Sometimes, what determines the outcome of a battle is not physical strength, but intelligence. For this list, we're counting down some of the best battles of wits in anime, because it's great to see characters' flexing their brainpower.
Many of the best mind games in anime appear in shows that center around the concept - pretty much every conflict in Akagi and No Game No Life are resolved this way. But they also appear in places that you might not expect them to, like in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and Bleach. Wherever they crop up, these battles are sure to make you think, and entertain you at the same time.
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Light Vs. L - 'Death Note'
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The first half of this series is dedicated almost entirely to the battle of wits between Light and L. L is trying to prove that Light is responsible for the heart attacks criminals are suffering. Meanwhile, Light is not only trying to stop L from catching him, he's also trying to secure his place as god of the new world.
One of L's more impressive moments is when he tricked Light into revealing his location by pretending to reveal his identity using a proxy, and using the location that it was aired in to narrow down Kira's location. Meanwhile, Light's greatest triumph was when he manipulated a Shinigami into doing his dirty work for him.
An impressive battle of wits? - 2
Lelouch Vs. The Britannian Empire - 'Code Geass'
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Everything that Lelouch does is marked by his knack for strategy. He rarely fights using physical means - rather, he uses his Geass powers to control people into performing actions that will benefit him, or tries to arrange his revolutionary or political power to his benefit. In all things, he plays the long game. The most dramatic example of this comes at the end of the series, where he decides to sacrifice his own life on the grounds that if he lets his friend Suzaku eliminate him while dressed as his alter ego Zero, in order to unite the world in hatred against him under Zero's banner.
An impressive battle of wits? - 3
Isabella Vs. The Children Of Grace Field House - 'The Promised Neverland'
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- CloverWorks
When Emma, Norman and Ray discover that if they don't figure out a way to escape, they'll be sold to demons as meat, they immediately start devising a plan to escape. Their caretaker Isabella tries her hardest to thwart them, but ultimately doesn't have the heart to go through with her plans.
The orphans enact a number of strategies, including scoping out the layout of the house and its surroundings, secretly training the younger kids through play, and ultimately pulling off a plan that involved a faked suicide and burning the house down. The whole thing is especially impressive since the characters in question are all twelve and under.
An impressive battle of wits? - Photo:
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Sora & Shiro Vs. Jibril - 'No Game No Life'
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Before coming to the world of Disboard, Sora and Shiro were unbeatable at video games, but unable to accomplish much in their real lives. In Disboard, everything is determined by games, so they quickly gain power and influence. All of their battles invoke their wits to some degree, but one of the most interesting examples comes when they take on Jibril, a member of the Flügel race who maintains an impressive library. Sora and Shiro want access to the library, so they challenge her to a game of materialization shiritori, where the words they choose disappear or are added to reality.
They manage to win by changing the laws of physics and creating a hypernova. Without quick thinking and a lot of background knowledge, neither party would have made much progress.
An impressive battle of wits? - 5
Miyuki Shirogane Vs. Kaguya Shinomiya - 'Kaguya-sama: Love Is War'
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- A-1 Pictures
Love mind games but prefer rom-coms to action? Then you'll love Kaguya-sama: Love Is War. In this series, student council members Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya are constantly trying to trick the other into being the first to admit that they have a crush on the other.
In many cases, their attempts aren't especially clever, like when they refuse to be the first person to text the other or when Kaguya comes up with a contrived plot to share an umbrella with Miyuki. But no matter how miserably their plans fail, it's clear that their minds are in hyper-drive the whole time.
An impressive battle of wits? - Photo:
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Moriarty Vs. Sherlock Holmes - 'Moriarty the Patriot'
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This anime is based loosely a series of novels about the world's greatest detective, so of course most conflicts are solved with minds on. These conflicts typically center around Sherlock's attempts to prove that Moriarty is the one behind a series of slayings, and Moriarty's attempts to keep that under wraps.
