Top 10 Anime Wars

Our list begins with a battle from an old school, mecha classic. The Zentradi came to Earth looking for a battleship they had lost ten years prior. When fighting broke out over the mouthful we call Super Dimension Fortress Macross, it was intense. Millions of humans lost their lives in a crossfire that devastated the Earth. What makes this conflict stand out is the use of music, which happened to give humanity an unexpected advantage. It confused the Zentradi long enough to strike a decisive blow against them. Say what you will about the songs of Lynn Minmei, her melodies saved humanity.

In this battle of the Gods Goddess Athena takes center stage to combat her fellow deities whenever they threaten death and destruction. The “Never Ending” moniker, stems from the fact that this war never reaches a solid conclusion. It rather book marks itself and begins anew every life cycle. Gods such as Ares, Poseidon and Hades are recurring enemies during these scuffles. Never alone in any iteration, Athena summons 88 Saints to her side as her protectors. Still, Athena is never one to leave the fight to just her warriors. No matter what the cost, she will see the Gods defeated and the world saved.

When Aizen betrayed and left the Soul Society, you knew there was going to be hell to pay. Hell came forth in a duel filled brawl between the Soul Society and Aizen’s own personal army. A combination of Soul Reaper and Hollow, the Arrancar had all of the powers of their adversaries, including their own Bankai special attack. Almost every prominent Soul Reaper was put to the test in their own individual duel, while Aizen sat on the sidelines until the final battle. It was a conflict that changed the cast of Bleach forever and was one of the longest running battles in Anime history.

It was the shinobi throw down that fans were waiting for. Long time enemies of Naruto Uzamaki, the Atkasuki, finally went to war with an alliance of ninjas: the Allied Shinobi Forces. The Atkasuki had one slight advantage on their end. They used the ability to resurrect old enemies from all across the Naruto timeline to wreck havoc on the Allied Forces. Fan favorite foes like Zabuza and Haku, were allowed one final chance to settle old scores. Though only two days in length, the war has been covered in well over one hundred episodes of the Naruto Shippuden series. Talking about stretching out the conflict.

What at first appears to be a simple fantasy battle between good and evil goes much deeper with the War of the Heroes. The leaders of the side of Lodoss, King Fahn, and the side of Marmo, King Beld, were once allies who saved the world together. Amidst armies of Goblins, Men and even Dragons, Fahn and Beld face off one final time with their Holy Swords of Destiny. They don’t call Lodoss “The accursed isle” for nothing, and in the end though both men were destroyed by the manipulation of a witch named Karla. Finishing the fight falls to main character Parn and his rival Ahsram, who take over as the champion heroes of their respective sides.

It was all been building to this. With his home country of Britannia firmly under his control, Lelouch Vi Britannia launches one final campaign to make the world his. Among those who stand against him are his former Allies, the Black Knights. Using his devious intellect, genius strategy and his Geass powers, Lelouch is able to win this heartbreaking battle but it’s the secret final move of this whole campaign that takes the cake. To say more would spoil it one of the best endings to any Anime ever.

As far back as anyone in this series can remember, Titans have roamed the Earth. Towering, monstrous behemoths, they kill and devour humans without emotion or discrimination. Humanity has been at a near powerless state to defend itself against these seemingly mindless beasts. That hasn’t stopped the military from creating counter measures to give their soldiers a fighting chance. Armed with their Three Dimensional Maneuvering Gear, the next generation of the military can jump great distances and move at fast speeds to take the fight to the Titans. It’s a small edge in an otherwise very one-sided war for survival that humanity has been on the losing side of for centuries.

Compared to most wars on this list, this war without end features just seven gifted mages. Each is granted their own different Heroic Spirit to battle for the Holy Grail. Besides the gorgeous battles, this war is made more interesting thanks to the mental chess game being played by everyone. Which mage and spirit do you take out first? Who do you ally yourself with? There’s no shortage of strategy or consequences to the tougher decisions. Seeing how bad the war gets in Fate/Zero, makes you fear quite a bit for the next generation of mages who enter the battle in Fate/Stay Night.

This entry is nicknamed “The Long War”. By the time the series begins, the armies of the Free Planets Alliance and the Galactic Empire, no relation to Star Wars, have been fighting across the cosmos for over one hundred and fifty years. This war redefines the terms “scope” and “epic” with fleets as large as 20,000 ships engaging in battle at a time. At the heart of the fighting, is the chess game of strategy going on between Empire Tactician, Reinhard, and Alliance Genius, Yang. The grudging respect between these two ultimately leads to an uneasy truce. Took them long enough.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
The White Beard War
“One Piece” (1999- )

Spiral vs Anti Spirals
“Gurren Lagann” (2007)

The Vers Invasion
“Aldnoah Zero” (2014-15)

The Mu Invasion
“Rahxephon” (2002)

Universal Century 0079. The Principality of Zeon fights for independence against the Earth Federation. Losses from this war are staggering with Earth suffering from colony drops and Zeon losing thousands of soldiers in an ultimately failed bid for freedom. The One Year war has been explored from many different angles, showing us the heroes and villains of both sides. Though Zeon loses the war, it’s ghost continues to haunt the Universal Century several decades later,
Do you agree with our list? What legendary wars in Anime do you think stand out? For more big event Top 10’s published daily, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com