The anime world is vast, and it is filled with countless series that tell decent stories with characters who are complex and relatable. It is true that anime covers every sort of genre imaginable, but the most popular series are those that feature quality action sequences. Many anime fights revolve around traditional weapons like swords, but there are a lot of fights that also feature unique powers and abilities.
Element manipulation is one of the more common abilities, and there are many protagonists who use fire, lightning, earth, or wind in battle. There are also a number of characters who possess water powers. Water tends to represent life and healing, so it is mainly associated with good anime characters, but there are villains who utilize it in one form or another as well.
Honorable Mention: Ming-Hua (The Legend Of Korra)
The Legend of Korra featured a new Avatar, and she was forced to fight several villains, including the Red Lotus, an organization which sought a new world without nations and the Avatar. Ming-Hua was a member of this group, and she and her allies attempted to kidnap Korra when she was just a child. The plan was thwarted, and she was locked in a maximum security prison.
Ming-Hua did not have arms, but that did not stop her from becoming a waterbending master. She could create tentacle-like arms with water, and she could extend them to great lengths without scarifying strength or control. She could even freeze segments of these tentacles, turning them into sharp weapons.
While a Western cartoon, The Legend of Korra takes inspiration from anime, which is why it is included as an honorable mention.
7 Tier Harribel (Bleach)
Bleach has a number of underutilized characters, but each Espada played a significant role in Aizen's plan. Tier Harribel was the 3rd Espada, and she is one of the few Vasto Lorde-level Hollows in existence. She revealed her Resurrección while battling Captain Hitsugaya, and it gave her access to water powers.
The gil-like markings on Tier's blade generates water which she can manipulate. She can create torrents of water that are capable of submerging several city blocks, and she can fire shots of condensed water that are strong enough to cut through buildings.
6 Hody Jones (One Piece)
Many consider One Piece to be the best shonen anime of all time, and it certainly deserves that praise. Luffy and his crew have been on many adventures, and following the timeskip, they visited Fish-Man Island, where they encountered Hody Jones and his rebellious crew.
Like other notable Fish-Men, Hody can use Fish-Man Karate in battle. This unique form of martial arts allows Hody to manipulate water, and he can use it to send shockwaves through his enemy's body. He can also fire water droplets as if they were bullets.
5 Zabuza Momochi (Naruto)
Naruto's 4th Great Ninja War featured plenty of great fights, and it saw several characters return as reanimated soldiers. Zabuza Momochi was one of those soldiers, and he was the first real threat that Naruto and his squad faced. He was a member of the Hidden Mist Village's Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Like most ninja from his Village, Zabuza was proficient with Water Release, as he could trap enemies within a water prison, create water clones, and perform the Water Dragon Jutsu. He was a master of the Silent Killing Technique, which he used in tandem with his Hidden Mist Jutsu.
4 November 11 (Darker Than Black)
In Darker Than Black, a number of humans gain special powers after a chaotic area of space appears in Japan and South America. These humans are called Contractors, and November 11 is the codename used by a Contractor who serves as MI-6's top agent.
His power is Liquid Induced Cryokinesis, and it allows him to freeze liquids. November 11 can turn water into lethal icy projectiles, and he can then fire them with deadly accuracy. The only drawback to this ability is the fact that he needs to smoke cigarettes after using it.
3 Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail)
Juvia may have redeemed herself, but when she first appeared in Fairy Tail, she was a villain who belonged to the Phantom Lord guild. She was one of the guild's S-Class Mages, and she uses a variation of Water Magic which allows her to create, control, and manipulate the element.
Juvia can turn her body into water, which makes most physical attacks against her useless. She can trap people inside domes of water, and she can produce ice. Juvia can also create water cyclones and fire water blades that resemble scythes.
2 Esdeath (Akame Ga Kill!)
The Akame Ga Kill! anime and manga are different in many ways, but they both show Esdeath as a nearly unstoppable villain. She was the Empire's most feared general because she possessed the power of the Demon's Extract Teigu, which allowed her to create ice from nothing.
Esdeath could create comet-sized chunks of ice with a snap of her finger, and she could fire icicle barrages at a rapid pace. She used this ability to freeze an entire continent, and it eventually got to the point that she could temporarily freeze time.
1 Kisame Hoshigaki (Naruto)
Kisame's chakra reserves rivaled that of a Tailed Beast, which explains why he was one of the Akatsuki's strongest members. Like Zabuza, he came from the Hidden Mist, and he wielded Samehada, one of the village's legendary swords. He could fuse with his sword, and in doing so, he became a human-shark hybrid.
Kisame could create water prisons, and produce large quantities of water that flooded entire areas. He could also use the Water Shark Jutsu to fire sharks like missiles. Kisame's strongest attack involved creating a massive dome of water which followed his movements. He used this ability to drown his opponents.