Ask John: Which Anime Have the Best Fight Choreography?

Question:
I am a big fan of action movies that contain very fluid, well choreographed fight scenes like the second trilogy of the Star Wars saga, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Hero, or Fearless. Is there any action anime like that? I have watched anime such as Afro Samurai, Ikkitousen, and Tenjho Tenge but to no avail. I know it can be done because I have seen it done in the Boondocks TV series. Is there any well detailed fighting sequences out there in anime or should I just stick to video games?

Answer:
I don’t want to create the impression that anime is lacking, but strictly speaking, elaborate and exhaustively animated martial arts are far easier to depict in video game CG than in hand drawn animation. That’s not to say that anime doesn’t include any exceptional fight choreography, but an important distinction should be made between fight choreography and fight animation. Shonen action shows including Naruto and Bleach are frequently cited for their exhillerating fight scenes. These shows do periodically include elaborate, fluidly animated fights that are amazing to watch. However, spectacular visual momentum and fluid animation are not the same thing as intricately timed and positioned punches and kicks. Recently anime fans have been treated to some rare examples of genuine exceptional fight choreography in the climactic fight of Senki Zesshou Symphogear episode 5 and the beginning of Nisemonogatari episode 7. But single fight scenes that depict clear martial arts katas and realistic fighting movements don’t necessarily justify watching entire series. Detailed fight choreography requires not only extensive animation but also extensive advance planning that isn’t always available to anime produced on tight schedules & budgets.

Perhaps the crowning achievement of detailed, clear fight choreography in anime comes in studio BONES’ 2007 samurai action film Stranger -Mukoh Hadan-, known in America as “Sword of the Stranger.” Especially the climactic duel solely animated by Yutaka Nakamura is a landmark of not just exceptional animation but specifically clear, structured, precisely animated fighting motions that aren’t just a blur of color, motion, and quick edits.

Likewise, the hand-to-hand fights in BONES’ 2001 film Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door remain one of anime’s best instances of clearly discernable fight animation that utilizes obvious, specific body movements instead of relying on quick cuts and fluid but abstract animation to create the impression of violent action, as anime like Naruto, Bleach, Afro Samurai, and Tenjho Tenge do.

Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe’s 2004 samurai action/comedy television series Samurai Champloo also features a range of elaborately choreographed sword fights that distinctly animate the fighter’s movements rather than relying on editing and animation tricks to create the impression of an incredible battle without having to actually animate intricate physical sparring.

The original 1995 Shadow Skill OVA is a martial arts fantasy, so it includes monsters and fighters with superhuman endurance and strength. However, it’s also one of the few anime that takes care to fully animate its elaborately choreographed fights. The original single episode OVA has been out of print on American home video for years, but it was released on both VHS and DVD and shouldn’t be especially difficult or expensive to procure.

I can’t wholeheartedly recommend Production I.G’s 2007 television series Seirei no Moribito because it only includes a few martial arts fights – most of them concentrated in the beginning of the series. However, the fights that do appear in the series are among the finest in all of Japanese animation in terms of both animation quality and in precise, choreographed physical detail. Seirei no Moribito is an exceptionally brilliant anime series, but anyone watching it just for its fights will go long periods without satisfaction. Likewise, perhaps unexpectedly, some of the most realistically detailed hand-to-hand fighting in all of anime actually appears in the Crayon Shin-chan theatrical features. Especially movies 5 & 6 include brief but stunning scenes of highly realistic animated kung-fu. But, again, these are primarily children’s comedy movies so they can’t be recommended exclusively as examples of excellent fight animation.

The 2001 Grappler Baki television series and the 2003 Air Master TV series aren’t exactly exhibitions of exceptional fight choreography, but both merit mention to fans of fight anime. Both of the these shows feature some of the most hard-hitting, brutal martial arts in all of anime, and neither show relies on impressionistic animation shortcuts to make its fight scenes impressive. The fights of Grappler Baki are mean, violent, bone-crunching affairs that utilize extensive martial arts but rely on a lot of tight shots to reign in the animation budget. Apart from its essentially non-ending, the Baki TV series is highly addicting and very rewarding for fans of martial arts anime. Air Master also has some of anime’s most intense melees, but unfortunately a very limited animation budget forced the show to make compromises in its fight scenes. But, at least, unlike girl fighting shows including Tenjho Tenge, Ikkitousen, and Fighting Beauty Wulong, Air Master doesn’t try to artificially enhance its fights with editing tricks.