Roger’s List: Top 10 Fights of One Piece (Part 2)

 Roger's List has returned...with fierce conviction.

And welcome back. Last time I, Roger, took you on an adventure cataloging some of the greatest fights that have thus far occurred throughout One Piece. As I look back, I noticed that many of those fights had powerful emotions behind them (ideals of justice/ the loss of a son, best friends feuding) that helped carry them to greatness. Today, that won’t be so much the case. Today, it’s all about the hardest hits, bloodiest brawls, most monumental mind crushes, and the all-or-nothing throwdowns. These fights kick your ass a thousand times over. So enough stalling. Let’s get to it. Here is the Top 5.

 #5 Luffy vs. Bellamy (Jaya/Pre Skypeia Arc)

Okay, so this is barely a fight. It lasts the course of what… two or three minutes? Two to three minutes of Hyena Bellamy showing off and running his mouth through every possible insult he can dish out while the rest of his crew laugh their ass off. But the way this fight ends is so hardcore and so badass, that it simply cannot be ignored.

One punch. No stretching. No Luffy shenanigans. Just one, balls out, “shut the **** up!” punch. I don’t think it was even that hard, all things considered. Luffy made it look like a lovetap. Little does Luffy know that this was probably the worst fate Bellamy could have been given. Not only was every ounce of his dignity shattered in an instant, but he was left alive to answer to his unforgiving boss, Donquixote Doflamingo. Had he pulled this same stunt on any of the other rookies of the Grand Line like Kid, Law, or Drake, they would have killed him on the spot, sparing him a crap load of misery.

RIP Hyena Bellamy: Too bad nobody cares.

#4. Zoro vs. Daz Bones (Alabasta Arc)

 

I have already said my piece about Luffy’s fight with Crocodile during the sprawling battle in the Desert Kingdom of Alabasta, and yet the duel between both of their right hand men, both of which happen to be former bounty hunters before joining their respective leaders, may just be even more intense. This takes place after Zoro has made a vow never again to lose a fight, and yet here he is, head to head with a Man who’s body is literally made of blades, and therefore has no weak point.

The fight itself is well choreographed, and the animation does a fair job of pacing itself through a single episode, and unlike Luffy and Crocodile’s fight, which has this huge symphony to highlight just how epic it is, the majority of this fight is played out with little to no background music at all. Zoro probably looses more blood in this fight than is humanly possible, thus leading me to believe that the Straw Hat’s Doctor [Chopper] probably has an entire room on the ship stockpiled and full of blood packs of Zoro’s blood type just to keep this man alive.

But what’s most important of all, is that Roranoa Zoro transcends himself midfight, and makes one the greatest jumps in his development as a swordsmen to date.

This is what happens when an uncompromising sword meets and uncuttable object.

 #3. Strawhats vs. PX4 (Sabaody Arc)

 

What more is there to say? In a time where Toei’s Animation team was at its absolute best, they staged just about the greatest battle royal the series has yet to see. The swansong of the Straw Hat Pirates before fate tragically splits these nine companions apart for two whole years. Their final opponent: a single juggernaut that each member takes a part in dismantling. In the moment where the Monster Trio all go charging across the field at once, the animation flows brilliantly with no stagnation as they go right for the kill.

WARNING! The following AMV contains copious amounts a swearing, badassery, and Jack Black. Viewer discretion is advised.

 

While I’ve done my best to find and use footage limited to unedited scenes directly from the show, I found this AMV several months ago, and it emphasized the sheer epicness and in-your-face attitude I have about this showdown so well, that I couldn’t help but share it here.

 

This fight also stands a great testament to compare how strong the Straw Hats become after two years of training. Here, while it took all nine of them giving everything they got to defeat a single Pacifista, once Post Time Skip comes around, Luffy can take one down in a single punch.

 #2. Usopp vs. Perona

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but here it is. In my second favorite fight of One Piece, Usopp defeats his opponent without physically harming her once throughout the entire fight. Perona, easily the most powerful of Geko Moria’s subordinates, who possesses a power capable of bringing every other member of the Straw Hat pirates to their knees, lost to the laughing stock of the entire crew by sheer psychological meltdown.

