Highlights
- Anime moments that leave viewers speechless can still be remembered and cherished even years after the series concludes.
- The anime industry is constantly producing new adaptations, but not all of them leave a lasting impression on audiences.
- Outstanding anime series contain some of the best moments of all time, which contribute to their prolonged popularity.
An anime's quality is judged by whether or not it is capable of standing the test of time. It is very easy to get caught up in the hype and think highly of an anime, but after some time, when the hype begins to fade away, the anime might not look as good.
Over the years, the world of anime has provided us with many memorable moments. Every series has certain moments that leave viewers speechless, and even years after the conclusion of the series, these moments in anime still remain in the memory of the viewers.
Updated on September 10, 2023, by Suzail Ahmad: The anime industry is progressing at a rapid rate. Every month, there are new announcements concerning anime adaptations. This is, of course, great for fans, as they can keep themselves busy with new titles. These anime adaptations are solid, but not all of them manage to leave a lasting impression on the minds of the audience. It is extremely difficult to achieve this effect, as it requires more than just a high-quality adaptation.
The studios have to take extra caution and make sure that they stay true to the source material and do not add too many unnecessary details. Over the years, fans have had the opportunity to watch some outstanding anime series that have left them awestruck. A key reason for their prolonged popularity is that they contain some of the best anime moments of all time.
19 Thorfinn Beaten Up By Soldiers
- Anime: Vinland Saga
In the first season of the anime, Thorfinn came off as a ruthless killer. He was so blinded by rage that he even followed orders from his father's killer. Thorfinn ruthlessly slaughtered people, and he showed no real remorse for his actions. However, Askeladd's death changed him a lot. Thorfinn had a severe mental breakdown, and he felt that he did not deserve to live.
His outlook only changed once he met Einar, who taught him to get over the past. Thorfinn began to work on himself, but he was interrupted by Canute and his army. Thorfinn believed that meeting Canute would put an end to the invasion, but the army men demanded that he withstand 100 blows. He agreed, much to their surprise, and won the bet. Given his previous reputation, it was truly shocking to see Thorfinn take such a hefty beating without fighting back.
18 Joe Defeats Yuri
- Anime: Megalo Box
Everybody loves an underdog story, and over the years, multiple anime have pulled it off. One such anime is Megalo Box, which follows the story of Joe, a boxer who mainly fights in underground bouts. Joe would often lose even though he had more skill than anyone else, but it was mainly because he had fixed the bouts.
His whole world changed when he got a glimpse of Yuri's power. Joe decided that he wanted to beat him, and to do so, he had to fight in Megalonia. Despite the others having better gear, Joe managed to reach the finals to face Yuri. After a long, hard fight, Joe managed to knock out Yuri in the 13th round. The emotion and the build-up to the moment ensure that it will live long in the hearts of fans.
17 All Might Points To Deku
- Anime: My Hero Academia
Midoriya Izuku always dreamed of becoming a great hero like his idol, All Might. However, there was one major problem: Izuku did not have a Quirk. He was devastated to learn that he would never have a Quirk. However, his life turned upside down after meeting All Might.
Midoriya received One For All from the hero, who took it upon himself to train the young boy. As the story continued, All Might had to fight against All For One. The former prevailed, but at a great cost. The greatest hero in the world lifted his arm, pointed toward the screen, and said, "It's your turn." Midoriya, who was watching the broadcast, immediately knew what it signified, and he couldn't hold back tears.
16 Gojo Uses Purple
- Anime: Jujutsu Kaisen
Gojo Satoru quickly became a fan favorite after his magnificent display of strength in the first season of the anime. He is considered the strongest sorcerer in the entire world, and he has shown on numerous occasions why he is worthy of the title.
During the Goodwill event, many special grade curses broke into Jujutsu High in hopes of stealing some cursed objects. They tried to keep Gojo occupied, but it did not work for long. After getting rid of all the distractions, Gojo combined Red and Blue to create Hollow: Purple. The technique was so powerful that it nearly wiped out everything in the vicinity.
