There have always been moments in anime that make the viewer feel a flood of emotions. Whether it's defeating a difficult opponent or losing a close companion, these moments stick with fans for years to come. But the kind of emotions you feel when you see a character lose themselves completely in pure rage is by far the kind that keeps most viewers in suspense. Here's our list of the best rage moments of all time in anime!
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1. Naruto against pain
At this point, Naruto has become a very advanced ninja and has gained considerable strength, but his opponent is Pain. Prior to this fight, Pain had lived up to his name, even giving fans of the series one of the most heartbreaking moments in all of Naruto history. Pain was stronger than one of the legendary Sanin, Jiraiya, Naruto's beloved mentor. Seeing that power crumble in the fight against Pain reinforced that the latter was an absolutely deadly opponent.
Pain further proved his strength when he defeated and tied up Naruto, before Hinata intervened, even though she knew she was way outmatched. Seeing Hinata being thrown around like a rag doll before believing she had been killed, Naruto snapped and unleashed the fury of the nine tails. Naruto transformed and released eight power tails before attacking Pain in his rage. The fight felt like a beast had been released into the world, and nothing could stop it, with even Pain using a large amount of power to quell it. It was truly a sight to behold.
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2. Goku vs. Frieza
Many anime fans started with the basics. One of them is Dragon Ball Z, with an exceptional soundtrack and superb fight scenes for its time, but the most iconic moment is undoubtedly the first time Goku transformed into Super Saiyan. Goku has always been very carefree, but at that moment his rage reached its peak.
Frieza was an exceptionally powerful foe, and even with all of Goku's training, he was unable to defeat him. Until Frieza made the mistake of killing his best friend, Krillin. Seeing Krillin die and realizing that Frieza was determined to kill even his son, Goku finally snapped and, in a fit of rage, transformed into the thing Frieza feared the most… a Super Saiyan!
His power reaching a new peak, Goku unleashes his rage on Frieza, decimating the alien conqueror, even going so far as to humiliate him by letting him reach his maximum power, before striking him again and leaving him to die on a Namek in full explosion. While the visuals weren't as stunning as those in more recent series, the impact of the scene and the reveal of a Super Saiyan was nothing to sneeze at, and has remained etched in the memories of many.
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3. Levi Ackerman vs. Beast Titan
We all know about the food chain in the world of Attack on Titan. At the bottom of the ladder there are the humans, then the Titans and finally the two Ackermans of the series, with Levi taking the belt of a top predator. Always so calm and collected, Levi has not often been put to the test. But what happens when such a character loses all his allies and the man he admires?
Trapped between an unforgiving wall and a circle of titans, the scouts have no way to escape. While the scouts lose their pants, the Beast Titan decimates the buildings by throwing rocks with the force of cannons. Seeing their inevitable end, Captain Erwin decides to make one last attempt by distracting the Titan long enough for Levi to reach it.
With a zealous speech in the background, Levi finally reaches the Beast Titan as he eliminates the rest of the scouts present outside the wall. He then destroys it in a fit of rage that makes us shiver. Seeing the true extent of Levi's abilities and how he beats the enemy that posed such a threat to the Eldians to a pulp is both satisfying and stunning to watch.
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4. Gon Freecs Versus Neferpitou
There is no shortage of powerful characters in Hunter x Hunter. From powerful old men to weird-looking chimera ants that can rip your arms off and use your bones like toothpicks. One of these chimera ants was Neferpitou. This character was an absolute beast in terms of Nen abilities and strength, which was proven by how he took down the high-level hunter, Kite.
But Neferpitou will quickly realize that killing Gon's father figure and idol was not the best thing to do. After Gon realizes that Kite is truly dead and there is no hope of resurrection, we see the happy-go-lucky hero we all know and love break down. Dark Aura begins to twist around Gon, resulting in some spectacular and horrifying images. The audience, and even Neferpitou, realizes that this power is comparable to that of the king of the chimera ants, Mereum.
Gon brings out Neferpitou with all the potential he contracted and begins to decimate them, bashing the ant's skull before finishing with a huge explosion. The art was masterfully done during the height of Gon's rage, and it's definitely one of the best rage moments in the anime.
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5. The guts and the hand of God
At the top of the list is this moment. It wasn't even a fight. It was just pure, uncontrolled rage at god-like beings. Berserk has always been a terribly dark series with mature content, but nothing changed the series quite like the twist that happened when Guts lost everything. He lost his best friend, his companions and his lover in one fell swoop.
Now imagine watching everyone around you die, being sacrificed by your closest friend, and then having that friend destroy everything you hold dear, even going so far as to tarnish the person you love. The moment when Griffith sacrificed everyone for power is also the moment when Guts showed his greatest rage.
During the Eclipse, Guts tried to protect Casca and save Griffith, but he was tied up by a beast and witnessed Griffith assaulting Casca. His rage is such that he begins ripping his arm off with a dull blade, cutting through bone and sinew before attacking a being that any sane person knows is beyond his reach. Guts goes truly crazy in this moment of epic rage, and no anime has had the same emotional impact as this one. As many other fans can confirm, Griffith's rage still hasn't subsided.
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There are many angry moments in anime, but for this list, these are the ones we'll stick with. If you remember another anime with incredible moments of rage, please comment and let us know, because who doesn't want to see their favorite characters go completely crazy?