Top 50 Other Most Wanted Matchups for Death Battle (2024)

"While I do have several other matchup based lists planned for the future... I think it's safe to say now that this'll be the last time I touch this topic specifically". Me, on my last list, 2021... oops.

Dia duit, ladies and gents, PitTheSwordmaster here. So over half a year ago, as an early celebration to my one year anniversary of being a member of the Death Battle wiki (or... really just the community in general), I did a countdown of my top 200 most wanted matchups. It was the biggest project I have done to date and one that, as you can imagine... wasn't easy to put together. Of course, my opinions have shifted a decent bit since then- some matchups have skyrocketed way past their original spots on the list such as Shazam vs Pegasus, Kyoko vs King, Roxas vs Axl, etc., some I still like but don't have nearly as high as I did before such as Uraraka vs Kat, X vs KOS-MOS, Ryuko vs Crona, etc., some I've just kinda fallen out with in general such as Hades vs Odin, Jason vs Souji, Savage vs Mariko, etc., you get the picture. For the most part my opinions on all of the matchups have held up but with a list as big as that one, it was kinda inevitable even just a few would shift overtime. However, since I unfortunately lack the ability to see the future, I had a lot of matchups I would discover later (or was forced to leave off of the original list)- enough to make an entire top 50 from scratch. Now, you'd think by this point I would be smart enough not to repeat mistakes of old and do another oversized list of matchups I like...

So as per usual, a few things to go over for this list (that, due to sheer laziness, will just be copy & pasted from the last countdown):

1. This is my opinion and mine only. You're free to disagree with me, just... don't be a dick or a nuisance about it (not naming any names but you know who you are).

2. Any TNs not made by me will be credited to their original creators.

3. Only one matchup per character.

4. No battle royales. This is all 1v1 (because I just really wanted to make my life hell).

5. I'm by no means the best VS debater around so if I get the victor or the reasoning wrong, corrections would be appreciated (again, just be constructive instead of thinking I lost the plot or something).

6. For the alternatives segment, I may have some... choice words for them, to say the least. If you like said alternatives, I have no issue with that. I'm just an asshole on the internet that likes to be hyperbolic about everything.

7. I'll be revealing five entries each day until I reach number 1 (again, I've learned my lesson from trying to do these lengthy lists in one go).

And as an additional note, for this list I decided against giving each matchup a rating on how likely I think they are since... being real, there are so many matchups on this list that are painfully unlikely to happen that I thought it would just be repetitive and ultimately pointless to keep saying "lul, not happening".

So with all of that out of the way, let's get this show on the road for the... I've lost count how many times I've gone down this road, f*ck.

50. Jin Kisaragi vs Ky Kiske (Blazblue vs Guilty Gear)[]

Connections: Elemental sword wielders and blue clad rivals to a hotheaded ArcSys protagonist.

Why I Want This: This was certainly a very recent addition to my list of most wanteds (you can thank my recent Guilty Gear craze for that one). For the longest time, I kinda just looked at this one as "Ragna vs Sol Badguy, rivals edition" and while I still kinda feel that way about it now, the combination of 1). Ragna vs Sol being f*cking years old by now and 2). Ragna vs Sol being kinda not good, made me mellow out on that being something that truly held me back from liking this one when then looking at the multiple upsides of this matchup.

A small detail I really like with this matchup is the unique elemental clash between it. Ice and lightning aren't something you see paired up super often and throw in the visually stunning sword techniques of both and you have a recipe for one of the flashiest fights to date, full of vivid and clean sword combat with large, eye-catching glaciers and lightning bolts being thrown into the mix to add an extra layer of visual flair (wow, didn't mean for that to rhyme). Not to mention, their polar opposite personalities are bound to get some extremely fun exchanges out of the two given Jin's cold-bloodedness and Ky's warmhearted nature. Compared to other matchups on this list, there isn't a sh*t ton to dissect with this one but it's a matchup with upsides that are pretty clear and easy to see so I would hardly label that a truly bad thing...

Oh yeah, also the music has the potential to f*cking slap.

Roots: Ky Kiske

CAC: Roar of the End

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Ky. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Jin vs Esdeath and Ky vs Saber certainly do a good job existing, I'll give them that much.

49. Brainiac vs Kang the Conqueror (DC vs Marvel)[]

Connections: Comic book alien conquerors from alternate realities, who are both characterised by their genius intellects.

Why I Want This: Welcome to the one and only Marvel vs DC matchup you will be seeing for the rest of this list. While I feel this rivalry gets way more flack than it really deserves, I'd be lying if I said there were many remaining Marvel vs DC matchups I had the slightest bit of interest in. I already went over four I liked on the last list which is more than the one, maybe two ideas most rivalries have that I actually like but still isn't a particularly high number by any means, but while I still don't like this as much as any of the MvDC ideas on the last list, Brainiac vs Kang is still an excellent matchup with a lot going for it.

There is a lot you could do with a fight like this. Like his battle with Ultron in the comics, Kang's time hopping abilities already start you off good with being able to take the fight wherever the f*ck you want across all of space and time, even bringing in back-up to make for an even more insane battle just like that aforementioned one against Ultron that literally caused space and time to collapse, which against Brainiac's multitude of cybernetic tools and tricks from possession, to telekinesis, to even being able to create replicas of himself to fight alongside him would make for one hell of an army fight, to say nothing of how Kang's gadgets would clash with what Brainiac's packing. Anti-gravity, anti-matter, electricity, you name it, Kang's got a lot of sh*t to bounce off of Brainiac's bag of tricks, reminiscent to the clash of the many gadgets Lex and Doom did battle with. None of this is also getting into the banter their larger than life personalities would offer to add even further to the madness on screen, but even with just this, the animation potential absolutely sells me on this being a crazy, but oh so entertaining brawl.

Roots: Kang

CAC: Conqueror's Crisis

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Brainiac. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: "Ultron" and "has any good reason to return" don't go in the same god damn sentence, and Brainiac vs Shockwave has the not insignificant problem of being kinda sh*t (yeah, having almost nothing but wrong connections will do that to ya).

48. Rey Skywalker vs Houki Shinonono (Star Wars vs Infinite Stratos)[]

Connections: Sword-wielding relatives to antagonists with a massive influence in their worlds, who are entrusted as the next generation of their world's type of peacekeepers.

Why I Want This: Welcome to episode 1 of "niche as balls ideas I quite like". Enjoy the run, because f*cking One Piece is likelier to end than this sh*t.

Okay but for real, I find a certain charm in the wacky world of out-there, obscure ideas (mainly due to how often I dive into that world myself). There's just something I like about learning more about series barely anybody on planet Earth has even heard about, and it often shows off some extremely creative and unique ideas. Yeah not every niche idea is... well, good but Rey vs Houki certainly is. Connections for it may be light but they get the job done nicely and I really dig this fight's dynamic. It's easy to have it act as a rather simple sword fight for a good chunk of it but the idea of Rey fighting against Houki's infinite stratos with her Force powers is really enticing to me.

Seeing Houki nimbly move in and around all sorts of debris and projectiles being thrown her way with Rey's Force abilities would be bound to make for a fun fight when handled properly, not to mention her IS' ranged abilities would give her enough to fire back with that it wouldn't just be three minutes of Rey trying to swat a fly down with the Force and she'd actually have to try and avoid getting hit herself. That and in close quarters, it's multitude of beam swords and other similar weapons against Rey's lightsaber combat would be bound to be extremely flashy, especially if you took a page out of Obi-Wan vs Kakashi and especially Yoda vs King Mickey's books of mixing both lightsaber and Force combat together for some extremely neat tricks and shots, like Rey using the Force to fling around her lightsaber and wield it as proficiently as she would if it were in her hand.

This probably wouldn't have made the cut if I weren't so enticed by the fight dynamic since admittedly, it isn't much to write home about in most other areas but what you can do with their respective abilities is more than enough to make me salivate at the thought of this despite me having very little experience with either franchise.

Roots: Rey

CAC: Infinity Awakens

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Houki. I know jack sh*t about IS stats but going off of what I've been told, while Rey has an AP advantage, it isn't big enough for Houki taking every other category to be irrelevant to the conversation.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Is Korra vs Rey the most atrocious thing on the planet that deserves to suffer in the pits of Hades for all of eternity? No. Is it ridiculously boring and has virtually nothing I find interesting in any area compared to Rey vs Houki and Korra vs Delsin? Yes. Also Boruto vs Rey falls under the banner of "technically works but also why".

47. Agent Carolina vs Pyrrha Nikos (Red Vs Blue vs RWBY)[]

Connections: Red haired Rooster Teeth characters that are highly regarded for being among the most skilled of their casts (also same VA, lul).

Why I Want This: Y'know, for someone that isn't into rivalry fights, 3 of the 4 matchups so far being from well known rivalries is a tad ironic. Well regardless, while I couldn't give less than a quarter ounce of birdsh*t for most RWBY vs RvB matchups, Pyrrha vs Carolina is a simple but damn enjoyable take on the rivalry. Like the last entry, it makes up for somewhat simple similarities with a really enjoyable fight dynamic. Pyrrha's use of a wide variety of ranged options between using her lance like a javelin, using magnetic powers or just using a f**king gun help to alleviate the big issue a lot of matchups from this rivalry have in their fighting styles not clashing all too well, helped out further by Carolina's wide-reaching movepool having a lot of options on how to counter them. Pyrrha may not have as much to work with but how her smaller kit plays off of Carolina's still makes for an enjoyable fight, as her magnetism gives her a lot of options against many of Carolina's attacks, forcing Carolina to think more outside the box and thus, showing off one of her main similarities to Pyrrha (her highly respected skill) to work. Meta vs Carolina already showed off some of the incredible things Carolina is capable of, so trying to work around something as versatile as Pyrrha's Semblance and outsmart her would be chaotic but oh so fun. Of course, unlike Meta vs Carolina, Carolina actually has a talking opponent to bounce off of as opposed to a total mute, so not only can she get more of the banter between her and Epsilon out of the equation but Pyrrha can be thrown into the mix too. Like before, this idea isn't super in depth on why I like it... comparatively speaking but it vibes. I like it.

Roots: Pyrrha

CAC: Grimm Alliance

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Carolina. Megaton bomb scaling moment.

Thoughts on Alternatives: I'm not aware of any other Carolina ideas so skipping straight to Pyrrha, there's Pyrrha vs Kakyoin, an idea that... I'd be lying if I said it wasn't kinda funny but as a full DB, f*ck that noise, Pyrrha vs Monsoon is... kinda dumb IMO and Pyrrha vs Magneto is why I don't believe in a higher power if they let sh*t like this exist.

46. Alisa Reinford vs Yukari Takeba (Trails of Cold Steel vs Persona)[]

Connections: Archers taken onto the team for their aptitude with a power magic tool, who are also the daughters of a deceased researcher for a major group in their worlds.

Why I Want This: I like Persona... yes you may pick your jaw up off the floor, thanks. But for real, this is a series that I've been head over heels for for nearly a decade now and spoilers, I ain't planning to drop it anytime soon. Yukari for the longest time was kinda stuck with nothing worthwhile in my eyes but luckily for me, I learned of this matchup and suddenly, that problem was no more.

This idea is super fun. Banter doesn't really need much of an introduction given both characters' tendencies to act rather brashly, and music potential... I mean come on, Trails of Cold Steel + Persona is an easy AF sell. But like always, animation potential is where my attention is grabbed. Aside from the obvious Green Arrow vs Hawkeye, we don't tend to get a lot of archery themed battles but this fight takes that core "bow on bow" dynamic and cranks it up to 11. It could start as a simple archery battle but as the battle progresses, Alisa's multitude of bow related crafts give her a lot to fire back at Yukari with and while Yukari may not have much by herself, her Persona certainly does. Firing back with it's many wind attacks as more and more of Alisa's increasingly flashy techniques get shown off makes this an insanely appealing fight to me (even excluding my Persona bias). Yet a-f*cking-gain, I wish I could say more on this but like the last few fights, I don't have as much to talk about as I'd like. Don't mistake that as me saying that's to the matchup's detriment though, because there is still a lot likeable about this fight (and hey, more Trails of Cold Steel exposure is pretty dope).

Roots: Yukari

CAC: Unsightly Craft

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Yukari. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: If tonal dissonance were a matchup, it would probably be called something like... IDK, "Yukari vs Kimberly". Like yeah, the connections are there but holy sh*t, does Kimberly not fit Persona 3's tone at f*cking all (which isn't the only fault I have with it but it's certainly the one that sticks out the most like a sore thumb). Yukari vs Tsubasa though... eh, it's actually alright, not much to complain about.

45. Ren Amamiya vs Giorno Giovanna (Persona vs Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)[]

Connections: Leaders of vigilante teams from their series' fifth instalments, who specialise in a second-self like ability.

Why I Want This: *Record scratch*. "Wait, Pit, I thought you didn't like this matchup! Or any JojoSona matchup for that matter! Who's holding you hostage!?" Well settle down, my thoughts on basically every other JojoSona matchup hasn't gone anywhere. It's true though, for the longest time I thought Joker vs Giorno was a painfully generic and mediocre matchup that I only kept myself from fully disliking due to the lack of good alternatives for Joker. After giving this fight a chance and digging a bit deeper into what Giorno could do though, I ended up admitting defeat with this one. It's a good matchup- a damn good one. Now of course, pier pressure isn't exactly why I put this here, because I do genuinely really vibe with this idea.

Let's get the obvious out of the way first- the style. Persona 5 is praised to hell and back for the amazing UI and visual design of the whole game, full of life and visual flair almost like that of a comic book. Jojo meanwhile... I mean, come on, just take a look at one or two panels from the manga and that's all the info you need. So much colour, so much vibrance, so much style to it all. Yeah it's goofy beyond imagination but Jojo f*cking owns it like a boss. The styles of both match each other perfectly and would make for an absolutely stunning view on its own if the fight were allowed to bring the most out of them. Of course, that's not where the story ends. My main concern with this fight at first was the fight dynamic, seeing as how it's essentially the equivalent of pitting a guy with one Stand against a guy with 300- something that on paper sounds like a lopsided disaster... then I fully delved into Giorno's arsenal and realised that was anything but the case. Giorno's ability to just pull a Jesus and create living things out of the blue not only has a sh*t ton of versatile uses that would naturally make Joker have to switch strategies with the Wild Card without it feeling forced, and it would also make for the insane kind of wackiness that fits Jojo and to a lesser extent Persona wonderfully. Plus as soon as Gold Experience Requiem comes out to play and introduces downright ludicrous abilities like Return to Zero into the mix, the already insane potential gets cranked up even further as Joker now has to deal with something that can f*ck with causality itself. Music potential is also another obvious upside to this fight, with the incredibly stylized soundtrack of Golden Wind working wonderfully alongside tracks like Life Will Change or Blooming Villain to create an epic piece befitting a battle between two law rebelling citizens.

This matchup isn't perfect by any means (the less said about the debate, the better) but it's still such a stylish and flashy fight that they don't detract from it all too much. Nice job JojoSona, you got one matchup I like... don't get used to this.

