicks to make him handsome. Wanze may not appreciate it, but as we’ve established - he can’t recognize good cooking.

When the Straw Hats decide to free Nami’s hometown from the oppression of Arlong and his Fishmen pirates, Sanji squares off against Kuroobi, an expert in Fishman Karate. Kuroobi ridicules Sanji’s chivalrous attitude and seems to be a match for Sanji on land, and especially in the water, which Sanji leaps into to save Luffy from drowning. Some quick thinking by Sanji allows him to force his foe to surface though. When he can breathe again, Sanji makes quick work of Kuroobi, calling out his attacks and kicking the fishy martial artist through a building! It’s just as well - he probably couldn’t handle dessert.

Most of the fights with big bads are reserved for Luffy, but when the Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo attacks half the crew on their ship, Sanji steps in to save them. The mid-air battle between the pair is brief, but quite memorable. Sanji impresses the manipulative mad lad with his strength, but he’s no match for Doflamingo’s string powers, which leave him immobile. Thankfully, Law steps in to rescue him. Even so, while it lasts, this brief exchange with Doflamingo has Sanji kicking above his weight, and doing pretty well for himself.

The Straw Hats and the Marines of G-5 are nominally enemies. But when their double agent leader Vice Admiral Vergo attacks Captain Tashigi, Sanji steps in since he heard her crying. Sanji’s bout with Vergo sees the two of them match kicks, with Vergo even managing to crack one of Sanji’s bones! Although Sanji knocks Vergo into several walls, the duplicitous pirate/Marine proves durable, and his Haki is quite impressive. Unfortunately for us, their fight gets cut short by the arrival of poison gas, but we feel like Sanji could have won eventually, without the time constraint.

Arguably Sanji’s greatest foes, if not his greatest fights, are his family. Besides his mother and sister, the rest of Sanji’s blood relatives are terrible, abusive people. Sanji’s biggest bout with his family is when his father, Judge, decides to make their argument physical. Despite lacking the genetic modifications and supersuits of his siblings and father, Sanji holds his own against Judge. Even so, despite his Haki and fiery kicks, Judge’s use of dirty tactics catches Sanji off guard, and he’s defeated. This fight is Sanji fighting against his past, both literally and figuratively.

As Page One of the Beasts Pirates goes rampaging through Wano Country’s capital, looking for “Sangoro” the soba chef, the man himself appears and starts fighting the dino devil fruit user. But to disguise himself, Sanji dons the Raid Suit given to him by the Vinsmokes. And sure, using the Raid Suit does kind of contradict Sanji’s vow to never use something given to him by his terrible family, but at the end of the day - he’s dressed like a superhero fighting a dinosaur! The suit’s invisibility powers, flight, and incredible durability, along with some great animation, help make this short but sweet fight stick out from the rest.

Sanji’s reunion with his family is not a happy one, as we’ve gone over. In fact, Judge threatens to kill the man he actually sees as his father, Zeff, if Sanji doesn’t go through with the marriage they’ve arranged for him. So when Luffy shows up, hoping to take Sanji back, Sanji is so torn that he tries to make Luffy leave with force. It’s a one-sided beatdown, with Sanji repeatedly pummeling his captain, hoping he can convince Luffy that this is what he wants. Luffy doesn’t buy it though. Sanji may “win” this emotional exchange, but Luffy’s speech has Sanji (and us) in tears, and leaves little doubt as to the true victor.

Bon Clay may be a flamboyant, ridiculous crossdresser, but despite, or maybe because of that, he gives Sanji one of his best fights. The duo are fairly well-matched physically, with Mr. 2’s martial arts and Sanji’s kicks creating some great back and forth. And Bon Clay’s ridiculous use of his shapeshifting devil fruit powers may be ineffective at first, but he finds just the right face to play on Sanji’s weakness. Ultimately, their clash of kicks ends with Sanji the victor. Full of great choreography and some hysterical comedy, this battle is as unforgettable as Bon Clay’s eccentric appearance, and surprisingly noble heart.

The Straw Hats’ fights against CP9 feature most of them kicking their abilities up a notch, and Sanji takes that literally! When Usopp is nearly killed by the wolfish Jabra, Sanji arrives at the last second to save him - and drop one badass line! While Sanji gets a few hits in, Jabra’s Tekkai makes his body incredibly durable, forcing Sanji to unveil a new technique - Diable Jambe. By superheating his feet, Sanji is able to fry Jabra and send him to the bottom of the tower. It’s a fight that sees Sanji at his most heroic, and spices up his fighting style in a new way.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Sanji’s Cooking Won Over Even This Brutal Fighter

Anyone Who Steals Sanji’s (Perverted) Dream & His Favorite Girl is Getting Kicked!

Sanji May Get Zapped, But He Drops a Badass Line & Wrecks the Would-Be God’s Ship

Sanji’s fight against Queen is unequivocally his greatest fight in the series yet, although his brief tag team with Zoro against King and Queen is also pretty epic. Queen is a flamboyant cyborg who can turn into a dinosaur, so there’s plenty of comedy on offer (pretty sure dinosaurs don’t work that way!). But it’s Queen’s connections to Sanji’s family, and Sanji awakening the same superhuman abilities as his family that make this battle something special. Sanji has to confront who he could become and his feelings about the Vinsmokes, while also obtaining new strength and delivering a final blow that’s even hotter and more hype than ever before!