Most climatic and anti-climatic villain defeats in history?

[Fantastische Hure]

DragonBall - Gohan defeats Cell (say no more)

One-Piece - Luffy defeats Crocodile (EPIC)

I'm mostly going off anime since things like music can help a lot too to make the victory feel Epic (see One-Piece above).

For anti-climatic I can't really think of anything.

What you say?

 

[SSJ2]

The defeat of Hitler in M12 is probably the most climactic victory in Z history.

I also have nothing for the opposite.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

The defeat of Hitler in M12 is probably the most climactic victory in Z history.

I also have nothing for the opposite.

I like this.

Also maybe:

Goku defeating Piccolo-Daimao

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Going to put it in spoiler tags for those who haven't seen the series and don't want to be spoilt. In no particular order for climactic...

Spoiler

Kenshiro defeats Raoh (Hokuto no Ken) - Great end to the rivalry the series had been building up for as the climax and should have been the definitive ending of the series. Part 2 should be ignored.

Father's defeat (Fullmetal Alchemist) - Good use of teamwork that allowed each character to feel worthwhile and had a good aftermath, even though the lighter parts of the aftermath come off as somewhat cheap.

Gon kills Neferpitou (Hunter X Hunter) - More satisfying for the impact it had on Gon's character development than the fight itself. Shame the Election Arc ruined all that (though I find Jump's restrictive nature to be more to blame than Togashi's creative decisions).

Pucci's death (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) - Seeing Emporio break down the flaws in his plan was good and Pucci's actions literally changed the JoJo Universe for good.

Shishio's defeat (Rurouni Kenshin) - A fairly thrilling climactic duel that has enough twists to make it seem more original than a lot of other climactic Shonen duels. There's a reason the Kyoto Arc is constantly given climax treatment in continuity's such as the movie trilogy.

Akira defeats Takeshi (Kongo Bancho) - Basically the Kenshiro VS Raoh fight but with some Kaijuu elements thrown in to make it feel epic in scale and some good rule of cool.

Goku kills Piccolo Daimao (Dragon Ball) - More of an honourable mention. The character deaths that had lead up to this and the scale of the battle compared to previous ones could've made this one of the best climaxes in Shonen had it been where the series ended, or at least had the Dragon Balls been left inert, though everything basically getting restored afterwards effects it's quality in retrospect.

Haven't finished Lone Wolf and Cub yet, but from what I've been spoiled on for the ending, Itto and Retsudo's final duel is a definite candidate.

As for least climactic

Spoiler

Any of Saitama's kills (One Punch Man) - We all know he'll either defeat a villain with one punch or just not use his full power, making every fight involving him either lack any sort of tension or be utterly vapid and devoid of meaning.

Yomi and Mukuro's defeats (Yu Yu Hakusho) - They were off-screen and told only through exposition. You can't get more anti-climactic than that.

The defeat of the Seven Tusks (Sakigake!! Otokojuku) - Edajima came in with a wrecking ball crane to bust shit up due to how perpetually long and pointless the arc was.

Kurapika defeats Chrollo (Hunter X Hunter) - I liked the planning and strategy for the outcome and thereby wouldn't rate it as bad, since it's a very original and interesting finale for a battle Shonen. However, it can still come across as anti-climactic when it boils down to Kurapika just putting Chrollo in chains when the lights were out.

 

[Papasmurf]

The final fight in Shigurui definitely deserves a mention, ruined the entire manga in perhaps the most blatant way I've seen when the entire series was just buildup for the fight in the first chapter.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Going to put it in spoiler tags for those who haven't seen the series and don't want to be spoilt. In no particular order for climactic...

Spoiler

Kenshiro defeats Raoh (Hokuto no Ken) - Great end to the rivalry the series had been building up for as the climax and should have been the definitive ending of the series. Part 2 should be ignored.

Father's defeat (Fullmetal Alchemist) - Good use of teamwork that allowed each character to feel worthwhile and had a good aftermath, even though the lighter parts of the aftermath come off as somewhat cheap.

Gon kills Neferpitou (Hunter X Hunter) - More satisfying for the impact it had on Gon's character development than the fight itself. Shame the Election Arc ruined all that (though I find Jump's restrictive nature to be more to blame than Togashi's creative decisions).

Pucci's death (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) - Seeing Emporio break down the flaws in his plan was good and Pucci's actions literally changed the JoJo Universe for good.

Shishio's defeat (Rurouni Kenshin) - A fairly thrilling climactic duel that has enough twists to make it seem more original than a lot of other climactic Shonen duels. There's a reason the Kyoto Arc is constantly given climax treatment in continuity's such as the movie trilogy.

Akira defeats Takeshi (Kongo Bancho) - Basically the Kenshiro VS Raoh fight but with some Kaijuu elements thrown in to make it feel epic in scale and some good rule of cool.

