A Fighting Series, as its name suggests, is one that places a lot of emphasis on fighting. Different fighting styles and learning new moves and abilities are a major part of the plot. There will be lots of emphasis on training, technique, and practice. The main character often, though not always, wants To Be a Master; whether he does or not, he usually is by the end. Common in Chinese movies from the 1970s and ubiquitous in Shōnen anime/manga.
Note that simply having a lot of fighting does not mean that a show is a Fighting Series; in order to qualify, the fighting has to be integral to the plot, rather than a means to an end.
Related to the Martial Arts Movie. See Fighting Game for the Video Game equivalent. Should not be confused with Dueling Shows. Also see Fighting in All the Wrong Places Index.
Common tropes in this genre include:
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy
- Combat Pragmatist
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique
- Determinator
- Fight Scene (usually Once an Episode)
- Kung-Fu Kid
- Martial Pacifist
- My Kung Fu Is Stronger Than Yours
- Opposing Combat Philosophies
- The Rival
- Rival Dojos (normally a Pacifist Dojo and a Thug Dojo)
- Rule of Cool
- Sorting Algorithm of Evil
- Spirited Competitor
- Time to Unlock More True Potential
- To Be a Master
- Tournament Arc
- Training from Hell
- Training Montage
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Airmaster
- Arachnid and its prequel spinoff Caterpillar
- Attack on Titan
- Baki the Grappler
- Bastard!!
- Black Clover
- Bleach
- Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
- Choubu No Shinobi
- Claymore
- Crows
- Cyber Weapon Z
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
- Devilman
- Dragon Ball is a Trope Codifier alongside Saint Seiya.
- Fairy Tail
- Fire Force
- Fist of the North Star, which, along with Kinnikuman, launched the entire Shonen fighting genre.
- Flame of Recca
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Gamaran
- Hajime no Ippo - Although it leans more towards to Gaming and Sports Anime and Manga, the series showcases many of the tropes commonly found in Fighting Series. The fact that it is focused on boxing helps.
- Hunter × Hunter
- Ikki Tousen, combined with Fanservice
- Jackals
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure takes this to the weirdest facets, as the title already implies.
- Jungle King Tar-Chan
- Kengan Ashura
- Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple (an affectionate parody of the genre)
- Kill la Kill
- Kinnikuman - Predating Fist of the North Star by 4 years, it arguably did just as much as, if not more, for the genre.
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid combines this with Magical Girl.
- ViVid Strike! is basically Magical Girl MMA.
- Maken-ki! is set at Tenbi Academy, where everything is settled officially in duels.
- MÄR
- Mob Psycho 100
- Mobile Fighter G Gundam combines this concept with Humongous Mecha.
- My Hero Academia
- Naruto
- Negima! Magister Negi Magi, combined with the Harem Genre.
- One Piece
- One-Punch Man, a Deconstructive Parody of Shōnen superhero tropes.
- Pokémon: The Series
- Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General
- Pretty Cure, especially HeartCatch Pretty Cure!, also combine this with Magical Girl, and did so before Vivid.
- Queen's Blade, combined with Heroic Fantasy and Fanservice
- Ranma ½
- Ratman
- The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World
- Real Bout High School
- Reborn! (2004) became this from the Kokuyo Arc onward.
- Rosario + Vampire, like Negima above, eventually combines with the Harem genre.
- Saint Seiya, arguably the Trope Codifier together with Dragon Ball
- The Seven Deadly Sins
- Shadow Skill
- Shaman King
- Shuumatsu no Walküre: Record of Ragnarok
- Soul Eater
- Taboo-Tattoo
- Toriko
- Until Death Do Us Part, focussing on urban guerilla warfare.
- Vagabond
- Yu-Gi-Oh!, especially before the Card Games appeared; in fact, the original concept was that of "a fighting series where the main character never throws a punch."
- Yu Yu Hakusho
Fanfiction
- Tokimeki PokéLive! and TwinBee Applies to the Pokémon Battles that take place in both the Main Stories and Side Story arcs.
Films — Animation
Films — Live-Action
Literature
Live-Action TV
Video Games
- Asura's Wrath is influenced by these types of series in Japan, with the idea that it's an Interactive version of this type of Anime series. It works.
Web Comics
- '32 Kick-Up does this with Inkblot Cartoon Style Funny Animals.
- Girls of the Wild's
- The Korean webtoon Lookism is strangely this. It starts with a fat guy being tired of being beat up and he splits into two. One of them a Bishonen with a Heroic Build, the other the same old one. Due to his past of being beat up he as had the reflexes to avoid but not the speed and now he does. Turns out that this new body and his old body too if he had dared to is pretty strong and he is able to defend himself against the strong guys at his new school. This is a Web Toon with many Action Fashionistas, Badass Architects, Dance Battlers, and more. In this Defeat Means Friendship as well.
- My Best Friend Marneao
Western Animation
