5 best fights in Naruto (& 5 that were subpar)

Naruto is a series that went on for many years and gave the fanbase numerous memories to cherish, not just due to the characters and but also the outstanding fight sequences.

These fight sequences not only had great animation but also a ton of emotional content which made the scene even better. However, not all the fights in the series were that great; some were extremely underwhelming. In this article, we first take a look at some of the best fights in the entire series, followed by some that thoroughly disappointed.

Some of the best fights in the Naruto series

1) Naruto vs Sasuke

This was one of the most anticipated fights in the entire series, and the animation quality was quite good as well. Sasuke was out for blood in his perfect Susanoo and used Indra’s Arrow, one of his strongest offensive jutsu, while Naruto was in his Six Paths Sage Mode, who used the Ultra Big Ball Rasenshuriken.

The shockwave was devastating. Prior to this, the fight also had a good amount of well-choreographed taijutsu as well. Most fans certainly loved this fight in the series.

2) Guy vs Madara

Might Guy was forced to open all of the Eight Gates when he fought against Madara in his Ten-Tails Jinchuriki form. Madara was ridiculously strong and overwhelmed the entire Allied Shinobi force even before he entered the Ten-Tail Jinchuriki form.

However, Might Guy drove Madara to a corner using his taijutsu alone. He was so strong that he dealt a significant amount of damage to Madara, who went on to declare that Might Guy was the strongest character he had ever fought in his life, and that’s impressive given that he also fought Hashirama, who was given the title of “God of Shinobi.”

3) Naruto vs Pain

Fight between Naruto and Pain (image via Pierrot)

Naruto vs Pain was another great fight as fans were hyped to see the protagonist enter the battlefield in Sage Mode for the first time. He had a crimson cloak and the toad sages were present as well. During this fight, the protagonist was able to beat Pain, and emotions were running high since the latter was responsible for the death of Jiraiya, one of the most beloved characters in the series. The protagonist also managed to save Konohagakure in the end.

4) Kakashi vs Obito

This fight was good because it featured two skilled shiniobis, well-choreographed hand-to-hand combat, along with some great animation. The transition between the past and the present added a touch of class to this fight, which emotionally impacted the audience. Indeed, this was one of the best fights in the entire series and had a good mix of great combat and emotional content as well.

5) Rock Lee vs Gaara

This was one of the most hyped fights in a highly entertaining arc. It was about a young boy skilled in hand-to-hand combat who went up against a ridiculously strong psychopath with a massive bloodlust. No one could keep up with Gaara, and nobody expected Rock Lee to perform well against the Sand Ninja.

However, Rock Lee opened five of the eight Gates and almost succeeded in beating him. This fight had decent animation, and was highlighted by Rock Lee’s will and mental toughness.

Some fights that were subpar in the series

1) Ino vs Sakura

The majority of the fanbase believes that this was one of the most underwhelming fights in the entire series. While Sakura is a strong kunoichi, Ino was far stronger at that stage of the series. The fight lacked good choreography and the overall execution fell short. The match ended in a draw when Ino could have easily beaten Sakura during the Chunin Exams arc of the series.

2) Tenten vs Clone

Tenten has a unique fighting style and she specializes in the use of weapons, but she barely received any screen time and didn’t really progress during the course of the series either. The battle took place during the Kazekage Rescue Mission arc and she had to fight her own clone.

There was nothing exciting about this fight and it was quite underwhelming to say the least. One would have expected the team members to swap their clone opponents based on their fighting style but they managed to beat them by “becoming stronger than yesterday,” which was quite arbitrary and didn’t really showcase any skill.

3) Neji vs Naruto

The Chunin Exams arc focused a lot on personal growth, and the protagonist had the opportunity to showcase his skills. But Neji was far stronger and way more skilled than the protagonist. This was also a fight of the combatant’s ideologies, since Neji believed people were destined to do certain things and could not escape from that, while Naruto’s views were that hard work beats talent.

Neji was doing everything right. He exploited the protagonist’s weaknesses and should have shut down his chakra system using 64 Palms. However, Naruto was able to conveniently utilize Kurama’s chakra and beat Neji in one punch. One could argue that this fight almost went on to prove Neji’s point.

4) The fight against Kaguya Otsutsuki

Kaguya Otsutsuki was supposed to be one of the strongest characters, and unbeatable owing to her ridiculously overpowered abilities. The reason why this fight was so underwhelming was because of the fact that the protagonist decided to use a Reverse Harem Jutsu to distract a being who was on the level of a God, and then defeat her. The fight portrayed Kaguya as a character that wasn’t smart, which was a bit of a disconnect for the fanbase.

5) Sakura vs Sound Ninjas

This episode was titled “Sakura Blossoms,” and fans expected her to rise to the occasion and display the results of her training. This was extremely underwhelming because in that fight, she cut her hair to escape one of the sound ninjas, used one of the most basic jutsus — the substitution jutsu — took a few kunais and pinned down the sound ninja. This fight didn’t have much going on and the title of the episode suggested otherwise.

Edited by Sandeep Banerjee