One Piece: 10 best fights ranked

Hold onto your straw hats, because today we’re ranking the 10 best fights in the entire One Piece series.

The adventurous world of One Piece commonly leads our favorite pirate crew to get sucked into a massive all-out fight for their lives, often by their captain Luffy but most, if not all, of these fights are for a just cause where freedom is on the line.

The best fights in anime often come with the conclusion of an arc as Luffy and friends stand against the main enemy, but we must remember the mid-arc fights, the sometimes forgotten ones. Maybe because they’re not the most action-packed, but One Piece is supposed to be funny as well as dramatic.

The best fights in One Piece ranked

We’ll only be considering fights of completed arcs in this ranking list, but apart from that, any fight from One Piece is up for grabs.

10: Usopp Vs. Perona

Perona proves to be quite the handful during the Thriller Bark arc in One Piece, with her negative ghost powers leaving anyone she attacks depressed. That is all except the heroic Usopp because he already possesses such low self-esteem that it renders most of Perona’s negative powers useless.

One Piece thrives in its ability to render a serious situation down to a gag, and the big showdown between Usopp and Perona does just that. While Usopp cannot handle much when it comes to fighting at this point, he can undoubtedly lie his way through his fight against Perona, tricking his way to victory.

9: Nami Vs. Kalifa

Enis Lobby does a great job of keeping the Straw Hats busy with appropriate fights to match each character. Moreso, both Nami and Kalifa greatly display their newfound abilities in an impactful clash. Nami’s weather-based attacks using the Clima-Tact weapon, Usopp makes her, allows Nami to reach a level where she becomes a force to be reckoned with.

Nami rarely receives moments to shine combat-wise throughout the Straw Hats Grand Line adventure, so taking on an assassin from one of the most powerful Marine groups and winning is a well-deserved feat. The fight does an excellent job of pacing itself alongside other concurrent battles, mainly with Nami and Kalifa encountering Chopper when he’s on his monstrous rampage through Enis Lobby, adding some context to the fight.

8: Zoro Vs. Kaku

Sticking with Enis Lobby, is Zoro challenging Kaku. Zoro going up against the sword-wielding enemy of the opposing group is relatively common, so when he comes up against Kaku, who’s recently acquired the mighty power of the giraffe and still learning how to use it during the battle, gives Zoro a refreshingly new fight.

An interesting tidbit that adds to these fights is Kaku and Kalifa getting their powers. It is only the second time we see someone gaining a Devil Fruit ability outside of a backstory. What makes this fight memorable is the mix of action and comedy; both Zoro and Kaku put on a powerful display, but with how much it gets interrupted, even using Usopp as a sword at one point keeps the humor up.

7: Luffy Vs. Crocodile

When the crew entered the Grand Line, they didn’t find any particular challenging opponents that gave Luffy a genuinely hard time. Enter Crocodile in Arabasta, who almost kills him without much effort, leaving our favorite Straw Hat for dead in the hot desert. The subsequent fight showed us that One Piece has much creative potential when dealing with certain enemies. That is until Haki became the standard in dealing damage to Logia-type users.

We’re giving props to this fight because of how creative it is. Luffy couldn’t touch Crocodile at first due to his sand Logia-type Devil Fruit. So using water, and later blood, to wet Crocodile down before whupping his sandy butt. It gave potential for future fights with a comedic aspect in mind. Imagine if you could beat Ace by throwing a bucket of water over him; it oddly fits.

6: Ace Vs. Blackbeard

Speaking of the hot head, Ace may steal the spotlight whenever he appears, although we don’t get to see much of him fighting until the showdown against the pirate Ace has been hunting down since his introduction, Blackbeard. This fight sticks with us for the less-than-subtle Light vs. Dark imagery of Ace’s spark to fight fades as the fight goes on, and Blackbeard’s rise to evil continues.