Roots: Ren Amamiya

CAC: Requiem of a Phantom

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Giorno... no I'm not explaining this one, f*ck you.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Hoo lord, here we go. I don't think Joker vs Velvet, Legionis or Sailor Moon are bad at all and while all of them have alts that are in my top 100 most wanted, I wouldn't be cursing the moon if any of them by some chance ended up against Joker. Black Rock Shooter is also... fine? But it doesn't vibe as well with me. Tuxedo Mask does a wonderful job at existing and DC Joker makes me wanna revoke some people's breathing rights. As for Giorno, Misogi is eh, Touma is bleh, Alucard is just why, and Jojo royale is... not great, let's put it like that.

44. Millia Rage vs Yami (Guilty Gear vs To Love Ru)[]

Connections: Cold assassins who manipulate their own blonde hair for combat, who slowly grew to grasp emotions due to a complicated love life.

Why I Want This: We've seen a multitude of different weapons on Death Battle- swords, lances, axes, guns, bows, magic, but what about... hair? Well the idea of using your own damn hair as a weapon may sound crazy... because it is, but this matchup finds a way to make it sound cool, I can say that much. It's a pretty simple matchup when you break it down but as I've made abundantly clear by this point, simplicity hardly equals being bad. Both of their arsenals are characterised by being able to shape their hair into all sorts of different things- fists, blades, wings, skewers and all sorts of things. It's pretty much a rock-paper-scissors type battle where they have the same tools at each other's disposals and it's just a matter of picking the right one that counters what the other could through, only instead of just a rock, paper and scissors, it's a rock, paper, scissors, fists, blades, buzzsaws, wings, chakrams, flowers, skewers, your hopes, your dreams, the kitchen sink, the planet Uranus, the galaxy, you get the picture. It's a fight where creativity reigns supreme as you can just do whatever the hell you want with their main power (within reason). Of course, their stoic natures means banter is pretty light and it's hardly the fairest fight in the world but given its extremely tight connections and fun as hell fight dynamic (as well as just being the wackiest franchise combo known to man), it earns a spot on this list all the same.

Roots: Millia

CAC: To Love the Subhuman Self

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Millia. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Millia vs Nia and Millia vs Nico Robin are cool too but I like Yami's fight dynamic more overall. Millia vs Filia though is a bruh moment and a half. Also Yami vs Clayface is... yeah, no thanks.

43. King Bradley vs Solidus Snake (Fullmetal Alchemist vs Metal Gear Solid)[]

Connections: Eyepatch wearing rulers of their nations who were raised as experimental child soldiers, who are also... well, terrorists.

Why I Want This: It didn't take much convincing for me to see just how good of a matchup this was after first hearing about it through the Brandon Yates track. Even if you have the vaguest knowledge of both series, the similarities are pretty plain to see and the overall fight dynamic is just as clear. Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood were both shows I really loved watching and seeing Bradley just rip and tear through every f*cker in his way made envisioning how Solidus would play off of him pretty damn easy given his own sword combat in Metal Gear Solid 2. Bradley's hyperaggresive and in-your-face fighting style fits nicely with Solidus given the absolute carnage him and especially Raiden can reap with the High Frequency Blade. Wolverine vs Raiden already showed how much fun that kind of fighting style can be to watch, so give Solidus someone who's as skilled a swordsman as him and Bob's your uncle, you got an exciting fight on your hands.

Given both characters' extremely patriotic personalities, the banter is just as plain to see too, especially given their similar experiences of being dogs of the military turned into the bloodhounds that clawed their way to the top, one bloodsoaked step at a time, and a mix of Fullmetal Alchemist and Metal Gear music just adds to the epic atmosphere a fight like this would inevitably have. There isn't much else to really say here- this fight is extremely clear to see the appeal in and as someone who loves Fullmetal Alchemist, you're hardly gonna see me complaining about more reps showing up.

Roots: Bradley

CAC: Les Enfants Courroucée

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Bradley. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Directed by Robert E. Weide.

42. Nui Harime vs Donquixote Doflamingo (Kill la Kill vs One Piece)[]

Connections: Psychopathic pink string manipulators who were taken down a peg by the rebellious protagonists.

Why I Want This: From one matchup featuring one of my favourite anime to another, we arrive at my favourite matchup for Kill la Kill's twintailed nutjob, Nui Harime. Kill la Kill is f*cking incredible and Nui managed to be a unique case of a villain that was simultaneously amusing as hell to watch and genuinely kinda intimidating just based off of how f*cking mental the girl can go when things aren't looking good for her, never mind her doing sh*t like making even Satsuki panic or instantly disposing of Sanageyama's Goku Uniform without a shred of effort. With all of that in mind, a fellow badass villain like Doflamingo feels right at home for her.

One Piece is a series known for being full of wacky and out there visuals an characters, something that fits Nui to a T and Doflamingo's own overconfidence and lack of fear (as well as outbursts like when Law mocked him after getting a leg up on him) help to fit the other side of Nui's wacky nature- her... being actually kinda f*cking psychotic. Banter is pretty damn evident as a result, with Nui's cheerful attitude even while beating folks to a bloody pulp being bound to bounce wonderfully off of Doffy's carefree and overconfident nature, helped even further by an extremely fun fight dynamic that not only combines the visual insanity of Kill la Kill and One Piece's animation during fight scenes, but has a fun clash of string based powers, with their other abilities such as Nui's cloning and bugnuts healing factor and Doflamingo's Haki and ability to turn random sh*t in the environment into string giving you plenty to work with for fun ideas, like Doflamingo shredding through legions of Nui clones with razor sharp threads or Nui's healing factor courtesy of the Life Fibers just letting her get torn to pieces by Doffy and just laughing it off like it didn't even happen. Couple all of this with solid as hell music potential and simple but still generally solid connections and you have yourself an extremely entertaining matchup. Not much else to really add so... next.

Roots: Nui

CAC: No Wings Attached

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Doflamingo. Power is fairly even but Doffy blitzes Nui's ass off.

Thoughts on Alternatives: I do quite like Nui vs Kurome too but Doffy just edges out for me. Crona meanwhile is... fine, but I will die on the hill that Ryuko is their best opponent, never mind being a better Kill la Kill matchup for Crona. As for Doffy, Corset's cool but personal bias go haha, Pain certainly does exist and Lubbock is... fine I guess.

41. Kanan Jarrus vs The Last Kusagari (Star Wars vs Redsteel 2)[]

Connections: The last survivors of their wiped out clans that end up being taught in the ways of their fallen clans' techniques in order to survive.

Why I Want This: Redsteel 2 is a criminally underrated game. Not that I can completely blame people for not playing it since Redsteel 1 was kinda garbo but 2 not only fixed all the problems of the original but was an extremely fun and unique game that put the WiiMotion Plus to super fun use for exciting one-to-one sword and gun combat. Sooooooooooooo when I first heard about an idea for the good ol' Last Kusagari, needless to say I had a stiffy you could hang a flag from I am so sorry for the disgusting imagery. It's already cool getting a pseudo cowboy vs samurai dynamic but the animation potential is what really brings home the bacon here. Star Wars lightsaber combat has always been an appealing draw to the series so mix that with the biggest claim to fame for Redsteel 2 (it's one-to-one sword combat) and you have a recipe for an extremely badass fight scene. Mixing in Kusagari's gunslinging and Kanan's Force powers to add a bit of variety to the mix doesn't hurt either and given famous desert themed locales of Star Wars like Tattooine, it wouldn't be hard to work an extremely cool Wild West theme into the fight either to add that extra bit of style to it all. I know it's probably getting repetitive for me to keep saying "there ain't much to cover because it kinda write itself" but... I mean, that kinda should tell you just how good a matchup is when its qualities barely even need an explanation. Yeah it's placement on here is partly out of bias for Redsteel 2 but I couldn't give less of a sh*t because this matchup, through and through, is still stupid amounts of fun.

Roots: Kusagari

CAC: The Last Rebel

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Kanan. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Kanan vs Kenshi works perfectly fine but it doesn't sound anywhere close to as cool as Kusagari does.

40. Teddie vs Golem (Persona vs Castlevania)[]

Connections: Versions of a standard enemy in their home series given a newfound sentience that lead them through an existential crisis.

Why I Want This: Persona 4 is a game I have a lot of fond memories with... well okay I haven't actually played the game yet but during my teenage years, I obsessed over the anime and watched so many let's plays of the game I can recite some parts better than some folks who played the full game (slight exaggeration but you get my point). Silly as Teddie might have seemed, I really liked him and his story of trying to find out his place in the world and what the hell he really was, and I wanted a matchup for him that really hit that point home. That's where Golem comes in- a character who might not have the most in-depth connections with Teddie but strikes what I wanted out of a Teddie matchup better than almost anything I could've ever hoped for.

Golem's own experience of being a regular enemy granted sentience when Aeon recruited him to fight against the Time Reaper gave me exactly what I wanted from a Teddie matchup given the troubles Golem was faced with knowing that carrying out his mission to defeat the Time Reaper meant him completely losing his sentience and returning to a mere pawn of Dracula, with both eventually reaching the resolve that with the sentience they were given, they would use it to fight for others instead of worrying about themselves. Animation potential is also a bonus. Golem may be a slow hulking mass but with some of the tools Teddie has shown in Persona 4 Arena such as him popping in and out of TVs, his massive stature and bulk could make for a fun "unstoppable force meats immovable object" dynamic, especially with Teddie's ice powers matching well both with Golem's own ranged attacks for long range combat and his enormous strength to just smash everything to pieces. It's one of the more basic matchups on the list but it still gets the job done, and Teddie's loud mouth would hardly keep the banter boring. Also you can't tell me Persona and Castlevania music wouldn't slap hard.

Roots: Teddie

CAC: Dis-bearing Dolls

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Teddie. Similar stats but Teddie's healing abilities and greater versatility should give him a solid leg-up on Golem.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Teddie vs Tora is also really f*cking good but Golem just... vibes better. Still a great matchup though. Teddie vs Monokuma on the other hand is... rough, and Teddie vs Mimikyu, while on paper it makes sense, it just does not do it for me.

39. Featherine vs Mandrakk (Umineko No Naku Koro Ni vs DC)[]

Connections: Antagonistic beings above the fabric of reality, who have direct control over the flow of their own stories.

Why I Want This: Yep, I f*cking went there. Umineko in Death Battle has been a largely controversial topic due to just how f*cking weird the game is to work with. It's pretty notoriously one of the most monstrously powerful verses in all of fiction, with even low tiers reaching Hyperversal... low tiers. The idea of Umineko in Death Battle receives a lot of flack not just for the nonexistent debate of most of its matchups, but also because a lot of the ideas that exist from it are seen moreso as excuses to just get the most broken characters to ever live on the show with no thought into anything other than how big of a kaboom they can make. While I think the idea that Umineko isn't deserving of an episode is a gross exaggeration... yeah, I'm not gonna dispute that most of the ideas the series has spawned do just exist because "lul, OP plz nerf". So... what makes this one so different? Well for starters, the connections actually do involve something other than how big their muscles are, so that's a start but the overall dynamic of the fight is really interesting.

This isn't a Hulk vs Broly style battle where it's all about just how much sh*t they can destroy with minimal effort. Remember, these two can literally manipulate the very stories they reside in, so instead of a battle dedicated to just pure, unadulterated cosmic destruction, you have a unique opportunity for an absolutely mind-twisting battle of control over the narrative of the fight. Remember how I said Millia vs Yami was a fight that let you just do whatever the hell you wanted because of how their main weapons could essentially be anything? Yeah, this fight takes the concept of "you can do whatever the f*ck you want and it'd fit" to a whole other level, since... well, they're battling over control of their own story, and you can make a story out of anything. Turn an innocent fairy tale into a pure nightmare realm of horrifying imagery, take a medieval battle full of knights and sorcerors and throw aliens and sh*t into the mix, turn Redo of Healer into something actually acceptable to society, the sky's the limit (is what I would say but oops, now they turned the sky red and made it rain blood). You see what I mean? It isn't just a battle made for the sake of just "haha funny powerful dudes", there is genuine creativity on display here. Smarter folks on here than me (wink wink) could probably give you more vivid or unique ideas on potential avenues for this fight to go down but I think that speaks to just how much potential for a memorable fight you have when you can almost literally just... do anything with it.

Roots: Featherine

CAC: A Scary Tale Ending

Preferred Animation Style: Hand-Drawn

Who I Think Wins: Featherine. Mandrakk isn't as outclassed as he seems on paper thanks to DC cosmology courtesy of the new DC omniverse being a f*cking doozy and a half... but as ridiculously powerful as he is, odds are slim he scales as high as Featherine does.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Yeah, as I've already gone over, the vast majority of matchups Featherine has pretty much just exist because "haha, funny broken AF chick go brrr". Hilarious as the idea of a crazy anime bitch fighting the flying spaghetti monster is, Featherine vs Azathoth really does not f*cking click with me, and that's one of the better ones I've seen when the bottom of the barrel has sh*t like Featherine vs Darkseid or Featherine vs Batman Who Laughs (which isn't even the best for Batman Who Laughs from Umineko but I digress).

38. Palutena vs Vert (Hyperdimension Neptunia vs Kid Icarus)[]

Connections: Benevolent (and slightly troll-ish) green video game goddesses that have a thing for obliterating the 4th wall.

Why I Want This: Kid Icarus Uprising is my second favourite game of all time (because who would have guessed PitTheSwordmaster likes Kid Icarus, amirite lads?), and Palutena is one of my favourite characters from that game. She may be benevolent and beautiful but hoo boi, she's got a sharp tongue and a love of f*cking with Pit and I always get a kick out of the interactions she has when she decides to do a little bit of trolling. With that in mind, a character like Vert from a series as big into 4th wall breaking humour as Hyperdimension Neptunia fits Palutena to an absolute T. There is just no way to f*ck up the banter here. Someone like Vert that's an equally big tease and equally as huge on referencing outside media and doing other such 4th wall breaking things would make this a difficult fight to not crack a smile at just from hearing the two sh*t-talk each other while trying to maintain the motherly facade.

Like with Teddie vs Golem, this matchup's biggest strengths lie outside of its animation potential for once but it doesn't slack off too much on that front either. While I know some aren't so huge on the idea of Palutena in Death Battle because of how little fighting she does in her home games, her appearance in Smash as a playable fighter and her arsenal still having more than enough material to work with gives her enough in my eyes that it's far from a crippling hindrance and what she has plays solidly against Vert's arsenal and it's many larger than life special attacks to go against the variety of crazy goddess powers Palutena uses. The banter is what really makes this idea appeal to me (along with Kid Icarus bias) but this idea hardly slacks in the other areas that make it what it is.

Roots: Palutena

CAC: Heartful Uprising

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Vert. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: I love Rosalina as much as the next guy... but Jesus Christ, her vs Palutena bores me to tears. Like... it works but there is nothing of interest to be syphoned from it. Also anyone who mentions Palutena vs Cetrion will be kindly but firmly asked to leave the building... before I smack them.

37. Sandman vs Crocodile (Marvel vs One Piece)[]

Connections: Sand-wielding ruffians climbing the criminal ladder through fighting alongside different teams and organisations.

