Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is currently Shounen Jump's lead series, and it has managed to captivate its fans through the years with detailed world-building and consistent character work. Unlike its contemporaries, a lot of the One Piece story doesn't focus on fights, but that doesn't mean that they're not interesting in one way or another, as the series adds its own characteristic eccentricity to an anime trope that many may have thought was one and done.

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This list will be running down the best fights within the series. Some of them have earned their spot for pure spectacle. Others for story importance. And there's that grand few that are here just for their ridiculousness and intrigue. Prepare for SPOILERS below.

Updated September 22, 2020 by Sean Cubillas: One Piece is the Shounen series that never sleeps. With a constant pulse to every punch, these characters are always fighting. With the Wano Arc picking up in both the manga and anime, plenty of action has graced the fanbase, much to their delight. Now more than ever, the series is getting people to look back at some of the story's best fights.

15 Zoro vs. Kamazo The Manslayer

Zoro vs Killer- Wano

Proof that the Wano Arc is building up to be one of the series' best, it already has a strong contender for one of One Piece's greatest fights ever. As Princess Hiyori desperately tries to bring Toko and herself to safety, there just is no escaping Kamazo the Manslayer, the secret assassin of Orochi's forces. However, he was very much stopped and by none other than Zoro himself.

It wasn't an easy battle, though. Both guys had blades on the other's throat in a heated exchange. And while the manga does deserve some credit for bringing this interaction together, the anime gets all honors, as it took some budget destroying animation to really bring this fight to life.

14 Luffy vs. Donquixote Doflamingo

Luffy and Doflamingo Haki Clash

Few One Piece villains have had as much build-up or developed as much intimate terror as Donquixote Doflamingo. Literally born powerful and evil, the future troll of all the Blues entered the One Piece world on a rampage. Doflamingo has sold drugs, profited off of war, enslaved people as toys, and has even killed members of his own family.

When Luffy finally stepped up to bat, it was a grand crescendo of catharsis for those just wanting someone to wipe off Doflamingo's self-centered smirk. This was another Warlord battle for Luffy, as he faced someone that was both a natural Haki user and an Awakened Devil Fruit user. Having to pull out all the stops, this fight is most iconic for the debut of Gear Fourth and the King Kong Gun.

13 Sanji vs. Jabra

Sanji vs Jabra

While he is part of the Monster Trio, Sanji hasn't had a lot of iconic fights in the series or, at least, those that are well-remembered by the fans. It always seems like Luffy and Zoro are at the forefront of the conversation, while the fighting chef is just left to wait tables. However, during the Enies Lobby Arc, everyone had their time to shine, and Sanji finally gave fans the epic bout that they were waiting for.

His opponent was Jabra, one of the toughest members of CP9, a Zoan Devil Fruit user, and a devilish liar. He made sure that Sanji didn't leave this fight unscathed, but Sanji came out with a few, burning surprises of his own.

12 Luffy vs. Eneru

Enel showing off lightning in One Piece

There is some ambiguity in this fight given that Luffy primarily won due to plot convenience. However, it deserves plenty of merit for the inherent drama and action of the fight itself. Eneru is one of the most overpowered characters in the series as a whole. He can move at light speed, control lightning, reshape metal, restart his own heart, and even use Observation Haki.

Eneru was a New World level force that Luffy was seeing in his early game. While he could certainly touch Eneru, Luffy had to be extra creative here just to be able to keep up with the godlike force.

11 Luffy vs. Arlong

Monkey D. Luffy and Arlong during One Piece's arlong park arc

This fight is going to have a special place in every One Piece fan's heart. If people weren't into this series before, they were definitely drawn in by the time Luffy's sandals met Arlong's face. Arlong was the first example of a truly despicable villain in One Piece. He enslaved an entire community and contributed to the direct trauma of one of Luffy's future navigators.

On top of that, he is also part of an elite race with superhuman strength, masterful swimming abilities, and some water bending abilities. Arlong himself carried a giant saw and had teeth that could break jaws. With strength in mind alone, this was already going to be an epic fight, but it really reached greatness given the story behind it.

10 Whitebeard vs. Akainu

To save the captain of his second division, Whitebeard has lead an all out assault on "Firefist" Ace's execution day and is charging through the battlefield himself like the human earthquake that he is. Trying to stop him is one of the more callous Marines within the One Piece world, the strong believer of justice at any cost, Admiral "Akainu" Sakazuki, who, like other Marines, believes that Ace's execution is a message to the entire pirate world that the World Government stands above all else.

What ensues is a fast-paced, incredibly dynamic fight that sees Akainu put Whitebeard through one of the grittier moments in the manga (Let's just say that the anime burns just half of Whitebeard's mustache), and Whitebeard shatters and bury the red dog of the Marines.

9 Ace vs. Blackbeard

Acting as the catalyst for the war above and several other moments in the One Piece story, the fight between Portgas D. Ace and "Blackbeard" Marshall D. Teach is both a pivotal moment and a well-choreographed fight. Ace has been hunting down Blackbeard throughout the series up until this point, wanting to punish him for murdering Whitebeard's Third Division Captain, Thatch, and betraying the Whitebeard Pirates.

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Blackbeard reveals that he did it to take the Darkness Darkness Fruit away from Thatch, launching his own long running plot for pirate supremacy. From here, the two begin a fight that tears up an entire town.