15 Saitama and Boros Get Serious
- Anime: One Punch Man
Saitama is the main protagonist of One Punch Man. The name of the series gives quite a good idea of what Saitama is all about. He holds a great deal of power and no one can withstand Saitama's punches.
After defeating every enemy with a single punch, Saitama became incredibly bored and due to this, he became a hero. Saitama's first big challenge came when Boros and his minions attacked the Earth. Saitama and Boros exchanged blows for a while, but once they got serious everything changed. The high quality of animation and the soundtrack made this scene a huge hit with the fans.
14 Mob Goes To 100% Against Koyama
- Anime: Mob Psycho 100
Mob is arguably the strongest esper in the entire series, but he never allowed his power to get to his head. He always remained humble and tried to get the work done with his own physical abilities. However, when his friends or family are in danger, Mob can go berserk.
When Koyama tried to take away Ritsu, Mob tried to stop him, but Koyama seemed to be too powerful. After taking a lot of beating, Mob went berserk and completely destroyed Koyama, who didn't have a prayer.
13 Kaneki Vs Jason
- Anime: Tokyo Ghoul
Kaneki's life is filled with all kinds of trauma, but he still tries to find the positives. His life got worse when he went on a date with Rize. For him, the night ended with Rize trying to eat him, and then he got into an accident. Kaneki was rushed to a hospital, where he was fitted with organs from Rize's body.
Due to the transplant of organs, Kaneki became a ghoul. This caused a lot of people to chase him, and eventually, he was captured by Jason. Jason was a sadistic brute, who only cared about torturing his victims vehemently. Luckily, the torture caused Kaneki to awaken his true power and a fight ensued between Kaneki and Jason. The two ghouls fought each other while unravel by TK was playing.
12 Guts Fights A Hundred Men
- Anime: Berserk
Guts is one of the most well-known anime swordsmen. He carries a huge sword that is bigger than him in size and with its help, Guts has taken down many apostles.
While the Band of Hawk was still fighting the Tudor Empire, Casca and Guts were separated from the rest of the group. Before they could regroup with the others, the two of them were surrounded by the enemy. Guts told Casca to run away as he got ready to face a hundred men by himself. The battle between Guts and the enemy was gruesome, and by the end, there was a small mountain of bodies.
11 Rock Lee Removes His Weights
- Anime: Naruto
Almost every person who uses social media and follows anime-related accounts knows about Rock Lee. For those who don't know, Rock Lee is a taijutsu expert, who can use all the eight inner gates.
During the Chunin Exams, Rock Lee had to fight Gaara, who was deemed the number one candidate to pass the exams. Gaara's sand defense made it extremely difficult for Rock Lee to hurt him, but when the latter received permission from Might Guy to drop his ankle weights, everything changed. On dropping these weights, there was a small crater on the ground, and from that point onwards, Rock Lee completely dominated the fight.
10 Madara Appears
- Anime: Naruto
Madara Uchiha is one of the main antagonists in Naruto. He was a legendary ninja who lived many years before the current timeline of the series. For a long time, Madara's powers remained a mystery, but that changed towards the end of the series.
Madara finally appeared during the Fourth Great Ninja War as he was reanimated by Kabuto. He appeared at the top of a giant rock and then he proceeded to destroy an entire platoon of ninjas.
9 Escanor Stops Estarossa
- Anime: Seven Deadly Sins
One of the members of the Seven Deadly Sins, Escanor was among the most powerful characters in the series. Blessed with the power of "Sunshine," Escanor managed to defeat many strong characters without much effort.
When the Ten Commandments were revived, they ran riot throughout Britannia. Estarossa was one of the Commandments and any person who had the feeling of resentment toward Estarossa was unable to move even a muscle. When everything seemed to be lost, Escanor surprised everyone by walking up to Estarossa and then attacking him.
