Sanji has been a member of the Straw Hat crew since almost the very beginning of the One Piece story, so it should go without saying that he's been involved in his fair share of intense and brutal fights along the journey. While Luffy and Zoro may prefer taking down their opponents with their fists and swords, respectively, Sanji takes a slightly different approach by being a fighter who relies on fast and fiery kicks to inflict damage on his foes.
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Considering how immensely strong the other pirates and marines have become over the course of the story, Sanji himself has also acquired a few upgrades to keep up with them in battle. This has resulted in some truly dazzling fight scenes featuring everyone's favorite chef, and while many stand out for their high-speed action, what also makes them memorable is the thematic undertone, which often relates to Sanji as a character and his personal traits and beliefs. With all that being said, these are the very best fights that Sanji has been a part of in the One Piece story.
8 Sanji VS Doflamingo
Sanji Bursts Into Action To Protect His Friends From A Warlord
- Episode: 655
Taking on a Warlord of the Sea is pretty much a death sentence for anyone who attempts it, at least for most people, but in the case of Sanji, he was still more than willing to take that risk if it meant protecting his friends. When Doflamingo was threatening to take out the remaining Straw Hats who were aboard the Sunny, Sanji leaped to their rescue in a fiery rage, and despite Doflamingo seeming pretty much unstoppable at that point, the Straw Hat cook still managed to put up a pretty admirable fight.
Seeing Sanji using his Air Step to propel himself through the sky while on fire is a pretty epic showcase of power, and the fact that he went to such lengths to save everyone from harm demonstrates just how selfless Sanjay truly is at heart. Doflamingo inevitably proved a little too strong for Sanji to handle in the end, but that shouldn't take away from the bravery that he demonstrated when he decided to face the Warlord all by himself.
7 Sanji VS Judge
After A Childhood Of Abuse And Torture, Sanji Finally Gets The Chance To Confront His Father
- Episode: 794
The scuffle between Sanji and Judge on Whole Cake Island is admittedly little more than a brief skirmish, but the reason it is a highlight is because of the emotional core at the center of the battle. Judge was a terrible father to Sanji when the boy was still young, seeing him as a failed experiment who was unfit to serve in his army of super soldiers. As a result, Sanji was thrown into a cell and left to starve to death, though he was luckily able to escape and make a new life for himself thanks to his sister Reiju helping him out.
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As a result, this confrontation between the two is incredibly intense, and it makes each and every attack feel that much more impactful because of the troubled relationship that they both share. Though Judge may have eventually gotten the upper hand over Sanji in this fight, it was also emblematic of how the father had been treating his son his whole life; tossing him around like he was a waste of space rather than someone to actually love and care for.
6 Sanji VS Page One
Sanji Activates The Raid Suit And Becomes An Absolute Powerhouse
- Episode: 925
The Raid Suit is a piece of equipment that can drastically increase a person's speed, strength, and mobility, alongside granting them a unique power to utilize in battle. Considering these weapons of destruction were created by Sanji's abusive father, he didn't exactly seem all that keen about using his own, but when facing off against the ferocious Tobiroppo known as Page One, he ultimately decided that it was time to give it a spin in order to protect his friends.
This fight is undoubtedly one of Sanji's most impressive in the series, as he was able to easily out-maneuver Page One by shooting around the environment at lightning speed while also turning invisible to evade any incoming attacks. Truth be told, Sanji made Page One look like a rookie during this fight, and while it's one that stands out for the excellent animation and action, it was also the beginning of Sanji's personal back and forth between whether he should be embracing the Germa technology, or rejecting it.
5 Sanji VS Wanze
Time For Sanji To Put His Cutting Skills To Good Use
- Episode: 259
Alongside his promise to never harm women, another rule that Sanji always follows in combat is to only use his legs to deal damage, as he believes that his hands should always be reserved for cooking. When he came up against the oddball villain known as Wanzey on the Soul Train, it quickly became clear that Sanji was going to need to think outside the box if he wanted to actually take Wanzey down for good, resulting in one of the most creative defeats in the series.