8 Cyborg Franky vs. Senor Pink

franky yelling in one piece

This one really snuck up on fans. Who knew that Oda could even make people feel for man in babywear and a speedo? In what initially seemed like an offhand fight became one of the major highlights of the Dressrosa Arc, as Eiichiro Oda really showed off what it means to be hard-boiled. Despite how they look, Franky and Senor Pink are both stoic, tough characters.

After firing an onslaught of missiles and bullets at the evasive land swimming of Senor Pink, Franky decides to bring the fight to pure, physical action. While both deal incredibly dramatic attacks, the major highlight is the middle of the fight as Senor Pink sinks to a flashback of his lost love and child, the very essence of his baby demeanor and hardboiled nature.

7 Roronoa Zoro vs. "Mr. 1" Daz Bones

Zoro cuts Daz Bones One Piece

Taking on the bounty hunting organization that is Baroque Works, Zoro goes one on one with the organization's #1 assailant and hallmark bounty hunter, Daz Bones.

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While Zoro has been building up sword fighting skills up until this point, he hasn't quite fought off someone as versatile as Daz, who has eaten the Dice Dice Fruit, allowing him to turn any part of his body into a blade which subsequently makes his entire body into steel, a real stepping stone for Zoro's cutting ability. What follows is an over the top fight that sees the two chop up buildings like vegetables and each other like buildings.

6 Luffy vs. "Mr. 0" Sir Crocodile

Perhaps even greater than Zoro's fight during the arc was Luffy's conclusive battle against the 80,000,000 bounty man of Baroque Works, Sir Crocodile. Crocodile has been plotting to usurp the Alabasta regime and has launched an entire conspiracy to create civil war. Monkey D. Luffy tries to stop him in protection of his newfound ally, Princess Nefertari Vivi, and the good of the entire kingdom.

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It's Luffy's biggest battle yet, as he faces off against one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and a greater master of their own Devil Fruit. This fight sees Luffy's first loss, an evolution of Devil Fruits, and Crocodile getting straight up punched through a city and into the sky.

5 The Straw Hat Pirates vs. A Pacifista

a pacifista facing the straw hats on sabaody archipelago

Despite what some people may think, the Straw Hats don't often fight together, which makes the few that they do harrowing experiences, as is the case with their introduction to the Pacifista. A newfound technology by the World Government, Pacifistas are pirate hunting cyborgs designed after the Warlord Bartholomew Kuma and equipped with enough technology to value a battleship.

They're super strong, have pirate seeking targeting systems, and destructive lasers coming out of their mouths. This battle pushes the Straw Hats to their absolute limit, as each one uses some of their best moves to take down just one of the World Government's robot army.

4 Luffy vs. Usopp

Luffy Vs Usopp

There are few fights in One Piece, let alone in the entirety of anime, that feel as close and personal as the infighting between Luffy and Usopp. Luffy made the executive decision to do away with the beloved Going Merry and find a newer ship, much to the disgruntlement of Usopp.

Not only was the Going Merry a present from his hometown and first love Kaya, but the seemingly blasé decision to throw out the ship seems like a calling card for Usopp himself to later be replaced. What ensues is the heart-shattering break up of a family, as Luffy and Usopp come to deathly blows to the horror of the rest of the Straw Hats. It's a hard one to watch and to miss.

3 Zoro vs. Kaku

Zoro vs kaku at Enies Lobby

Bringing things back to the lighter side of the fight scene spectrum, One Piece reaches a fight that not only elevates its chief swordsmen but encapsulates the unique balance of spectacle and humor that only One Piece can achieve. During the Ennies Lobby arc, the Straw Hats are hunting down different members of CP9 to get a hand of any of the one keys that can free a chained Nico Robin.

Zoro's responsibility is to take on Kaku, a secret assassin, master of the Rokushiki martial arts and four sword style, and a giraffe man. Surprisingly enough, that last bit turns out to be the most dangerous, as they come to a fight that is equal parts epic as it is hilarious. Please, do not underestimate the power of a giraffe!

2 Luffy vs. Rob Lucci

Luffy vs Rob Lucci At Enies Lobby In One Piece

Usurping Zoro's fights one again, Monkey D. Luffy takes the major highlight of the arc, as he fights the leader of CP9 and prodigy weapon, Rob Lucci. What really makes this fight so special despite what it stands for in the arc as a whole is that it is the first of Luffy's fights to be purely decided by physical action.

This fight sees Luffy dish out new powers and techniques and come to a pure fist fight match that many may not have been expecting but assuredly wanted more of in the future, as it perfectly and intimately captured the drama and conflict of a person's vie for freedom as it comes to beings of absolute justice.

1 Luffy vs. Katakuri

Luffy about to punch Katakuri

As Luffy tries to rescue Sanji from Whole Cake Island, he comes face to face with someone that he deems his greatest test for advancing as a pirate, Charlotte Katakuri, someone who's Devil Fruit not only mirrors Luffy's but also carries a heightened form of Observation Haki that lets him see into the future.

This fight sees an incredible rise for Luffy as he battles a seemingly indomitable force overmatch him blow for blow as well as a battle of philosophy, as both fights for their respective families. It's an amazing fight in the manga and a major upset for the animation that is definitely worth any fan going out of their way to see.

NEXT: One Piece: 10 Differences Between The Anime And The Manga