An impressive battle of wits? - 7
Class 3-E Vs. Koro-sensei - 'Assassination Classroom'
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Assassinnation Classroom is about a group of middle school students who are trying to take down their teacher, a tentacle monster who threatened to destroy the Earth. Many of their strategies show great intelligence, like when they collectively try to figure out his weak points. But Koro-sensei is strategizing too. His real goal has nothing to do with destroying the world, but with finding a way to prevent it while emotionally supporting a group of children that he cares for deeply.
An impressive battle of wits? - 8
Shikamaru Vs. Hidan - 'Naruto'
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Hidan isn't all that bright, so this one was very much a one-sided battle of wits. That doesn't make it any less badass, or make Shikamaru's win any less impressive. Shikamaru managed to lure Hidan into his family's forest, where he successfully traps him in a pit filled with explosive tags. Thanks to Hidan's immortality, the explosion doesn't end his life, but it does trap him under rubble, making it imposible for him to ever leave.
Oh, and before Shikamaru does all that, he tricks Hidan into consuming his own partner's blood, which meant that when Hidan tried to perform a jutsu that would destroy Shikamaru's heart, it took out one of Kakuzu's instead. A super genius out for revenge can accomplish some impressive things.
An impressive battle of wits? - 9
Mayuri Vs. Syazelaporro - 'Bleach'
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This battle really shows off the benefits of planning in advance. In order to put a stop to Szayelaporro's seemingly unbeatable voodoo doll strategy, Mayuri watched another one of his fights using bacteria that could transmit the information back to him. He replaced his organs with fake ones and avoided serious damage from Szayelaporro's attacks, but he still pretended to take a few hits in order to destablilize his opponent and observe for himself how it worked. Both of them were smart, but in this case, Mayuri was one step ahead.
An impressive battle of wits? - 10
Five Vs. Nine & Twelve - 'Terror In Resonance'
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Five is a government operative and a nuclear scientist, so it's no surprise that she'd approach conflict intelligently. When trying to track down terrorists Nine and Twelve, she plants a bomb in an airport with the intention of framing them for its presence if they don't show up to stop it. Unfortunately for her, Nine and Twelve manage to mess with the recording equipment so that she doesn't get the proof of their identities that she needs.
An impressive battle of wits? - 11
Kogami Vs. Makishima - 'Psycho-Pass'
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Kogami and Makishima's big fight at the end of the series is more physical than anything else, but it's the culmination of a series-long battle of wits. After Makishima take down Kogami's partner, the Inspector dedicates his every waking moment to figuring out how to prove it. Makishima is undetectable by Psycho Passes, so even if officers see him commit a crime, they can't do anything about it. Makishima uses this to his advantage, and devises a way to take down the entire Sybil System.
An impressive battle of wits? - 12
Decim's Arbitration Games - 'Death Parade'
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When a person passes away, they are sennt to a place called Quindecim. There, an arbiter named Decim decides whether their soul will be reincarnated or be destroyed. He decides this by using games designed to let him observe their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses by pushing them to extremes of pain and misery.
While these games are "logically" designed, the series' ultimate conclusion is that this isn't a good way to judge humans. It's an interesting subversion of the usual conclusions one comes to about battles of wit.
An impressive battle of wits? - 13
Joseph Vs. Wamuu - 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'
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Joseph and Wamuu are both immensely physically powerful, and they do rely on their strength throughout most of the battle. However, both of them employ strategic methods, too. Joseph uses pebbles to try and slow Wamuu down, and tries to trick him into thinking that he's actually afraid for his life. Meanwhile, Wamuu is willing to guage out his own eyes because he knows that it'll increase his sensory abilities. Joseph might not act particularly intelligent, but he displays his brainpower in this fight - and so does Wamuu.
An impressive battle of wits? - 14
Kurama Vs. Kaido - 'Yu Yu Hakusho'
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Most battles in Yu Yu Hakusho aren't really strategy-based, but Kurama manages to defeat Kaido through brains alone.
