There are plenty of anime that are thoughtful takes on the world and life and those shows are great. Sometimes I want to see the world in a new and exciting way and anime can definitely do that for you. However, sometimes I just want to see a bad guy get punched so hard the rest of the world start spinning.

For moments like that, we have our top epic anime punches.

Rice Digital’s Most Epic Anime Punches

Goku vs Freiza – Dragon Ball Z

Its almost impossible to write an article about action anime without including a bit about Dragon Ball. From OG Dragon Ball through to Super, it is the granddaddy of fighting anime and has had thousands of kicks and punches thrown on its pages over the years, some with ridiculous names to go along with them (I’m looking at you, Yamcha).

This one isn’t the most powerful punch in the show, but it is one of the most dramatic. That moment when Goku takes the space tyrant down a peg. After a bit of back and forth, Frieza charges at the newly transformed Super Saiyan only to take a fist in the stomach and collapsing on the ground. It was when you knew that the fight was done. With a single blow, Goku finally fulfilled the promise we’d had since the characters landed on Namek, earning his place on this list of epic anime punches.

Saitama vs Speed of Sound Sonic – One Punch Man

The whole joke of One Punch Man is the anti-climax. Saitama can decimate any enemy in a single punch, so he is almost out of place on this list of great anime punches. However, this moment was one of the funniest moments in the whole show. Being accosted by someone with superhuman speed, Saitama handles it with his usual boredom.

By this point in the show, we know the formula. We expect Saitama to be put into an impossible situation before throwing a single punch and then move on with the rest of his day. This breaks that formula in that he doesn’t actually bother throwing the punch. He is just holding his fist upward and Sonic’s, shall we say, most delicate of areas lands firmly upon it. The “attack” still manages to take the fun right out of the villain and he swiftly retreats. It also helps that this is likely the most well drawn and dramatic nut-punch I’ve ever seen.

All Might and Izuku Midoriya vs Wolfram – My Hero Academia: Two Heroes

I make no secret that I love My Hero Academia, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see this show on my list of top anime punches. The show has given us a wide selection of punches to choose from, so I wanted to pick one I hadn’t talked about yet. Two Heroes was one of the most Shonen movies that I’ve ever seen, so of course it was going to finish with an epic, beautifully animated fight.

What sets this apart from other moments in this series is the fact that, for the first and probably only time, we get to see Deku and All Might team up to deliver a devastating blow against the bad guy. The Double Detroit Smash was one of those moments that made me giddy the first time I saw it in the cinema. It was typically shonen and predictable, but sometimes things work because they work and we don’t need to change that formula to make it amazing.

Eren Yeager vs Titans – Attack on Titan

I struggled with Attack on Titan enough that I barely got to the end of the first season. For me, it was a great concept that didn’t hold up as much as I wanted it to. However, the first moment when Eren transforms into his Titan form and unleashes a brutal beatdown on anything and everything in his way is one of such an amazing moment that it had to make this list.

The hopelessness of the situation. The despair on everyone’s face. This was the end, possibly of everything. And then this Titan comes up, reels back, and punches the head clean off another Titan. It was the first time we’d seen anyone do much more than pester these inhuman giants, so it was a refreshing injection of hope into an otherwise grim setting.

So that’s my list of epic anime punches. What would you like to see on the list? What would you knock off? Let us know in the comments or catch us on social media in the links below!

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Trent Cannon

Trent is a fan of anything that doesn't take itself too seriously. He is frequently hilarious and adorable. If 240 character takes on gaming, anime, or rat pictures are your thing, follow him on Twitter.

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