Most cinematic fights in One Piece

Key points

• One Piece has impressive fight scenes, including Zoro vs. Mihawk and Luffy vs. Katakuri.
• Toei Animation elevates these battles with fluid animation, talented voice actors, and epic music.
• The battles in One Piece, like Zoro vs. King and Luffy vs. Kaido, redefined its characters and are surprisingly cinematic.

One piece is famous for his wonderful sense of adventure and his hilarious comedic scenes, but there is much more to Eiichiro Oda's legendary pirate adventure. One piece it's also home to some of the most impressive and incredible fight scenes in the entire action shōnen genre.

And if the original battles from the manga weren't already epic enough, Toei Animation made them even better by adapting them with fluid animations, talented voice work, and beautiful background music. THE One piece the anime has featured countless cinematic fights, so there's a lot to choose from, but the following are the best so far.

8 Roronoa Zoro vs. Dracule Mihawk

A beautifully choreographed fight between two strong swordsmen

• Bow: Baratie Arch
• Episode:East Blue episode TV special

The first meeting between Roronoa Zoro AND Draculian Mihawk is one of the most iconic battles in the entire show, and while its original adaptation was pretty solid, it underwent a complete overhaul in the 2017 TV special, East Blue episodewhich solidified it as one of the most epic battles in the series.

The animation is more colorful and much smoother, the pacing is much snappier, and the sword fight choreography is stellar as viewers can now actually feel the impact of every single strike. On top of all that, Zoro's final defeat feels much harsher but also much more emotional. Sword fights in anime are always a joy to watch when they're animated properly, and this fight is a perfect example of that.

7 Monkey D. Luffy vs. Sir Crocodile (Round 3)

A satisfying conclusion to a long battle, with an epic soundtrack

• Bow: Arch of Arabasta
• Episodes: 123-126

Monkey D. Luffy he had to face the evil one Mr. Crocodile multiple times during the Arabasta Arc, and while they were all really solid encounters, their final encounter ended up becoming one of the most legendary in this anime's history. This is mainly due to the fact that Crocodile himself was a truly despicable antagonist who came close to destroying Alabasta, which made viewers eager to see Luffy defeat him.

Their third and final bout was full of twists and turns and both fighters showcased some truly fascinating techniques, but the finishing move is what took it to a whole new level. The final battle between Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Storm and Crocodile's Desert Sword features some impressive animation for its time, but the inclusion of Antonín Dvořák's animation New World Symphony as background music made this moment much more satisfying and cinematic than viewers expected.

6 Monkey D. Luffy vs. Charlotte Katakuri

A long and challenging fight with a worthwhile conclusion

• Bow: Whole Cake Island arc
• Episodes: 850-871

The animated adaptation of Luffy AND Katakuri's The encounter at the end of the Whole Cake Island Arc is notable for being extremely long compared to the original manga, but that doesn't mean it's bad. To this day, this is still considered by many to be the best fight of the entire One piece souls, and for very good reasons.

After all, Luffy's rubber abilities and Katakuri's mochi powers look amazing when animated, especially Luffy's brand new Snake-Man form. So even if it dragged on, at least this battle is packed with beautifully animated sequences all the way through. And if that wasn't already cinematic enough, the final battle between Luffy's Gomu Gomu no King Cobra and Katakuri's Buzz Cut Mochi remains one of the most breathtaking and intense moments of all One piece.

5 The Supernovas against Kaido and Big Mom

The long-awaited climax of Wano's country arc has defied all expectations

• Bow: Wano Town Arch
• Episodes: 1015-1031

Toei Animation has stepped up its animation game in the Wano Country Arc, particularly during its third act, the Raid on Onigashima, which is chock-full of beautifully animated fights. The main event is no exception because at that moment an incredible battle began Luffy, Zoro, Trafalgar Law, Eustas KidAND Killer reached the roof to finally be able to dismantle it Kaido AND Great Mom.

