10 Best Fights From Shonen Jump Manga History

Summary

• Weekly Shonen Jump
  manga have given way to some of the best fights in all of manga.
• Some of their fights excel because of their great artwork and fight choreography.
• Other fights are great because of the writing and emotional stakes put into the story.

Some of the best Weekly Shonen Jump manga have prided themselves on their action, and that, of course, has led to them having great fights. Whether in stories that revolve around fighting from day one or stories that stumble into it at some point, whenever a Shonen Jump manga delves into a fight, it’s almost always a great experience from start to finish.

Weekly Shonen Jump manga have produced a lot of great fights over the years, and some, naturally, have stood out more than others. The best fights in Weekly Shonen Jump are always the ones with great artwork, fight choreography, and emotional stakes from everyone involved, and the manga that have the best handling of that have gone down as some of the best manga of all time.

A few Shonen Jump manga, in particular, have fights that especially stand out, and with how great they all were, they’re all plenty worth highlighting.

10 Undead Unluck Perfectly Showed Off The Power Of God

Undead Unluck Chapters 125-132

Near the end of the first half of Undead Unluck, when it became clear that Ragnarok couldn’t be prevented, the Union and Under gave up on the timeline and left it to Fuuko to use the Ark and start over in the 101st loop. The Ark needed time to activate, though, and in that time, everyone needed to work together to stall the ultimate enemy of humanity, God.

After two years of buildup, God more than lived up to His reputation of being the ultimate enemy with how powerless everyone was against Him, but at the same time, the lengths everyone went to protect Fuuko from God made the fight great from start to finish, and it perfectly encapsulated how everyone needed to work together against God. It was one of the biggest moments of Undead Unluck, and it was a perfectly bittersweet way of ending its first half.

9 Denji & Aki’s Fight Made For One Of Chainsaw Man’s Most Tragic Moments

Chainsaw Man Chapters 76-79

After fighting off a sudden assault from the Gun Devil, Makima, now revealed to be Chainsaw Man’s Control Devil, fused Aki with the Gun Devil and forced him to attack Denji and Power. Denji kept trying to wake Aki up, but as it became clear that he had been reduced to a monster who would destroy everyone and everything around him, Denji was left with no choice but to kill him.

Between the irony of Aki being possessed by the Devil he spent his whole life wanting to kill and how the cruelty of the fight was contrasted with Aki imagining himself having a snowball fight with Denji, Denji and Aki’s fight was the fight that best showed off both the emotional depth and cinematic quality of Chainsaw Man’s writing. There’s never been quite a fight like it since, both within Chainsaw Man and Shonen Jump manga, as a whole.

8 Kinnikuman’s Final Fight With Super Phoenix Was A Stunning Finale To The Manga

Kinnikuman Chapters 381-387

In the climax of Kinnikuman’s Scramble for the Throne arc, with all of Kinnikuman’s friends dead or otherwise incapacitated, it came down to a battle between him and the last challenger for the throne of Planet Kinniku, Kinnikuman Super Phoenix. Super Phoenix had long since established himself as Kinnikuman’s strongest opponent to date, and with Kinnikuman’s sudden heart problems worsening, victory had never seemed less assured for him.

Not only was the action in Kinnikuman and Super Phoenix’s final fight top-notch, especially when Kinnikuman regained his Burning Inner Strength and finally won, but the writing of Kinnikuman’s final fight did a great job of showing off the protagonist’s newfound maturity, both in how he deflected Super Phoenix’s selfishness and how he effortlessly maintained the story’s themes of friendship and brotherhood. It was an emotionally cathartic ending to a legendary manga, and it still holds up almost 40 years later.

7 D’Arby Was Responsible For One Of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Most Unique Fights

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Chapters 98-103

Not long after JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders shifted locations to Egypt, Jotaro and his group, still in search of DIO, encountered another one of the Nine Egyptian Gods, Daniel J. D’Arby. Rather than force them into a physical fight, D’Arby challenged them to a series of games, all of which were rigged in his favor, and with the power of his Stand, Osiris, every time someone lost to him, their soul would be taken and turned into a poker chip.

The battle against D’Arby was incredibly tense thanks to how well Hirohiko Araki emphasized the psychological elements of every game, especially when it came time for Jotaro’s escalating mind games against him. With its artwork, pacing, and overall creativity, the battle against D’Arby is one of the most engaging in all of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and it’s one of the best showings of what makes the manga so unique.

6 My Hero Academia Finally Put All For One Down With A Bang

My Hero Academia Chapters 387-410

The tension in My Hero Academia’s final arc reached a tipping point when All For One used Eri’s Rewind Quirk to make himself younger and more powerful than ever. Just as it seemed like no one could stop him from taking control of Shigaraki, All Might appeared and donned an Iron Man-esque suit of armor to challenge All For One to one final battle.

