It’s the second season of School Rumble and the story of delinquent Harima and his crush Tenma continues. Harima finishes his manga script and wants no one else to be the first person to read it than Tenma. But this turns out to be a harder task than expected since he also has to fight through a blizzard and hurry to hand his manuscript over to his editor. Will Tenma finally recognize his efforts and the feelings he has for her? This episode is a really fun continuation of the normal storyline. You still have the same cast fighting the same problems, but the Christmas setting makes it feel more special. You will root for Harima and just wonder how his story will turn out. This special deserves the first spot on our list with lots of laughs, craziness, romance and unspoken love confessions.

Next up is a special episode from an all-time favorite show, Chrono Crusade. For this episode, the main cast takes a break from hunting demonic powers and instead goes out to the streets and performs charity work. The three girls try their best to act according to the spirit of the season, but soon realize that one of them, Azmaria, has in fact never had a real Christmas. They spend her first Christmas together and celebrate the cheerful and charitable side of the season. The atmosphere of this episode is really heartwarming since it shows a different side of Christmas, without all the expensive presents and decorated shopping malls. Maybe it was because of the scene at a local orphanage, but somehow this episode really reminded me of the story of A Christmas Carol. This special definitely deserves a spot on this list.

Fans of school and Slice of Life stories are probably already familiar with the unique girls of Azumanga Daioh. In Episode 17 they get their very own Christmas adventure! The girls get in an argument over Santa Claus and whether he really exists. 10-year-old Chiyo insists that he is real and even goes as far as saying that he is her father. But the Christmas madness doesn’t stop there and the girls spend a crazy day together filled with presents, reindeers, Christmas trees and late-night karaoke. The strength of Azumanga Daioh is the fact that it stays down to earth and really revolves around what the main cast experiences in their everyday lives. This episode is no exception and tells the story of how the girls spend Christmas together. Fans of the anime should definitely rewatch this episode and everyone who is new to Azumanga Daioh should still be able to enjoy the cheerful and easygoing vibe of this special.

They hype over Hetalia might be over, but that doesn’t mean that you should completely forget about these international boys. In their Christmas special the main cast gets together to spend this special day together. Of course they are all their stereotypical selves, depicting exaggerated versions of their nationalities. This episode revolves all around how each boy spends Christmas and how they plan on enjoying their winter holidays. Hetalia has a unique concept and that’s what makes it so special. Each boy has his very own personality and when they all come together you can be sure there will be chaos, fights and lots of fun. This is definitely the case for this special episode which will bring you a little bit closer to the main cast. More importantly, you can actually learn something about Christmas traditions in different countries, so why not give it a try?

Let’s move on from comedy shows to a more serious story, with the second season of Shakugan no Shana. Episode 22 explores the romantic side of this anime. I don’t mean to spoiler the fun for those of you that didn’t get to enjoy this show yet, but let me just say that there will be love letters, confessions of feelings and an unexpected twist towards the end, all centered around the romantic setting of Christmas Eve. What makes this episode so special is the fact that it builds up towards the finale of the season. You can already see how the characters are drawn to each other and how everything will soon come to an end. Starting the final chapter of this show on Christmas Eve makes it even more special, so check Shakugan no Shana’s second season out if you haven’t already.

The three Minami sisters are not known to take a break and Christmas definitely isn’t an exception. Their Christmas adventure is mostly set at home and really shows the importance of spending this day together with your family and loved ones. Just like in Azumanga Daioh we have a girl who still believes in Santa Claus and a group of friends that enjoys themselves over a delicious Christmas dinner. Minami-ke really brought their show to a nice ending, since the final episode after this special is set on New Year’s Eve. Even though this show might be short with just 13 episodes, by the end of it you will feel connected to the characters; it is episodes like this Christmas special that make this possible. Nothing outstanding really happens, but you can really feel how the sisters care for each other and how much they enjoy spending Christmas together.

Who could resist the charming girls of K-On!, especially during this snowy winter tale? Most of the episode is told from the perspective of Ui, Yui’s little sister. She remembers how, many years ago, Yui tried to make a white Christmas happen with the help of pillow stuffing. Now, they main cast gets together to enjoy Christmas dinner together and exchange presents. This episode just tells a wonderful story of sisterly love. It is so touching to see how Yui and Ui help each other out and how much they mean to each other. By the end of the episode, as they finally get their white Christmas, you will be filled with all the holiday cheers and feels that are so special to this day.

At least as charming as the girls from K-On! is the main cast of Lucky☆Star. Care to find out how they spend the last days of their year? Trying to sum up everything that happens in this special is a hard task. Lucky Star episodes are a crazy mixture of lots of different events and conversations going on, all held together by the four friends. Their Christmas is shaped by studying for exams, comparing bust sizes, exchanging presents and talks about Christmas cakes and Santa Claus. Maybe it is the fact that this episode first aired in June instead of December that didn’t make it feel forced. It perfectly ties in with the rest of the show and feels like any other episode - with a little bit more holiday feelings and fun. A must-watch for fans of the show and viewers who like to see some innocent Christmas fun.

Those of you that have already watched Kimi ni Todoke will certainly remember their Christmas episode. Everyone else should definitely check it out. Sawako’s class is holding a Christmas party and even though she would love to join, she feels obligated to spend the day with her family. Instead, she makes Christmas presents for Chizuru and Ayane as well as - of course - Kazehaya. Just as she has given up on actually getting to spend the day with her friends, a small Christmas miracle happens. It’s hard to describe this episode as anything less than just heartwarming. It is a romantic Christmas story with a beautiful illuminated and snowy setting. Not only that, but we also see Sawako growing up and letting go of her parents. Just like some previous recommendations, this episode sets the beginning for a beautiful ending of the whole show.

Last but not least we have another Christmas story with the unlikely couple of Toradora!. The Christmas party is finally here and the main cast gets caught up in a love triangle. While Ryuuji tries to cheer up Taiga in a Bear Santa Claus costume he still has feelings for Minori. Taiga tries her best to support him, but soon has to realize that she doesn’t want him to leave her side. How will their story turn out? What made this episode so special to me is, again, the fact that it doesn’t feel forced. In fact, the previous two episodes already revolved around the preparations for the Christmas party and the storyline keeps moving forward steadily. Viewers will get more than just one Christmas episode that immediately leads back to the normal setting. Instead, you get to see how Ryuuji and Taiga spend their holidays together and how their love story finally takes a turn.

In a faraway future, mankind lives underground in huge caves, unknowing of a world above. Each day brings about the threat of an attack from the beastman, humanid henchman of the evil alien Spiral King, Lordgenome. Hope appears in the form of a group of misfits who one day hijack a bunch of giant mecha. So begins the journey of the newly formed Gurren Brigade as they launch an attack against Lordgenome for the fate of mankind. A high paced show where emotions run high and action comes in spades, it’s hard to imagine much fan service. Well, that’s the magic of Gainax! And somehow, they’ve even managed to fit in a beach episode. And what happens when you add cute girls in swimsuits and hentai boys? Epic and ever-funny multi-nosebleeds courtesy of the guys from the Gurren Brigade!

This is the story of our favourite orphan ninja from the Hidden Leaf village who, despite his seeming lack of talent, is the host of the nine-tailed fox and holds immense power. One of the biggest and most popular manga and anime series ever, the story follows his journey as he chases his dream of becoming the Hokage. There is no real need to explain Naruto’s best nosebleeds, as we all know his infamous sexy-no-jutsu and its many victims. Just in case, lets recap. The sexy-no-jutsu is a move that is aimed at defeating an opponent by nosebleed. The ninja transforms into a naked girl, making the opponent nosebleed so much that he can’t fight! Needless to say, the sheer length of the anime gives rise to more epic nosebleeds than you can count!

Our story is set in Death Weapon Meister Academy, a school run by Death himself. The school serves as a training facility for humans with the ability to transform into weapons, as well as the wielders of those weapons, called meisters. Soul Eater revolves around Maka & Soul Eater, Black Star & Tsubaki, and Death the Kid with Patty & Liz as they go about gathering the souls of evildoers and protect the world from evil. A wonderful story with bouts of well-placed comedy, the show starts off with one of the most unexpected nosebleed scenes. The main character, Soul, while on a mission unexpectedly ends up dropping in on a busty witch while she’s taking a bath. Blood, comedy, and fanservice ensues!

Manga author Yūki Aito is an incredibly perverted man whose main loves and desires is to draw panties. His assistant, Ashisu, is constantly put into awkward situations and is forced to cope with Aito's shenanigans. The story follows their daily work-life as they try to balance deadlines, fun, and panties! A light hearted show full of slapstick comedy and plenty of ecchi elements, nosebleeds are almost common place. Occurring in all forms and usually paired with Aito’s humorous one-liners, the running gag never gets old!

It takes place in the Demon District in Itogami City, a man-made island off the coast of Japan that has a freely mingling monster populace. The story follows the adventures of Kojou Akatsuki, a vampire in high school who is a bit reluctant to show his powers, and Yukina Himeragi, a teenage Sword Shaman apprentice who is sent to observe him. Kojou is suspected of being the Fourth Progenitor, a powerful vampire that could potentially disrupt the balance of power among the ruling three Progenitors. Throughout the show, Kojou befriends various other monsters, some of whom become a tad over attracted to him. Throw in some awkward ecchi situations, coupled with the fact that Kojou’s powers are primarily fueled by his sex-drive, and you can guess what will happen. In the words of a wise shiba doge: Much ecchi, very nosebleed.

