Ah, Part I. The beginning of the series, and for some, the best part of it. I personally prefer Part II more, but man did Part I have a lot of great moments, story-lines, and ESPECIALLY fights. And now I shall count down my favorite battles from the Part I anime/manga. Here we go:
3. Hinata Hyuga VS Neji Hyuga
Man, talk about family feuds. These two cousins put a clinic in the Chunin Exams Arc. It started really strong. Had a few moments where it slowed down so that information and tension could build up and all that. But you have to agree that whether slow or fast, the action was nail-biting at best, knowing Hinata's and Neji's different point of views in the fight. Though, it had a lot of repeated animation in the anime, and in hindsight, was really short overall. Still pretty good, but maybe could have been better.
2. Rock Lee VS Gaara / Rock Lee & Gaara VS Kimmimaro
Okay, these two fights are tied for one reason: they both show why Lee and Gaara are total badasses. When Lee and Gaara first fought one another in the Chunin Exams Arc, it really showed just how strong Rock Lee was, and gave him a shit ton of character insight and development. Gaara was a badass too. We really got a preview of the sick bastard that he was and would continue to be up until the Invasion of Konoha Arc. This fight also had some great animation in the beginning parts of the fight, which I wished could have stayed until the fight ended. It got even better when the two found themselves teaming up with one another and fighting Kimmimaro in the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Their awesome moves coupled with Kimmimaro's unique fighting style made for a good looking as well as good matched fight. Plus, Rock Lee's Drunken Fist always makes me laugh. lol It really shoved down the fact that Kimmimaro wasn't all that bad a guy down our throats though, so I thought that was a little annoying.
1. Naruto VS Sasuke
Oh yes. This was probably predictable as hell, I know, I know... but seriously. This fight was ninja-tastic. Yes, I just used that word. For me, when I first watched it as a kid, I felt like I was watching Goku VS Vegeta all over again. I really enjoyed the animation and even the little Sasuke flashback story it gave us in the middle. It really gave Sasuke a ton of sympathy points, and it made you want him to come back with Naruto to the village so that his pain could end. Speaking of Naruto-- yeah, he kinda got his ass kicked a little too much in the beginning, but when he turned Nine Tails and started beating the crap out of Sasuke, and the two started to beat the crap out of each other evenly, back and forth, back and forth, with it all ending with that big ass Rasegan VS Chidori struggle (also reminiscent of Kamehameha VS Galick Gun) ... with the end result being Sasuke leaving his headband with Naruto, and that infamous shot of him standing over Naruto in the rain, making you think that maybe, just maybe, he would be a good guy again and that he and Naruto could be friends again someday... Glorious. Perfect way to end the first part of the series.
And there we go. I'll probably post a Part II countdown once the manga ends. Just to make sure.
Anyways, what are your top 3 favorite Part I fights?
3. Hinata Hyuga VS Neji Hyuga
Man, talk about family feuds. These two cousins put a clinic in the Chunin Exams Arc. It started really strong. Had a few moments where it slowed down so that information and tension could build up and all that. But you have to agree that whether slow or fast, the action was nail-biting at best, knowing Hinata's and Neji's different point of views in the fight. Though, it had a lot of repeated animation in the anime, and in hindsight, was really short overall. Still pretty good, but maybe could have been better.
2. Rock Lee VS Gaara / Rock Lee & Gaara VS Kimmimaro
Okay, these two fights are tied for one reason: they both show why Lee and Gaara are total badasses. When Lee and Gaara first fought one another in the Chunin Exams Arc, it really showed just how strong Rock Lee was, and gave him a shit ton of character insight and development. Gaara was a badass too. We really got a preview of the sick bastard that he was and would continue to be up until the Invasion of Konoha Arc. This fight also had some great animation in the beginning parts of the fight, which I wished could have stayed until the fight ended. It got even better when the two found themselves teaming up with one another and fighting Kimmimaro in the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Their awesome moves coupled with Kimmimaro's unique fighting style made for a good looking as well as good matched fight. Plus, Rock Lee's Drunken Fist always makes me laugh. lol It really shoved down the fact that Kimmimaro wasn't all that bad a guy down our throats though, so I thought that was a little annoying.
1. Naruto VS Sasuke
Oh yes. This was probably predictable as hell, I know, I know... but seriously. This fight was ninja-tastic. Yes, I just used that word. For me, when I first watched it as a kid, I felt like I was watching Goku VS Vegeta all over again. I really enjoyed the animation and even the little Sasuke flashback story it gave us in the middle. It really gave Sasuke a ton of sympathy points, and it made you want him to come back with Naruto to the village so that his pain could end. Speaking of Naruto-- yeah, he kinda got his ass kicked a little too much in the beginning, but when he turned Nine Tails and started beating the crap out of Sasuke, and the two started to beat the crap out of each other evenly, back and forth, back and forth, with it all ending with that big ass Rasegan VS Chidori struggle (also reminiscent of Kamehameha VS Galick Gun) ... with the end result being Sasuke leaving his headband with Naruto, and that infamous shot of him standing over Naruto in the rain, making you think that maybe, just maybe, he would be a good guy again and that he and Naruto could be friends again someday... Glorious. Perfect way to end the first part of the series.
And there we go. I'll probably post a Part II countdown once the manga ends. Just to make sure.
Anyways, what are your top 3 favorite Part I fights?
