Battle Shonen and Seinen anime can be some of the most entertaining genres to consume. These stories are often really fast-paced, making them exciting from beginning to end. The battles are often grandiose, with great stakes at hand. It’s common to see the hero of the story break their limits to overcome a truly overwhelming force.
In doing so, they save the day and rescue those in danger. Even an anime about epic battles needs to have some manner of story. Fortunately, some of the best action-oriented stories also have compelling characters and amazing worldbuilding to keep viewers locked in.
Updated by Sage Ashford on March 30th, 2023: Everyone loves fighting anime, and production studios are always looking for the next popular anime series to air. Not every action series is always going to be good, but there are tons out there for long-time anime fans and newcomers alike. This list has been updated to reflect some of the other great fighting anime series.
25 Hajime No Ippo
127 Episodes
Not every anime about fighting needs to involve superpowers. Hajime no Ippo isn’t just about combat, but the purest form of fighting imaginable in professional boxing. The story follows Ippo Makunouchi, a teenager who gets bullied by his schoolmates because he’s quiet and keeps to himself.
After being rescued from bullying by a boxer-in-training, Mamoru Takamura, Ippo takes an interest in learning how to fight. Though he has the strength necessary to compete, being strong isn’t everything it takes to become a boxer. A long road of training, and a never-ending series of challenges, awaits Ippo.
24 Sengoku Basara
38 Episodes
Set during the Senoku Era, Sengoku Basara begins after the mighty Oda Nobunaga has established himself as the “Demon King of Owari.” He’s well on his way to uniting all the kingdoms, when two people appear to challenge him: Masamune Date and Yukimura Sanada.
Both of them refuse to allow Nobunaga to have his way, but there’s one problem: they don’t stand a chance separately, and they view each other as rivals as well.An adaptation of Capcom’s popular hack-and-slash series, Sengoku Basara has plenty of spin-offs and even a film for fans who take an interest in this unique spin on Japanese history.
23 Tenjou Tenge
26 Episodes
Tenjou Tenge was a popular 2000s anime that ended far too soon. Set at Toudou Academy, Tenjou Tenge starts when two young students arrive to the academy, Souichiro Nagi and Bob Makihara. Two delinquent students, they both planned to rule over the high school by force, beating up anyone who challenged them.
When they arrived, they learned the school was already full of students studying martial arts. Both Souichiro and Bob find themselves up against enemies far stronger than they imagined in the school’s Executive Council, and are forced to join the school’s Juken Club to stand a chance. Tenjou Tenge isn’t just about normal martial arts, as many of the students quickly display supernatural abilities. Soon, Souichiro and Bob realize they’re caught up in a conflict that stretches back centuries.
22 The God Of High School
13 Episodes
God of High School isn’t a great adaptation of its manhwa, since it skips over a lot of crucial details and ends far too early. However, it’s a great series for those who just watch an anime about fighting. Everything begins with Jin Mori being invited to a martial arts competition for high schoolers known as The God of High School.
Jin loves fighting against strong people, leading to him entering the tournament, where the winner receives a wish fulfilled by the owners of the tournament. Along the way, Jin meets and teams up with some strong allies, while learning there’s much more to the tournament than the owners are saying.
21 Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple
61 Episodes
Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple starts out with high school student Kenichi Shirahama struggling with being bullied every day. However, when Kenichi becomes friends with transfer student Miu Furinji, a path towards strength opens up for him. Miu’s home happens to be a martial arts dojo known as Ryozanpaku.
Eager to become strong, Kenichi tries to train at Ryozanpaku, but there’s a problem. Everyone there is impossibly strong, requiring Kenichi to do seemingly impossible training regimens. Even worse, all of them claim he has no talent for fighting at all. Still, the longer Kenichi trains there, the more attention he attracts from other teens who want to challenge themselves against other strong people.
