Punch, Kick, Tackle, and Grapple! – Martial arts are utilized in some of the most exciting fight scenes in anime.
However, while swords and other weapons still count as a martial art, there is nothing quite like watching someone use just their fists and body to take down an opponent.
So if you like epic fist fights and even more epic punches to the face, then it is time to get into some of these martial arts anime recommendations.
Best Martial Arts Anime
Dragon Ball / Dragon Ball Z
When you mention martial arts, the Dragon Ball franchise is usually the first thing that comes to mind.
While Dragon Ball Z often got a little less fist-fighty and a little more beam-fighty with all its ki blasts, the original series still holds true to a more martial arts focus.
However, if you like manly yelling and an endless array of ever-increasingly powerful opponents, Z has that in spades. Even if it does have less emphasis on the technical aspect martial arts.
Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple
Kenichi isn’t the first dedicated martial arts anime, but it is easily one of the best. However, while it starts with a typical weakling getting strong via training, what sets Kenichi apart is the focus it gives to each martial art in the show.
You see, Kenichi doesn’t just learn one style of fighting, the show covers him essentially becoming a mixed martial arts master before MMA got quite popular. Karate, Muay Thai, Ju Jitsu, and Kung Fu – He trains in many different martial arts so he can cultivate his own fighting style.
Hajime no Ippo
Not unlike basically every other martial arts anime, Hajime no Ippo starts off with a weak main character who is bullied a lot before he meets a mentor to train him up. In this case, that mentor is a boxer who trains him in that martial skill.
However, that story of zero to hero is so frequently used in the sports anime genre because it is so effective.
People have stuck with this show for countless seasons because not only is the boxing a thrill to watch, but overcoming challenges is a theme we can all get behind.
Baki
Baki is fist fighting in its purest form.
The plot is simple, there is a ranking of fighters in the world and Baki’s father Yujiro is at the top, thus Baki aspires to be at the top by someday beating him. However, before he can fight his father, there are a whole lot of other people that he needs to fight first.
While this story about son ousting his father could be somewhat wholesome and inspiring, his father is, what most would call, a monster. So the road to fighting him, and the actual battles he has with him, are paved with blood and broken bones.
If you want a martial arts anime where the fights feel brutal and you can almost feel the impact of each hit, the newer Baki anime really excels in just that.
Tenjo Tenge
Despite the panty shots and the bouncing cleavage, Tenjo Tenge is a martial arts anime, and a damn good one for its time.
Tenjo Tenge is a spin on the classic high school delinquent trope and puts those thugs in a fighting-themed high school where all they teach is martial arts.
Of course, it is not all fist fights, there are swords and such, but a good majority of Tenjo Tenge is hand-to-hand combat.
Fist of the North Star
Although Kenshiro is based on Bruce Lee and Fist of the North Star incorporated many of his moves, this anime worked hard to create fighting styles that were innately unique.
However, what really kept people watching (other than the heads exploding and the whole “You’re already dead!” meme) was that it told a classic vengeance story in the middle of a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Yes, most episodes were Kenshiro wandering into a problem and solving it through head-exploding violence, but you wanted to see him fight the bigger bads, and hung in there for those epic moments.
Ikki Tousen
Not completely unlike Tenjo Tenge, though occasionally confused with it, Ikki Tousen still delivers light perversion in the form of panty shots, but tells the action-packed story of a turf war between seven high schools in the Kanto region of Japan.
While a touch of supernatural is added by some of the fighters carrying the souls of warriors from the past, seeing past battle strategies used in this current setting adds just another layer of interest to Ikki Tousen on top of the martial arts.
Ashita no Joe
Ashita no Joe is, in many ways, like an older version of Hajime no Ippo. However, the story, of course, differs in many parts as the main character doesn’t start off as such a weakling.
However, like Hajime no Ippo, this boxing anime is about addressing challenges, then overcoming them with your fists!
There are only some many ways you can make a boxing anime, so of course it feels innately similar.
Megalo Box
While Hajime no Ippo has been long enough running to get shined up significantly, Ashita no Joe kind of languishes on the edge of memory with its less-than-fabulous animation.
If that older animation is not for you, you may instead want to try out Megalo Box. It was created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ashita no Joe, following a boxer that goes by the moniker “Joe,” but instead of just boxing, he is a Megalo Boxer.
In the sport of Megalo Box, the athletes fighting in a boxing style, but with mechanically augmented arms that really turn the impact of the fighting up to 11. It mixes sci-fi with martial arts to wonderful effect.
Ben-To
After a certain point of watching martial arts anime, you realize they all have pretty much the same plot.
A guy needs to get strong for various reasons, and his uses a martial art to train his body into a finely honed weapon. This is why you should be watching martial arts anime interspersed with other genres and definitely not in one long binge session.
However, if you want something that is different plot-wise, Ben-To is where you should head immediately. This anime is still about hand-to-hand martial arts, but it is about fist fighting over delicious bento lunches in one of the many ways anime blends food with weird scenarios.