Why I Want This: Well, don't know if I'll be able to go super in depth with this one but here we go. I don't have much in the ways of personal experience with either of these two since I don't One Piece much and Sandman was never a Marvel villain I really dabbled into much but this is one of those ideas that still manages to vibe with me all the same despite the lack of investment in either character. Sand is a unique and fun tool to mess around with in a fight, and both of these two have shown their ability to mold it into whatever the hell they feel like. I love the idea of each hit both land drawing piles and piles of sand from their body in place of blood- it's simple but it's a visual I find incredibly cool, and with them being able to shapeshift into all sorts of sandy shapes and forms, you can really go nuts with what they can turn into, helped out by some really cool examples both have shown of their ability to really take their sandiness to insane heights. Couple that with some fun banter (I mean... look at these two and tell me some jabs at the other wouldn't be fun AF) and you have a fight that manages to get on my good side despite me... well, not really having much in the way of investment on either. Sometimes, just being really fun is all you need to be appealing.

Roots: Sandman

CAC: A Grain in the Neck

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Crocodile. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Sandman vs Clayface and Gaara vs Crocodile could knock an insomniac on their ass, they're that f*cking boring.

36. Ajna vs Naoya (Indivisible vs Persona)[]

Connections: Hot-headed leader figures that fight alongside a variety of beings they can summon for combat.

Why I Want This: When I heard of the idea behind Indivisble and its main gameplay gimmick, it didn't take long for me to think "...this sounds like Persona" (yeah, I know, how typical of a Persona fan >: )). Both carry options for close and long ranged combat, giving the fight a solid start with them being able to clash at any angle but Ajna's teammates and Naoya's Personas are what really seal the deal for me. While Ajna does have more leeway thanks to being able to use multiple partners as opposed to Naoya only having one Persona at a time, the greater versatility each Persona has means Ajna isn't the one carrying the animation here. The sheer multitude of options they have to mix and match is great for emphasizing their incredibly versatile skillsets and would make for an insanely fun pseudo army fight dynamic, as Naoya has to fight an enemy wave alongside his Persona and effectively crowd control. It wouldn't be too off to say it'd be like when Dante vs Bayonetta brought Trish and Jeanne into the mix (albeit with many more Trishes/Jeannes on one side) and given how well that episode utilised their backup, it wouldn't be difficult at all to do this one justice too when them fighting alongside their summons is their whole shtick, unlike Dante and Bayonetta where it was a cool bonus thrown in to promote DBX. Once again, style helps this fight out even more too thanks to Indivisible's stunning hand-drawn artstyle- something that would play nicely off of the Persona artstyle, and when you also throw some really good music potential into the mix, congratulations, you've got yourself a winner.

Roots: Naoya

CAC: Indivisibles Revelations

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Naoya. This one is pretty damn close and both have options to effectively insta-win the fight, but Ajna's biggest win moves aren't sh*t she ever tends to open with, unlike Naoya, who also has more options in terms of what he can do to secure a win, such as with status ailments and all that.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Hilariously, Maya from Persona 2 is also an Ajna matchup I've seen and one that does actually work just as well, though me having a preference for Maya means I'm more in favour of this one. Ajna vs Yugo is good thematically but not even close to as solid in terms of fight dynamic and the less said about Ajna vs Shantae, the better.

35. Winter Schnee vs Cornelia Vi Britannia (RWBY vs Code Geass)[]

Connections: Cold and honourable sisters and leader figures gifted a powerful weapon to lead into combat.

Why I Want This: This was one of those ideas that when I first heard about it, it took a minute to register before it finally hit me just how much sense this idea truly made. It seems like an odd dynamic too- "a swordswoman against a big ass robot? Really?" Then I remembered "oh right, Winter got the Maiden powers" and it started to make more sense on that front before I finally warmed up to it enough to include it on the list. There's just an inherent coolness (no pun intended) to this franchise combo to me and as bizarre as the fight dynamic sounds on paper, in execution it works out quite well.

Winter's Maiden powers being given a giant target to go ham with as she darts around it with her flight and clashes against Cornelia's multitude of different weapons at her Knightmare Frame's disposal is an incredibly appealing idea to me that makes up for the size difference ten-fold, with Winter's variety of summons via her Glyphs adding even more to this. Cornelia's Knightmare Frame is already one of the strongest around, so showing that by having her battle her way through a hoard of equally big monsters that also puts even more of her tactical background and massive arsenal of weapons to use sounds even cooler. While Winter's sword skills may not get too much time to shine in this fight since... what's something like a sword gonna do to a giant f*cking robot? This fight manages to make up for it by putting the more noteworthy and incredible tools in her kit to use for a unique, and ultimately extremely badass matchup.

Roots: Winter

CAC: Nuclear Winter

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Winter. Both are evenly matched in damn near most areas but speed just barely manages to give Winter an edge here.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Winter vs Satsuki certainly exists alright, and Winter vs Katalina is... okay.

34. Akainu vs Esdeath (One Piece vs Akame ga Kill)[]

Connections: Ruthless as hell army leaders given elemental powers through the sought after item they consumed, who serve a governing force of their respective worlds with a twisted sense of justice.

Why I Want This: Gray vs Esdeath was... rough. The matchup itself may have been somewhat debatable and hardly lacking in animation potential but the bleh connections were hard to overlook and you could do a lot better in the other regards as well, and the episode itself, while having a somewhat enjoyable analysis, was bogged down hard by janky animation, a really awkwardly explained end result and some of the worst characterisation we've seen from Death Battle (trust me, my Fairy Tail loving friends can attest because I have still yet to hear the end of how badly the Lost Ice Shell bit was handled). While Gray was handled far worse, Esdeath didn't have it too great either so I would be anything but opposed to seeing her back, especially when Akainu by comparison is an extremely awesome idea with a lot going for it.

We've seen fire and ice clash a lot before but magma and ice isn't quite as common, and seeing how the two powers mesh would be a sight to behold. I could almost picture Akainu's magma like body hardening from the intense cold, the hot lava turning the battlefield into an almost tar-like mess, with their general power sets also working quite nicely. Akainu's own military background means the potential for an extremely fun army fight between Akainu's fleet and Esdeath's own icy soldiers courtesy of Commander in Chief, and a clash of both their tactics and more out-these abilities such as Esdeath's Mahapadma and Akainu's Haki in between the battle of hot and cold would be a treat to see and a brilliant way to illustrate how dangerously well they lead their armies, with some fun banter thrown into the mix to show Esdeath's almost gleeful love of inflicting pain on others and Akaini's more straightforward coldblooded attitude. It makes far better use of Esdeath's talents than Gray ever could in my eyes but even if GrayDeath never happened, I would still call this a far more appealing choice for the ice queen of the Empire overall.

Roots: Esdeath

CAC: Absolute Command

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Akainu. Esdeath has the power advantage but outside of iffy high-ends, the gap in power isn't massive while Akainu's speed advantage is freaking huge, helped out by greater experience.

Thoughts on Alternatives: I hate to put my own idea down but I just can't say I like Akainu vs Magus anymore. I just don't feel like it really does a good job of selling what Magus is actually like as a character and while it has a cool fight dynamic, you can do a hell of a lot better for him. Akainu vs Tanya is neat but I think there's better for Akainu animation potential wise and Seryu is just a worse AGK opponent for Akainu in nearly every way. As for Esdeath, Mitsuru is whatever and she doesn't benefit from a return nearly as much so I'd rather just give Esdeath fresh blood by that point and as previously established, Esdeath vs Jin is... fine.

33. Amaterasu vs Aurelion Sol (Okami vs League of Legends)[]

Connections: Animal gods of the sun tamed by crafty mortals and bossed around by tiny sasslords, who seek to rid the world of an extradimensional corrupting blight.

Why I Want This: Amaterasu has to have one of the most unique arsenals of any character I've seen in vs. Yeah, characters that use paint and brushes and all that aren't totally uncommon but attacking through literally painting certain signs and commands on the screen to perform certain actions is an extremely creative idea that has shown galactic scale potential in her home game that sadly not many of her opponents properly utilise... or at least they didn't until Sol strolled on in. Sol's use of star and galaxy themed attacks, blasting you with spacial energy or chucking galaxies straight at you (that's not a joke BTW, he can actually do that), work far better off of Ammy's toolset than most to call back to the multitude of constellations Ammy has used her Celestial Brush on, as well as making for the kind of visual pizazz that fits with Okami's flawless hand-painted artstyle beautifully. Go the hand-drawn route and you have the potential for one of the most visually stunning fights around, to say nothing of the absolutely godlike music potential or it being an Ammy matchup that actually has really good connections for once. I dig it, it's a really fantastic idea.

Roots: Amaterasu

CAC: Sol Naciente

Preferred Animation Style: Hand-Drawn

Who I Think Wins: Amaterasu. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Amaterasu vs Arceus is not good... not exactly a hot take but flimsy connections, average to mediocre animation potential and also not being particularly fair kinda leave it scrambling for a reason to exist. Ammy vs Solgaleo is a little bit better but still nothing to write home about and we don't talk about Amaterasu vs Asura or especially Dante.

32. Yoshi vs Filo (Super Mario Bros vs Rising of the Shield Hero)[]

Connections: Happy-go-lucky ridable animal companions hatched by a legendary hero.

Why I Want This: Oh hey, another returner. To say that Riptor wasn't a great opponent for Yoshi would be... a very big understatement. Connections were bland, it was an unreasonably massive stomp and needless to say, you could do a hell of a lot better with both. FIlo at first sounds like an absolutely braindead idea and I'll admit that at first I saw it more as a "why does this have connections" thing than a serious suggestion... then I gave it more thought and grew to see the qualities it had far easier.

Now yes, the connections in general are super simple but I mean... it's f**king Yoshi, why would you need a super thematic matchup for him? He's an inherently simple character so it fits more than anything, and given Filo is one of the more lighthearted members of the Shield Hero cast it fits with her too (even tonally despite some of Shield Hero's darker subject matter). On the animation potential side of things, it once again isn't amazingly crazy but it is still a fun time. Not only is there a bit of wholesomeness to be had in their bubbly attitudes bouncing off of each other but Yoshi's variety of different forms mesh pretty damn solidly with the multitude of classes Filo can take, and their overall fighting styles play off of each other not too shabbily either given their similar physical capabilities. I would be lying if I said partial bias for both (especially Filo) didn't have some influence on my decision but this is still an idea that far surpassed my expectations all the same.

Roots: Filo

CAC: Angels of the Stars

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Yoshi. Filo scaling to the high tier web novel sh*t is kinda questionable, which would mean Yoshi taking stats with ease and even if she did, it wouldn't be impossible to argue still matching in stats (wouldn't call it a certainty but he's still the safer bet regardless).

Thoughts on Alternatives: Yoshi vs Gon is... fine? It works but it just doesn't interest me in the slightest. Yoshi vs Pac-Man and Yoshi vs Kirby meanwhile are extremely eh.

31. Swarm vs Gotou (Marvel vs Parasyte: The Maxim)[]

Connections: Living hiveminds who's bodies are composed of small and deadly creatures the main brain controls.

Why I Want This: Gee, I wonder why I want this. You all know I f*cking love Parasyte: it's one of my favourite anime and f*ck, my most wanted MU of all time involves its main character Shinichi. I love this series and when I first heard of a matchup for another member of its cast, I jumped on that sh*t like a hungry shark. We... yet again have a pretty simple idea to go over but this matchup's simple appeal is why I like it (well, partially. Parasyte bias is mostly why). It's easy to envision the fight dynamic here- Gotou's fast and wacky tendrils sniping down a hoard of bees flying in from every which direction. It may not sound like much to start but given Gotou's ability to morph the shape of his body at will and the different shapes and sizes Swarm can form with his mass of bees, you could get extremely creative in what both characters can do to take the other on. It's an easy fight to escalate and while it may not be the meatiest or most in depth matchup on this list, like with Sandman vs Crocodile, sometimes you just need fun animation potential to really appeal (and again, bias for one of my top 10 favourite anime helps as well).

Roots: Gotou

CAC: Infestation

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Swarm. He blitzes and having poison means he also strikes at Gotou's biggest weakness and can easily kill his control over his Parasytes.

Thoughts on Alternatives: All of the alternatives bugged off... that was terrible and I apologise.

30. Saix vs Ramlethal (Kingdom Hearts vs Guilty Gear)[]

Connections: Pawns of a greater power seeking to bring calamity to the world, who grow regretful towards their past transgressions after developing emotions.

Why I Want This: Can ya tell I've been growing to really like Guilty Gear? Well regardless, I still vividly remember this idea coming about from a good friend of mine (thanks CSK) wanting to find a good Ramlethal matchup and after many headaches and a good long while of searching, one of my earlier suggestions ended up being the clear winner in both of our eyes. Saix was a rather odd choice at first but after some back and forths between us and a few others, we learned just how ideal of a choice it really was. Ram's whole journey of defying the Universal Will and living her own life after her interactions with others caused emotions to develop within her strike a notable parallel with how the Organisation are presented, something that Saix in particular works especially well with given both his identical relationship with Axel to Ramlethal's with Elphelt, as well as Saix in his Nobody days being the exact thing that caused one of Ram's first instances of rage (given his treatment of Xion mirrors Raven's treatment of Jack-O' near perfectly, which made Ram lash out at him despite the Universal Will never intending her to have emotions).

Animation potential, however, is truly where this fight shines brightly. It only takes one look at both of their main weapons to see the appeal here- Saix's enormous claymore clashing against Ramlethal's massive greatswords, which both wield with a bizarre nimbleness despite the oversized weaponry. Saix's whole fighting style in his fight in KH2 is nearly like that of a werewolf- savagely swinging his claymore for brutal amounts of damage and causing tremors with each swing as he enters a mindless berserker state, something that lines up beautifully with Ramlethal's one fighting style given her cat-like movements that let her just as efficiently dart around the battlefield with Lucifero carrying her oversized cleavers, all culminating in a fight that's both weighty and impactful but also fast and flashy, with sh*t like Saix's Heartless/Nobody summons and Ramlethal's massive cannons being an added bonus on top of it all. Throw in some amazing music potential (I mean, it's Kingdom Hearts x Guilty Gear, how could it not be a masterpiece of music?) and you have yourself an absolutely exhilirating fight between these two heavy hitters.

Roots: Saix

CAC: The Will That Never Was

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Ramlethal. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Saix vs Ulquiorra is fine enough but Ram fits Saix' fighting style way more (and Ram gets the bonus points for the more unique franchise pairing) and Aigis vs Ramlethal is really lame.

29. Lord Drakkon vs Enerjak (Power Rangers vs Archie Comics)[]

Connections: Evil cosmic overlords born into the world from the corruption of a peacekeeping guardian.

Why I Want This: There's a weird appeal to very out-there matchup pairings- seeing comparable traits from a pair of series that on the surface, don't seem anything alike is something I find unusually entertaining to see. Granted, Power Rangers and Sonic the Hedgehog aren't the most incomparable series out there given the inherent silliness both often tend to revel in but it still isn't something you would look at and think to see an actually good matchup come out of. Drakkon vs Enerjak, however, shows just how it's done with a matchup taking two of the most dangerous individuals from both franchises and throwing them at each other in an absolutely brutal encounter.