Luffy started it all with his Gomu Gomu no Red Roc, protagonist of one of the most cinematic moments of the entire show as he immediately demonstrated that the two Sea Emperors could be damaged with a single devastating blow. All the other characters did not disappoint, as the entire fight is a collection of powerful fighters with insane abilities using some of their most effective attacks against each other – from the glorious return of Zoro's Ashura to the combined attack by Kaido and Big Mom, Hakai, this is a breathtaking show that feels like it was made for a feature film and not a weekly TV show.

4 Sanji vs the Queen

Sanji's most complex fight has detailed choreography

• Bow: Wano Town Arch
• Episodes: 1045-1061

Sanji's the battles must be really fun but challenging to animate as his powerful kicks and graceful fighting style always look amazing on screen. But they were taken to a whole new level when he had to fight The plague queen in the raid on Onigashima. This was an inherently emotionally taxing encounter for the chef, as Queen kept mentioning his abusive family and asking him to use the Raid Suit again and again.

The impeccable voice acting and intense soundtrack made this fight even more intense, but it really all comes down to the animation, which was truly incredible, especially after Sanji unlocked his brand new Ifrit Jambe technique. The entire battle was excellent, but the final sequence where Sanji kicks Queen was as satisfying as it was mind-blowing, and was the perfect demonstration of Sanji's full power and honorable personality.

3 Roronoa Zoro vs. King

An exceptional display of colorful attacks and exaggerated techniques

• Bow: Wano Town Arch
• Episodes: 1045-1063

Similarly to Sanji vs. Queen, the meeting between Zoro and Kaido's second in command, Kingit was an extremely memorable fight that redefined Zoro's entire character. This is basically the exact opposite of his duel with Mihawk as, while that fight was more grounded and realistic, this one is over-the-top and cinematic in the best way.

Zoro's advanced sword fighting techniques, combined with King's Lunarian powers and the Pteranodon's Devil Fruit, made this fight incredible, as it consists of a barrage of blazing fireballs, bizarre techniques and colorful Haki attacks . Additionally, the final sequence of Zoro's fight against King went viral when it first aired, as it contains some of the most impressive and detailed animation in the entire series, and very few scenes have surpassed it since.

2 Monkey D. Luffy vs. Kaido

A fun love letter to the medium of animation

• Bow: Wano Town Arch
• Episodes: 1027-1076

The climactic battle between Luffy AND Kaido by the end of the Wano Country Arc it was already pretty epic and entertaining in its own right, not to mention it featured multiple expertly animated sequences. But everything changed the moment Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit and unlocked his Gear 5 form.

Gear 5 is a cartoony and hilarious love letter to the medium of animation, so to reflect this, Toei Animation made sure to make Luffy move and attack in the most comical and exaggerated way possible, which worked well. However, despite how fun this fight has become, the stakes have never stopped being high. As a result, Luffy's final Gomu Gomu no Bajrang gun that managed to defeat Kaido was extremely satisfying and impressive, especially since it was the long-awaited conclusion to one of the longest conflicts in history. One piece.

1 Monkey D. Garp vs. Kuzan (Aokiji)

An emotional battle that seemed straight out of a movie

• Bow: Egghead bow
• Episodes: 1115 and 1121

Luckily, Toei Animation hasn't stopped making fights One piece looking and feeling as fit as possible after the end of the Wano Country Arc. And while Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates have already taken part in some amazing encounters set in Egghead, Monkey D. Garp AND Kuzan's The encounter in Hachinosu is easily the most impressive battle of the arc so far.

The moment Garp unleashed his magnificent Galaxy Impact on Hachinosu was already enough to solidify it as one of the best action set pieces in the entire anime, but Toei Animation elevated his fight against Kuzan even further, thanks to its fluid animation and some surprisingly cinematic flashbacks that made the audience feel the emotional stakes of their battle. In the end, Garp vs. Kuzan was so mind-blowing that it felt like a sequence from a big-budget animated film. Let's hope that every future battle is as good, or maybe even better.