Anime has always had a flair for the dramatic, impossible odds, overwhelming enemies, and a lone fighter standing tall against them all. These moments aren’t just about power or spectacle; they’re about resolve. A one-man-army scene becomes unforgettable when it forces the viewer to ask: How far can one person really go alone?
From sword-swinging madmen tearing through armies to godlike beings dismantling squads with a flick of the wrist, these characters didn’t need backup. They didn’t wait for reinforcements. They fought entire forces by themselves, and won. Here are 7 of the best one-man-army moments in anime, iconic scenes where the battlefield belonged to just one.
7 Guts vs. 100 Tudor Men
Berserk
It wasn’t a battle. It was a bloodbath. And Guts stood at the center of it, with only his sword, far too large, far too heavy, and a hatred that had nowhere else to go.
After leaving the Band of the Hawk and parting ways with Griffith, Guts wandered into a tavern looking for information. Instead, he found a bounty on his head and a hundred Tudor soldiers eager to collect. They surrounded him in the dead of night, blades drawn, grinning at the idea of killing a lone sellsword.
What followed is now legendary in anime history.
Guts didn’t just survive. He slaughtered them, every last one. Swing after swing, he cleaved through steel and flesh, losing blood, sustaining wounds that would’ve killed anyone else. But Guts wasn’t anyone else. This was before the Eclipse, the Brand, and the Berserker Armor. This was just a man, angry, betrayed, and alive through sheer willpower.
6 Striga vs. Humans
Castlevania
The funny thing about Striga is that she doesn’t even like fighting. She’s a tactician, a scholar of war. But when a night creature couldn’t lead the charge and someone had to slaughter an entire human battalion, she put on the daylight armor and went to war.
Season 4 of Castlevania gave fans a scene that was as elegant as it was horrifying: Striga, alone, riding into a field full of armored men. No words. No wasted movements. Just precision.
Clad in blackened steel that shielded her from the sun, she ripped through the enemy with a sword almost as tall as she was. Arrows bounced off her. Blades broke against her gauntlets. Every slash was fatal. Every move, calculated. It was like watching a machine built for war, but beneath it all was a tired, intelligent woman who simply knew that no one else could get it done.
5 Gotou vs. Yakuza
Parasyte: The Maxim
The Yakuza thought they were in control. They had guns, manpower, intel, and a plan. But what they didn’t understand was that Gotou wasn’t just another parasite.
He was five parasites in one body.
When they tried to storm the building and take down the monster plaguing the city, Gotou didn’t run. He waited. Calm, almost amused. And when the first bullet was fired, it became clear just how outmatched they were.
Limbs stretched and transformed into bladed weapons. Heads were lopped off in an instant. Bullets never found purchase because his body shifted and molded with every shot. One man. One body. Over fifty Yakuza killed in a matter of minutes.
4 Shimizaki vs. Teru and Friends
Mob Psycho 100
It’s easy to forget Shimizaki.
He wasn’t the leader of Claw. He wasn’t flashy like Suzuki or tragic like Ritsu. But in episode 12 of Mob Psycho 100 II, when the final battle between espers erupted, Shimizaki made sure everyone remembered why he was feared.
Blind, calm, and unimpressed, he took on an entire team of powerful espers, including Teru, Koyama, and even the hard-hitting Sho, and walked away untouched. His secret? Teleportation mixed with incredible combat reflexes. No wasted energy. No flamboyant powers. Just controlled, brutal efficiency.
Even Teru, who had grown significantly stronger since season one, couldn’t land a single hit.
And what made it more terrifying was how bored Shimizaki seemed. He wasn’t fighting out of anger or desperation. He was simply getting from point A to B, and the only way forward was through a half-dozen skilled fighters.
3 Levi vs. Kenny and His Squad
Attack on Titan
The chapel bells rang. The streets were empty. And Levi was cornered in a city he once called home.
It should’ve been the end when Kenny Ackerman and his elite anti-personnel squad ambushed Levi in Attack on Titan Season 3. They had guns, maneuvering gear built for urban warfare, and years of experience hunting humans. But they underestimated one thing, Levi was born in the underground.
What followed was one of the most fluid, fast-paced action scenes ever animated. Levi zipped through tight alleys, crashed through windows, and ducked gunfire like he could see into the future. He wasn’t just dodging bullets, he was rewriting the rules of the battlefield.
Every member of Kenny’s squad feared him. Not because he was a soldier. But because he was Levi. The one man in the entire Survey Corps who could kill without needing a Titan to justify his legend.
2 Madara vs. The Shinobi Alliance
Naruto: Shippuden
The Fourth Great Ninja War had armies. Thousands of shinobi, all gathered on one battlefield, united to stop a common enemy.
And then Madara Uchiha showed up.
No introduction. No diplomacy. He just walked onto the field like he was bored. And what happened next changed the tone of Naruto: Shippuden forever.
He didn’t use his full power, not at first. He dismantled hundreds of shinobi using nothing but taijutsu. No Sharingan. No chakra blasts. Just fists. When they thought they had him figured out, he summoned meteors. Not one. Two. The alliance had to sacrifice an entire platoon just to stop the first, and the second still landed.
It was like the series was reminding everyone: this isn’t your average villain. This is the man who fought Hashirama to a standstill. This is the Uchiha who put fear into the hearts of nations. And on that battlefield, Madara made it clear, there were no alliances. Only victims.
1 Goku vs. Red Ribbon Army
Dragon Ball
Before Super Saiyan. Before Frieza. Before the gods and galaxies, Goku fought the Red Ribbon Army with nothing but a Power Pole and a child’s innocence.
What makes this arc special isn’t just the fact that Goku beat them. It’s how he did it. Slowly. Methodically. One base at a time. General White, General Blue, Colonel Silver, every division, crushed by a boy who didn’t even realize he was doing something impossible.
The Red Ribbon Army wasn’t a small gang. They were a paramilitary organization with global reach, technology, weapons, and resources that rivaled entire nations. And Goku? He was just trying to find Dragon Balls.
By the time he reached their headquarters, he had already taken down entire battalions. When Commander Red finally confronted him, it wasn’t with bravado, it was with fear.