Ryuuko Matoi is a vagrant schoolgirl traveling from place to place searching for clues to the truth behind her father's death and his killer, the "woman with the scissor blade." The journey leds Ryuuko to Honnouji Academy where the student body president, Satsuki Kiryuin, rules the students with unquestioned power and fear. Satsuki holds the secret to the "scissor blade", and Ryuuko will do anything to obtain it. The clash between the two soon consumes the whole academy, and reveals an even bigger plot, with darker powers at play! A brilliant work by trigger, the show pulls no punches. Great animation, an incredible script and wonderful characters, the show lives up to it’s hype! A key element of the show is it’s in-your-face fanservice. The shameless use of fanservice hence brings the shameless use of nosebleeds! Even Mako, Ryuuko’s best friend, isn’t immune to it!

Kanade Amakusa is a high school student who is suffering from a curse called "Absolute Choices." This curse requires him to select an action from a list of two or three options that appear before him at any time, and has no control over what choices appear. Many of them are weird or perverse and as a result, the curse has tainted his reputation everyone around him, making his life very difficult. However, one day, a choice he makes on his way home from school causes a mysterious, beautiful young girl to fall from the sky, changing his life forever. Despite being a classic harem anime full of cute girls, high school puppy love and awkward situations, Noucome’s comedy factor is exceedingly high. Slap stick humour drives much of the plot and no doubt, nosebleeds receive VIP treatment. They happen so often, ecchi situations don’t even need to be present!

Probably the most popular anime to ever be produced, our story follows Monkey D. Luffy, a 17-year-old boy that defies your standard definition of a pirate. Rather than the popular persona of a wicked heartless man who ransacks villages for fun, Luffy’s reason for being a pirate is one of pure wonder. Exciting adventures, meeting new and intriguing people, and finding the legendary treasure One Piece, are his reasons of becoming a pirate. Following in the footsteps of his childhood hero, the Pirate King Gol D Roger, Luffy and his crew travel across the Grand Line, experiencing crazy adventures, unveiling dark mysteries and battling strong enemies, all in order to reach One Piece. With a wide variety of characters and over 700 episodes, One Piece shows no signs of stopping. A great story balanced with well-timed comedic moments, it hosts one of the biggest nosebleeds of all time. After years of not seeing a single woman, Sanji, the cook of Luffy’s crew soon finds himself in a mermaid harem. Pressed against the bosoms of one of the oceanic beauties, his pent-up manliness bursts forth in a nosebleed fountain that is visible for miles.

The story is set in Fumizuki Academy, a school where the staff rigidly divides the students based on the results of their academic scores. The higher the grades, the higher the class, and the better the benefits and amenities. Students are allowed to battle each other with summoned beasts, in order to steal the benefits of other classes. The story centers around a boy named Akihisa Yoshii, who is in the worst class, and his classmates as they battle tests, love, friendship, in an all out war for school supremacy! A true comedy classic, the anime goes all out in the nosebleed gags. For the first time, characters actually need emergency blood transfusions! The pool episode no doubt brought about one of the biggest nosebleeds of the show, who knew two boys could bleed enough to fill half a pool with blood?

Set in a world where certain adolescents develop special abilities, Yuu Otosaka is a boy who just wants to be ordinary. When the enigmatic Nao Tomori catches Yuu using his power, she coerces him and his sister Ayumi into transferring to Hoshinoumi Academy, a school for students with supernatural abilities. The student council of the school, led by Nao, is tasked with secretly tracking down adolescents who abuse their powers. Yuu is forced to join the student council and together, they try to make the world safer for ability users. From the creator of the tear jerking Angel Beats and Clannad comes another heart wrenching work of art. The deepness of the story makes the comedic elements all the more appreciated. The most unexpected nosebleed of the series happens when the sister of the main character meets her idol. It’s surprising how even the girls aren’t spared from our favourite gag!

Mayo Chiki makes a lot of fun about one of the staples of the anime medium and especially comedies as a whole. That is the sudden occurrence of a male character getting a nosebleed when in contact with an attractive female. Mayo Chiki’s protagonist, Jiro, has the unfortunate condition of torrential nosebleeds and blackouts whenever he makes contact with a female, a condition that entices the most beautiful richest girl in the school, Suzutsuki, to attempt to cure him. While the central story involves gender misidentity with Suzutsuki’s cute butler Kanoe, Suzutsuki takes on the role of mischievous deviant, complete with Lolita style attire. One group excursion in an attempt to ‘treat’ poor Jiro’s condition sees them hang out at a local out door swimming pool. Cute Suzutsuki shocking the blood straight from the nose of Jiro by suddenly appearing in a very low cute and revealing black bikini, in stark contrast to her usual ruffles and high neck lines. This is both attention grabbing and surprising but also makes logical sense in terms of the narrative. By exposing Jiro to attractive girls in a natural and non threatening environment, they hope to cure him of his affliction and allow him to move onto a meaningful relationship with the reserved Kanoe.

Monster Musume is a raunchy comedy anime that makes no attempt to hold itself back with its wild Ecchi humour and minimal clothing for all characters involved, protagonist included. In the bizarrely unique situation of having to house a number of stunningly attractive female/monster hybrids as part of a cross species cultural exchange, ‘Darling’ kun, as he is often referred, eventually rescues a mermaid of royal heritage in her home world. It’s not long after this that a giant pool is installed in his home by the government secret agent in charge of the home-stay, as otherwise she is often confided to a wheelchair while on land. The mermaid’s attire is what you would typically expect from a sea dwelling half human, a bikini. While most of the female monster characters and even the male protagonist himself are often physically exposed to provide comedy and light titillation, her revealing outfit is the only one that makes logical sense from a storyline point of you. If she was to wear normal clothing, it would be a ludicrous situation, only providing comedy for the repeated wet t-shirt moments. This bikini makes the list because not only does she looks fantastic and fulfils many a fantasy, but it also actually makes logical sense in the confines of the over the top story.

The world of School Live! is one of stark contrasts, on first impressions a cutesy moe teen comedy complete with ditsy female character tropes, it is instead one of the best psychological zombie stories told in anime. This is typified by the character of Yuki, who due to psychological trauma caused by the zombie apocalypse and witnessing the deaths of many close friends, acts as if every day is a normal day at school. She attends classes and speaks to classmates as if they are still alive while maintaining an almost sickening level of positive and ‘genki’ attitude. There are many shocking and upsetting twists and turns in the story of School Live!, however sandwiched between them is episode 9, where the four girls decide they need a break form surviving and hit the custom made roof top pool and bare their bikini’s for all the non existent world to see. While this could feel very forced in to meet the anime bikini girl quota, this is actually a much needed break from the upsetting emotional trauma, both for the audience and the characters. At this point Yuki is becoming aware of her delusions and just how dire her situation is, however she encourages the other girls to enjoy themselves and just act like teenage girls for one of the last times. This carefree attitude to wanting to enjoy your adolescence encapsulates Yuki’s character and how her positive attitude is essential to the mental health of her comrades. Yuki splashing and having fun in her obviously cute bikini is a welcome reminder that these girls are only teenagers and how cruel it is that they don’t live in a world that lets them act that way anymore.

Nisekoi is a fantastic modern love story, complete with Yakuza families and great comedy. Nisekoi focuses on male protagonist Raku Ichijou the son of a Yakuza kingpin, his childhood best friend/sweetheart, Koaski Onodera, and Chitoge Kirisaki whom Raku is forced into having a pretend relationship with due to a gang dispute. What follows is a charming romantic comedy, as Raku and Chitoge can’t stand each other but have to keep up appearances, while all 3 of the characters battle with the mixed emotions of a love triangle. Onodera is a rather shy and demure character who has a genuine love for Raku, and also for her close friend Chitoge, something that makes watching their pretend relationship an obvious burden. Throughout the series she is conflicted as to whether or not their fake relationship is developing into something real. The bikini scenes are poignant in Nisekoi, as it certainly helps to serve as a reminder that while she may not be as immediately glamorous as Chitoge but damn does she look great in a bikini. It is important for Onodera to have these moments of confidence and to notice the effect that this has on Raku to remind her of his true feelings for her.

Amongst the likes of idol sensation, Rise, and refined Japanese beauty, Yukiko, Chie fills the role of at crude but loyal tomboy. Fiercely protective of her friends in particular the demure Yukiko, Chie is the first to join Yosuku and Yu’s investigation team and enter the TV world to rescue their friend. Chie hasn’t had many friends previously, instead taking on the roll of guardian to Yukiko and accepting this as her primary identity. Throughout the investigations teams growth and the social bonds they form, Chie changes, from an angry adolescent into a budding young women. This is epitomized when the investigation team complete with mascot teddy venture outside of the confines of Inaba and travel to the nearest beach. While the focus may likely be on the beautiful Yukiko and the sexy Rise, Chie’s character development and the surprise shown by the males that, ‘hey, Chie looks kinda awesome in a bikini too’ makes Chie one of the best anime bikini girls. Always having to be tough and having others really on you can be a burden, and to see Chie acting as any teenage girl should and looking perfectly cute while doing so makes her the most honest and appealing female character in the show. While choosing which girl to date in the exceptional video game port Persona 4 Golden was always tough between Yukiko and Chie, I always ended up falling for the kung fu princess!