Both of these two specialise in all manners of different reality f*cking abilities- not to the extent of the previously mentioned Featherine vs Mandrakk but Drakkon's control of the Grid and Enerjak's control of the Chaos Force give them a wide-spanning range of powers that aren't just limited to your standard techs and magic tricks- we're talking dimension threatening, reality altering, mind-bending insanity that can truly reflect both how evil and how unbelievably dangerous both are as their battle tears apart the fabric of space and time through two different extra-dimensional power sources that allow both to do nearly anything they could damn well please. The Grid being the ultimate life force and Chaos (if you recall back to Flash vs Sonic) letting the user wish whatever the hell they want into existence gives these two something to play off of their intelligence as well, making not just for a chaotic (teehee) encounter on a multiversal scale but one that further fuels their threat level. There's just something so appealing about seeing such ridiculous power sets going against each other and it's something I would've liked episodes like the aforementioned Flash vs Sonic to go more all-in with, and while the Morphing Grid may be no Speed Force, it sure as hell is still enough to give us one hell of a fight one way or another.

Roots: Enerjak

CAC: Grid of Chaos

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Drakkon. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Drakkon vs Ohma Zi-O is... fine. It's fine. I ain't gonna hot take and say "oh, Drakkon vs Ohma Zi-O is sh*t actually"- no, it is good but Enerjak is the far more appealing choice in my books. There's plenty of other matchups to get your Ranger vs Rider fix while a fight between a Ranger and a Sonic character ain't something you see everyday. Yeah my bias for unique franchise pairings plays a big part here but I still find myself more interested in this regardless due to the sheer insanity the Chaos Force would provide against Drakkon. Batman Who Laughs vs Drakkon though is unambiguously sleep inducing and Savanti vs Enerjak, while good objectively speaking, is equally as uninteresting to me.

28. Goro Akechi vs Asch the Bloody (Persona vs Tales of the Abyss)[]

Connections: Antagonistic swordsmen seeking revenge on the man that ruined their lives, who also despise the main hero for getting to live the lives they couldn't.

Why I Want This: Akechi for the longest time was another one of those characters who's matchup spread did little to really appeal to me in any way, shape or form as all of his options either clearly could do better or were just not hitting the right notes for me one way or another. Asch, to my surprise though, did actually fulfil a lot of what I wanted in an Akechi matchup. His similar experience of being forced to work for his own anti-Christ in order to enact his vengeance upon him for destroying his chance of ever living a normal life was exactly what I wanted from an Akechi matchup- someone who felt similarly loathsome towards the world for stripping him of what he could have had and giving it to someone else that they grew to resent as a result, and that type of anguish could play nicely into the exchanges both have throughout the fight itself as Akechi grows more and more twisted in nature, balancing Asch's more straightforward "f*ck you and everyone around you" nature that's just as fueled by bitterness but in a more stable state of mind.

Their own flashy sword skills give you a good starting basis with the powers of Akechi's Personas and Asch's Hyperresonance adding even more to the flashiness of the fight. Akechi is easily second to Joker as the most versatile Phantom Thief and against a power as incredible as Hyperresonance, he would have a lot to work with. Hyperresonance's ability to deconstruct and reconstruct matter like alchemy would create some incredible clashes against the light, dark and almighty attacks of Robin Hood and Loki, with the inherent danger of such a technique pairing interestingly with Akechi's own high-risk, high-reward skills like his instant kill attacks as they each take gambles to scrape any edge necessary for victory, all coupled with the potential for an absolutely stunning music piece at that thanks to both Persona 5's and Tales of the Abyss' amazing soundtracks. This fight just hits nearly every note I could want it to hit and while the stompiness of it kinda sucks, it makes up for it ten-fold in nearly every department you could imagine.

Roots: Akechi

CAC: The Trickster's Abyss

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Akechi. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Maul vs Akechi is extremely unimpressive and doesn't vibe with me at all, Dimitri vs Akechi is very meh, and both Akechi vs Griffith and Akechi vs C are good but Asch plays off of Akechi's kit more nicely in my eyes and both also have opponents I feel do the same for them. As for Asch, Archer is good but you'll see later down the road who is far and away my favourite idea for him- an idea I think does what Asch does far better as well.

27. Sabo vs Alibaba (One Piece vs Magi)[]

Connections: Fire-slinging royalty who had their homes taken from them and would soon be raised under a different family, who now seek to reclaim their homelands.

Why I Want This: Who doesn't love a good fire fight?... Well, pyrophobes maybe. Jokes aside though, fire is one of the most common elements in fiction for a reason- it's not only one of the coolest looking but also one of the most destructive. Earth, water and air may also be able to obliterate all in their way but they don't do so just by existing like fire does, so it's not hard to see why something so chaotic would be so fun to watch, and why Sabo and Alibaba's pyromancy especially would be so joyous to see in front of our eyes. While you could easily have a fun and fast clash between Sabo's pipe and Alibaba's dagger to start, the real show-stopper is in the intense flames both can emit with ease, and their other supernatural abilities on top of that. Their literal fire power courtesy of Sabo's Devil Fruit and Alibaba's Djinn wouldn't be difficult at all to mold into a heated battle (hardy harr), highlighted further by other abilities at their disposal such as Alibaba's Magoi and Sabo's Haki. One of my favourite ideas involving the latter would be Alibaba attempting to use the flames themselves to mask his presence and stay out of Sabo's sight, only for Sabo's Observation Haki to allow him to make out his silhouette against a myriad of colourful flames, and that's really just scratching the surface of what you could potentially accomplish with this fight. Couple that with solid connections, fun banter, great music potential and all the other usual trappings and it's plain to see that this is one hell of a fight and one that is totally *ahem*... hot!... Yeah I'll see myself out.

Roots: Alibaba

CAC: Wonderous Outlook

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Sabo. I've flip-flopped on who I think wins this a good amount and ultimately had to settle on Sabo. Alibaba can absorb fire but Sabo's greater overall stats still give him a far more crucial edge in the long run.

Thoughts on Alternatives: There are no alternatives. Take off your clothes.

26. Tron Bonne vs Risky Boots (Mega Man vs Shantae)[]

Connections: Female pirate antagonists and commanders who ironically end up helping their sworn enemy on occasions.

Why I Want This: This idea is just really cute to me. From what I've played of the Shantae series and from what I know about Mega Man Legends, there's a very similar tone to both that these two especially can make great use of. They're both extremely mouthy and full of themselves but in a silly enough way that it wouldn't be hard for either to poke and prod at each other's silliness and get some good laughs from it all. Not to say there's no way to make them serious but you take one look at the armies that serve them and you can tell they aren't exactly the most purely evil, threatening nightmare fuel monsters in the world, so the lighthearted nature fits this one to a T.

Risky's own use of various mechs (like her walking pirate ship with eyes in Pirate's Curse, for instance) means she is more than well equipped enough to take Tron on in an entertaining mech battle, with the Tinkerbats and the Servebots adding to the mayhem as they fight against each other and... more than likely just get continually tossed aside in the carnage as Risky and Tron duke it out. The only issue I see in how they clash is Risky's power gear not being utilised that much but it shouldn't be too hard at all to work them in in some way when she has so many targets in front of her. You could have her hack away at any Servebots that end up on her ship, fire cannons straight into the crowd or at Tron Bonne or many other things to alleviate the issue while preserving the other fun ways in which both can play off of each other. There's just a lot of general charm to this idea, which I guess is fitting given the charming nature of the characters and series themselves but I definitely dig this one despite the simplicity in areas such as connections.

Roots: Risky

CAC: A Risky Legend

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Tron. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: While I don't think it's as bad as some make it out to be, I've very much grown out of being into Tron vs D.Va. It has its perks but you can definitely do better for both. Tron vs Bowser Jr and Tron vs May are also just not much to write home about, and Risky vs K.Rool is kinda whatever too.

25. Rorona vs Sucrose (Atelier vs Genshin Impact)[]

Connections: Assistants to legendary alchemists, who attempt to use the craft to better the lives of those around them.

Why I Want This: You ever have one of those characters you instantly fell in love with the minute you first laid eyes on them? Yeah, I may not have played much Genshin Impact but one look at Sucrose hit that part of my brain that instantly goes “PROTECT HER, YOU FOOL”… yes I am weird, how could you tell? Well as I’ve also established before, I really enjoyed Atelier Rorona too, and while she was hardly the deepest character in the world, I really liked Rorona as a character. Yeah she’s kinda your typical moe airhead but hey, still fun to follow her misadventures regardless. With how much depth I’ve attempted to go into with these more recent entries, it’s a tad embarrassing for me to admit this entry is largely here due to bias for both characters more than anything. That isn’t to say this matchup isn’t good though.

It’s not hard to envision the interactions between someone as bubbly and cheery as Rorona and someone like Sucrose that’s far more shy and reclusive and it’s easy to have a PoFist/Might^2-esque wholesomeness to the exchanges despite he whole… well, fight to the death business. Given their multitude of alchemy related powers and tools it isn’t hard to get a fight going on that front either, and the music potential is pretty plain to see too. Yeah thus is hardly the best matchup on the list objectively when, while still really good, it certain doesn’t excel at each category to the extent of some previous entries but hey, I like both and the fight is good enough that that’s all I really need… I never said I was above being shallow, now did I?

Roots: Sucrose

CAC: Ameno Fullheart

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Rorona. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Sucrose vs Edward certainly exists alright.

24. Maruki vs I-No (Persona vs Guilty Gear)[]

Connections: Reality warpers seeking to alter events to free the world from suffering after they experienced loss themselves.

Why I Want This: Y’know, it’s funny how the last list only had two Guilty Gear matchups when half of this list is nothing but Guilty Gear… and Persona but shut! Well regardless, while she may not have been a character I found myself liking too much until recently (you can thank her irritating AF boss fight from Accent Core for that), I-No is a strange, but nonetheless really interesting character in concept. When I first heard about Maruki as an opponent for her, the result was it taking little time for it to really grow on me.

Maruki’s similar desperation to do good and fix the woes of those around him made this matchup interest me very quickly, especially given how different both are by nature- Maruki being gentle and sympathetic despite his clumsiness and delusions of grandeur (yeah, don’t hear those two flaws together everyday, do ya?) contrasting I-No’s snarky and bitchy nature, not just making for an easy dynamic to get good banter out of but also making for a very interesting contrast despite similarly altruistic goals and similarly heart-wrenching struggles. The fight potential is really interesting too. It isn’t the flashiest of any fight on the list but their power-sets in my eyes clash perfectly in terms of weaving their narratives into the fight. Maruki’s desire to purge those of their trauma and his powers over the masses’ cognition courtesy of Azathoth, effectively allowing him to bend the Metaverse to his liking not only meshes super well with I-No’s bending of causality and time for an absolute mindf*ck of a fight, but turns I-No’s own story of constantly trying to rewrite the future into a brighter tomorrow to no avail and the heartache and pain this burden places on her into this fight’s very dynamic, while incorporating the similar trauma that caused Maruki to awaken to Azathoth in the first place, all topped off with an incredible clash between I-No’s enormous super form and Adam Kadmon. Now… yeah there is the size difference issue but I think in this case there are easy work-arounds: be it making I-No go planet sized for the killing blow or use the power of cognition to similarity create a scenario where their sizes match. Regardless, it’d be epic as hell, especially given the context of I-No’s form given the very sight of it overwhelms all who see it with emotion- something that, for a soul as emotionally broken as Maruki, is a fitting conclusion to go out on.

None of this is even mentioning the absolutely stellar music potential or the aforementioned fun banter in between the heavier parts of the fight- like, you can’t tell me there wouldn’t be some humour to be had from I-No calling a guy trying to mend her woes and act all benevolent a bottom bitch before wacking him over the head with a guitar. I could go on but I think you get the gist by now. This fight is f*cking epic, no ifs, ands or buts.

Roots: Maruki

CAC: A Blinded Requiem

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: I-No. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Aight, time to sign my own death warrant for this one… I don’t like Homura vs I-No. Even putting my Sakuya vs Homura bias aside (and my multitude of issues with the recent pushback against it but not important right now), while Homura is thematic and has more specific connections than Maruki, aside from a cool clash of super forms, the fight dynamic is average at best and Homura is just about the worst choice for bouncing off of I-No’s personality, not just because she barely even talks but also because you can’t exactly have I-No calling a child a bottom bitch, you f*cking monster. It isn’t the worst matchup ever or anything close to that but christ is it overhyped. Past that, Towa is fine but nothing to really write home about, Bernkastel I used to really like but now can’t say I’m very into given she suffers a lot of similar issues Homura does and Raptor is about as painfully barebones as you can get. As for Maruki, Pucci is blech, Tooru is a little better but while it used to be one of the tolerable JojoSona MUs for me, now it’s just another “whatever” matchup in my eyes and Oporo… actually ain’t bad at all, but I-No still sounds more appealing.

23. Archer vs Hakumen (Fate vs Blazblue)[]

Connections: Sword wielding future versions of a main character that seek to write the wrongs of the past through any means necessary.

Why I Want This: Blazblue, as I’ve come to notice, seems to be one of those franchises that’s an easy sell for me when it comes to matchups. I haven’t touched the story mode (partially out of fear my sanity wouldn’t recover from it) but it just has a really charming cast of characters who’s appeal as combatants is extremely evident. Hakumen is already one of the coolest characters in concept alone in my eyes so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that this fight got in my good graces pretty quickly.

I shouldn’t have to convince anyone that the music potential for this fight is through the roof and into the damn clouds, if the grand soundtracks of Fate and Blazblue are anything to go by to further fuel this fight’s pure epicness. The similar trauma both endured reliving the events their naive past selves experienced before the moments leading to their current circ*mstances gives this fight a very interesting premise to start, and while my more enthusiastic friends when it comes to both franchises could probably give you a more detailed description regarding how well their powers clash, even just a brief Google search made it evident that what we have on our hands is a really fun and potentially insanely flashy swordfight revolving bolstered further by the time bending abilities of Hakumen and the many magic skills and powers Archer commands to elevate this from a simple clash of blades. It’s just a super appealing overall. Not much more to say than that.

Roots: Hakumen

CAC: Crossing Fate

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Archer. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Archer vs Asch works fine but Hakumen not only is closer but I find plays off of both his arsenal and the thematics far better, and Archer vs Lif is just okay. Hakumen vs Baiken meanwhile is the result of people scraping so far into the bottom of the barrel, they’re digging out fossilised mammoth dung so let’s not indulge in that any further.

22. Jean Gray vs Phoenix Ikki (Marvel vs Saint Seiya)[]

Connections: Phoenix themed cosmic warriors who have bounced between both sides of the moral spectrum repeatedly in between their many demises.