20 Soul Eater
51 Episodes
In 2008, Studio BONES brought to life the shonen action series Soul Eater. The story focuses on Maka Albarn, a young Shinigami Meister trying to transform her partner, Soul Eater, into a proper Death Scythe. The two of them need to track down 99 evil souls and a single witch to reach their goal, but they’re not the only Meister and Scythe pairing out there in the world.
Soul Eater has plenty of incredible action scenes that focus not just on Maka and Soul, but the other pairings in the series that are introduced over time. The one downside is the frustrating last fight of the series, which comes from wrapping up before the manga finished.
19 Devil May Cry
12 Episodes
Everyone associates Devil May Cry with the acclaimed video game series. However, the anime is an underrated addition to the series that takes place between the first two games. There’s a lot of action to behold in this series, with the characters regularly locking horns with demonic beings and employing their high-octane styles to do so.
The protagonist Dante is a hilarious character whose fighting skills are unmatched due to his status as a half-demon. Since the Devil May Cry anime is only twelve episodes long, viewers can check this out quickly to fulfill their fighting anime needs.
18 Dragon Ball Z
291 Episodes
In the world of Dragon Ball Z, super-powered individuals take it upon themselves to defend the Earth from alien races and magical creatures. The series takes the meaning of power to incredible lengths, as the characters reach literally world-shattering levels of enhanced might.
The focus on fighting in Dragon Ball Z is so strong that several episodes are dedicated just to the action sequences. These are fleshed out to where storylines focus on how the characters unlock new abilities, though they can often feel like frustrating deus ex machina. Everything’s over-the-top and the character development isn’t always there, but there are few shows that can match DBZ’s intensity.
17 Tokyo Revengers
36 Episodes
In Tokyo Revengers, Takemichi Hanagaki has developed the power to travel back to his time in middle school in 2005. All he wants to do is save the life of his ex-girlfriend and her brother, who were killed by the Tokyo Manji Gang. But every time Takemichi goes back in time, his changes result in someone else being harmed. Somehow, Takemichi must save the future and figure out a way for everyone to live.
For a show with such a high concept premise, Tokyo Revengers sure loves its battles. Each time Takemichi travels to the past, viewers are treated to some brutal action scenes between the different gangs from his time in middle school. While the combatants don’t have superpowers, the resulting clashes remain some of the most engrossing fight scenes of the 2020s.
16 The Seven Deadly Sins
103 Episodes
The Seven Deadly Sins follows a group of knights who were accused of plotting a coup of the kingdom. A decade later, the members begin searching for one another in order to clear their names and weed out the actual villains behind this conspiracy.
The action in The Seven Deadly Sins focuses on thematic quality, with the characters each having their own identity based on their strongest powers. The character designs are also a thing of beauty, making the fight scenes stand out from a visual standpoint.
15 Fairy Tail
328 Episodes
Fairy Tail‘s basic premise can be deceiving for people looking for a series focused entirely on fights. While everyone is supposed to be a mage, in Fairy Tail the mages work a little differently. Characters like Natsu and Gajeel punch their way out of problems, while heroines like Erza use blades to battle their enemies.
Fairy Tail ran for three seasons, and each arc is better than the last. The fight scenes get more intense and the world-building is always solid, though people shouldn’t be surprised if they want a talking cat after the show’s over.
14 Samurai Champloo
26 Episodes
Samurai Champloo follows the story of Fuu Kasumi as she begins her journey in search of a mysterious samurai who smells of sunflowers. With only that single clue about him, she enlists the help of the free-form swordsman Mugen and the traditional samurai Jin to track him down.
Though Jin and Mugen have agreed to help, they also can’t stand each other, leading to them constantly being at each other’s throats. Though Samurai Champloo features exciting battles between swordsmen, that’s not exactly the appeal. The show is just as much a character study as it is a fighting anime, with beautiful standalone episodes and an amazing hip-hop soundtrack.