Tiger Mask / Tiger Mask W
There are not nearly enough anime about wrestling. The only really solid wrestling anime is Tiger Mask.
However, ol’ Tiger Mask is showing its age. As such, it might be better to go with the the newer series, Tiger Mask W, which only requires you to really know the basic backstory of a once wrestling villain now fighting to be the good guy.
If you are a fan of Professional Wrestling over the now more popular MMA fighting, Tiger Mask is a must. It captures both the drama and the passion, but also doesn’t forget just a little dash of silliness.
Ranma 1/2
Ranma 1/2 is often consider a shojo anime for girls because it was made by a woman and spends a decent chunk of the time on abstract silliness and romance. However, Ranma 1/2 is actually one of the more classic martial arts anime.
It is not as gory as Fist of the North Star, but it still upholds the basic principles of a martial artist. What’s more, just because it is a shoujo anime doesn’t mean it forgets to put in fights. Martial arts isn’t just a theme in Ranma 1/2, it wields fighting frequently, but yes, also does so sometimes in silly ways.
Kurokami
Kurokami is less about a specific martial art and more about street fighting for survival.
It follows a boy who has been followed by misfortune as he becomes bonded with a Mototsumitama named Kuro. She believes that his misfortune is because three people are sharing his life energy around the world.
Kurokami is one of those martial arts anime that poses a very philosophical question, and then promptly begins to answer it with violence. However, as things go on, this anime does start to get a little lost in the superpowers sauce, tragically moving away from the martial arts focus it started with.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
For as large and well-muscled as most men are in jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, you would hope they would use those big bodies for a scrap.
And they do!
However, while the first two seasons of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure focus on a ki-based martial art known as Hamon, the series moves away from in it subsequent seasons in favor of Stands. Stands grant a variety of powers to the user of them, and while at first those powers are somewhat physical, they become even more wild as the series goes on.
What I’m trying to say is that Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure starts off closer to a martial arts anime, but moves away from it. You will have to decide if Stands are for you or not.
Street Fighter
Unlike the many live action attempts at Street Fighter, the Street Fighter anime isn’t that bad.
Like with your classic martial arts anime, you can always expect some fist fights in a Street Fighter series. I mean, it is based on a fighting game, after all.
Since it uses characters from all around the world, you also become quite familiar with different fighting styles in Street Fighter, though the anime doesn’t emphasis that as well as it should.
Hinomaru Sumo
As it follows two large men seemingly pushing each other around in a ring, most people don’t think of sumo wrestling as something that wouldn’t make an interesting anime. Hinomaru Sumo makes it into one, though.
Hinomaru Sumo follows a high schooler who is too short to sumo wrestle, but overflowing with both endless passion and skill. You watch him try to overcome his size difference in high school sumo wrestling while trying to grow larger in order to make a professional debut.
It plays out like a standard sports anime, but it has a surprisingly in-depth focus on the finer points of sumo wrestling that most people don’t realize.
Kengan Ashura
In the world of Kengan Ashura, business deals aren’t done through negotiation, but instead settled through gladiatorial battles.
This anime follows a few proxy warriors who get in the ring and beat the tar out of someone else all for the sake of the business they are representing.
Like Baki, Kengan Ashura can be pretty brutal, but it is sometimes held back by its animation style.
Record of Ragnarok
Records of Ragnarok is perhaps more weapons-focused than you are looking for. However, because the series is fully set around putting two beefcakes in a ring and letting them fight it out, it really felt like it should be included on a martial arts anime list since it really is just is all fighting.
In Records of Ragnarok, the Gods convene every 1,000 years to decide the fate of humanity. They were about to kill us all when an alternative was proposed – take a group of humanity’s best warriors and have them fight against gods in a tournament.
Records of Ragnarok can often be kind of ridiculous, but the fights certainly are unforgettable and it really is a fun tournament fighting anime.
Tekken: Bloodline
Like Street Fighter is a beloved fighting game with an okay anime, now so too is Tekken a beloved fighting game with an okay anime.
Tekken: Bloodline certainly has some noticeable problems, but it is great fan service for fans of the Tekken game. One of the things they did really right is translate the classic, iconic moves of the characters into animation.
Tokyo Revengers
While Tokyo Revengers with its light time travel elements has a pretty interesting plot, it is an anime fully set around following a bunch of street brawling delinquents.
In Tokyo Revengers, you follow the intrigues going on in a youth gang. Everything from singular disputes settled by beating the tar out of each other to full-scale gang warfare between two sides is laced throughout the series.
As they are younger characters, certainly there is a distinct lack of refinement to their martial arts styles, but Tokyo Revengers loves to get pretty brutal in some of its fights.
God of High School
This Korean manhwa-adapted anime follows a pretty simple and common premise for martial arts anime where the characters are invited to a fighting tournament to decide the strongest high schooler in Korea. You know, as they do.
What starts out as a pretty straight-forward martial arts tournament kind of experiences a bit of power creep as it goes on and by the end it starts feeling more like a JRPG where they are fighting gods.
Did we miss anime more solid martial arts anime recommendations? Let fans know in the comments section below.