Why I Want This: Saint Seiya is a f*cking bugnuts series. The titular saints are capable of absolute mindf*cks thanks to the power of their miracles that let them get away with whatever the f*ck the writers want. While at first, Jean seemed like an odd choice for a martial artist that can just say “no” to your dumb logic and reasoning, it felt like a more natural pick the more time I gave it to settle in.

There’s something I find appealing to the idea of a reality warper like Jean against one of the saints- pushing the limits of the miracles to their absolute breaking point with an ability that just tears through all known logic with ease. Saints can make the impossibility possible, in their own words (yeah I know it’s dumb but just role with it) so against an ability like that, it makes it all the more insane to watch them power through such overwhelming odds. While this matchup draws its fair share of critiques for the clashing fighting styles, not only id the aforementioned reality warping vs miracles clash already a cool trait for this matchup to have in my books, but I don’t think the issue is as big ad people make it out to be. Jean fights hand to hand plenty of times, certainly enough to work with Phoenix Ikki’s close range fighting style, and Phoenix himself has a multitude of fire attacks that can make for a visual spectacle when mixed with Jean’s angelic Phoenix flames. It isn’t the best clash of fighting styles in the world but the core dynamic still makes up for it, especially compounded by the thematics that play upon a similar struggle as both are lead astray when they’re not too busy being… well, dead. What more can I say? It’s a really dope idea.

Roots: Jean

CAC: Rising Phoenix

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Jean. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: I used to like Beerus vs Jean and Phoenix vs Mars… then Beerus fought a different crazy bitch and it dawned in me “oh wait, she was the better pick for Beerus in basically every way” and Phoenix vs Mars I just realised was just a worse Moon vs Pegasus… and I don’t even have high praise for that one either. Phoenix vs Vegeta is… fine though.

21. Anna vs Gaara (Shaman King vs Naruto)[]

Connections: Wielders of a spiritual power who were ostracised for the monster living inside of them, who would soon be allowed to live a normal and happy life through the main hero’s efforts.

Why I Want This: Oh Gaara… Gaara, Gaara, Gaara, how times haven’t been kind to you. I ain’t even talking about how sh*t his life has been but while I find the episode itself a tad overhated, there’s no denying that Gaara vs Toph was rough. The verdict especially rubbed many the wrong way for essentially reducing Toph’s victory to a single, rather flimsy argument: “she controls all kinds of earth, therefore she wins”. And while not the worst matchup in the world by itself, Gaara can undoubtedly do better, and Anna is that better.

Like the last few entries, the fight’s connections play upon a similar kind of trauma both suffered through- a trauma that spawned much resentment within both of them due to the fear that surrounded them, a trauma that isn’t reflected nearly as strongly in any of Gaara’s other matchups so right off the bat, this fight is thematic as balls, but we’re just getting started. Anna’s spiritual channeling clashes uniquely with Gaara’s sands compared to the many geomancers that are stuck against him. Anna’s spiritual summons would give Gaara’s sands plenty of targets to fight against and even show a pseudo teamwork between him and the spirit of his mother that helps control the sands, especially given Anna’s spirit nullifying powers up close that could lead to its own fair share of cool visuals, such as her being encapsulated in a sandstorm with a perfect sphere of empty space around her where the sand’s control is nullified. It’s a fight that brings out more of Gaara’s arsenal than most, thanks to Anna’s summons such as Zenki and Goki, and while some might take issue with their use since them losing both are a big part of their story, you can’t deny a clash between Gaara’s Tailed Beast and Anna’s Oni wouldn’t be a really cool oh sh*t moment. You wouldn’t even really need it to get something good out of this fight though, it’s just one of the many really cool ideas you’re able to get from the incredible synergy between their arsenals that extends far beyond what I’ve just described in this segment alone.

Roots: Gaara

CAC: Lingering Disaster

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Anna. It isn’t too one-sided depending on what you buy for Gaara but Anna still outstats so… point for her.

Thoughts on Alternatives: As has been previously established, Gaara vs Crocodile is about as interesting and as entertaining as staring at a brick wall so let’s move on.

20. Dark Pit vs Lilith (Kid Icarus vs Darkstalkers)[]

Connections: Winged duplicates of the main protagonist, who were born from their reflection in a mirror.

Why I Want This: In today's episode of "Pit likes Kid Icarus, who would've f*cking guessed", we have one of my favourite characters in the KI cast (which is saying something when I love most of the cast to death): Dark Pit. Dark Pit is just a goddamn joy to watch any time he's ever on screen, constantly being a sassy edgelord that loves to just be an absolute prick to everyone, and nobody fits him better in my eyes as an opponent than Lilith.

Lilith's personality is the exact kind that Dark Pit would bounce off of the best, with her bubbly naivite being the subject of Dark Pit's snarky mockery while being balanced out somewhat by Lilith's playful teasing so the banter isn't just her getting bullied throughout the fight. On top of that, while she may not have as many tools at her disposal as Dark Pit, Lilith still has the versatility to clash solidly with his arsenal (and given Dark Pit's weapons are all just variations of the same nine weapons, it isn't that big a deal she doesn't have an equally large selection to work with). Her flight not only allows her a fun aerial battle but even puts Dark Pit's trademark sniping to good use, similar to his titular chapter in Kid Icarus Uprising where he attempts to snipe Pit as he scales a mountain. Lilith has a wide amount of magic and succubus powers at her disposal for playing the long game and her shapeshifting wings gives her solid options for clashing at close range and forcing Dark Pit to adapt without it feeling unnatural, like he's just doing it for the sake of showing his arsenal off. Top all of these off with fantastic music potential and a franchise pairing I can assure you you will never see in another matchup and yeah, it shouldn't be too hard to see why I like this idea a hell of a lot.

Roots: Dark Pit

CAC: Dark Saviour

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Lilith. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: I came dangerously close to subbing Bass vs Dark Pit on here because that's another matchup I really f*cking like, and even though I'm still giving the nod to Lilith, make no mistake: Bass vs Dark Pit is fantastic too. Roxas vs Dark Pit on the other hand is literally just Sora vs Pit: Diet edition and is the ultimate waste for both. As for Lilith... eh, Dizzy's fine. Nothing to really bitch about there.

19. Flynn vs Luminary (Shin Megami Tensei vs Dragon Quest)[]

Connections: Main protagonists of a modern entry in long-running JRPG franchises, who are both the reincarnations of a divine leader that vanquished a great evil long ago.

Why I Want This: Dragon Quest vs SMT just has such a natural feel to it considering the legacy of both franchises. Yeah they may be rather niche here but they're f*cking everywhere in Japan and have been for decades now, so a battle between the two feels like a great choice right off the bat. This matchup isn't just on here because of legacy alone though (and no my SMT bias isn't why it's here either... mostly). While tonally, the rather goofy nature of Dragon Quest and the apocalyptic setting of SMT might sound like a match made in the deepest depths of Hell tonally, they balance each other out far better than most thanks to Dragon Quest being far from immune to rather dire circ*mstances and SMT especially not being above getting silly at times (I mean, look at Jack Frost alone for god's sake). While dialogue-wise, you're pretty limited since these two never talk in their home games, it still isn't hard to write a silly interaction or two with their tones in mind, with the grittier areas of both games' stories still giving you more than enough material to create a natural escalation when that goofy tone starts to vanish more and more.

In terms of power sets, both come equipped for sword combat and like Kanan vs Kusagari, there's a really cool dynamic in this type of fight, seeing as how it pits a futuristic samurai against an old timey fantasy swordsman, even if both still utilise the same thing alongside their blades: magic, and plenty of it. The variety of spells at Flynn and especially Luminary's disposal is vast and full of tricks to work with, with Flynn's summons not only giving Luminary's tactical prowess something to work with but further explores his unpredictability and wide variety of powers and abilities to work with as he attempts to battle his way through a hoard of demonic entities and Flynn himself. It should also be easy to see just how good the music potential for this fight is... I mean come on, how could Dragon Quest x Shin Megami Tensei not kick fifteen kinds of ass? So yeah, all in all I'm very into this one. Not much more to go over than that.

Roots: Flynn

CAC: Divine Apocalypse

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Flynn. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Byleth vs Luminary bad, moving on.

18. Aika vs May (Skies of Arcadia vs Guilty Gear)[]

Connections: Spunky sky pirates in love with their leaders, who are bound by a strong code of honour.

Why I Want This: There's a weird kind of joy I get out of discovering matchups for franchises where the main character seems to be the only one anyone ever pays attention to in terms of who they should fight. When I first heard about this matchup, it was that allure of a Skies of Arcadia matchup that didn't involve Vyse that caught my interest and with my recent fascination with Guilty Gear as well, I've just grown to like it more and more as time has gone by.

Like with Rorona vs Sucrose, it's pretty damn easy to see just how well their personalities could play off of each other for interactions given their peppy, spunky tomboyish attitudes, with May having an added sprinkle of immaturity that bounces even better off of Aika for some really entertaining banter. The animation potential further reflects this, not just because of the comically oversized weapons both use but also with Aika's many magic skills working wonderfully off of May's marine life summons to add to the ridiculousness and further highlight the personality differences when one is using a more straightforward type of attack and the other is charging at her with a f**king dolphin. Not only that but them being sky pirates also means possible airship fight- a highlight of Skies of Arcadia that would be damn fun to see in action against May's own airship as both of their crews aid in the scuffle. Top this all of with another instance of fantastic music potential and Bob's your uncle, you got yourself yet another charming as hell fight with a lot of potential for an extremely entertaining fight you could hardly get bored at.

Roots: May

CAC: Rain of Arcadia

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: May. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Most of May's other matchups are rather generic pirate themed fights that aren't the least bit interesting so... next.

17. Seven vs Toko (Scissor Seven vs Danganronpa)[]

Connections: Scissor wielding assassins with split personalities.

Why I Want This: Danganronpa is a weird series for me when discussing its place in Death Battle. My lack of experience with the franchise is likely the culprit for this but I have a hard time seeing Danganronpa as a seriously combative series as opposed to a... for lack of a better word, "grounded" murder mystery visual novel, especially when it's a very select few characters that really work in a Death Battle setting that doesn't even include a lot of main protagonists... so uh... imagine how much this matchup must vibe with me then that that stigma still hasn't stopped me from loving every minute this idea has existed.

Something about a fight that revolves its dynamic around a weapon as unorthodox as scissors just sounds so inherently appealing to me- not just because the scissor aesthetic is cool as sh*t but also because it's so ridiculous in nature, I can't help but love it, which is something that (from my limited knowledge of Scissor Seven) actually fits quite well tonally. The potentially over-the-top choreography in a close range clash of scissors that can fully play upon the absurdity both series delve into is both hilariously wacky and oh so fun and befitting of both characters, even in spite of their rather twisted similarities both in their profession and... well, the whole "multiple personalities" shtick. This is a fight I would desperately want to see hand-drawn to bring the absurdity out the most, as well as reflect the unique and wonderful artstyle of Scissor Seven as best as possible, possibly even with a nod to the style used in Danganronpa's executions which wouldn't clash hard with Scissor Seven's artsyle at all in my eyes and would add the perfect type of twistedness to contrast the wackiness beforehand without it feeling like you just flicked the channel from an episode of Kill la Kill to an episode of Redo of Healer why have I referenced that show twice on the list so far? I would go into more detail but as I keep saying... I don't have much experience with either series so I'm a tad limited when it comes to how well I can describe its appeal. Mark my words though, this is still a very easy matchup to see what makes it click and even with my limited knowledge, I still really f*cking enjoy this idea all the same.

Roots: Seven

CAC: Killer Seven

Preferred Animation Style: Hand-Drawn

Who I Think Wins: Toko. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Toko vs Toga is meh and Toko vs Launch is a very fitting name because I wanna shove it into a cannon and launch it into the f**king sun. Toko vs Two-Face is... admittedly kinda hilarious to think that it works thematically but Seven definitely provides the better fight dynamic and Ayano vs Toko features a character from a game that isn't (and likely never will be) even finished so uh, that's a definite pass from me chief. Also Seven vs Elektra is just... kinda there.

16. Nightmare vs Aatrox (SoulCalibur vs League of Legends)[]

Connections: Evil swords that corrupt and possess any who are foolish enough to wield them, with opposite goals relating to their immortality (Nightmare seeking to fuel his, Aatrox seeking to end his).

Why I Want This: Guts vs Nightmare was certainly an episode... yep, it very much was. While hardly awful, it was just painfully average and something about it felt too Guts-centric for my liking which as the one person rooting Nightmare more, irks me more than I'm sure it does most. Also the matchup itself was kinda poopy so yeah, no sh*t you can do better. Guts has more matchups than I can count for his return, with Claymore's Clare and Fire Emblem's Dimitri just scratching the very surface but Nightmare has been kinda left in the dust on that front... so just imagine how happy I was to learn of this idea's existence.

This fight has such oddly specific connections that it's hard not to see the parallels from just a quick wiki search, with contrasts that really play off of each other super well on top of that: not just in how Nightmare's goal of continuing to live forever contrasts with Aatrox just looking to f*cking die already, but also in how Nightmare is this big angry cursed knight while Aatrox is a lot more of a sasslord- something that would hardly be difficult to write exchanges for as Nightmare attempts to look all menacing and full of sheer evil while Aatrox has absolutely none of that. The animation potential is once again fantastic as well. Both utilising blades the size of them, as well as a multitude of darkness based abilities makes it pretty damn evident that a fight like this would be full of attacks that feel like sledgehammers colliding into each other with highly destructive and visually monstrous special attacks from both sides to envelop the field and further fuel the hell-like nature both are known for. The sword combat is the highlight though and just seeing these two swing their enormous meat cleavers around with all the weight and impact of an oversized bowling ball would be nothing short of f*cking gratifying, especially given both of their heavy hitting styles even without their swords letting them whale on each other in all sorts of ways like Aatrox rugby tackling Nightmare or Nightmare slamming Aatrox into the ground with enough force to crater it while screaming bloody murder in his distorted voice. Really, no matter how you slice it, this is just the perfect choice for Nightmare in nearly every department: from the fantastic connections, to the brutal and badass fight dynamic, to the fun banter to tie it all up, this fight simply oozes epicness from every orifice.

Roots: Nightmare

CAC: A Legendary Nightmare

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Aatrox. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Nightmare vs Skull Kid very much exists alright.

15. Nu-13 vs Scharlachrot (Blazblue vs Arcana Heart)[]

Connections: Psychotic girls who's fractured mental state is the result of the multitude of horrific experiments they and a stoic, white-haired protagonist they're obsessed with underwent.

Why I Want This: I grew quite interested in Nu-13 after a few romps through Blazblue Cross Tag Battle, thinking that she had a really unique fighting style that would be fun to see an opponent to match it. As soon as I learned of Scharlachrot's existence, that had my attention quite quickly and soon enough I saw the potential a mile away. While the connections are simplistic, the shared trauma both endured and the identical outcomes still makes for an interesting theme that can be easily reflected in the fight itself due to their propensity for completely flicking the switch from being cold and calculating to being more utterly psychotic than shoppers on Black Friday.