All Might and All For One’s rematch was a great way of giving All Might one last moment in the spotlight, and beyond that, everything following Bakugo’s revival featured some of the best artwork in all of My Hero Academia that paved the way for a cathartic end of All For One. My Hero Academia’s final arc had entered a bit of a lull by that point, and All Might and Bakugo’s final fight was the perfect way to make things exciting again.

5 Gojo & Sukuna’s Fight Is One Of The Best In Modern Manga

Jujutsu Kaisen Chapters 223-236

The end of Jujutsu Kaisen’s Culling Games arc saw things take a turn for the worse with Sukuna taking over Megumi’s body and Kenjaku taking control of Tengen, but amidst it all, the heroes had a sole silver lining: Gojo was finally freed from his imprisonment. With Gojo back to take charge of the situation, everyone still had a fighting chance, and to kick that off, Gojo challenged Sukuna to a decisive battle in Shinjuku on Christmas Eve.

Not only was the artwork and fight choreography for Gojo and Sukuna’s fight some of the manga’s best, but the way Gojo and Sukuna were constantly pushing each other to their limits always made for an amazing spectacle and highlighted just why they’re the strongest characters in the series. Gojo might have lost the fight, but even that doesn’t detract from how great a read it was from beginning to end.

4 Dragon Quest: The Adventure Of Dai’s Final Battle Was Also Its Best

Dragon Quest: The Adventure Of Dai Chapters 320-348

In the final arc of Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, the Dark King Vearn revealed that his elderly form was just a cover for his true form, one much younger and more powerful than the Vearn Dai and his friends knew. Defeating Vearn seemed more impossible than ever, but with the fate of the world on the line, Dai had no choice but to keep fighting until his last breath.

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai went all-in on its JRPG inspirations with an ever-evolving final boss and a cast of heroes running on nothing but willpower, and as always, the artwork and sincere character writing for Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai’s final battle effortlessly sold its charm and overall quality. The final battle of The Adventure of Dai encapsulated everything great about the series, and overall, it helped it end on as high a note as possible.

3 Yusuke & Toguro’s Final Battle Is One Of Yu Yu Hakusho’s Defining Moments

Yu Yu Hakusho Chapters 104-111

After one arduous battle after another, Yu Yu Hakusho’s Dark Tournament reached its final fight: Yusuke vs. Toguro. Thanks to his latest training with Genkai, Yusuke was stronger than ever and was ready to give it his all against Toguro, but even that wasn’t enough when Toguro finally unleashed his full power and showed how large the gap between their power truly was.

Yusuke and Toguro’s final battle in Yu Yu Hakusho more than lived up to the hype; Toguro’s full power was as menacing as it needed to be, Yusuke’s final beatdown of Toguro was incredibly cathartic after everything he put Yusuke through, and the artwork and choreography that accompanied all of it was great to see and still holds up after 30 years. The Dark Tournament is easily the most iconic part of Yu Yu Hakusho, and its final battle is a big reason why that is.

2 Luffy & Lucci’s Fight Was One Of The Biggest In All Of One Piece

One Piece Chapters 409-427

In One Piece’s Enies Lobby arc, Luffy fought against Rob Lucci, the strongest member of CP9 with a notable thirst for blood. Lucci pushed Luffy to use one new technique after another at the expense of his health, but with Robin’s life on the line and a Buster Call about to commence, there wasn’t anything else he could do if he wanted to beat Lucci and save his friends.

Between the stellar fight choreography, the way Lucci pushed Luffy to the brink to a degree that’s rarely been matched, and the absolute gorgeous artwork accompanying it, Luffy and Lucci’s fight was the perfect showing of One Piece’s strengths as an action story and was an all-around perfect conclusion to a stellar arc. Luffy and Lucci’s fight is often regarded as one of the best fights in all of One Piece, and overall, it’s easy to see why that is.

1 Goku & Frieza’s Fight Is Still The Most Iconic Fight In Shonen Jump History

Dragon Ball Chapters 307-327

After Goku finished recovering from the fight with Captain Ginyu in Dragon Ball, he returned to his friends just in time to take up the fight against Frieza in his final form. Sure enough, though, Frieza initially proved too powerful for even Goku to handle, and fighting Frieza meant that Goku had to push himself to his limit and achieve his destiny by becoming the legendary Super Saiyan.

Between its stellar artwork and fight choreography, the way Akira Toriyama masterfully built up tension over and over again, and the absolute catharsis of Goku becoming a Super Saiyan and dominating Frieza, Goku and Frieza’s fight in Dragon Ball is the perfect encapsulation of everything that came before it. Goku and Frieza’s fight is easily one of Dragon Ball’s best fights, and it’s hard to see it as anything other than the best fight in the history of Shonen Jump manga.