As I mentioned before, Usopp is at his best when he is given time to prepare for a confrontation, which he did while the rest of his crew were relapsing after their first run in with Thriller Bark. By preparing the Salt Stars he needed to separate Moria’s shadows from their hosts, Usopp was able to dispatch Perona’s army of stuffed animal zombies with little problem, leaving the spoiled little ghost girl to fend for herself with cheep parlor tricks. Little did she know, Usopp is a master student in the game of deception, and all it took was some critical thinking to dig up her secrets. So it was only fitting the King of Snipers himself proceeded to honor the fair maiden of this haunted nightmare with a most nightmarish and over-the-top taste of her own medicine. A finishing blow that’s so truly epic, it’s scary.

This fight was ingenious. Especially when you consider how earlier in the fight, Usopp took out the Gallant Hippo with his Impact Dial, but at an angle that from where Perona was watching, she did not see the dial, therefore believed Usopp to have KOed the Hippo with a simple punch. That way when he finally pulled out the 10T hammer, it wasn’t too much of a stretch for her to believe he really was that strong.

I guess in a battle of wits, Perona didn’t stand a… Ghost of a chance!

And the Number One greatest fight in One Piece, [of which you’ve all probably figured out by now seeing as it hasn’t been mentioned yet] is…

Stawhat's vs. CP9 [all of them] (Enies Lobby Arc)

The Strawhats ladies and gentlemen: In order to save one friend, these guys will ride a train through tsunamis, declare war on the entire world, engage in head to head mortal combat against the World Government’s most elite class of super powered assassins, and look freakin’ awesome while doing it.

To fully grasp the intensity of this fight, and why every battle with each one of the seven members of CP9 was deserving of a place on this list of greatest fights, I cannot stress enough. These adversaries were leagues above anyone they fought before (drastic exceptions being God of Thunder and Admiral Frosty). The Baroque Work Officer Agents and the High Priests of Skypeia? Not even close. Heck, just to show just how strong they are, Oda went so far as too display each of their power levels a-la old school Dragon Ball Z, and seeing as the average marine soldier has a power level of 10, the scale is actually quite comparable to Akira Toryama’s continuity of power scaling.

You heard it here first folks. CP9 are ****ing DBZ characters.

To rise to such occasion, each Straw Hat gets a chance to fight, and all of them introduce brand new moves and weapons to their arsenal. Luffy introduced Gear Second (his own personal version of Kaioken) in his fight uh, more like warm-up, with Bluno. Franky maxed out on Cola and Strong Hammered Fukuro like a punching bag. Chopper exceeds his rumble ball limit and turns into his truly horrific monster point and goes berserk on Kumadori (and half of Enies Lobby for that matter). Nami pulls out a new and improved clima-tact that created impressive illusions that allowed her to outwit and outmatch Kalifa, a woman nearly 70 times faster and stronger than her. Sanji spices up his foot with Diable Jambe and hunts down the Big Bad Jabura. Zoro invokes the wrath of the Hindu god Asura to go from santoryu to kyutoryu (9-sword style), and breaks Kaku’s ultimate defense. And for the finale, we have Lucci, the first and thus far ONLY antagonist in the entire series that has beat Luffy within an inch of his life through sheer physical force (as suppose to logia users and life draining abilities from people like Crocodile and Magellan), and yet somehow Luffy still gets up and proceeds to empty clips after clips of gattaling ammo on Lucci like he’s a Leopard-skinned pincushion.

For the last few years, Funimation has been blasted with demands from fans all over the states to continue the series after Skypeia. If they still haven’t figured out why, well… it’s not that hard to figure out. Season 4 Voyage 4 (seen above) the chapter in which the Straw Hats will make their first contact with these deadly foes, comes out this Tuseday. We’ve been anxiously waiting to add this marvelous chapter to the One Piece epic to our library, and after six years since its original debut, it’s finally coming to fruition.

Coming this Summer to DVD…

Hopefully…

It will probably more likely be this holiday.

And that’s a rap folks. Sorry if your personal favorite didn’t make the cut. Unfortunately, as King of the Pirates you got to make the tough choices. Of course, you’re more than free to share your own personal choices in the comments below. I’m more than anxious to hear what you all thought.

Join us again next time, where we’ll be tackling a whole new subject. Until then, my name’s Roger, and…has anyone not seen Wreck it Ralph yet? That was a damn good movie. And for some reason that song they play during the end credits [When can we do this again] always makes me think of Shanks and Luffy.