Scharlachrot has the worst defenses in Arcana Heart but makes up for it with the absolute best range in the game and a multitude of trap set-ups that make getting close enough to exploit her bad defenses more hassle than it seems on paper- something that plays super well off of Nu-13's main method of attack- her teleporting swords. Letting the calculating part of both take over when fighting at a distance and only letting them truly go nuts (in more ways than one) when one of them gets in to start wreaking havoc would sell that shared fractured psyche remarkably and almost add a pseudo psychological horror factor to the fight as both show more and more emotion throughout the fight... just not the kind you want to see. Nu-13's ability to warp her swords across time and space to strike at her enemies isn't just a badass concept, but it's one that goes perfectly with Scharlachrot's focus on range and traps- forcing her to get as creative as possible with her primary gimmick in order to combat such a broken tool, while making for a ranged fight that can still hilarious get extremely flashy and cool with choreography despite the distance between them. Something about the image of a similar scene to Carolina hitting the targets at the start of Meta vs Carolina's fight with all of her flashy moves and tricks, but with giant swords materialising out of nowhere in place of targets for her to deflect either with her building length chains or almost yo-yo like traps is incredibly appealing and cool to imagine, and that's before you factor in Scharlachrot's Arcana Baldur as well to add to the mayhem even further. This battle just has such an ideal dynamic between the two and such unique and fun animation potential that it really shouldn't be hard to see why it's this high up on the list. It's some really good sh*t.

Roots: Scharlachrot

CAC: Hearts Unbound

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Nu-13. Scharlachrot is physically much stronger but Nu-13 is a bitch to put down and from there, just outhaxxes before Scharlachrot can do much.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Nu-13 vs Justice and Kurumi are definitely matchups that exist.

14. Wilbell vs Akko (Atelier vs Little Witch Academia)[]

Connections: Young witches in training following in the footsteps of their mentor figure that achieve many great things in the world of magic despite many roadblocks (often caused by their impulsiveness).

Why I Want This: Little Witch Academia is a show I am super glad I stuck with throughout its run. I wasn't a fan of it at first since I just didn't find myself liking its cast all that much but the further into it I got, the more engaging and well developed they all became, coupled with the creative story and wonderful animation style (I mean, I think at this point it's kinda clear I'll just eat anything Trigger animates up because holy sh*t, they never slack of on that end). Akko for all her idiotic moments is a charming and extremely lovable character all her own, and combined with my interest in the Atelier franchise- yeah, no sh*t this one appealed to me.

Atelier just has such a perfect vibe with Little Witch Academia in my eyes- still having more than enough action to justify a slot on Death Battle but with a laid-back and rather chill nature that even extends to the music potential itself. This is something I've gone over in more detail in my blog on matchups with great music potential (not so subtle plug) but both just have such a relaxed and even slightly groovy vibe to their soundtracks while still having enough in them to warrant it being a battle track that it's just... pleasant, for lack of a better word. That extends even to how their personalities bounce off of each other, both being impulsive and loving to act all high and mighty but their admiration for the magic arts still give plenty to bounce off of that isn't just a non-existent dick measuring contest as they see the multitude of spells at both's disposals and gaze in awe at the wonders before them, especially given Akko's whole thing with the Shiny Rod is just pulling miracles out her ass and performing all sorts of absurdities in spectacular fashion, just like her idol. Animation potential is pretty nice too. A JRPG moveset like Wilbell's compliments the versatility of the Shiny Rod and Akko's other forms of magic nicely and Wilbell's wide range of different skills gives her plenty to play off of, especially with Wilbell's stat boosting and status moves being just the thing to let the Shiny Rod's miracles go to town. This idea is just overall super charming, a perfect fit for one of Trigger's most entertaining series and the underrated Atelier franchise.

Roots: Akko

CAC: Atelier Luna

Preferred Animation Style: Hand-Drawn

Who I Think Wins: Wilbell. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Welcome back to your regularly scheduled episode of "Pit's about to lose his penis privileges because he's now gotta talk about why he doesn't like the popular choice as much". Alright but in all seriousness, Akko vs Luz's appeal isn't lost on me or anything, it's clear why so many really like it and I would argue it to be Luz's best... Wilbell just vibes way better for Akko for me though and just in general I find her a more suitable choice. Luz is still a perfectly sound choice, just not my preferred. Past that, Noel (the Burn the Witch one, not Blazblue, I ain't that crazy) is a really cool choice alongside Ninny to fight Akko and Diane but by themselves, it's just whatever, Deku ain't all that hot since despite clear as day connections, it's got a pretty wonky fight dynamic going on, and MCU Strange is an amazing matchup with perfect connections and animation potential that I'm totally not just saying all this because a certain someone has a gun to my head please god help me.

13. Alice Margatroid vs Carl Clover (Touhou Project vs Blazblue)[]

Connections: Doll users seeking to give life to the dolls in their care, who both also despise liars.

Why I Want This: I've always had a weird fascination with dolls ever since my teenage years. I think having my gateway into the world of anime being a show centered around them is largely to blame for that but while I never collected them or anything (unless you count plush toys or some sh*t), the aesthetic is always one I took great interest in. I know a lot of people find them creepy and unsettling but IDK, the ball joints, the poofy dresses, maybe it's just the artist in me talking who loves drawing these things but I love that look a lot... probably explains why this matchup vibes with me so much.

Given how their teamwork with their dolls is a huge core of both characters' identity, it couldn't be a more fitting choice for both to really test how well they fight with their moving toys, especially given the unique contrast both have in their primary connection- Alice living her life surrounded by smaller dolls she works alongside and almost acts like family towards, while Carl uses the one bigger doll that he fights alongside as a tag team like they're off the one mind (which I guess makes sense given the doll is his literal sister... don't question it, Carl's dad was into doing some weird sh*t). Alice uses her dolls almost like an extension of herself to gather them into the form of her many attacks like a swarm of bees, showing a clear difference as one uses their powers as an extension of their arsenal while the other is like a player 2 to Carl. It isn't just a cool way to show their contrasts but it's a fun fight in animation potential as well given the versatility of Carl's doll and how well it matches and can be pushed to the limit by the many doll attacks and spell cards at Alice's command. Like the last entry, this is another matchup I've also gone over the insane music potential for and it's worth reiterating because it is really, really f*cking good, just like the rest of this matchup's numerous qualities. I love it.

Roots: Carl

CAC: Four Stringed Clover

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Alice. There's a lot of "ifs" and "maybes" with this one given the stats both have are a bit of a mindf*ck but by and large, I give the nod to Alice on account of hitting way harder, either far eclipsing or matching Carl in speed depending on what you buy for either and outranging at that.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Alice vs Relius is kinda just this with weaker connections and Alice vs Sasori doesn't deserve human rights.

12. Erron Black vs Jesse McCree (Mortal Kombat vs Overwatch)[]

Connections: Morally grey video game cowboys.

Why I Want This: Side note: I am aware of the controversy surrounding Jesse's name and how Blizzard are changing it but waiting upwards of several weeks/months just for a name change so I could do this would've been kinda dumb so uh, until then I'm gonna have to stick with the name he has at the moment. We good? Okay.

I'm honestly really surprised to see that in Death Battle's ten years of existence that the cowboy theme is one that has never been explored even once. It's arguably one of the most iconic set-ups for a fight, especially given the famous scene in every cowboy flick of them walking down an empty street in the middle of a town dead set in a wasteland, before drawing their guns and pumping their guts full of lead. So... what better way to honour that than with this fight?

Given how famous Jesse boi's "High Noon" quote is and the aesthetic of his ultimate ability, this fight f*cking screams "make me a classic Wild West shoot-out"- an aesthetic that can be taken to rather brutal heights thanks to Erron being from Mortal f*cking Kombat to not just reflect the moral flip-flopping of both but also really drive home that whole "this town ain't big enough for the two of us" shtick these kinds of shoot-outs always go to and set one hell of an example by taking something so simple and making it so much grittier than it already is. The idea of the classic wild west musical themes to accompany it all, the classic zoom-ins on their faces or trigger fingers with thick black lines across the screen to highlight them further as they await every single move that's about to come out, it's all a concept that is begging to see the light of day, made all the better knowing they have even more tools at their disposal to further add to the fight dynamic and make it something new all its own. For the first time in a decent while, it's kinda hard to really mucho texto this segment as much as others on the list when this matchup's appeal lies in its simplistic charms, even down to the rather miniscule list of connections. It just gets away with it all because of such an inherently appealing core dynamic and a theme that is still begging to be given a shot considering just how iconic these types of fights are to fiction in general.

Roots: Jesse

CAC: Kombat at High Noon

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Erron. This is another one I've heard a lot of different verdicts for but while Jesse is far faster, Erron takes AP and durability no problem and to my knowledge, Jesse doesn't have much to really take advantage of that speed stat (though maybe I'm totally wrong on that, who knows, lol).

Thoughts on Alternatives: ERROR 404: ALTERNATIVES TO BLACK JESSE NOT FOUND.

11. Riku vs Cecil Harvey (Kingdom Hearts vs Final Fantasy)[]

Connections: Gray haired swordsmen on the path to redemption from their days as pawns of the baddies that struggled to tame the darkness within.

Why I Want This: Oh Kingdom Hearts, how I both love and hate you sometimes. It's a franchise full of exciting combat and amazing music wrapped snuggly in absolutely chaotic storytelling that I swear is just making sh*t up as it goes that takes the already batsh*t insane idea of crossing over Disney and Final Fantasy and somehow making it even more of a tonal mindf*ck than it sounds on paper. It's a drug trip to play these games but it's the good kind of drug trip... not that those really actually exist but you get my point. Riku is a cool dude- one of my favourites from the series, so hearing about this idea for the apprentice of darkness himself was a treat.

Cecil shares a similar tale of being exploited by the enemies to wreak all sorts of havoc while struggling to tame the darkness within his heart, eventually ending in his journey for redemption being marked by a promotion to something far grander (just replace becoming a Keyblade master with becoming a Paladin), something that is easy as hell to weave a narrative for the fight around as both within the fight itself fight against their own dark temptations, only to show their mastery of the powers they've learned to tame instead of let control them. On top of that, it's also just a fun fight to see in motion given the obviously flashy as balls sword combat everyone knows Kingdom Hearts for and if you take a page out of Dissidia's book, then Cecil has just as much to work with on that end as well, with their multitude of magic abilities further compounding this and their darkness skills lending themselves to a cool aesthetic in between the more vanilla types of magic spells they'd be slinging around. Also music potential... yeah, that goes without saying, it's Kingdom Hearts + Final Fantasy, how could you possibly screw that up in any capacity? There really isn't much else that needs to be said here- it's a stupidly entertaining fight that, while not the most thematic in the world, pulls upon the same strings between the two more than adequately.

Roots: Riku

CAC: Road to Dawn

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Riku. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: As a general idea, Riku vs Sasuke is pretty cool... too bad I really don't see any reason to bring Sasuke back when Hiei was such a good episode (verdict not withstanding) and an equally good matchup for Sasuke, so fresh blood is more appreciated. Cecil vs Siegfried thematically is good but is far weaker animation potential wise in my eyes and Siegfried has options to better take advantage of his kit like Ike.

10. Chrom vs Mórag (Fire Emblem vs Xenoblade Chronicles)[]

Connections: Fire themed royal military leaders in service to their own siblings (for a time anyways).

Why I Want This: God it feels good to find a good matchup for Chrom. The dude is the main character of my favourite game of all time, how could I not want something that suits him to a T? Well it definitely took its sweet time to rear its head but Mórag ended up being everything I could've ever hoped for in a Chrom MU and more. While it may not have the most super duper in depth connections, they're still really damn good and the contrasts between the two especially really bring the most out of this fight's dynamic. Now sure, you could get a perfectly satisfactory fight just from a simple clash of blades but I think you can go far further by making it a straight-up army fight, as per their main connection.

We don't get a lot of matchups for Fire Emblem lords to take advantage of their leadership skills, and in Chrom vs Mórag's case it highlights the inherent difference of how they function brilliantly. Chrom is impulsive and rather brash compared to the far more in control and tactical Mórag, but the upside on Chrom's end is that he's gotten to know his army far better and they all have nothing but the upmost respect for the man and are more than willing to fight and die for him. I always pictured the fight going like this to reflect that: Chrom and Mórag's armies at war, with the latter decimating Chrom's forces due to her greater tactics and experience, leading Chrom to take matters into his own hands and rush straight for Mórag- putting up a fight against her and Brighid but ultimately getting overwhelmed, only for Chrom's allies to step in- Vaike rushing in to strike Mórag down, Miriel firing off spells from a distance to give both covering fire, Lissa healing Chrom up, wrestling control of the battle away from Mórag and allowing Chrom to confront her once more and gain a more noticeable upper hand.

Their kits in general interact quite well, so you don't even need to purely resort to their armies just to make it work. While Mórag has many weapons at her disposal, her general fighting style wouldn't overwhelm Chrom the same way many of Chrom's other opponents would and is just enough to give Chrom's own multitude of weapons a way to shine and force both to constantly adapt. While fairly grounded compared to most of the sword fights on this list, you could easily up the absurdity (albeit not to the degree of basically turning it into a Kill la Kill fight) by tapping into the many Arts that Mórag has to quite literally turn up the heat or taking inspiration from Smash or even his fight with Lucina in Arena Ferox to make for even more awe-inspiring choreography. Top that all off with some f*cking incredible music potential and even some good banter given someone as impulsive as Chrom would definitely butt heads with someone as serious as Mórag and what do you know? My boi has just the matchup for him. I love this one.

Roots: Chrom

CAC: Bringing Awakening

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Mórag. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: The more and more time goes by, the less and less I like Chrom vs Noctis. Unless you use reclassing for Chrom (which... why would you?), the fight dynamic is horribly lopsided and even the connections are rather thin. Chrom vs Richter is a bit better since it actually has halfway decent connections and doesn't suffer the lopsidedness issue as egregiously but it still ain't great, and Chrom vs Saber is kinda not hot. As for Mórag, Satsuki is actually pretty good and one of Satsuki's better ideas, but I think someone more grounded like Chrom fits Mórag better both tonally and animation-wise than a character as absurd and visually spectacular as Satsuki.

9. Sumire Yoshizawa vs Hibiki Tachibana (Persona vs Symphogear)[]

Connections: Girls who defend mankind from a series of dark monsters tied closely to them, who also suffer a major case of survivor's guilt.

Why I Want This: You see, I never said I was immune to liking MUs purely for the vibes. Yeah I will admit we've covered objectively better ideas all throughout this list but this idea just hits that special part of my brain that makes me really, really like it for whatever reason. I wouldn't argue it to be a bad matchup in the slightest though, because it certainly has a multitude of upsides to its name.

