Top 10 Greatest Martial Arts Anime

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we are counting down our picks for the Top 10 Martial Arts Anime.

For this list, we’ll be looking over the series that have one or more recognised martial arts tied into its narrative. We will be including combat sports, so boxing counts too! Is there a hard hitter we missed? Let us know in the comments!

Everyone’s nervous when they attend a new school, though chances are they never had to deal with every class being filled with violent thugs, martial art masters, and superpowered brats. Leaning towards the tongue in cheek style with an extra dolloping of fanservice, there’s still fun to be had here for those who enjoy a good rumble, since Souichiro’s daily antics involve him either tearing apart or getting the crap kicked out of him by every stacked student he encounters. Makes for great training though!

For the chance to snag that all important snack, some people are willing to fight to the bitter end. As ridiculous a premise as it is, watching random customers battle it out turned out to be this anime’s greatest strength. Whatever is in that bento, it’s enough to bring out the martial arts masters in everyone, including two seemingly delicate high school girls. Seriously, watching the Ice Witch and Beauty by the Lake perform reality breaking moves for the sake of their lunch is the best kind of high-octane wackiness.

Often overlooked in animation, sumo is nonetheless a widely regarded and celebrated aspect of Japanese culture. Thankfully, it was given proper anime attention via Hinomaru and his crew, as they endeavour to become local champions in spite of their many physical and emotional obstacles. While the nature of sumo matches doesn’t leave much room for variety in terms of moves, the way in which characters literally throw their own weight around, mixed in with a little shounen goodness, made its tournament arc a thrill to watch.

Given how most of the time this would-be warrior spends his days switching between genders due to a curse, as well as having to deal with an ever-growing circle of suitors, it’s easy to forget just how proficient a martial artist Ranma is. While the fighting often lends itself to the comedy, it’s still stellar when given the chance to stand out. Doesn’t matter if he’s the arrogant ladies’ man or the surprising waifu, Ranma’s still got the moves, enough to satisfy those after some retro action.

From string-bean to martial arts prodigy, Kenichi’s journey may feature evil organisations, but at its centre it’s a celebration of various fighting styles. Starting off as a victim of bullying, happenstance leads Kenichi to come under the tutelage of several martial arts masters, who over time and with back-breaking training, slowly mould him into a one-man army. Don’t be fooled by the gags, this series knows how to deliver on the fighting front. How often do you see an underdog who goes on to learn Karate, Muay Thai, Chinese Kenpo and Ju-Jitsu all at once?

Channelling the classic boxing tale of Tomorrow’s Joe with a low-key steampunk twist, this new iteration of Joe’s journey, one that takes him from Junk Dog to the boxing ring of Megalonia, is fit to burst with style. Aesthetically, it’s already a marvel, but it’s through its fights and character drama that really makes it a winner. Whether you favour Joe’s glorious uprising in the first season or his spiral towards destruction in Nomad, the series has enough haymakers to make it worthy of your time.

Does it have moments that will leave you questioning what the heck you just watched? Absolutely. And yet it still lovingly incorporates a variety of martial arts to bolster its often-outrageous narrative. From underground tournaments to battling against death row inmates, Baki’s story certainly isn’t the traditional shounen power fantasy, but it does have more fighters, styles and showdowns than most within its genre. And that’s without getting into the ridiculousness of watching Yujiro conquer them all with his own brand of demonic strength. It truly is anime’s very own pandora’s box, one you’ll be happy to let loose.

A post-apocalyptic wasteland, hordes of raiders, humanity on the edge of extinction…and yet the deadliest thing is still one chad and his five fingers of death. Granted, Hokuto Shinken isn’t your average martial art, since its teachings allow Kenshiro to strike pressure points on a person’s body…which then causes them to explode. It’s as metal as can be, and serves the lone wanderer well as he tackles fellow practitioners, including his deadly collection of older brothers. Who needs guns when you have fingers that make people internally detonate?

Not even CGI and Netflix could diminish the exquisiteness of this brawler! Primarily focused on a tournament where candidates battle it out for corporations, this series is home to every kind of fighter and freak. Along with Ohma’s desire for vengeance against his master’s murderer, what makes Kengan standout is how it seamlessly blends its more supernatural aspects with endless examples of real-life martial arts. This hybrid not only keeps the fights fresh but adds a much-needed layer of grit! Now hurry up and adapt Kengan Omega.

Boxing anime come and go, but there’s only ever going to be one Ippo. It may dally with various tropes used by its contemporaries such as the meek underdog pushing himself towards greatness, and yet it remains a step above the rest all these years later. This is not only due to the characters having room to breathe and grow at an organic rate, but the fights being expertly drenched in believability. There’s a real sense of expertise to every fight, and while there’s no superpowers to be found, that just makes each bout in the ring all the more exciting. It’s so exquisite in its delivery that it’ll even have non-sports fans hooked!