Kaito can create "territories" where the rules of reality are slightly changed. If a person says a forbidden word, they lose their soul. This happens whether they say the actual word, or just make the associated sound - for example, if the word is "pen", you'll still lose your soul if you say "independent." Kaito is skilled at avoiding the word he selected, but he's not as skilled as Kurama.
The two agree that a increasing number of letters will become forbidden with each round, until eventually speaking is pretty much impossible. Kurama manages to trick Kaito into laughing, making one of the forbidden sounds in the process. He loses his soul, but it's okay, he gets it back later.
An impressive battle of wits? - 15
Yumeko Vs. Kaede - 'Kakegurui'
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- MAPPA
Though luck certainly plays a role in the outcome of gambling, just about every battle in Kakegurui is a battle of wits. For now we'll focus on the game of Choice Poker which is played by Yumeko and Kaede. In this version of the game, players can neither pass nor fold - they can only bet or raise. Before it's time to show the hand, whoever has bet the most money can choose if they want to bet on a stronger hand or a weaker hand. By initiating these complex rules, Kaede thinks that he's at an advantage, but Yumeko manages to turn things around in her favor by having people bet on their own lives.
An impressive battle of wits? - Photo:
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Momo Vs. Saiko Intelli - 'My Hero Academia'
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Saiko Intelli can boost her brain power by drinking tea, which she does when facing off against Momo and a few of her 1-A classmates. Saiko's plan is to get create situations that would force Momo to use her quirk and thus exhaust herself and render it useless. She does things like dramatically lowering the temperature in the room, causing Momo to use her power to make a blanket for Tsuyu and clay to block the air coming through the vents.
But Momo manages to blast through Saiko's strategy with one of her own - she creates a sound system, which, amplified by Jirou's powers, is loud enough to temporarily disable Saiko's team.
An impressive battle of wits? - 17
Gon Vs. Genthru - 'Hunter x Hunter'
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Gon isn't exactly known for being bright, but he can be remarkably perceptive when it comes to battle strategy. On Greed Island, he found himself facing off against the bomber Gethru. He was a tough opponent, but Gon managed to get both of them into a giant pit in the ground before getting himself to safety in a hidden shelf in the wall. Before Genthru could act, Gon used one of his cards to summon a giant rock, trapping Genthru and allowing him to unleash his final attack. Who says this kid isn't smart?
An impressive battle of wits? - 18
All Akagi Matches - 'Akagi
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- Madhouse
Akagi is a series about a mahjong player who uses psychological manipulation in order to defeat his opponents. He uses his pieces in unusual ways to trick his opponents into thinking he has different tiles on hand than he actually does, arrives late in order to force someone else to start the game for him and confuse his opponent when he takes over, and other creative methods. His wins don't solely come from strategy - they also come from a great deal of luck - but without a steeltrap mind, he wouldn't have accomplished much.
An impressive battle of wits? - Photo:
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Pretty Much Every Conflict - 'Future Diary'
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Future Diary is a survival game series where the characters use diaries (cell phones) that predict some aspect of the future. They use this information to try and defeat their targets.
This happens so many times that it's difficult to pick out the most impressive example, but one that stands out is when Aru Akise successfully turns a hostage situation in his favor by pretending to be using a diary when he's actually doing no such thing.
An impressive battle of wits? - 20
The Abnormal Class Vs. Kalego-sensei - 'Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun'
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Most of the time, Iruma would not have the guts to pull off something like this, but thanks to his artificially induced "evil cycle" he makes it work. The class is sick of living in a dank, dirty classroom, so they ask to stay in Royal One, the locked classroom that was once used for the Demon King. To get approval from their homeroom teacher Kalego-sensei, they first have to get permission from every single staff member at their school, which means gathering intel and creating situations that get them on board. For example, they discovered that one of their teachers had a crush on Kalego-sensei, and could be persuaded if they stole his planner and gave it to her.
Ultimately, they get what they want, and it's all the more satisfying for how smart they are in making it happen.
An impressive battle of wits?