With how mobile the Phantom Thieves are always presented as- running along rooftops and down buildings, instantly moving between cover faster than the eye can track, zipping around the place like an angry wasp, Hibiki's aerial mobility is a fun choice to exacerbate this as both fight while moving from different parts of the arena constantly and offering set variety throughout, further compounded by Sumire's Persona's flight and ranged attacks to keep Hibiki on the constant move, as well as a multitude of physical attacks to bring the most out of the mainly close range arsenal Hibiki commands. There's something I find oddly charming about the idea of the many visually stunning moves in Hibiki's arsenal being presented in the Persona 5 artstyle with all of the visual flair and UI pop-ins that come with that, which would certainly be a spectacle and a half to watch unfold. I know a matchup in the top 10 of all things being this lax in detail is probably a bit strange to see but... I mean, this idea is kinda just one of those I like more for its charm than its actual quality, because as abundant as that aspect is, sometimes my bias has to take over (no pun intended) at points and here, there's plenty of that. Keep being cool Sumire vs Hibiki, you're a fun as hell idea.

Roots: Sumire

CAC: A Royal Symphony

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Sumire. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: As petty as this sounds, The World Ends With You's MU spread being almost nothing but vs Persona MUs has kinda made it hard for me to like Sumire vs Shiki when Makoto vs Neku is kinda all I need to get my fix of the pairing. Objectively I have no qualms with it, I see the idea and appeal behind it... I just can't get into it at all. Sumire vs Cloud is in a similar boat- I get it but it fails to click with me and after Link vs Cloud 2, I'm hesitant on bringing Cloud back, and Sumire vs Lucina makes me want to vomit.

8. Shantae vs Filia (Shantae vs Skullgirls)[]

Connections: Hair-wielding female indie game protagonists.

Why I Want This: "It's not about the connections, Spiderman. It's about the potential." Kingpin in that one meme I think, 2021.

This matchup hardly has many connections to its name but holy mother of f*ck, is it fun as hell. Yeah bias for both characters probably helps with that since even if I've only ever played a single Shantae game, I still like the character a hell of a lot and Filia's one of my god damn mains in Skullgirls but the animation potential for this matchup just really speaks to me. It's a simple core concept of "we use our hair as weapons" (how the f*ck is there more than one matchup on this list with that?) but Filia's constantly shape-shifting hair that can form into all sorts of things sounds like a deal-breaker... until you factor Shantae's transformations in. Seeing Shantae's multitude of forms clashing against Samson's many different shapes and sizes would be an absolute treat, making great use of Filia and Samson's adaptability to constantly take on whatever Shantae turns into next, and not even just against her transformations- her magic and sub-weapons get this too and allows for arguably some of the most creative approaches out of any of Filia's ideas, all topped off with some extremely entertaining banter given Shantae's bubbly attitude reacting to the calm and sweet Filia and the constantly pissed off Samson bickering with her. Like the last entry, better matchups certainly do exist but I mean... cut me some god damn slack here, I love these two and think them fighting would be baller as f*ck.

Roots: Shantae

CAC: Heart of a Genie

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Shantae. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Am I gonna have to keep explaining why I don't like the popular choice as much throughout this list, my god? Aight, let's get this over with because I can already hear the snipers aiming for my head- yeah, I don't care for Shantae vs Lilac. I got nothing against it, but it's one of those MUs I just look at and go "yeah that certainly exists alright". It doesn't grab me at all, let alone as much as vs Filia. Shantae vs Shovel Knight is one I wanna vibe with because I love Shovel Knight to death and it would be neat seeing the two biggest icons of Indie gaming duke it out but... eh, doesn't do it for me. Same with Shantae vs Midna- good but not my thing. As for Filia, Tokoyami I get the appeal of but he still ain't my cup of tea and Yukako is very eh.

7. Darth Maul vs Byakuya Kuchiki (Star Wars vs Bleach)[]

Connections: Cold-hearted swordsmen that only drop the facade around their siblings, who left the nefarious organisations they use to serve and maintain a... shaky relationship with their greatest rival.

Why I Want This: Oh Maul... what the f*ck is your MU spread? I have struggled to really find an idea I can get behind for this guy for god knows how long because either his ideas have better in my eyes or are just about as engaging as staring at the sun... then Byakuya showed up and I was like "oh, okay, guess this works"... and now it's this high up on the list... sweet.

Star Wars always finds its way into rather unorthodox franchise pairings that I weirdly like- Naruto, Fate, f*cking Elfen Lied of all things, and of course Bleach, and the kind of action we see in Bleach feels like a really entertaining fit for someone like Maul. Not only is it a Bleach fight where the non-Bleach character can actually f*cking see who he's fighting (well, not "see" but the Force means he ain't just swinging wildly the whole time at least) but the ways in which their arsenals interact is super cool. Angry as the dude may be, Maul ain't an idiot- he knows the Force well and knows how to use it well, and the multitude of ways it can clash against Byakuya's Kido spells is super enticing to see in order to bring out how scarily proficient he is with it given Byakuya is famous for being able to fire them off in quick succession effortlessly, and given both are masters of unarmed combat too, you have a solid option for close range combat as Maul furiously goes in for a savage blow as Byakuya attempts to keep his composure.

But let's be real, we ain't here to see these two throw fists- no, we wanna watch them clash blades, and clash blades these two do well. Maul is already famous for one of the most unique and badass fighting styles in all of Star Wars and against Byakuya's Zanpakuto, it'd be even cooler. He may not give you that cool dual blade dynamic, but he doesn't need it- Byakuya's Shikai gives you all you need, as Maul deflects a multitude of oncoming petals turned hoarde of glowing swords all coming his way, reminiscent of him fighting 2 on 1 in Phantom Menace, just on a scale far larger than just 2 and pushing him even further past his limit. There's just a lot you can do with this matchup that I find super entertaining, compacted further by the contrast in personalities being super enticing to watch clash, as Maul's seething rage goes against the calmer and more in control Byakuya, which ironically highlights how dangerous of a foe Maul is not just in his tenacity but his surprising strategic prowess too and his proficiency in the Force itself. There's just too many good things to name with this matchup and that's coming from someone who isn't even an expert on either series- I did the research to know what I'm on about but I don't have any personal connection to either. I just know this idea would be f*cking insane to watch in action, and that's enough to push it this high up on the list.

Roots: Byakuya

CAC: Phantom Reaper

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Maul. From what I've heard, AP is kinda comparable but Maul hits the blitz.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Byakuya vs Mace Windu is just an infinitely lamer Star Wars MU for Byakuya and past that, if I went over all of the sibling themed MUs for Byakuya we'd be here all day so I'mma just say "they drool, Maul rules" and move on. Maul vs Akechi I really don't see the appeal in, Maul vs Groh is... pretty cool actually and my ideal alt no doubt, but Byakuya I feel lets Maul go way more all out for animation and whatnot, Scorpion certainly exists and in fairness, wouldn't be a bad DBX but definitely think you can do better for a full episode, Kurome feels like a case where someone tried putting uniqueness first and interesting or deep connections second and at this stage, does anyone see Maul vs Carnage as more than just a running joke?

6. Trafalgar Law vs Bruno Bucciarati (One Piece vs Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)[]

Connections: Tragic anime gang leaders turned allies and pseudo mentor figures to a vigilante leader, who possess space manipulating powers.

Why I Want This: This is an idea I very nearly put on the original list and the only reason it was left out was purely because I wasn't sure on the connections for it. Well... now I know, and I know just how deserving this matchup was of a spot on that list al that time ago, because Law vs Bruno is absolutely incredible. I just cannot gush enough about how amazingly well their powers go together. Like the last entry, invisibility isn't an issue Law has to worry about since while Sticky Fingers is invisible to his naked eye, Observation Haki has him covered for keeping track of the thing throughout the fight, but just being able to see Bruno's Stand wouldn't make this fight a contender for this list by itself. We need to talk about how their main gimmicks clash with one another.

How Bruno's Stand works is that it can attach a zipper to something and open and close it at will, even cancelling the zipper out if he so wishes, letting him, for instance, put a zipper around your arm, unzip it, cancel it out and boom, now your arm is cut off. Law, meanwhile, can create spheres in which any space inside is completely under his control- he can move things telekinetically, teleport around, create electricity, heal wounds, swap bodies, cut things without actually damaging them... somehow, reassemble things, etc. Notice anything with that last part? Yep, that is as perfect a pairing for Sticky Fingers as you can get. Not only can Law play into the absurdity of Jojo perfectly with some of the wackier implications of his powers, but having that core dynamic of being able to constantly take apart and reattach yourself like a LEGO man is just about one of the coolest concepts you could get out of a fight, as so many lethal blows against Law end up being negated by him reattaching as both work around potentially game-ending abilities and continually try to outwit the other is the exact kind of wacky that makes me swoon. The more I think about it and the more I write about it, I f*cking wish I put this on the OG list because holy mother of divine, there is so many amazing little things that make this such an incredible idea with such absurd potential for one of the most entertaining fights to date. Everything about their arsenals is just perfect for each other, no ifs, no ands and sure as sh*t no buts.

Roots: Law

CAC: My Law Stands

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Law. He ain't as fast but he has solid answers to Bruno's hax and has AP by a mile.

Thoughts on Alternatives: We don't talk about Bruno vs Satsuki or Law vs Kenshin.

5. Cynthia vs Margaret (Pokémon vs Persona)[]

Connections: Endgame bosses from their series’s 4th instalments that fight with a team comprised of monsters you spend the whole game collecting, both of whom act as their games’ ultimate challenge.

Why I Want This: Pokémon Trainer battles are a bit of an odd duck. They're a controversial bunch since the fight dynamic is almost always lopsided as balls- pitting someone that doesn't fight and instead has six other combatants do the fighting for them, against someone who does fight and is moreorless on their lonesome the entire time. Exceptions to this are generally in the form of summoner type characters that have the same "I let others do the fighting for me" type of fighting style. Margaret is mostly like this- she can fight by herself no problem but given she only really does so in Persona 4 Arena and even then, is heavily reliant on her Persona even there. In other words, she's essentially the closest thing Persona has to a full on Pokémon trainer in terms of functionality. So what does this translate to?... Well a fight that works I guess, but that's just scratching the surface of why this fight is so high up on the list.

Cynthia has arguably one of the most famous (or infamous depending on who you ask) teams in all of Pokémon- a varied as hell team that covers many of each other's deficiencies and is brutally tough to take down. Someone with the variety Margaret has is a perfect fit to push her team well past its limit, though given Margaret is rarely ever seen with more than a select few Personas despite having access to the full compendium, she's still got enough to keep the dynamic balanced rather than just versatility stomping throughout the fight. Like with Millia vs Yami, it has that rock-paper-scissors dynamic but taken to a more literal degree given the many Pokémon types and magic skills with comparable functions, forcing both to constantly change Pokémon and Personas throughout in order to gain the necessary advantage- Cynthia using Braviary to exploit Oberon's wind weakness (akin to the Flying type), Loki's ice skills striking Garchomp's biggest weakness, etc. but type advantages is hardly all you could get out of their clashes.

I would love to see an aerial battle between Braviary/Togekiss and Oberon, Okuninushi and Elektross zapping away at each other, Atropos slicing apart Roserade's Grass type attacks either with her wind skills or even her trademark scissors, Garchomp clashing blades with Yosh*tsune or even meeting Yosh*tsune's Hassou Tobi with its Giga Impact, like a meteor being sliced to pieces as it hurdles towards the earth, these are just a handful of super engaging ideas you could take out of this, all topped off with some of the best music potential on this list (and another one I've covered on a previous blog because it's just that good). This matchup just has it all. What else is there to say?

Roots: Cynthia

CAC: Diamond Empress

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Margaret. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Cynthia vs Tsunade is kinda poopy and Cynthia vs Maximillion Pegasus is… yeah it’s fine I guess, hardly the worst thing in the world. Rosalina vs Margaret, while conceptually hilarious just on account of Mario vs Persona being the most out there franchise pairing imaginable, has one too many cracks for my liking.

4. Monkey D. Luffy vs Natsu Dragneel (One Piece vs Fairy Tail)[]

Connections: Fiery team leaders with hearts as big as their stomachs, who carry a keepsake from their biggest inspirations to keep them going.

Why I Want This: Aight, before I get into the meat and potatoes of this, I wanna address an argument that drives me up the god damn wall: "Natsu already fought Ace, this is just Natsu fighting Ace's brother so what's the point?" Ignoring the fact that Natsu vs Ace was a super forgettable episode that barely made the most of what a character as chalk full of abilities as f*cking Natsu could do... didn't we learn from Obito vs Vader that just because two characters are from the same franchise or are related to the characters of another matchup in some way, that that doesn't make it a blatant f*cking repeat? And at least with Obito and Vader, at least that has the same general dynamic of "Sharingan powers vs the Force and Lightsaber" that Kenobi vs Kakashi had. Not to say they're the same at all beyond that (trust me, I learned the hard way that line of thinking was kinda dumb) but it's a hell of a lot more comparable than Luffy's arsenal is to Ace. It's an incomparable dynamic, not to mention Luffy doing a hell of a lot more than Ace could ever dream of and matching better thematically at that. But okay, rant over, let's get to why I like this fight.

Well it's yet again another fight who's appeal lies in simplicity. They're hardly the same character but both share a lot of similar personality traits in their hotheadedness and naivete, as well as their constant drive to keep pushing forward and fight for their friends no matter what and do the ones that shaped them proud. Personalities like that would be incredibly entertaining to see clash, not just because of the obvious banter but also seeing just how far both keep pushing the other to fight harder and harder in the most Shonen fashion imaginable. Everyone makes the joke of Fairy Tail overworking the whole "power of friendship" shtick to death, but it fits Luffy way better than you would imagine. And the animation potential- man where do you begin. Luffy and Natsu do a lot of close range brawling, and just seeing them punch the snot out of each other would be fun by itself, especially with Natsu's fire abilities and Luffy's rubberiness to add to the spectacle, but further fueling that with their many... MANY super forms to make it go from a simple slugfest to a genuinely incredible display of raw power would be a sight to behold, as flames totally envelop the entire arena to make the two stand out further against it and add to the insanity on screen. Luffy's Haki and Natsu's heightened senses let them both push themselves beyond even the furthest reaches of their limits and make their Devil Fruit and Fire Dragon Slayer Magic able to go even more absolutely mental in sheer scale. Really, what else is there to say here? The potential writes itself and this matchup in general is just the absolute perfect fit for the Strawhat Pirate in every way imaginable.

Roots: Natsu

CAC: Geared to Ignite

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Luffy. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Naruto vs Luffy is utterly pointless. Ichigo was and still is the best opponent Naruto had and carried the exact same legacy Naruto vs Luffy did while being better in every conceivable way, making vs Luffy just a waste that can hardly live up to that huge standard. Luffy vs Plastic Man and especially Mr. Fantastic are also not very good, Luffy vs Deku is mediocrity incarnate and Luffy vs Velvet… honestly is kinda cool, but I think there’s better for both. As for Natsu, Tsuna is pretty freaking lame… yeah that’s kinda it AFAIK.

3. Linne vs Rukia (Under Night In-Birth vs Bleach)[]

Connections: Petite undead swordswomen and mentor figures to a soul-reaping swordsman that they eventually grow close with.

Why I Want This: Azure, thank you for introducing me to this matchup. It's safe to say with the last few entries, if I did my original list now, they would more than likely have taken the place of some of the ideas that were on there when I did it half a year ago. Going into the top 3 though, we have matchups that aren't just in my top 200 now- they're in my top 100, and not just barely either- Linne vs Rukia in particular has gotten fairly high up there. So why is it that I've grown to love this matchup so much? Well... it's just fun really... I know that's kinda underwhelming this high up but stick with me here.

