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While there are plenty of great punches in anime, only a few are worthy of being called satisfying. For a punch to be satisfying, there needs to be a couple of conditions met. The character being punched needs to deserve it wholly, and the person doing the punching needs to know it. The more annoying, smug, or even downright evil the character is, the more satisfying the punch. The most satisfying punches in anime come from characters who didn't have the chance to land the punch earlier. Now, however, the situation has changed, and they are ready to give their opponents everything they have coming.
A character can punch another character once or dozens of times, and they can both be just as satisfying. So long as the puncher has a good reason to strike, and the punchee has equal reason to be struck, it can be one of the most cathartic and satisfying punches in anime.
11 Midoriya vs. Shigaraki
My Hero Academia
Release Date April 3, 2016
Seasons 7
Franchise My Hero Academia
Production Company Bones
Number of Episodes 113
When Midoriya was taken from his desired battlefield by Himiko Toga, the heroes were devastated. Their plan revolved around Midoriya taking Shigaraki on with everyone else supporting him. When Deku made his return, however, the heroes couldn't have been happier. He returned to his battlefield as quickly as possible and started fighting one of the strongest villains immediately. He opened up the fight with a new ability, Fa Jin.
After seeing Bakugo nearly dead on the ground, Midoriya loses it. He flies towards Shigaraki and unleashes another new ability, Fa Jin med with Gearshift, creating the unstoppable Gearshift: Overdrive. Midoriya pummels Shigaraki and bounces him off the ground like a ball. It's an incredible moment made even better by the efforts of Deku's friends. Without them fighting at their best waiting for Deku, they all would have died and missed one of the greatest hand-to-hand fights in anime.
10 Jotaro vs. Steely Dan
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Cast Kazuyuki Okitsu , Tomokazu Sugita , Daisuke Ono , Unshou Ishizuka , Takehito Koyasu
Character(s) Jonathan Joestar , Joseph Joestar , Jotaro Kujo
Release Date October 6, 2012
Seasons 6
Writers Yasuko Kobayashi
Directors Naokatsu Tsuda
Showrunner Crunchyroll , Netflix , Hulu
Creator(s) Hirohiko Araki
Jotaro Kujo is a man of few words and many punches. He doesn't want to talk about his issues when he can just break them. One of the most annoying characters in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders is a man named Steely Dan. He's a weasel of a man willing to use cheap tricks to try and get past Jotaro. By sneaking his stand into an unsuspecting civilian's ear, Steely Dan has taken a hostage. Unfortunately for Steely Dan, Kakyoin's stand, Hierophant Green, captured his stand, Lovers, and released the hostage from her captivity.
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Jotaro then makes Steely Dan stab himself in the face with the knife he was carrying. Once Steely Dan is on the ground, Jotaro begins his beatdown. He punches Steely Dan so many times, the antagonist flies through a brick wall in one of the most satisfying punches in the series.
9 Luffy vs. Celestial Dragon
One Piece
Cast Mayumi Tanaka , Kazuya Nakai , Akemi Okamura , Kappei Yamaguchi , Hiroaki Hirata , Ikue Ôtani , Yuriko Yamaguchi , Kazuki Yao , Chō
Release Date October 20, 1999
Seasons 20
Writers Junki Takegami , Shoji Yonemura , Hirohiko Uesaka
Directors Kônosuke Uda , Junji Shimizu , Munehisa Sakai
Creator(s) Eiichiro Oda
If there are two things Luffy is known for, it's standing up for his friends and hating bullies. He does both when he punches the Celestial Dragon Saint Charlos right in the face during a human auction. Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats go to save Cammie, a mermaid being sold at the auction. Saint Charlos outbids everyone at the start, right as Luffy and the gang break in to save her. When he sees Hatchan the Fishman, he shoots him, nearly killing him in the process.
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Celestial Dragons are some of the highest-ranking and most revered people in One Piece's world, but Luffy doesn't care about that sort of thing. He calmly walks right up to Saint Charlos and punches him square in the face, sending him flying across the auction house. It's the most satisfying punch in all of One Piece because Luffy stood up to someone everyone else was afraid of. The moment is made even better when the rest of the Straw Hats are revealed with their weapons drawn as well, as if Luffy wouldn't have hit Saint Charlos, one of them would've.
8 Saitama vs. The Deep Sea King
One-Punch Man
Cast Makoto Furukawa , Kaito Ishikawa , Max Mittelman , Zach Aguilar , Hiromichi Tezuka , Robbie Daymond , Kyle Hebert , Shôta Yamamoto
Release Date October 5, 2015
Seasons 2
Writers Tomohiro Suzuki
Directors Shingo Natsume , Chikara Sakurai
Creator(s) ONE
Saitama is the king of satisfying punches, mainly because he only needs to throw one. He hasn't faced too many people worth his time, but when the Deep Sea King came to take over the surface world, Saitama had enough. The Deep Sea King was one of the fiercest villains the series had ever shown. He decimated Puri-Puri Prisoner and Speed-o'-Sound Sonic without much resistance and even turned Genos back into scrap metal. Humanity's last hope came on two wheels when Mumen Rider arrived to the battlefield. While his effort was heroic, he too was decimated in an instant.
When Saitama showed up, the Deep Sea King thought he had another easy battle. He left instead with a hole in his chest coming from one of the most satisfying punches in anime. Saitama heard enough of the Deep Sea King's nonsense and killed him with a single, cathartic punch, just like usual.