During this fight, Blackbeard does an excellent job of keeping both Ace and us guessing whether or not he is a genuine threat until it’s too late because while we haven’t seen Ace fight that much, we haven’t seen Blackbeard fight at all, so his dark powers come as a shock to us as well as Ace when Blackbeard almost wipes the floor with Luffy’s brother.

5: Luffy Vs. Magellan

Luffy’s adventure to rescue his brother Ace takes him to the infamous prison Impel Down, run by the deadly warden Magellan. While fans may forget about this arc due to how hectic things get during the run-up to Marineford. The kicker here concerns the warden; Luffy technically has yet to win a fight against Magellan.

The rush between Saboady Archipelago and Marineford to save Ace means Luffy has no time for distractions, so a massive poison Logia-type puts intense pressure on the situation that has yet to be replicated in the series since. Luffy cannot even touch Magellan without the help of Mr. 3’s wax powers and is defeated on one occasion, being locked up before the prisoners are rallied to escape. Very few people can claim they’ve beaten the captain of the Straw Hat pirates.

4: Luffy Vs. Enel

Skypiea is an oddly paced arc, but no one can deny the satisfying beatdown that Luffy gives Enel to wrap it up. Enel does a great job as a terrifying, nigh-unstoppable, all-powerful god-style villain until Luffy appears to hand him the gold-tipped beating of his life. Enel even defies death at one point by using his Lightning abilities to defibrillate himself.

One Piece initially didn’t attempt to handle subjects such as prophecy until the Wano arc. With that said, Luffy being the only one who can take Enel down because rubber doesn’t conduct electricity, again bringing that creative way to fight Logia-type pre-Haki back, puts Luffy in this odd position of “destiny” we don’t see again until Joy Boy and Nika start to become common mentions in modern One Piece.

3: Luffy Vs. Usopp

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Water 7 brought tensions to their peak between the crew, culminating in an all-out and clearly one-sided brawl between Usopp and Luffy. The emotional clash between the two sets the tone for the remainder of the Water 7 and Enis Lobby arcs. Things are getting serious and staying that way until the arc meets an epic conclusion.

Everyone in the Straw Hats and the audience alike knows Usopp doesn’t stand a chance against Luffy, so he uses the cunning tricks and gadgets Usopp has found on their journey to fight his captain. He may not have the strength behind him, but Usopp is an amazing manipulator and tactician who gives Luffy a run for his money, that is, until Luffy lands a single blow.

2: Gear 5 Luffy Vs. Kaido

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While ground-level nitty-gritty fights with massive emotional backing are great, we can’t forget about Luffy whipping out a new gear with abilities that borderline Bugs Bunny’s logic against possibly the biggest threat yet, the dragon-man Kaido. Who, at this point, had beaten Luffy once, imprisoning him and nearly killing him the second time.

While Gear 5 can pack a wallop, it achieves that creative aspect we love in a fight. Whether it’s clever or played for a joke, it’s always welcome to see new and exciting ways these fights can be mixed up. Kaido also presents a memorable threat that, when finally defeated, earns Luffy a spot as one of the Four Emperors.

1: Luffy Vs. Rob Lucci

The climactic fight wrapping up Enis Lobby is the first proper fight since Arlong Vs. Luffy, where Luffy is only relying on his pure strength and technique to deal with Rob Lucci. Even with his Second and Third Gear abilities, Luffy visibly struggles against the leopard-man throughout the entire battle, with only a rallying cry from Usopp getting him back on his feet for one last powerful jet Gatling.

Very few fights can measure up to Luffy Vs. Rob Lucci in terms of power displayed and the severity of the stakes. At this point, they’ve recovered Nico Robin and are planning a grand escape, but the most powerful member of CP9 and a fleet of ships stand between them and freedom. Each blow dealt is as impactful as the last as our heroes beat down their biggest threat from the Marines yet.

Those are our picks for the 10 best fights in One Piece. Did you agree with our picks, or have we left out your favorite? For now, why not check out our ranking of the best One Piece arcs? All Straw Hat fans will want to know when the next chapter arrives and when the new story arc in the anime kicks off in full force.