Long have the rumours and sightings of the fabled headless rider circulated the corrupt streets of Ikebukuro. Little do the average populace now that it’s real and is in fact a female spirit of Irish descent whose head was stolen by a mysterious organisation. Celty is ghoulish female black rider, whose wispy spirit scythe brings justice to any gang members that dare get in the way of her daytime job as a private delivery agent. Celty’s struggle is in fact very grounded and human, she cannot communicate through speech, only through text messages on her smart phone and she lives in constant fear of someone experimenting on her head, essentially ending her life. She finds solace and comfort in her long time friend and later lover Shinra. One of the most surprising bikini scenes in anime, for a short period Celty is seen in an alluring little black number, complete with missing head and wispy smoke escaping from the empty neck. This is almost too much for Shinra, who can barely keep his hands to himself until she punishes him for being too much of a perv. This scene is very crucial in the development of Celty as a character, as it is the first time the viewer realises that she is in fact a women rather than a sheer monster. Despite the fact she is missing her head, she is incredibly sexy. While she obviously chides Shinra for his lustful behaviour, it is also apparent how much she enjoys being desired by the only man that she trusts and loves in the search for her missing head.

Umaru from the perspective of other high school students or local residents is the perfect adolescent girl, flowing golden locks, striking beauty, intelligent and courteous to everyone she meets. However this façade is dropped the instant she returns home to her humble apartment shared with her older brother. Umaru morphs into a chibi version of herself complete with childlike tantrums, slovenly behaviour, and a love for all things otaku. While a constant strain on her brother, Umaru’s feeling that she must hide her true geek self from the rest of the world is one that can probably resonate with many viewers in particular female’s who are often judged more harshly for displaying such tastes. Towards the end of the season, Umaru has unwittingly formed a number of lasting friendships with other slightly odd ball classmates and has even let her mirage drop on occasion before quickly reverting back to her pristine well mannered persona. The trip to Enoshima Island close to Yokohama and Tokyo is a heart warming one, being the first time she has been on a trip to the beach with friends. Umaru of course looks impeccable in a bikini but to see her having natural fun with her friends without having to put up any barriers is perhaps even more appealing and attractive. The episode feels like a natural evolution of her character and a necessary plot point contributing to one of the summers best comedy/slice of life anime.

Asuna Yuuki is the famous captain of the Knights of the Blood Oath and one of the players responsible for defeating Akihiko Kayaba and releasing the other trapped players out into the real world and away from this death game. Asuna is also the primary love interest and person of support to series protagonist Kirito. If this sounds like a lot of responsibility then your right it certainly is, without taking into account her overbearing family life in Kyoto where she has little freedom to make her own life choices. Arranged marriage, schools, how she is to dress and style herself. All these things are decided for by her mother in a misguided attempt to give her a better life. This makes Asuna donning her exceptionally cute bikini in the virtual world of ALfheim Online all the more poignant. This is the only place in which she is free to be herself and relax with her friends she trusts and with the man that she loves, Kirito. Her mother would surely forbid her to reveal this much of herself in front of others in the real world, instead insisting she dress demurely and sophisticated so as not to embarrass the family. While SAO is certainly guilty of fan service to a degree, how happy and carefree Asuna appears during these scenes make her entirely more humans and also infinitely more attractive.

Haruhi Suzumiya is far from your average high school girl, something that becomes very apparent when Kyon discovers that the other members of the paranormal investigation club are all other worldly entities trying to monitor the girl who can alter the course of man kind. This in essence gives Haruhi the powers of a god, but she is entirely unaware of this, instead feeling constantly bored by a life that she feels is simply too normal. Perhaps it’s her obsession with the paranormal and wanting to meet aliens that has drawn them all near to her. In any case, Haruhi is incredibly passionate, bossy and downright crazy at times, with none of the care for her contemporaries’ opinions on her. The combination of attributes makes Haruhi one of the most intriguing and appealing anime girls in existence. During their summer vacation, Haruhi is so determined that the group will have fun and make the most of their time that an infinite time loop is created from her sheer will power alone. This means they live the same summer break, all be it from different camera angles and with differing conversations, repeatedly over a 9 episode ark. This is an unthinkable idea for any anime to attempt, but Haruhi pulls it off and looks splendid in her bikini throughout the pool side summer break. The fact that through her own intense desire they relive this pool scene up to 9 times throughout the series plus the fact that Haruhi is one of the most oddly attractive and unique girls in anime places her on this list.

Nami is the third member to officially join Luffy’s straw hat pirate’s crew after he aids Nami in her long term struggle with the leader of the fish men Arlong. Nami is an expert map reader and navigation specialist with a dream to map all of the seas beyond the grand line. Nami is a borderline kleptomaniac with a habit for stealing and betraying her friends. However, once she understands how far Luffy will go for his friends, Nami becomes a loyal and trustworthy ally. While rarely involved in combat early on in the series, Usopp eventually creates her famous weather rod so she can help her friends in battle without the need for any devil fruit powers. Nami’s design has undergone a number of changes throughout both the manga and anime series more than 10 year run. While she may have developed substantially in the chest measurement department since the first story arc, one thing remains constant and that is in wearing a bikini top as her primary costume. This is important for two reasons, firstly as it displays Nami’s unabashed confidence in herself, despite being embroiled in conflicts between a largely male pirate cast. So is it a little exploitative to have one of the primary female protagonists wear a bikini for the best part of 700+ episodes? Of course not, she spends her whole life on the high seas and visiting tropical paradises, wouldn’t you spend a lot of time in a swimsuit too?

The lead male character Aoki Daisuke brought the girls Kokonoe Rin, Usa Mimi, Kagami Kuro, fellow teacher and also love interest, Houin Kyouko, to the countryside to visit Aoki’s family. There, Kyouko meets Daisuke’s younger sister Chika and their mother. Kyouko has an ulterior motive: She is taking this chance to make a good impression that she makes a good wife to Daisuke. After a few rounds of beers with Chika, the two girls got drunk and ended up sleeping in Daisuke’s futon. When Kyouko opened her eyes a bit, she saw Chika sleeping and like any person influenced by alcohol, she mistook Chika as Daisuke and proceeded to have her way with the (un)fortunate country girl. This scene only lasted around 40-ish seconds, but it’s more than enough to see some great yuri in action. Did drunk Kyouko and Chika go all the way? Who knows, but after seeing Chika’s reaction the morning later, I guess they did. “Those metro girls really are freaky!”

It’s summer break for Illyasviel von Einzbern aka “Illya and the gang”, so they’re off to buy the most essential thing for summer break: swimsuits! As the girls browsed around the mall for something cute to wear, Kuro is getting weaker and weaker. Kuro took off with Illya to a secluded place to initiate an emergency mana transfer. Chloe von Einzbern aka “Kuro”, needs constant mana to survive and she needs to ‘extract’ mana from other people through kissing or body contact. We’ve seen many scenes of Kuro extracting mana through French kissing many times in the series, but what makes this particular scene special is that it’s funny and one of their friends is spying on them… and she got aroused too. The first part is Kuro is asking Illya to begin in a rather meek, submissive tone, Illya noticed the mood, and then made the mistake of, say, not using the right words. Illya then argued that mana transferring doesn’t need to be done through kissing, and that it can be done through other means. Kuro whispered the other “means” of transfer and Illya turned instantly red. Not sure what Kuro whispered, but I can guess the method involves two pairs of scissors, or petting the cat, or eating tacos… Don’t ask. In the end, the two both engaged in the usual mana transfer with their bewildered friend watching them from afar.

Yoshikawa Chinatsu is madly in love with her prince-charming-senpai, Funami Yui, and she wants to know more about her. Akaza Akari, Yui’s childhood friend, agreed to help her out. Chinatsu invites Akari to her place during the summer break and spend the day learning everything about Yui. After a series of questions like “who Yui likes, etc.”, Akari asked the question of what Chinatsu wants to do with Yui!? Chinatsu answered, she wants to kiss her and do some rather sexual things to her. Akari, the always concerned friend, followed up with the question that kissing is embarrassing. This led Chinatsu suggesting she needs to practice kissing and… Akari is the only girl around. You may find the whole Chinatsu chasing Akari around the house, grabbing her, pinning her to the floor and forced Akari to touch lips rather offensive, but don’t be. Chinatsu is just a curious girl in love and she’s too young to realize what she did was wrong. Plus the anime handled the scene in a funny way. You’re one sour grape if you don’t see the humor behind it.

Instead of going home after a hectic Christmas party at Dekomori Sanae’s house, Togashi Yuuta and Takanashi Rikka went on a scenic cruise in the sea. Yuuta planned this so that he develop his budding relationship with Rikka. Unfortunately, something ruined the mood. Little do they know, Dekomori Sanae, Nibutani Shinka, Tsuyuri Kumin and Isshiki Makoto were tailing them all along. Dekomori, being very close to Rikka, saw the entire thing, got jealous and attacks Yuuta, pleading for him to return Rikka to her. Shinka tried to stop Dekomori, but both of them, Yuuta and Rikka slipped. As Yuuta stops Rikka from falling, their lips come close, the screen goes black and we hear a “chuu” sound. As they come about, the two lovebirds didn’t kiss, but where did the sound come from? As they turned around, they saw Shinka and Dekomori touching lips. This scene happened in an instant but it was very unexpected, and quite frankly, it hyped a lot of people for the second season of the anime. Dekomori is hostile towards Shinka because she believes that Shinka is not the Mori Summer she used to admire, and throughout the series Dekomori wastes no time in making Shinka’s school life a living hell. This kind of love-hate relationship between the two is so palpable, it was only a matter of time for this to happen. And when it happened, it was glorious. Plus it was their first kiss.