Since Wanzey was able to throw out long strands of ramen as part of his fighting style, Sanji decided it was time to bring the knives out, considering this could technically be treated as a cooking exercise. The second half of the fight, therefore, sees Sanji slicing and dicing Wanzey to pieces while looking like a true badass in the process, giving him a rare opportunity to show off his cooking skills in the middle of battle.
4 Sanji VS Luffy
A Heartbreaking Duel Which Saw Sanji Turn On His Captain
- Episode: 807
While Sanji is always happy to give Luffy a kick around the head if he ever finds him goofing off or stealing some of the crew's food, there was a time on Whole Cake Island where he was forced to fight his captain for real in an attempt to drive him away. Because Sanji didn't want the Straw Hats getting caught up in the whole Big Mom and Germa fiasco, he decided to put on a facade and pretend that he wanted nothing to do with them, which is ultimately what led to this emotional duel.
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The fact that Luffy chooses not to throw a single punch is really what makes this battle such a tear-jerker, as, on the other hand, Sanji pummels his own captain with a barrage of kicks and deadly attacks just to convince him to flee while he still can. While long-time fans were well aware that it would take a lot more than this for Luffy to leave his friend behind, the fight itself is still very hard to watch because of the emotional implications that come with it.
3 Sanji VS Bon Clay
Sanji's Refusal To Harm Women Is Used Against Him In A Brutal Bloodbath Of A Battle
- Episode: 116
Sanji has no quarrels about taking down anyone who gets on the wrong side of him and his crew, but his refusal to harm women is often seen as his biggest weakness, and it's one that Bon Clay uses against him during their fight in Alabasta. As someone who is able to mimic the appearance of other people thanks to his Devil Fruit, Bon Clay turned himself into Nami numerous times to try and throw Sanji off his game, and for a while, it seemed as though the cook would have no way to defeat him.
Thankfully, Sanji was able to outmaneuver Bon Clay and strike him down when he least expected it, though to say this battle was a brutal one would be putting it mildly. Both combatants took a real beating throughout the fight, and while Sanji ended up coming out the victor, he also showed a lot of respect for his opponent, who pushed him to the edge, resulting in one of the most memorable fights in all of Alabasta.
2 Sanji VS Jabra
Jabra Pushes Sanji To His Limit, Forcing Him To Unleash A New Ability
- Episode: 298
During the Enies Lobby arc, each member of the Straw Hat crew was forced to go up against different agents of CP9, who were by far their toughest opponents up to that point in the story. Sanji's deal was against the vicious Zoan wolfman known as Jabra, whose size and durability made it extremely difficult for Sanji's basic kicks to deal any significant damage. The two would engage in a sluggish back-and-forth until, eventually, Sanji unleashed a brand new fiery technique, which has now become his go-to ability, that being Diable Jambe.
Considering this was the first significant power-up that Sanji received in the series, it was genuinely shocking to see him take down an opponent this strong with such speed and precision. This fight also marks a real turning point for Sanji as a member of the crew, cementing him as a member of the monster trio who would only become stronger as time went on.
1 Sanji VS Queen
Emotional, Inspiring, Intense, This Fight Has It All, And Then Some
- Episode: 1061
Sanji's climactic dual with Queen is one that really does fire on all cylinders. On the one hand, it features some of the best animation in the entire series, with each attack thrown having a real weight behind it, thanks to the fluidity and style of the movements. On the other, Sanji receives some extremely powerful buffs after realizing that he has awakened his latent Germa powers, which also relates to the wider symbolism that the fight feeds into.
Considering Queen is a former member of the MADS science group, which Judge was also a part of, this battle really was Sanji fighting back against the scientific creations and experiments that had punished him for much of his life. Not only would he choose to throw the Raid Suit aside in order to embrace his own powers, but Sanji would also go above and beyond to try and defeat Queen in order to stop him from reaching the other members of his crew, being a fight which manages to be emotional and inspiring, yet still a real feast for the eyes thanks to the incredible action and animation.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
- Franchise(s)
- One Piece
- Creator(s)
- Eiichiro Oda