8 Gon Unleashes His Power
- Anime: Hunter x Hunter
Gon is the main protagonist of Hunter x Hunter. He is a talented Hunter, who has managed to surpass the expectations of his peers and enemies on several occasions. Gon's toughest test came when he fought against Neferpitou, one of the Royal Guards.
Gon had nowhere near the power required to beat Neferpitou in a fight, so he decided to take a gamble. He placed a restriction on himself and used up years of his life to gain enough power to defeat Neferpitou.
7 Luffy Opens Gear Fourth
- Anime: One Piece
Luffy's journey has been filled with all kinds of obstacles. With every passing arc, Luffy's opponents become stronger, so in order to beat them, he has to come up with new techniques.
During the Dressrosa arc, Luffy faced his first real test after entering the New World. He was up against Doflamingo, a Shichibukai, who had awakened his devil fruit. When all seemed lost, Luffy unleashed a special technique known as Gear Fourth that allowed him to easily defeat Doflamingo.
6 Jotaro Gets Up and Beats Kira
- Anime: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable
Jotaro was first introduced in Stardust Crusaders, where he had to go up against DIO. After awakening his Stand's latent power, Jotaro easily overwhelmed DIO. He managed to put an end to the vicious circle.
Jotaro was once again involved in Part 4, where a killer was on the loose. After getting caught up in a blast, Jotaro was on the verge of death, but when he saw Kira Yoshikage, he managed to get up. In a very short period, Jotaro demolished Kira with his Star Platinum, and it made Kira realize the difference in their power.
5 Spike Goes Bang
- Anime: Cowboy Bebop
Very few series can boast of having the same level of popularity as Cowboy Bebop. The sci-fi series is set in the future where humans inhabit other planets. The main character of Cowboy Bebop is Spike Spiegel. Spike was a talented fighter, who hunted down criminals for their bounties.
Towards the end of the series, Spike came face-to-face with his worst enemy, Vicious. Spike managed to defeat Vicious, but there was more resistance. He was seriously wounded, and before collapsing, he made a gun gesture with his hand, which remains one of the coolest moments of all time.
4 Roy Mustang Goes Berserk
- Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist
Roy Mustang is a calm and collected individual, who rarely loses his cool. There was one specific moment where Roy Mustang allowed his emotions to get the better of him. Roy's best friend Maes Hughes was murdered by Envy, a homunculus.
Roy carried the resentment in his heart for a long time, and he got the opportunity to unleash it on Envy. When he confronted Envy, Roy Mustang kept on using his Flame Alchemy until the homunculus was reduced to his parasitic state.
3 Erwin's Speech
- Anime: Attack on Titan
Erwin Smith served as the Commander of the Scouting Legion. He was an incredibly talented leader and under his leadership, the Scouting Legion managed to uncover many secrets.
However, before Erwin could find the answer to his biggest question, he had to sacrifice his life. During the return to Shiganshina, Erwin and the Scouting Legion were faced with the threat of Beast Titan. Despite facing certain death, Erwin managed to rouse the spirits of his comrades with arguably one of the best speeches of all time.
2 Goku Unlocks Ultra Instinct
- Anime: Dragon Ball Super
Son Goku is undoubtedly the most famous anime character in the world. He is the protagonist of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Son Goku is blessed with ridiculous power, and his name often pops up whenever there's the mention of the strongest anime characters.
Son Goku has a lot of different powers, but the most recent power that he used is the Perfected Ultra Instinct. While facing Jiren from Universe 11, Goku needed something special and the Perfected Ultra Instinct allowed him to overwhelm Jiren.
1 Zoro's Nothing Happened
- Anime: One Piece
Roronoa Zoro is a member of the Straw Hat Pirates. He aims to become the Strongest Swordsman in the World. Zoro is extremely devoted to his captain, Monkey D. Luffy. During the Thriller Bark arc, when Bartholomew Kuma was about to kill Luffy, Zoro offered to take in all of Luffy's pain. Zoro's entire body was damaged and there was blood everywhere.
When Sanji regained consciousness and asked Zoro what had happened, the latter simply replied "Nothing Happened."