Their cover was blown. Takayama Haruka and Sonoda Yuu were kissing in the hallway and Yuu’s big sister and student council president Sonoda Mitsuki saw the entire thing. Ever since Mitsuki is keeping an eye out for Yuu and our heroine Haruka can longer have her daily kissing with Yuu. To make matters worse, Mitsuki assigned Ikeno Kaede, one of Haruka’s friends, to monitor Yuu and report any unfavorable acts by Haruka. During a dancing lesson, Haruka took this chance to pair up with Haruka, and like a skilled dance professional, Haruka steals a few kisses while at certain angles where the spying eyes of Kaede can’t see. If you’ve seen Sakura Trick, the anime has LOTS of kissing, but this scene is special because it’s not the usual kissing sessions we see. Haruka was so determined to touch lips with Yuu again, that it’s amazing no one saw them, including Kaede.

Asogi Rin is working on a case of grisly murders that are happening throughout the city. Rin knows that the perpetrator is not human and after her leads went cold, she approaches an informant she knew years ago. The informant has the info Rin wants, but she won’t give it easily for such information comes with a high price: sex. This scene came out of nowhere and it’s amusing to see both sides winning. Normally these types of informants ask for a stupid amount of money for their own benefits, and it’s nice to see a different and, uh, “fair” take of it. The scene ends with the informant asking for round 2 by inserting a small vial containing the info in her privates, and Rin has to extract it by means of, uh, you know...

It’s Christmas and Kasugano Urara’s birthday is just around the corner and the entire gang of the Survival Game club are hatching up a plan to give the birthday girl a surprise party. Sonokawa Momoka, Goutokuji Kayo, Kyoudou Maya and their eccentric club leader, Ootori Miou, are working together to give Urara a birthday party she’ll never forget. Unsurprisingly, things didn’t go too well and the preparations end up ruined with a wild bear running loose in the city. Don’t ask. Fortunately, they found the best replacement and when Urara showed up, she is happy that everyone remembers her birthday and the gift she received is the best one yet. What is this gift? It’s a gift-wrapped Momoka, of course! Urara has the hots for Momoka and she’s the resident pervert and masochist that finds ways to molest Momoka, or encourage Momoka to punch her. What’s so great about this episode is it’s the final episode and it ends with Urara taking home the gift-wrapped Momoka and, well, it’s up to one’s imagination what’s going to happen.

Himemiya Chikane and Kurusugawa Himeko are destined to be the Moon and Sun priestesses that will battle the Orochi to save the world from destruction. However, there’s part of the legend that the world forgot: the fated priestesses must battle each other to the death. Chikane is in love with Himeko but she doesn’t have the courage to express her love. Every passing episode, Himeko is slowly moving away from Chikane because of Oogami Souma, a childhood friend and protector, shows up every time to protect Himeko from danger. Relationship between the two grew and Chikane, unable to protect Himeko with her own hands, is slowly sinking into despair, and eventually abandoning her humanity and became a part of the Orochi like what the prophecies foretold. Driven by lust and despair, and perhaps an act of love, Chikane revealed herself to Himeko as the Orochi and sexually assaulted her. The "taking advantage"(rape), scene is a turning point for the plot and the real battle against the Orochi began.

The story of YamiBou is all about a group of book travellers or travellers of alternate worlds looking for the elusive girl named Eve. This girl Eve travels through different books or world in the Great Library and live within them and then move on to the next world after she turned 16. Hazuki met Hatsumi as a child and ever since they’re living together ever since. Hazuki developed sexual feelings towards Hatsumi and when Hatsumi turned 16, she moved on to the next world. Through the teleportation sequence, Hazuki gained some of Hatsumi’s power, met a book traveller and the entire series is about Hazuki jumping around worlds looking for Hatsumi. Eventually Hazuki found Hatsumi and expressed her love and Hatsumi accepted it. The scene takes place back at her home, right before Hatsumi teleports to another world. It is one of the most detailed and romantic kissing scene in recent memory and I still recall as I yelped “You finally found her, Hazuki!” The ending of the anime is hard to like because it, I dunno, added more implications and turned Hazuki’s love into maternal love. But still, the final kissing scene is one of the best out there.

After Madoka sacrificed herself by the end of the TV series, she attained godhood and “fixed” everything. However it came with a price: Madoka’s existence ceased to exist in the world. No one in her class remembers her, and her parents didn’t even conceive her. No one remembers, except for Homura. Madoka is there, but she’s on a different plane of existence that no one can reach her. Throughout the movie, Homura soon discovered that she’s turning into a witch because of all the pain and suffering she had experienced, and Kyubey used Homura in an experiment by trapping everyone in an illusion as an attempt to reach and control the now god Madoka. After Homura broke free from Kyubey’s illusion, Madoka descends from the heavens to take away Homura for she’s now a witch. In a twist of fate, Homura turned herself into something more than a witch, takes Madoka out of being a god, and rewrote the entire universe, removing the need for Madoka thus rendering her sacrifice useless, and gave everyone new memories so that no one remembers what Homura did... except for Sayaka for some reason. By the end of the movie, Madoka, Homura, Sayaka, Kyoko, Mami and everyone else now live in a peaceful life. Homura is in love with Madoka to the point of obsession, and did everything by becoming a demon just to get Madoka back in her arms. Homura is the devil and Madoka the god, both are equalizers of a new universe. This kind of obsession and desire to be with the girl she loves makes this our number 1 yuri scene on the list. Homura said it well: “It is the pinnacle of all human emotion. More passionate than hope, far deeper than despair. Love.” Oh and this makes Akemi Homura the gayest girl in the known universe.

I’d say that Kaiji is one big baby and a whiner, but then he does know how to get himself into deep trouble, and it’s not really like he’s crying for stupid things. Kaiji is such a deadbeat that he keeps accumulating debts and owing lots of money to the wrong people. His only way out of this world of debts is gambling, which of course only gets him into more trouble. As a result, we often see him crying in the middle of a gambling venture while hearing the unsettling “zawa zawa” on the background. His greatest and most pathetic cry was when he was about to lose his money and his freedom to the giant pachinko machine, the Bog. I would’ve cried my face off too in that situation.

Murasakibara is that huge and intimidating guy who looks so strong and fearless that we just can’t picture him crying. I mean, that kid is a monster, he’s permanently serious, he never laughs or smiles, and he doesn’t seem to care about anything at all other than winning (and candy). He even claims to hate basketball. Of course, however tough he may seem, we get the feeling early on that he doesn’t really hate basketball. In fact, at the end of the Yosen vs Seirin match, Murasakibara gets in the zone, which only the most passionate and talented players could achieve. After losing, this tough 6’10’’ giant lets out a big sob, letting everyone know how important basketball actually was to him.

The 3rd episode on SAO is kind of a filler, but a very powerful one. Kirito meets Sachi and the rest of the Moonlit Black Cats. He develops certain feelings for her, but not for long. The group falls into a trap and Sachi and the rest get killed in front of Kirito. As a good hero, Kirito blames himself for her death even after months have passed. On Christmas Eve however, he gets a message from Sachi telling him her death was inevitable, thus releasing him from his guilt. This is a really touching scene where Kirito just can’t help to break down to tears, as anyone else would.

That scene where the Black Prince loses Shirley has to be one of the most tragic and saddest scenes in anime ever. It just feels so real, Shirley’s trying to say goodbye and how much she loves him, while he’s totally freaking out and ordering her not to die. Yeah, like you could do that. I just love this scene. I find it very powerful and realistic. That is how someone should react to the death of a beloved one; being hysterical, irrational and bursting into uncontrollable tears.

After quitting basketball, Hisashi Mitsui became that problem kid who just loved getting into fights. When he messed with Shohoku’s basketball team though, he wasn’t expecting to end up crying like a little girl. It turns out that Professor Ansai was very dear to Mitsui. So much in fact, that meeting him at Shohoku’s gym made Mitsui realize the kind of scoundrel he had become. After taking a beating from Shohoku’s freshmen, he begged Professor Ansai for a chance to play on the team. He did it while on his knees, with a sea of tears and blood pouring out of his face.

Every once in a while we get to see something quite rare and unexpected on Naruto, and that is Naruto crying. As the brave ninja warrior he is, he’s not prone to show his soft side this way. However, he’s so noble he can’t help to react in this way whenever he fails to save someone. Sasuke and Gaara’s deaths had huge impacts on Naruto. The scene where he cries after Gaara’s death is so powerful. His crying is probably the manliest one I’ve ever seen. Yes, even though his tears shine like pretty diamonds.

We all know Clannad as that damn show that makes you cry your freaking eyes out. It seems as if the sole purpose of this show is to make you miserable. It’s full of really touching moments that will make you want to lock yourself in your room to cry for days. One of the most heartbreaking scenes to me is the one where Okazaki tells Ushio about Nagisa on the train. As he starts reminiscing, tears stream from his eyes. Before we realize, Ushio follows him and then suddenly everyone (including you) is crying uncontrollably.

Everyone who’s watched FMAB knows the terrible things that happen on the fourth episode. Nobody expected such atrocity to happen, so we understand just how heartbroken the Elric brothers are on the following episode. There, we can see Edward sitting on some stairs while sulking and crying his heart out under a heavy rain, which fits the mood just fine. I find this moment very powerful and special because it’s the first time we get to know the more human and sensitive side of the main character, who finds himself completely powerless.