7 Gon vs. Neferpitou
Hunter x Hunter
Cast Issei Futamata , Megumi Han , Cristina Valenzuela , Mariya Ise , Michael McConnohie , Erica Mendez , Erika Harlacher , Miyuki Sawashiro
Release Date October 2, 2011
Seasons 4
Writers Atsushi Maekawa , Tsutomu Kamishiro
Directors Hiroshi Kôjina
Creator(s) Yoshihiro Togashi
Kite's death is one of the most shocking events in anime. He was a Hunter in a tier of his own, learning from the great Ging Freeccs himself and using one of the strongest abilities in Hunter x Hunter through Crazy Slots. When he fought Neferpitou, however, he was outmatched and even decapitated. To say Gon took the news poorly is an understatement. Gon dedicated the rest of his existence to avenging Kite. During the Chimera Ant Arc, he found the Royal Guard and got his revenge.
Gon asked Pitou to use her Doctor Blythe ability on Kite to bring him back. When she told him she couldn't, he lost it. He made a deal with his Nen, gaining every ounce of power he'll ever have in exchange for his future. Gon then punched Neferpitou with one of the single strongest and most satisfying strikes in anime. He hit her with his textbook Rock ability and launched her into a mountain.
6 Anya vs. Damian
Spy x Family
Cast Takuya Eguchi , Atsumi Tanezaki , Saori Hayami , Alex Organ , Megan Shipman , Natalie Van Sistine
Release Date April 9, 2022
Seasons 1
Writers Kazuhiro Furuhashi , Ichirō Ōkouchi
Directors Kazuhiro Furuhashi , Takahiro Harada
Creator(s) Tatsuya Endo
Nobody likes bullies, and in the world of Spy x Family, Yor taught Anya how to handle them well. When Anya first started going to her new school, Damian and his lackeys decided it would be a good idea to bully the young girl. They first made fun of her for her appearance before shoving her to the ground. She got off the ground before Damian got in her face and let her know he'd be bullying her for the rest of their time in school together. Anya took a breath, remembered her mother's training, and punched Damian square in the face.
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Anya is the least violent of the Forgers, so to see her finally stand up for herself was incredibly satisfying. It also helped that Anya only punched Damian because he hurt her friend Becky, making Anya look even better in the process. The punch worked well, leading to a calm life at school with a boy who finally understands what boundaries are.
5 Eren vs. Lara Tybur (The War Hammer Titan)
Attack on Titan
Release Date April 7, 2013
Seasons 4
Franchise Attack on Titan
Production Company Wit Studio, MAPPA
Eren has plenty of satisfying punches in Attack on Titan. As the Attack Titan, Eren is no stranger to becoming a behemoth and punching his enemies as hard as he can, but his fight against the War Hammer Titan was different. By this time in the series, Eren is a shell of his former self. He's solely focused on destroying the entire world, bar Paradis, and will use whatever underhanded method he can in the process. He breaks one of the oldest unwritten rules in anime when he invades Marley. While Lara Tybur is transforming into the War Hammer Titan to take Eren on, he punches her in the face.
It's a hilariously satisfying punch. The punch in and of itself makes sense — why wouldn't Eren punch his enemy while she's vulnerable? Plus, Eren just killed her brother through a surprise attack, so why wouldn't he do the same to Willy's sister? It's a punch so satisfyingly good other anime characters could learn from Eren's example and not wait for their enemies to be strong before they fight them.
4 Reigen vs. Shimazaki
Mob Psycho 100
Release Date July 12, 2016
Seasons 3
Franchise(s) Mob Psycho 100
Writers Hiroshi Seko
Directors Yuzuru Tachikawa , Takahiro Hasui
Creator(s) ONE
Shimazaki is one of the most intimidating characters in Mob Psycho 100. He's one of anime's best one-man-armies who tears through Teru and his friends in an instant. After defeating Teru handily, he waits for Kageyama to enter the fray. Shimazaki is too focused on Mob's insane energy output to notice Reigen approaching him from the side. Reigen then unleashes a furry of satisfying punches using one of his only special moves, Reigen's Self-Defense Rush.
Reigen's Self-Defense Rush is hilarious for a couple of reasons. First, Reigen has no business fighting someone like Shimazaki. The villain just obliterated some of the best espers in the world only to get blindsided by a bona fide snake-oil salesman. Second, while Shimazaki was definitely the bad guy in this situation, seeing him get punched by someone he didn't even see coming was comical.
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2 Leorio vs. Ging - Hunter x Hunter
Leorio Stands up for His Friends
Ging is a great example of an anime father nobody would want. He's a loser who abandoned his son and expects Gon to overcome insurmountable odds just to meet him. When Gon was in a coma after defeating Pitou, he never went to visit him. Leorio came to a press conference Ging was at and asked him why he hadn't visited Gon yet. When Ging avoided the question, Leorio couldn't take it anymore. He punched the podium he was using and used his Nen to transport his fist across the auditorium to uppercut Ging right in his jaw.
The crowd erupted. It's not hard to see how despicable Ging is. Leorio is a great friend for standing up for Gon and giving his absent father what he deserves. In an open fight, Ging would probably dominate Leorio as well, making Leorio all the braver for swinging first.
1 All Might vs. All For One
My Hero Academia
All Might is another character well-known for his punches. Like Saitama, if a character gets caught by one of All Might's punches, they're probably a goner. There's only one exception to All Might's strength in the world of My Hero Academia: All For One. He knows One For All inside and out and was ready to take it from All Might during the Kamino Incident. He certainly had his chance, as he was able to push All Might into a corner and deplete him of most of his energy.
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Using the last embers of One For All in his system, All Might tricked All For One into dodging the wrong way and used everything he had on his final attack. The United States of Smash is not only the most satisfying punches in anime, it's the culmination of all of All Might's efforts. It's All Might saying goodbye to his powers in the most spectacular way possible: by being the Symbol of Hope he was always meant to be.
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