Top 10 Man vs. Machine Battles in Anime

“My Hero Academia” (2016-)
You never know what kind of dangers you’ll face as a professional hero, which was why this fresh batch of U.A hopefuls found themselves tasked with destroying as many robotic enemies in the allotted time to prove the strength of their Quirks. With a zero kill count, things were looking pretty bleak for Izuku, at least until this glorious moment. With his new acquaintance Uraraka under threat from a colossal robot, Izuku throws caution to the wind and unleashes the power of One for All for the very first time.

“Naruto Shippuden” (2007-17)
Your eyes aren’t fooling you, Naruto really did take on a mechanical version of himself, and it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. A bizarre contraption created by Orochimaru, this derpy-looking bucket of bolts is armed to the teeth with bullets, missles, sabers and pretty much every other weapon you could stuff into a death machine. It even has its own pseudo-Nine Tailed Fox mode, one that embarrassingly managed to get in a few good hits against our hero. The Akatsuki should have just bought these in bulk and saved themselves the hassle of Jinchuriki hunting.

“Samurai 7” (2004)
This take on the cinematic masterpiece that is Seven Samurai certainly took some creative liberties when it came to the fight scenes, you know, since our titular warriors are fighting against giant mecha and whatnot. As it happens, it doesn’t seem to bother them that much as Kambei and company are shown to easily be able to slice the robots to pieces with just a few slashes. Either those seven have some ridiculous power behind those swings, or those bots were bought on the cheap.

“Reborn!” (2007-11)
It feels like only yesterday when Tsuna was nothing more than a human punching bag, now look at him; a future Mafioso boss capable of taking on multiple giant robots like it was nothing. Ah, they grow up so fast. After being backed into a corner by Millefiore Family member Spanner and his improved Moscas, Tsuna is left with no choice but to bust out his newest technique; the X-Burner. Turns out that not even a squad of killer machines can stand up to that much dying will flame!

“Dragon Ball” (1986-89)
Ah, the early days of Dragon Ball. It was a simple time back then. There were no intergalactic rulers breathing down the Earth’s neck or any Tournaments of Power to compete in, just the hunt for seven wish-granting orbs and the occasional run-in with the Red Ribbon Army. While in pursuit of yet another Dragon Ball, resident saiyan Goku ends up finding himself in the claws of this xenomorph-looking pile of junk. Despite being armed with flamethrowers, swords and plenty of cannons, it just can’t compare to this dream team.

“Gintama” (2006-)
Only Gin could take a subplot like a robot clone and make it action-packed, hilarious and oddly emotional all at the same time. After discovering that he has been replaced with a handsome, blonde duplicate, Gin suffers something of a comedic breakdown as he tries to figure what the hell is going on. After discovering Kintoki’s true identity, he launches an assault with his old comrades in order to take back his position as the main character. Goes to show that there will only ever be one man who has a silver sword for a soul.