We all know Yuki is a sissy and a crybaby above all. The only thing he’s not afraid of is admitting how much of a coward he is. He’s probably cried more times than any other male protagonist in the history of anime. But there’s one crying scene in particular that I find as unique and original as creepy. I’m talking about that scene in which he kills his own friends while crying. Yuki is so consumed by Yuno’s insanity that he goes after N°8 and he won’t even let his closest friends stop him. He shoots them down one by one as they get in his way, while crying like the big baby he is. A big psychopathic baby with a gun.

The last episode of Tokyo Ghoul √A was full of action and powerful emotions. Few scenes made me cry as much as Kaneki and Hide’s reunion at Anteiku in the middle of the raid. It was beautiful to see them reunited even if for a minute before the place was engulfed in flames. Kaneki ends up crying over his agonizing friend. Before passing out, Hide tells Kaneki: “let’s go home”, which hits us right in the feels, since we don’t really think he’s going to make it. To make it even more dramatic, Kaneki’s tears coming from his ghoul eye are red as blood. Now that’s one cool cry.

Facepalms aren't unknown to Tom Tanaka. Being friends with Shizuo Heiwajima, the poor guy has it tough. You just cannot be friends with Shizuo Heiwajima and feel safe about him not throwing something against someone whenever he is angry. Oh, but well, let's not forget that Shizuo Heiwajima is basically always angry! That's how, one day, our poor Tom Tanaka, ended up once again in a scuffle. Oh, but he saw it coming from afar! That's why, even before realizing what the ruckus was about, he was already facepalming in exasperation. He knows very well that where there's chaos around Ikebukuro, there's Shizuo Heiwajima sending everything flying! Congratulations Tom Tanaka, your facepalms were not in vain! The 10th position is all yours!

Sometimes, the workplace is where your closest colleague is somehow the dumbest person you have ever known. This person is someone who manages to annoy you by simply breathing. That's how Barnaby Brooks Jr. , alias “Bunny”, must have felt all the time, being paired up with Kotetsu T. Kaburagi! Even though we pity the sparkling and popular Bunny, we can sympathize with the clumsy, trying-to-act-cool Kotetsu very well too! Ok, he is dumb, but at least he tries, and seeing how this hits Bunny's nerves it is amusing. After Bunny signed an autograph for a woman with a baby and the woman dropped the pen on the floor, our keen Kotetsu tries to play the gentleman card, by picking up the pen for her. What could go wrong in doing something so simple? Kotetsu always knows how to make it worse! The pen ends up crushed by a car on the main road, all what's left to do for our speechless Bunny is to facepalm! Just smile now, Bunny, this facepalm guaranteed you the 9th position in this list!

What about master-servant relationships? Ciel Phantomhive has the best butler in the world serving him: Sebastian Michaelis. Still, you all know that every relationship has highs and lows. Their relationship, in particular, is worsened by the hot-tempered master Ciel who is too demanding, despite Sebastian's impeccable attitude! Sebastian is a devil. He is tricky, dangerous and wicked, but did you know? Even the devils have some weak points! Our devilish butler's weak point are kitties. Whenever he sees one, he just has to touch it. In the middle of an investigation, Sebastian leaves his position as a butler just to follow a group of kitties passing by, Ciel is dumbfounded. Facepalm is the only answer! Come on, Ciel. Just relax a bit, you're only twelve! The 8th position is yours!

Girls can be a tease sometimes and Shirou Emiya knows it very well! That's why when Rin Toosaka crashes his home at lunch time, he begins to see trouble. Obviously, the honest and kind Shirou cannot just say no to the beautiful girl, but still tries to act all serious, and after lunch he gently pushes for her to go home. Supported by the unaware Saber, the cunning Rin insists to stay for dinner and, possibly, for the night. Can our Shirou stand her presence for that long time? When push comes to shove, Rin just starts messing around with Shirou, asking why he is so tense and why he reacts so timidly in front of her. Shirou tries to explain, but Rin pushes even further. At a loss of words, lacking the ability to lie at all, what's left to do for the vulnerable Shirou? Facepalm, of course! You can relax now, Shirou Emiya! The 7th position is yours!

“Prince” Yuki Souma bumps into his older brother, Ayame, while he is bragging about his new wonderful shop with the cute Tooru Honda. The usually silent and apparently impassive Yuki dares to say that he would like to go and see. Having Yuki state that single sentence, Ayame bursts into happiness and starts telling all the other tenants what just happened. If not for Yuki, we could facepalm at the total idiocy of Ayame. Soon after, Yuki hears from Tooru that the shop sells clothes for maids, nurses and stewardesses, and that's how poor Yuki begins to understand his mistake in showing enthusiasm about something relating to his big brother! Sunday morning brings Yuki and Tooru in front of Ayame's shop. It takes just a look for Yuki to understand what an ambiguous shop that could be! And it's a facepalm for him, a valid one we would add, because right after they enter the shop, Yuki discovers what that shop really is: a clothes' shop for boys' fetish! Resist, Yuki! We feel you, and that's why our 6th position is yours!

Life is hard when you have a hot-tempered character, but have to constantly deal with the likes of Takeshi Yamamoto and Ryouhei Sasagawa! Gokudera Hayato, in the name of the admiration held toward Tsunayoshi Sawada, tries his best everyday! In high school, right before a battle he is always forced to do the “Vongola Fight!” circle. Everybody knows that Tsuna is Gokudera's weak point, that's how they manage to coerce the unwilling Gokudera into doing what they want. Sadly, the situation won't change even in the future! His future self has to deal with Yamamoto, and the others, and their stupid ideas like always. That's why, when he found himself yet again doing the “Vongola Fight!” circle, he just facepalms at his own stupidity! Gokudera, your facepalm was worth the 5th position in this rank!

Can you guess what happens when you are a self-confident idol who ends up in a little high school full of fawning girls? Besides that, can you imagine what happens when there's only a single girl who doesn't blush at your view? Well, Shinjirou Kurama is an idol accustomed to being flattered. He finds himself caught in a very difficult situation meeting the sweet yet strong-willed Nanami Momozono. A situation he has never experienced so far; being treated indifferently and coldly! Can you believe it? Well, he just can't! How can Nanami not blush in front of him? How can she see his true character? He is shocked enough to facepalm! And what about us? We are shocked enough at his idiocy, that we facepalm to his facepalm! Kurama, will you facepalm at your 4th position?

When your girlfriend is taller than you, and has the potential to be a beauty too, it can happen that she is asked to be a top model for one day! Anyway, if you're Risa Koizumi and your boyfriend is Atsushi Otani, things get complicated! The day Risa Koizumi has to do the photoshoot, starts with her feelings as tense as a violin chord. When she has make-up artists get her prepared, she can't even relax her face. And when she's on set, well, anything happens! She starts to move like a robot, nervous enough to tremble! Otani can't believe what he sees. The situation worsens when the photographer asks her to smile, because she smiles in a way that scares everyone! That sight is too much for Otani to stand, because he ends up facepalming! While we understand and give you the 3rd position as a gift, Otani, we must admit we find Risa just too funny!

Did you know that even facepalms have their own power-ups? You didn't? Well, we can prove that! Facepalm's power-up is named “facewall”. Ah, what a difficult person Hiroki Kamijou is! He is always so grumpy on the outside, always pretending, always acting strong and unconcerned! Perfectly knowing his true character, Nowaki Kusama, his boyfriend, is so sweet and honest, struggles and yet manages to tame him. One night, Hiroki just decides to put aside all those facades and be sincere for once. And can you believe what happens? He states to his Nowaki “I like you!”. Well, nothing abnormal to say to your boyfriend, right? And yet, Hiroki mumbles those simple words and starts to get flustered all by himself, and what next? He ends up facewalling! What a change of character for our needy Hiroki! Anyway, Nowaki loves him and is gentle enough not to facepalm to his boyfriend's miserable attitude. But since we are not as kind, a facepalm is what you deserve, Hiroki! As a gift, the 2nd position is yours!

The little and cute Luna deserves our 1st position! When you're a cat, and have to make a girl like Usagi Tsukino know how to behave and how to fight, your life can become really messy! Luna manages very well, but you know, interacting with a whiny, spoiled, idiotic girl is a tough life. Probably the only smart girl in the group is Rei Hino. In fact, she is the first one and only stating the obvious when, after some circumstances, she wakes up and sees Sailor Moon in the middle of a battle: “You are... Usagi?” Let's clap our hands, maybe you stated the obvious, but still you said out loud what no one ever could. Same hair colour, same voice, same stupidity: congratulations, Rei Hino, Sailor Moon is exactly Usagi! What about Sailor Moon's reaction? Well, it's Usagi we're talking about. She dares to strongly deny it! That's when little Luna facepalms. The most righteous facepalm. We feel you, Luna! (Rei just notices it because Sailor Moon remains in the same costume along with the same face, same stupidity, and the same hair! Luna probably facepalms because there is no time to deny it. Especially since Rei will be the next sailor warrior!

The story starts with our protagonist Fuu working in a tea shop and then is abused by a band of samurai. She is saved by a rogue named Mugen and the vagabond Jin and after the two met, all hell breaks lose. After they were caught, Fuu rescues them and in return for her deed, Fuu asks them to travel with her to find "the samurai who smells of sunflowers." You’ll know the anime will have very good fight scenes in the next few episodes once you see the very first one. Mugen uses a mix of unorthodoxed style of sword fighting with breakdancing using his feet and erratic movements while Jin is uses the more traditional sword arts and use calculated strikes. The fight only lasted a few seconds, but it’s enough to convince you that Samurai Champloo will be a great show to watch.