Like with Maul vs Byakuya, this matchup thankfully has the distinction of being a Bleach matchup where whether the opponent can see the Bleach character isn't an issue- Linne's own physiology is like that of a Shinigami's anyways, so seeing one shouldn't be a problem for her. But okay, just seeing Rukia isn't enough. How do their fighting styles clash? Well... yet again it starts as a simple sword fight and builds up into something even cooler from there. Seeing Rukia's skills with her Zanpakuto go against the flashy sword combat from Under Night would be a really fun treat already but there's far more, as Linne's EXS ability means she has abnormally high speed that against Rukia's Shunpo, would crank the pace of this fight up to f*cking eleven. Both slashing away at each other as they bounce across the arena like f*cking Flubber, making Shredder vs Silver Samurai and Sasuke vs Hiei look as fast as a damn sloth, would be insane amounts of fun, especially with Rukia's ice powers courtesy of her Shikai and Bankai giving her such large, sweeping attacks for Linne to dart around like a graceful butterfly, or even slice them to pieces before making a mad dash through the crystalline obstacles in her path. It's simple, but it's how it manages to take such a simple core dynamic and make something so exciting out of it that really captivates me, even in spite of my lack of personal connection to either. It's fun. What else do you really need other than that?

Roots: Rukia

CAC: A Cold Night

Preferred Animation Style: 2D

Who I Think Wins: Rukia. This one is really weird since by all accounts, Rukia can’t technically kill Linne since In-Birth physiology is f*cking stupid but given her far greater AOE and AP and Linne’s lack of immediate ways to threaten Rukia back, Rukia should still take a win by incap.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Linne vs Annie is fine enough but Rukia clicks far better with me and while Rukia vs Horohoro has a lot of perks and is objectively a really great matchup, uniqueness from Linne and… well, just the general vibe clicks with me more. Rukia vs Noelle is supremely underwhelming too and while I would hurl foul-mouthed abuse at Sakura vs Rukia, mummy raised a gentleman that doesn’t speak ill of the recently dead… because I just got done beating it to death with a soup ladle.

2. Armin Arlert vs Suzaku Kururugi (Attack on Titan vs Code Geass)[]

Connections: Underdog soldiers and best friends with a cunning leader figure, who end up becoming the unsung heroes by their best friends’ design.

Why I Want This: Icon, thank you for introducing me to this matchup. While Linne vs Rukia may be in my top 100, this matchup is in my top 50 now... pretty insane for a matchup featuring a series with as wackjob a track record in matchup creation as Attack on Titan. I realise I talk way more about AOT than I really should given it isn't even a topic I really like delving into more after... certain events but it just always ends up being relevant to whatever topic I'm discussing, one way or another. While it doesn't suffer it to the extent of series like Bleach or Jujutsu Kaizen, Attack on Titan is a series that really requires specific combatants in my eyes to really work, since the emphasis on aerial combat in Attack on Titan is surprisingly rare and often doesn't pair all too great with them otherwise, since pitting them against someone without the mobility to keep up just results in three minutes of someone trying to swat a fly out of the air. Titan Shifters further complicate that by adding in a character that can turn into a f*cking Kaiju with a snap of their fingers. So with that in mind... how does Suzaku fare in this case? Honestly, I make no exaggeration when I say this... he genuinely is f*cking perfect for the job.

AOT characters tend to get the best use out of their arsenal through one of three means- fighting a character that can keep up with them mid-air, fighting a character with heavy ranged utility or fighting someone far larger than them (since... surprise, that's what their arsenals are built around). Suzaku doesn't have one of these... he has all three of them. Granted the size one is kind of a stretch since Knightmare Frames are about the size of post-it notes compared to your Gundams or your Gurren Laganns and whatnot but it's still large enough to give Armin a sizeable target to be trying to maneuver around, and past that, not only is Lancelot more than quick enough to keep up with Armin in the air but his ranged utility can keep Armin constantly on the move too, and even works solidly off of Armin's Thunder Spears so both can play the ranged game as they dart around the area at blazing speeds. This is the perfect fight for someone like Armin- a fight against someone that actively forces him to keep moving, never stop, just blast through the arena as fast as humanly possible and match the exhilaration that captured everyone's attention when AOT first made the rounds.

On top of that, there's even a cool use of Armin's Titan Shifting too- not just in his partial shifting being just the right size to clash against Lancelot but also in the full Colossal Titan completely turning the dynamic on its head, as it's now Suzaku that's the shrimp in size, and it's now Suzaku that has to move for fear of getting squashed like a bug. If this were how the full fight went, it wouldn't be the least bit fun since it would just be the same fly-swatter sh*t, just in reverse, but as the final moment in the fight, it's perfect to truly shake up how the fight was going beforehand and completely turn the tables in such a memorable way. More importantly though, something this fast-paced and frantic feels fitting for the kind of characters they are, in a weird way. They were both doubted constantly throughout their careers as soldiers, with their greatest glimmers of hope of being more than just a mere pawn in a fruitless war being their own friends and their ambitions for greater. Extreme ambitions, yes, but ambitions nonetheless that they wanted to fight for and use to bring their naive hopes for a world where everyone is happy into fruition. They're constantly fighting against non-existant odds but keep going without ever looking back, because that's what they believe in. A fight like this captures that feeling perfectly- that rush of pure adrenaline to keep on pushing forward, surviving the constant onslaught and facing danger head-on to reach that hopeful future you're looking for.

Yeah yeah, I know this is probably sounding hilariously pretentious but I've been waiting for the excuse to gush about this thing for so long now, I had to let it all out. If you recall on my original list, you might remember me describing matchups like Azula vs Cinder and Kyle vs Simon as perfect matchups- not because they genuinely were the best matchups of all time, but because they just got everything so spectacularly right. Armin vs Suzaku can comfortably fit within these ranks itself. It's perfect- absolutely perfect.

Roots: Suzaku

CAC: Knights Enchained

Preferred Animation Style: 3D

Who I Think Wins: Suzaku. Like with Winter vs Cornelia (wow both Code Geass MUs on this list were neck in neck, how about that?) this matchup is super close- to the point I even pegged Armin as the winner until recently. Armin has higher immediate horsepower and better AOE but Suzaku is faster and essentially has a one shot “I win, f*ck you” button in the form of the FREJA, which he can easily get out of Armin’s range to fire off without a hitch.

Thoughts on Alternatives: Armin vs Zenitsu is f*cking awful… Armin vs Romeo is okay though, but definitely doesn’t come close to Suzaku’s quality.

Honourable Mentions[]

Aight, because I don’t want to have to make another f*cking one of these, I’m just gonna quickly skim through honourable mentions for this segment that barely missed the cut. Ready? Here we go.

Handsome Jack vs General Ironwood (Borderlands vs RWBY)

Yeah Jack blinks and the whole RWBY verse f*cking explodes but with banter as good as this fight’s, I couldn’t give less of a sh*t. Jack is one of my favourite villains of all time and this idea just vibes hard.

Captain Marvelous vs Kamen Rider Decade (Super Sentai vs Kamen Rider)

It’s one of those classic rivalries that would be actually criminal to not do. There is a sh*t ton of potential for this fight that I’d be here all day trying to explain but it’s easily the ideal way to bring this rivalry into Death Battle in my eyes.

Hades vs Nekron (Saint Seiya vs DC)

Greek wouldn’t leave me alone so here it is. I didn’t want to include matchups for characters that were on the last list but as an honourable mention, I have no qualms. It’s my preferred for Hades nowadays between simple but solid connections and animation potential for f*cking days. Hades’s best, bar none.

Raven vs Sailor Saturn (DC vs Sailor Moon)

I’m one of the few people that actually enjoyed Raven vs Twilight but I’m hardly against a return for my second favourite Teen Titan. It’s a step up from vs Twilight in a lot of areas- connections, animation potential, the works, and in general it’s just a super enjoyable idea. And hey, more Sailor Moon reps is neat.

Saki Amamiya vs Eren Jaegar (Sin & Punishment vs Attack on Titan)

Well an Eren MU with an actual fight dynamic is always a good start but between the underrated Sin & Punishment getting more love, decent connections and a really fun fight dynamic that ain’t perfect but still has arguably the best synergy with Eren’s arsenal out of any opponent suggested for the guy, I’m into it.

Asuka Langley vs Kallen Stadtfeld (Neon Genesis Evangelion vs Code Geass)

Again, it vibes… IDK what the hell else to say, lmao.

Lucina vs Kitana (Fire Emblem vs Mortal Kombat)

I’m still undecided if this is my preferred for Lucina (yes I still like vs Grovyle, blow me) but its up there. Connection may be basic but I dig the animation and music potential, and Fire Emblem vs Mortal Kombat is just a weirdly appealing franchise pairing for me for some reason.

Edward Elric vs Josuke Higashikata (Fullmetal Alchemist vs Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

After the uh… not good, portrayal he got in Aang vs Ed, Edward definitely could use a second go-around and while thematically nothing special, Josuke does vibe with me a lot for the little guy. Ed’s Alchemy against Josuke’s Stand ability is just a fun thing to envision for me, so yeah I’m into it.

Lelouch vs C (Code Geass vs Trails of Cold Steel)

It’s really freaking cool thematically and the banter you could get out of these two is f*cking glorious. Also hey, never a bad day when a cool as sh*t mech fight is involved.

Xion vs Kotone (Kingdom Hearts vs Persona)

It’s a fun and thematic Xion MU, the f*ck you want from me?

Akuma vs Garou (Street Fighter vs One Punch Man)

I may still dig Akuma vs Raoh more but I am very into this too. It’s got animation potential for days and seeing Garou’s monster form and Oni duke it out especially would make me cream my pants.

Gamma vs Bastion (Sonic the Hedgehog vs Overwatch)

It’s a godstomp but it f*cking viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiibes. It has the perfect thematics for these two characters and the animation potential is just super nice. I like it.

Bizarro vs Robo-Ky (DC vs Guilty Gear)

It is such a wacky and out there idea that I can’t help but f*cking love it… yeah I don’t got much else to say other than that so… next,

Amon vs Wave (Tokyo Ghoul vs Akame ga Kill)

Solid connections, fun fight dynamic, Amon MU, yeah I dig this one a lot, next.

Six vs Knight (Little Nightmares vs Hollow Knight)

I won’t deny that there’s matchups with better fight dynamics out there but the pure atmosphere an idea like this would produce is enough to entice me. Just that dripping, heavy feeling like something is constantly watching you feels so perfect for these two and I love it.

Ermac vs Rose (Mortal Kombat vs Street Fighter)

It’s the only other Mortal Kombat vs Street Fighter matchup I can dig, just on account of a really, really fun fight dynamic and cool connections. Not much else to elaborate on really.

Makima vs Muzan (Chainsaw Man vs Demon Slayer)

The vibes man… you really can’t avoid them.

There’s likely more I wanted to cover and just didn’t remember but uh, safe to say I may or may not like way too many matchup so for the sake of not bloating this blog to an even more absurd degree, let’s cut it off here.

1. Ann Takamaki vs Lio Fotia (Persona vs Promare)[]

Connections: Rebels battling a corrupt society with the help of the flames from their living weapons and a bumbling but ever reliable partner at their side.

Why I Want This: Kera, thank you for introducing me to this matchup... I'm beginning to notice a pattern here. Well in the trend of continuing patterns, this matchup isn't in my top 100... it's not even in my top 50... it's in my top 25 now. Yeah, this one grew on me like an inoperable tumour and while unlike the last entry, I actually can think of flaws with this idea... yeah, if you couldn't guess, those flaws do absolutely jack sh*t to tarnish this idea when everything else about it might be one of the best things I've ever seen in any matchup, period.

Now I know what some might be thinking: "wait Pit, one of them is in a goddamn mech suit, how in the flying f*ck would that work with Ann?". Well first of all wow, two fights in a row pitting someone in a mech against someone not in a mech, weird, and second, it... actually works out a hell of a lot better than it sounds on paper. Remember, Ann's fighting style doesn't involve as many physical attacks as most, if not all of her fellow Phantom Thieves. Her Persona is almost all about raw firepower (pun intended), which isn't even far off of how Lio fights with the Burnish armour anyways. Giving her a larger target isn't a bad idea at all, and their emphasis on range hardly breaks how they would fight anyways. On top of this, fighting against a mech like Lio's Burnish Armour places emphasis on a different aspect of how Ann operates- her mobility.

Remember how I mentioned in the Sumire vs Hibiki segment how mobile Phantom Thieves were? Yeah, now imagine that with someone who can also use their whip to get around Indiana Jones style, while housing the same "blink and you'll miss them" supernatural speed and constant roof-running, wall-scaling mobility as she constantly avoids getting squashed by Lio- incidentally, not even a bad way to incorporate Ann's status ailments to slow down something she'd hardly be able to take on in a straight fight. Their general fighting styles just do so much to make up for such a giant size difference and end up working in favour of their kits as opposed to clashing with them.

But that wouldn't be enough to put this at the top of the list. The overall visual style for this fight... MY GOD!!! I want you all to imagine this- Studio's Trigger's fluid as f*ck animation and flashy, over-the-top action sequences, with specifically the amazing camera angles and rainbow of colour all throughout Promare, mixed with the comic book-esque style of Persona 5's UI and general visuals, have I f*cking sold you yet? They don't just go hand in hand, they go hand in hand and mouth to mouth for one of the cleanest and most visually gratifying fights you could ever dream of. They were f*cking made for each other, don't even try to tell me otherwise. Now yeah, doing so would probably slice Death Battle's budget in half and eat it up like f*cking Pac-Man but does man truly care? Just any kind of style similar to that idea will be enough to leave me perfectly satisfied with it all. And the music potential- holy sh*t the music potential. Again, this is stuff I've covered before but just thinking about a vocal track combining the many masterpieces in the Persona 5 and Promare soundtracks is enough to make a man org*sm. It's just... holy sh*t, there just isn't enough to gush about with this matchup. The animation potential, the solid thematics, the amazing music, the f*cking incredible combination of visual styles, all of this adds up to what it easily one of my new most wanted matchups without a shadow of a doubt.

Roots: Ann

CAC: Celestial Insurrection

Preferred Animation Style: Hand-Drawn

Who I Think Wins: Ann. Stets.

Thoughts on Alternatives: I don’t see the appeal in Ann vs Cat Noir. It has connections but they’re hardly deep and the animation potential is just okay at best, with Noir having opponents far better fitting for his fighting style. Ann vs Blake is also super eh, and Ann vs Blaze, Nami and Sailor Mars are once again, meh.

Closing Words[]

And there you have it: 50(ish) more matchups I really want to see Death Battle bring to fruition. I know approximately... five of these, if even that, have any hope in hell of happening but hey, a man can dream. But what do you guys think? I'd like to hear what you have to say about these ideas in the comments below. This has been PitTheSwordmaster, thanks for reading and until next time, slán leat agus go raibh míle maith agat.