Goku kills Piccolo Daimao (Dragon Ball) - More of an honourable mention. The character deaths that had lead up to this and the scale of the battle compared to previous ones could've made this one of the best climaxes in Shonen had it been where the series ended, or at least had the Dragon Balls been left inert, though everything basically getting restored afterwards effects it's quality in retrospect.

Haven't finished Lone Wolf and Cub yet, but from what I've been spoiled on for the ending, Itto and Retsudo's final duel is a definite candidate.

As for least climactic

Spoiler

Any of Saitama's kills (One Punch Man) - We all know he'll either defeat a villain with one punch or just not use his full power, making every fight involving him either lack any sort of tension or be utterly vapid and devoid of meaning.

Yomi and Mukuro's defeats (Yu Yu Hakusho) - They were off-screen and told only through exposition. You can't get more anti-climactic than that.

The defeat of the Seven Tusks (Sakigake!! Otokojuku) - Edajima came in with a wrecking ball crane to bust shit up due to how perpetually long and pointless the arc was.

Kurapika defeats Chrollo (Hunter X Hunter) - I liked the planning and strategy for the outcome and thereby wouldn't rate it as bad, since it's a very original and interesting finale for a battle Shonen. However, it can still come across as anti-climactic when it boils down to Kurapika just putting Chrollo in chains when the lights were out.

Devilman VS Satan (Devilman) - The fights were never the main aspect of the series, so it's excusable when it'd just be padding, but it does still seem disappointing to have the climax go immediately from the start of their fight to the aftermath.

What about Gohan's win over Cell? Just from a visual-aspect I don't know whether that can ever be topped. Looked so grand.

Also I like this.

The final fight in Shigurui definitely deserves a mention, ruined the entire manga in perhaps the most blatant way I've seen when the entire series was just buildup for the fight in the first chapter.

And I also like this.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

What about Gohan's win over Cell? Just from a visual-aspect I don't know whether that can ever be topped. Looked so grand.

Would've been fulfilling had it not been for Galu's encouragement of Gohan showing no main villain can be defeat without Galu being involved somehow. That, and compared to previous villains, Cell's personal link as an antagonist to the main characters felt far weaker than the ties held with previous villains, such as Daimao killing most of Goku's friends, the Saiyans being of the same race as Goku and Gohan or Freeza being the one who caused the deaths of many Saiyans and Namekians. Because of this, Cell's defeat was far less satisfying than those, especially when in retrospect, the plot developments it caused of Gohan being the hero were made meaningless in the following arc.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

What about Gohan's win over Cell? Just from a visual-aspect I don't know whether that can ever be topped. Looked so grand.

Would've been fulfilling had it not been for Galu's encouragement of Gohan showing no main villain can be defeat without Galu being involved somehow. That, and compared to previous villains, Cell's personal link as an antagonist to the main characters felt far weaker than the ties held with previous villains, such as Daimao killing most of Goku's friends, the Saiyans being of the same race as Goku and Gohan or Freeza being the one who caused the deaths of many Saiyans and Namekians. Because of this, Cell's defeat was far less satisfying than those, especially when in retrospect, the plot developments it caused of Gohan being the hero were made meaningless in the following arc.

Thank you for your answer.

I like this.

 

[Void]

Gohan beating Cell in the manga was pretty anti-climatic.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Gohan beating Cell in the manga was pretty anti-climatic.

Yeah, I was mostly listing the anime version for that.

I like this.

 

[SSJ2]

Gohan beating Cell in the manga was pretty anti-climatic.

Yeah, I was mostly listing the anime version for that.

I like this.

No, you actually didn't like it.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Gohan beating Cell in the manga was pretty anti-climatic.

Yeah, I was mostly listing the anime version for that.

I like this.

No, you actually didn't like it.

I like this.

 

[Papasmurf]

Going to put it in spoiler tags for those who haven't seen the series and don't want to be spoilt. In no particular order for climactic...

As for least climactic

Devilman VS Satan (Devilman) - The fights were never the main aspect of the series, so it's excusable when it'd just be padding, but it does still seem disappointing to have the climax go immediately from the start of their fight to the aftermath.

Satan beat Akira though

 

[Fantastische Hure]

^I like that.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Satan beat Akira though

Forgot that the thread was Villain defeats and just listed a few climactic/anti-climactic fights.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

^ And I like that.

 

[SSJ2]

There's nothing above your post.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

There's nothing above your post.

2 2 2

I like your post too.

 

[SSJ2]

There's nothing above your post.

2 2 2

I like your post too.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

There's nothing above your post.

2 2 2

I like your post too.

Now I can. Thank you.

I love you. *Patrick impression*