Uchiha Sasuke, bearing the cursed seal, leaves Konoha to search for Orochimaru. Hot on his tail is none other than Uzumaki Naruto, determined to bring him back even if he needs breaks Sasuke’s body. This one of the few episodes in the Naruto series with its notable fluid animation and well-choreographed fight, but what makes this special is this is first time the two went all out. Naruto harnessed the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox that proved and Sasuke responded by fully unlocking the Sharingan and utilized the power of the cursed seal given to him by Orochimaru. The fight isn’t all about which one is the most powerful, but rather the fight is all about the bond the two made during their time training, fighting, and goofing around. Naruto wants Sasuke back and the only way through it is by force. Sasuke said it was to late and he can’t go back, but finally he acknowledged Naruto as an equal.

Harima Kenji is madly in love with Tsukamoto Tenma, but he doesn’t have the courage to confess. Like the clumsy oaf that he is, his actions have led to many misunderstandings like Tenma is convinced Harima is dating her little sister Tsukamoto Yakumo. To makes matters worse, Hanai Haruki - who has a crush on Yakumo - overheard she is dating Harima. This led the two into bad terms with each other. Harima wants to clear this misunderstanding and Hanai wants to be sure Yakumo is truly dating Harima. They need to fix this and find answers fast. Enter the school festival. The entire class of 2-C are having trouble deciding on what activity to use in the festival. Half of the class wants a maid cafe while the other half prefers to stage a play. On a deadlock, the class decided to settle it by duking it out in a survival game. The class is divided into two teams and whoever wins the battle will get to pick what activity to use in the festival. School Rumble loves parody and the survival game is arguably the best with its gloomy atmosphere and violence. Harima and Hanai are on separate teams and like any other epic drama, they’re the only ones left standing and they fight it out on the rooftop with one of the best gun kata battles in a slice of life show. Will Hanai find the answer he’s looking for? He has to defeat Harima first.

Hueco Mundo Arc, Kurosaki Ichigo and the gang is on a rescue mission to save their friend Orihime Inoue from the clutches of Shinigami traitor Sousuke Aizen and his elite band of hollows called the Espada. Around mid-way into the story arc, Ichigo and the gang are getting overpowered by the Espada. All seems lost but in an unexpected twist, the 13 Division Imperial Guards of Soul Society intervened to aide the exhausted gang. Ichigo escaped death after getting rescued by Zaraki Kenpachi, the most deadly shinigami in the 13 Division. As Ichigo recuperates, Kenpachi sets his sights and clash swords with Nnoitra Gilga, one of the Espada. A lot of people will say the fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow or the fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra are well-made and they’re right, they’re very great. However, the best one in the arc goes to Kenpachi and his fight with Nnoitra mainly because this is the first time Kenpachi let loose. Nnoitra is a formidable enemy that managed to injure a shinigami known to absorb any kind of attack like it was nothing. In the end, Kenpachi emerged victorious simply by recalling basic training, and as you know, Kenpachi isn’t really the type who follows sword discipline. If you’ve been watching Bleach long enough, Kenpachi wasn’t given the time to show off his true power. Either he got lost finding where the action is or is conveniently imprisoned because if he’s around, the entire conflict would have ended in just a few minutes. He’s that powerful. This battle finally showed what he’s capable of and while the animation weren’t that good, the fight showed us what Kenpachi is truly capable of.

Makunouchi Ippo’s passion for the boxing sport is unrivaled and he won title after title through sheer work and determination. So when he sees a fellow boxer mocking the sport, and injuring those he love, Ippo can’t just idly stand by and must answer back through his fists. The man in question is Sawamura Ryuuhei, a boxer who specializes in counter attacks. He is a deranged thug with a bad upbringing. He doesn’t respect the sport and he relentlessly destroys his opponents through foul play to the point he ends the careers of any boxer he faces. He’s not in it for the sport, he’s in it to satisfy his bloodlust. Ippo’s worst type of opponent are the counter punchers, and it’s one of the reason why his coach Kamogawa Genji indirectly refuses Ippo to fight long time rival Miyata Ichirou. Ippo’s signature finishing move the Dempsey Roll can be countered easily and a counter under such momentum of the move will greatly damage Ippo. Sawamura knows this and Ippo knows this. In the fight, Sawamura underestimated Ippo by shooting cheap shots and using dirty tactics, but as soon as Sawamura realizes the champion’s firepower and rhythm down, he changes mood and fighting stance to take Ippo seriously. Ippo then realized that outside from the dirty tactics, Sawamura is a formidable opponent with lightning-fast fists. The only way to defeat Sawamura is use the Dempsey Roll, but Sawamura is aware of this and he’s ready to deliver a deadly counter punch. Ippo must evolve the Dempsey Roll if he wants to win this fight.

Team Shohoku, for the first time, joins the Inter High Tournament where schools around Japan compete for the championships. When the rest of the team went to training before joining the Inter High Tournament, Shohoku coach Anzai Mitsuyoshi asked basketball “genius” Sakuragi Hanamichi to remain for a special training. Coach Anzai explained that this training will improve Hanamichi like never before. Before they head out to the shinkansen (high speed bullet train), district rivals Shoyo and Ryonan arrived at the Shohoku gym for a farewell. What happened instead is they propose a final practice match between district qualifier Shohoku and the combined might of team Shoyo-Ryonan. If they win this practice match, then Shohoku is truly worthy as contenders in the Inter High, and if they fail, they will not succeed in attaining championship. Shoyo-Ryonan, with ace player Akira Sendou is the most formidable team Shohoku has ever faced. The match is fierce and difficult with Shohoku losing. Even Shohoku’s ace Kaede Rukawa is having trouble with Sendou on his back. All seems lost, but Shoyo-Ryonan failed to realize that Hanamichi has a trick up his sleeve. This is a great last battle between Shohoku and rivals Shoyo and Ryonan. The rival teams are giving it all and show Shohoku that the Inter High is a whole new level they have yet to realize. If Shohoku loses, they might as well give up. From a simple practice match to a grueling initiation right Shohoku must overcome.

Lordgenome, the ruler of the beastmen and dictator of the Earth’s surface was finally defeated all thanks to the efforts of Simon Jiha with his mech called the Gurren Lagann, Lordgenome’s own daughter Nia Teppelin and the Team Dai-Gurren. Before the ruler of the beastmen takes his last breath, he warned Simon that a far greater evil will arrive once man reaches to the skies. A few years later, humans finally populated the planet, co-existed with the beastmen and relative peace has attained. Simon has grown into a fine young man and confessed his feelings to Nia and the rest of the Dai-Gurren had moved on with their lives. One of the team members Rossiu Adai sent a space probe to the moon, an unknown power had appeared and laid waste on the capital city. Nia was suddenly transformed and became the messenger of the Anti-Spirals. It is then revealed that the Anti-Spirals are controlling the very universe by limiting Spiral energy, an energy source that beings like humans are capable of using. The Anti-Spirals took Nia and it’s up to Simon and Team Dai-Gurren to save not only Nia, but also the entire universe. After a series of hard fought battles and a sacrifice of a close friend, Simon and the entire team attained near omnipotence thanks to Simon’s innate ability to produce huge amounts of Spiral energy. Simon and Team Dai-Gurren combined all of their spiral energy to form Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, a galaxy-sized mech to fight against the Granzeboma, the Anti-Spiral’s menacing mech of equal size. Not only the fight is arguably the biggest in anime history (I mean, two galaxy-sized mechs fighting on top of galaxies), it’s also a battle for beliefs. It’s easy to paint the Anti-Spirals as the bad guy, but in fact, they sacrificed their very being and devoid themselves of evolution because they believe that Spiral energy will ultimately bring the end of the universe. On the other hand, Simon believed that Spiral energy can be used for good and will not bring about the end of everything when they’re in the hands of the right people. It is also one of the most intense battles in recent memory that is guaranteed to get your adrenaline pumping. If you never had any manly tears in your life, then Gurren Lagann will make you.

After the relentless attack of the Zaibach Empire, the Duke of Freid died in combat, and the kingdom fell. Hitomi Kanzaki, the girl from the Mystic Mood, Van Fanel, a boy with Draconian blood and the king of Fanelia that was destroyed by Zaibach, and the dashing knight Allen Schezar fled the kingdom, only to be chased again by the bloodthirsty Dilandau Albatou and his Dragonslayers. Before the fall of Freid, Hitomi indirectly taught Van on how to use his mech Escaflowne using his mind. Van successfully mastered the ability that he can move Escaflowne like it was his own body. It came with the price, however: If Escaflowne gets injured, so does he. After the battle, Van is in severe pain, his wounds won’t heal. Thanks to the wise thinking of merchant-scholar Dryden Fassa, they were able to summon a race of engineers from the sky and fixed Escaflowne, healing Van. Not before long Dilandau finally caught up to them and before the nomadic race leaves, they warned Van that his Draconian blood will have adverse side effects when using Escaflowne. Ignoring the warnings, Van descends down with Escaflowne to fight Dilandau and the Dragonslayers all by himself. The battle itself is very intense albeit one-sided. Van destroyed everyone due to rage and the fact that it was Dilandau who destroyed Fanelia and murdered his allies. It’s hard to describe the battle, but one thing’s for sure, the music titled Epistle sets the murderous mood of the battle.