13 My Hero Academia
146 Episodes
To become a hero like the one he’s always looked up to, My Hero Academia‘s protagonist Izuku Midoriya must overcome not only his insecurities, but the many villains that would see society descend into chaos. Fortunately, he can rely on the guidance of the legendary hero All Might who granted him the power of One For All.
In My Hero Academia, heroes and villains battle it out to see whose ideology will eventually win out. This never-ending back-and-forth conflict has led to some of the most entertaining anime battles of the last decade.
12 Eden’s Zero
25 Episodes
Eden’s Zero focuses on Shiki, a young boy who grew up on a planet full of robots. After all the robots on the planet stop working, he travels with B-Cuber Rebecca Bluegarden out into the galaxy to make as many friends as possible and discover the creator of the galaxy.
This premise shouldn’t fool viewers looking for plenty of action. As Shiki and Rebecca expand the crew of their ship, the Eden’s Zero, they make plenty of powerful enemies. While Shiki would rather make friends, he’s never afraid to use his gravity powers to take down anyone who tries to hurt others.
11 Demon Slayer
44 Episodes
Demon Slayer is the most successful manga of the last decade. Not only did it outsell most manga released during the last few years, but it outsold massively popular series like Bleach in only a few years. Demon Slayer focuses on the Demon Slayer Corps’ constant battle against Muzan Kibutsuji and his demon army.
Every season of Demon Slayer provides thrilling and exciting fights, with each character having their own unique fighting styles. Animation studio Ufotable makes sure every battle is breathtakingly beautiful, and the sound effects and music added take it to another level.
10 Tokyo Ghoul
48 Episodes
The ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul are man-eating creatures who must feast on human flesh in order to survive. To combat the rising casualties due to the ghouls’ consumption patterns, Japan forms a special counter-ghoul agency, the CCG.
The CCG battles against these dangerous creatures daily, and these battles tend to be extremely dangerous. These fights see each party put their lives at risk in order to come out on top, which results in some tremendous battles.
9 Vinland Saga
34 Episodes
At its center, Vinland Saga is about much more than the battle. In many cases, it is a great Norse story that seeks to broaden people’s understanding of Nordic culture. Despite this, Vinland Saga does a great job presenting its fighting scenes. Battles in Vinland Saga often mean much more than life or death.
Warriors go into battle not only putting their lives at risk, but also their honor. In Vinland Saga, battles usually have very high stakes with the losers not only losing their life but their countries and families.
8 Bleach
393 Episodes
Bleach focuses on the story of Ichigo Kurosaki as he embarks on his journey of being a Soul Reaper. As a Soul Reaper, Ichigo is tasked with purifying hollows, as well as ensuring the safe passage of the newly dead to the afterlife. Soul Reapers have many enemies that would seek to do damage to the Soul Society.
As such, Soul Reapers go through extreme training to be able to defeat their enemies. A Soul Reaper wields a Zanpakuto, and each Zanpakuto has its own unique powers. Bleach is an exciting anime filled with entertaining battles between groups such as Shinigami, Visored, Espada, Hollow, and more.
7 Naruto
702-episodes”>702 Episodes
Part one of Naruto showcased some of the most tactically interesting battles in all of anime history. Characters would implement their own specialized Jutsu in order to gain the upper hand on their opponents. These moves varied greatly from village to village and from ninja to ninja.
This diverse action system is the reason for epic battles such as Kakashi versus Zabuza and Naruto and Sasuke versus Haku. The early combat system focused on maximizing the effectiveness of each Jutsu used, and this made for some very intriguing battle tactics.
6 Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
64 Episodes
Throughout their journey to find the Philosopher’s Stone, Edward and Alphonse Elric encounter many powerful Alchemists who want to cause them harm. To protect themselves, the boys use their vast understanding of Alchemy to do battle.
Edward and Alphonse are often able to do Alchemy without first drawing a transmutation circle. This high-level Alchemy ensures that many of the battles in Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood are extremely dynamic and exciting.