The war between the Earth Forces and ZAFT has escalated in space, determined to wipe each other out. The Earth Forces (Naturals) attempted genocide by firing hundreds of nuclear missiles to ZAFT’s (Coordinators) civilian space colonies called PLANTs, and ZAFT counterattacked by revealing their Death Star-like super weapon GENESIS and destroyed the Earth Forces’ moonbase. After both sides revealed their hand, Kira Yamato, Athrun Zala, and Lacus Clyne, and the rest of the freedom fighters intervened and tries to stop mass murder. Little do the Naturals and Coordinators know that this war is just a backdrop to Rau le Creuset’s plan to destroy humanity. One of the ZAFT’s elite soldiers, Rau le Creuset pulled the strings from both sides and used their hatred of each other to his advantage. The final pieces are in place. Rau pilots the Providence Gundam, a massive death machine with multiple remote controlled laser turrets he can use to fire in any direction. He entered the final phases of the war not to stop it, but to make sure both sides kill each other. Standing in his way is a young coordinator boy named Kira Yamato and his Freedom Gundam. The battle between the two determines the fate of humanity and Rau is one of the most relentless and deadly opponent Kira has ever faced. The Providence Gundam has the edge thanks to its assortment of weapons including a ton of remote controlled laser turrets that detach from the main body. Imagine trying to get rid of a moving bee nest while dodging the stings of the bees swarming around you. Eventually Kira emerged victorious, but was an inch closer to death.

The elders of the Red Dragon crime syndicate was assassinated by Vicious and is now the leader. Vicious orders are to eliminate former syndicate members Spike Spiegel and including Spike’s lover Julia. As the two tries to escape, Julia was shot dead in the crossfire. Spike escaped back to the Bebop to not only see his comrades, but also to say one final goodbye to them. Spike grabbed all his gear and enters the syndicate’s main building to exact revenge on his own. When reaching the top floor, Spike finally encounters his former comrade Vicious and the two battle to the death. Spike had lost the person he hold dear and he wants to end it all by killing Vicious. The fight only lasted for a few seconds and eventually Spike emerged victorious, but fatally wounded. The final battle with Vicious may not be the most flashiest fight in the list, but it finally made Spike realize that he is truly alive, and not just in a bad dream. What’s next is the most heart-breaking scene in all of anime. And there you have it, the top 10 best battles and fights scenes in anime. Sure there are more well-animated or well-choreographed battles, but flashiness isn’t everything. A flashy battle against a group of nameless thugs may look nice, but it lacks that purpose as to why that particular battle happened.

Brains Base’s 2012 hit anime, Tonari no Kaibustu-kun, caught the hearts of a lot of people. Following the ins-and-outs of Haru and Shizuku’s relationship, this romance did not pull away from comedic moments as it presented the icy Shizuku and violent Haru. However, the power behind Tonari no Kaibustu-kun is its ability to portray growth in the rather cliché premise of two unsocial beings working together to push past their awkwardness. This date was special because it more or less struck everyone as slightly heartbreaking. Here, Haru was making a real push to show how much he cares for Shizuku, just as she decided that she can no longer handle the ‘distraction’ of a relationship. It was truly painful for the audience to watch and for Haru to go through, but also a great tipping point for Haru as we watch his eager enthusiasm get shot down by her cold responses. It’s this rejection that acts as one of the major catalysts for his growth.

In this comedic reverse harem, the audience is introduced to Ouran High School, an elite high school where the children of the richest families go to spend their time. Enter Haruhi, a girl from a more modest background, who most other students mistake for a boy on first sight. Haruhi proceeds to meet Ouran’s infamous host club, a group of six boys who have nothing better to do than entertain countless girls. During this first meeting, the group not only finds out that Haruhi is a girl, but force her into acting as one of the hosts to repay the cost of a vase she broke. Some might argue that this scene wasn’t even a date, because Haruhi is easily one of the densest characters when it comes to sensing the attractions of others; a staple in any harem. Nonetheless, this was definitely a one-on-one outing where Hikaru has the opportunity to take his relationship to the next level. For the most part, the date was rather unromantic as Hikaru lets his jealousy ruin the day. Though Hikaru’s insecurities are hinted at earlier on, this date puts on full display a range of emotions that few would imagine in easily the most mischievous member of the host club. However, when fused with one of the most kind-hearted apologies after leaving Haruhi behind during a storm, the date becomes one of his most honest moments of growth.

Golden Time follows the relationship struggles of Banri Tada, a newly admitted student at a private law school. His orientation proves to be one of the toughest ordeals of his life as he meets an assortment of crazy characters. Despite the overall insanity and workload, the source of his troubles stems from a personal identity crisis, because Tada had been in an accident that wiped his memories. His amnesia coupled with a love triangle that involves the girl he used to love will keep you questioning what fate has in store for Tada. Let’s set the mood. Tada had gone on a little out-of-town trip to attend a reunion. Koko during this time has been missing him a lot and decides that when he gets back, they will have their “Night in Paris.” The build up to the night was actually quite believable, but Koko’s desire “to climb the stairs into adulthood” started to fall apart the moment she presented her “sculpture” of the “Eiffel Tower.” Overall, the scene was still sweet, but it felt like the creators were afraid of making it too sentimental or cheesy and thus made a running gag reflex (literally).

The story is centered on Aoi Nagisa as she enters an all-girl Catholic school that shares the same hill as two other all-girl schools. On the very first day, she catches the attention of Etoile Shizuma Hanazono and soon finds herself in the midst of several intimate and complex relationships between students from all three schools. One of the gentlest and most serene moments in this shoujo ai is shared between the first year Hikari and her senpai, Amane. They had a rather simplistic and silent date on a secluded beach. What’s nice about this date though was how much of a role the silence played in it. Not only did it portray the slight inner conflict each of them was feeling about the taboo nature of their relationship, but it showed how well they fit into the silence of one another and simply appreciate each other’s company. It was truly touching and despite threats and warnings from other classmates, they both desired to see each other more.

Sword Art Online came out in 2012 and really took the anime community by storm. It took the concept of VR to the next level as it threw 10,000 people into a video game. If they wanted to escape, then they would have to beat the game. However, dying in the game meant dying in real life, so the question became who is willing to push forward? Well, one such warrior happened to be the rogue-esque Kirito. The fact that Kirito and Asuna got married in-game while being so young is a little bit questionable, if not just weird. However, despite the brashness of that choice, no one can argue that they made a good match. Kirito and his rogue ways played well off of Asuna’s straight-laced attitude. Though watching the two relax in the countryside was a nice breather, the best date was by far when Asuna cooked the rare meet that Kirito caught. It’s a home-like setting and Asuna’s wit is in full swing as she won’t let Kirito get away with anything. It’s a humorous and sweet scene with a few well-timed threats.

Baka and Test followed the antics of Yoshii and his fellow F class members on they took on the academic hierarchy of their school. What was so great about this school comedy was how it infused a class/battle system based off of test rankings and grades. Not only did having better grades give you a more powerful avatar to fight with, but it also gave you access to better school materials. Possibly one of the most cruel, but playful pairings in recent anime history goes to the brawler Yuuji and the tsundere Shouko. The movie date where Shouko stuns poor Yuki with a taser every time he tries to escape was poetic beauty. However, not enough of the actual date was shown. Thus, let’s focus on the date they had at the amusement park. The first half of this date was a completely one-sided ordeal as Yuki’s friends practically force fed romantic situations down their throat. It did allow for quite a bit of comedy and torture for Yuuji, but the heart of it all was the second half. After an older couple insulted Shouko’s feelings and her dream, Yuki’s resound character pulled through. Not only did he beat the crap out of the guy who was harping on Shouko, but met with Shouko afterwards to share an intimate moment.

Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji follows relationship struggles of 16-year-old high school student Erika Shinohara. Despite never being in a relationship before the events of the show, she boasts to her classmates of a spectacular love life. In fact, she has a photo of a handsome stranger that she claims is her boyfriend. Well that handsome stranger ends up being a new classmate, and in order to avoid the mocking laughter of the entire school she begs him to be her fake boyfriend. He agrees, but only if she does whatever she says. The real question is can these two misguided students form a real bond. Well, soon enough they at least move from a fake master-dog relationship to a real one. From that point on they actually had some rather cute if not slightly bumpy dates. However, things really started to heat up on an emotional level when Kyouya took Erika out to a multitude of places for her birthday. They ate at a nice restaurant, went to the movies, went shopping, and even went on a nighttime boat cruise. However, what makes this whole date special was that Kyouya, who can be rather cold if you’re unfamiliar with the show, is trying to tell her ‘I love you’ throughout the whole date. Thankfully, he did at the very end, making Erika one extremely happy girl.

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi is Studio Deen’s spinoff of Junjou Romantica that follows Onodera Ritsu as he transfers from his father's publishing company to Marukawa Shoten. However, instead of being assigned to the literature department he is sent shoujo manga division, where he runs into his first love, Takano Masamune. Masamune is the editor-in-chief of the division and immediately begins to give chase much to Ritsu’s disdain. There’s quite a bit of back and forth between the two as Ritsu tries to sort through his feelings. If Ritsu and Masamune did not have their Christmas date, then Sekaiichi Hatsukoi might not have been the hit show that it became. Okay, so that’s an overstatement, but the date acts as one of the most significant turning points in their relationship. What happened was that Masamune’s birthday, Dec. 24, was coming up and Ritsu agreed to go on a drive with him. During this drive, beautifully set in the snow, they shared recollections of how each of them dreamt of the way they would have spent Masamune’s birthday back when they were dating. It was a touching and sincere moment that forced Ritsu to admit that he could not resist his senpai.

Ore Monogatari!! does a fantastic job pushing out the stereotypical pretty boy routine as well as the clueless, but kind-hearted harem protagonist with its main man, Takeo Gouda. Takeo is a massive character with a heart as big as himself, which might sound like a cliché, but his size has actually inhibited his love life quite terribly. To begin, most girls are terribly afraid of him. Making matters even more heartbreaking for Takeo is that his best friend is the guy that every girl fawns over, including the girls Takeo has liked. Despite the sad premise of this anime, Takeo finally gets Cupid on his side as the cute Rinko Yamato begins to fall for him. One of the best episodes in their growing romance is when Takeo took her on a picnic in the mountains after her birthday celebration was interrupted. That date was extremely cute with a lot of smiles, laughter, and moments that will make you go ‘aww.’ One such particular moment, which made the date extremely special, was that after Takeo went to sleep, Rinko decided to give him a peck on the cheek.

Bakemonogatari pursues the misadventures of Koyomi after he runs into the weightless girl, Hitagi. Senjougahara. Not only does he begin to grow a special bond with Hitagi after that moment, but continues to find himself fighting the real inner demons of practically every girl he meets henceforth. In a world filled with gods and demons and an extremely sharp tongue, there will be a lot of dangerous situations in store for Koyomi. What really brings out the power of this date was that you expected their relationship to grow, but you could not have imagined the creators to build such a unique and special scene. Already the show had given its viewers a great plot, strong characters, fun dialogue, and intriguing relationships; and yet this scene’s gorgeous visuals and heartwarming nature blew everyone away. If you haven’t watched the show, you might want to stop reading here. What happened was that Hitagi took Koyomi out to a secluded area in the woods where there’s a clearing that they can view a starry sky. It’s a gorgeous visual, and as Hitagi’s straight-forward nature puts everything out there, you just can’t help but feel the incredible intimacy of the moment. The show accomplishes all this even though all that was shared are words and hands, and a kiss that wasn’t shown, which was rather cruel of the creators. More than anything else, this scene felt real, which considering most anime and the fantastical nature of this one, was an astounding feat.

Silver Spoon is an incredible series. Hitting the peak of the slice of life genre, this show builds up a familiar, yet foreign world that we can really get invested in. As those “darn city-folk”, being introduced to a rural perspective, particularly in regards to farm-life can give the experience of culture shock, through the medium of narrative. One of the highlights of Silver Spoon shows the members of the Boys Dormitory escaping into the forest, on their way to find a unique sight (Initially inferred to be aliens). However, the highlight of this moment isn’t the punchline at the end where it’s shown to be a particularly cool tractor, but rather the moments that lead up to this. Our protagonist, Hachiken has felt like an outsider from the very start, but this escape is one of his first moments of true camaraderie with his classmates. Each of them stays back due to varying circumstances, urging everyone else to go on ahead and sacrifice the experience that they’d been preparing for all day. Of course, it’s a funny scene and it’s got great dialogue, but it’s also heavily important to the development of Hachiken as an outsider.

Taking a step away from the light hearted comedy, let’s move onto heartbreak. Nanatsu no Taizai is an action series that got muddled up. All of our characters have gone through their training, acquired their legendary weapons and achieved true strength… and lost it. Now, with their sights on redemption, they are prepared to get back what they lost. This means that the show is composed of many flashback opportunities to build context. One such moment is when Ban recalls how he achieved invincibility. Up until this point, the characters and audience were combined in the opinion that he had achieved it through shifty means, something Ban never attempted to deny. However, when this scene in the Fairy King Forest is shown, our perspective on Ban changes completely. As a thief, he arrives at the Fountain of Youth with the intention of stealing it, until the protector of the Fountain stops him. But Ban never resorts to violence and decides to stay at the Fountain, eventually becoming friends. Only when the fountain is attacked by a demon does Ban drink the water, but this time reluctantly and at the demands of the protector who gave her life. It’s a strong scene and the development of their relationship is powerful and eventually heartbreaking as they’re torn apart.

Those that are into MMORPGs will know the mechanics to a well fought battle. Synergy, teamwork, co-ordination. These are the elements that make up a victory for those who battle in a fantasy world. So to see Grimgar take a perspective on this that is built on incompetent human characters, it’s interesting to see their attempts and be able to spot each of the subtle mistakes they make. This is the scene that the audience is treated to from the very start of the show. To the sound of [K]_NoW_NAME’s first track, this battle is both beautiful and terrifying as we watch through every clumsy motion. Ryosuke Nakamura’s visual style is at its best within a forest environment and this painted aesthetic really comes alive as each motion plays out like a stroke of a brush. Goblins aren’t your typical lifeless enemy and here, they are real beings who are fighting for their own lives and trying to achieve their own victories. It’s a brilliant way to start off the show and whilst it may make for an uncomfortable watch, it’s a valuable one.

Hotarubi no Mori e is one of those brilliant short films that we just don’t get often in anime. Usually our options are constricted between either feature length films or TV productions, but at 40 minutes, this supernatural shoujo film is something that shouldn’t be missed. As a romance story, we follow Hotaru through her life and her encounters with the supernatural Gin. Gin finds a six year old Hotaru lost in the forest and quickly befriends the eccentric girl as Gin introduces himself as a spiritual entity that can only remain on Earth as long as no human ever touches him. It’s a sweet idea for a romance film and this scene deep in the forest offers the premise to a relationship that is destined to never work out.

As a Studio Ghibli classic, My Neighbour Totoro is a spiritual adventure that never fails to impress after countless rewatches. When the Kusakabe family move into an old house in the middle of the forest, they encounter a variety of spiritual beings that eventually help the kids visit their mother. As the figurehead of the spiritual bunch of characters, Totoro stands tall as the silly lump of fur that is always trying to help those that pay it kindness. Unable to retain her curiosity, Mei explores the forest, following magical creatures until they lead her deeper into the forest and inside the trunk of a tree. Here, Mei lands directly on the huge belly of Totoro, a creature so large that any scrap of sanity would cry, “Run away!” But after learning his name (Or rather giving one to him), Mei befriends the creature. But despite the fact that she can’t find him immediately after, he always returns when she needs him most.

For fans of the old Studio Madhouse where auteurs were aplenty, Piano no Mori is the perfect film to bring up as a representation of one of Masayuki Kojima’s best. Piano no Mori is the story of an unlikely friendship and passion between a boy who dreams too much and a boy that doesn’t dream enough. After Shuhei is forced to go deep into the forest and play the cursed piano, Kai joins him, attempting to prove that there is nothing wrong with the piano at all. However, after Shuhei attempts to play the piano and delivers no sound, Kai moves in and tries it himself. The result is a brilliant piece that spreads throughout the forest, despite Kai not knowing how to play the piano at all. It’s the premise to a friendship born around the music and a new passion as they decide to achieve their dreams together.

2 Onto more action-packed moments, Attack on Titan delivers with an explosive duel on a titanic scale. This immensely popular action thriller series gave viewers the opportunity to enter a world from the perspective of those that live in fear behind colossal walls from the beasts that lie beyond. With a 2 cour season, several OVAs, 2 movies and its own spinoff series, Attack on Titan reached a global scale in terms of its popularity, appealing even to an audience unfamiliar with anime, but could get attached to the Hollywood action that the series provides. One such moment of Hollywood action is this particular scene and every moment is set alight as debris fly out with every blow. To the epic music of Hiroyuki Sawano, this scene in the oversized forest is particularly brilliant, providing the climax to the arc and showing the importance of Eren’s titan powers within the Recon Squad. The battles between titans were highlights within the show and we can expect a lot more in the second season.

There’s one moment early on within Berserk that truly establishes the extent of Guts’ character. Berserk is a dark fantasy showcasing the events that transpire perhaps the most unfortunate man in the world. Every stage of Guts’ life is wrapped in tragedy and with his enormous sword, he takes any opportunity to return some of that grief to the world. The iconic scene where Guts slays 100 men isn’t one of glory. There’s no hi-fiving or celebration to be had as Guts exhaustingly slays an entire group of knights to protect Casca. Guts has always been portrayed as a powerful character, but this is was the first time we’d really seen him stretched to his limits, a trend that continued later in the show as Guts became more and more powerful.

In the much less brutal Wolf Children, Mamoru Hosoda portrayed family in one of the most unique ways in anime. In this film, Hana must deal with looking after and protecting her two half-wolf children as a single mother. It’s a story that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time as her children forge their own paths in life, thanks to the support of a mother who didn’t give up no matter what. This scene is one of the moments where we really see Hana getting involved in her children’s life as they tumble down a snowy hill together. It’s a big break from the stressful scenes prior where the family were trying to get used to a life in the country and offers a nice moment before further problems arise later on. The forest played a large part within the film, offering a chance for the children to be themselves and eventually became more significant later on as the children decide their future.

Princess Mononoke still remains my favourite Ghibli film and it offered a perfect balance of environmentalist messages alongside spiritual and traditional themes. It’s very much one of Miyazaki’s darker works with various brutal moments throughout in this battle between man and nature where there’s no real villain. There’s a huge variety of scenes to be selected here and this list could very well be transformed into “Top 10 Impressive Forest Scenes That Just So Happen To All Be Princess Mononoke”. But as an animation fan, I have to select the extraordinary debut of The Forest Spirit, animated by Makiko Futaki. As the symbol for nature itself, The Forest Spirit is a truly majestic entity, looking back at us with a human face until it goes on a rampage and becomes something as far away from “human” as possible. It was around this moment that the protagonist Ashitaka’s place in the story became clear as he works to protect both the forest as well as the humans and settle a dispute based on fear of the unknown.