Greetings, anime fans, martial arts aficionados, fighting game devotees, and enthusiasts of all things pertaining to anime, martial arts, video games, and fighting tournaments. Antoni here with another written entry. It should come off as no surprise that I love anime, martial arts, fighting games, and martial arts tournaments such as UFC and what we have today with Karate Combat. I revel in how diverse and intriguing fight choreography can be when the impact of a punch, kick, strike, and/or grapple can have on a combatant. Most of all, I enjoy the brutality of any blow or hold that is unleashed by the combatant whether in a real-life martial arts tournament or in fighting video games such as Tekken and Street Fighter. Therefore, martial arts tournaments melding with fighting games and anime are up there with the best things ever to make any nerd let alone otaku enthusiastic as well as grin from ear to ear.
Given my experience of growing up with various anime series, fighting video games, and martial arts tournaments, I thought it would be fun to make seven groups of seven anime characters that I grew up with and give them the martial arts I think perfectly suit them. A good number of them will be based on canon, while others will be based on fanon. There are going to be a good number of characters that I grew up with from Inuyasha, Fullmetal Alchemist, Solty Rei, Detective School Q, Ultra Maniac, Wolf’s Rain, Technolyze, Baki the Grappler, Shootfighter Tekken, Shura no Toki, Chrono Crusade, Geneshaft, Samurai 7, and Hajime no Ippo who will be featured on here. I am sure that fellow hardcore anime fans would recognize them in the team-ups provided as well as make their own assessments of the martial arts I have provided for them. With that said, arm yourselves well and be prepared to kick butt with these eight martial arts teams of seven consisting of anime characters I have had fond memories with ever since I was a child. You might even feel you are going through a character selection of your favorite fighting game.
The Splendid Seven (Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran)
These seven Yokai warriors, consisting of two dog Yokai brothers, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, three spiky-haired brothers, Shuran, Hakkaku, and Ginta, and two auburn-haired sisters, Ayame and Shunran, capitalize on bloody brutality when they pummel their opponents without respite or mercy, thus making them emerge as victors in any tournament. Therefore, they prove themselves to be a strong team because of how much they can take brutal hits from their opponents while delivering more serious ones. Strength and stealth define them with abandon, and they do not surrender that easily when the chips are down.
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Sesshoumaru (Inuyasha) – Mixed Martial Arts
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Shuran (Inuyasha) – Professional Wrestling
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Inuyasha (Inuyasha) – Pankration
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Hakkaku (Inuyasha) – Muay Boran
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Ginta (Inuyasha) – Lehtwei
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Ayame (Inuyasha) – Taekwondo
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Shunran (Inuyasha) – Shaolin Kung Fu
The Honorable Budoka (Kuranosuke, Kisuke, Shinosuke, Toran, Wakana, Enju, and Karan)
Honor, decorum, valor, and stamina are the hallmarks of what defines them as martial artists. The three dashing gentlemen, consisting of Kuranosuke Takeda, Kisuke, and Shinosuke, have been Karate practitioners ever since they were young boys. While the four ladies, consisting of Toran, Wakana, Enju, and Karan, are deeply rooted in Chinese martial arts. Their strikes are a combination of accurate and deadly because of how much they do not hold back in unleashing their series of punches, kicks, and strikes, thus numbing their opponents in pain due to knowing a thing or two about pressure points.
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Kuranosuke Takeda (Inuyasha) – Shotokan Karate
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Kisuke (Inuyasha) – Goju-Ryu Karate
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Shinosuke (Inuyasha) – Kyokushin Karate
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Toran (Inuyasha) – Wing Chun
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Wakana (Inuyasha) – Baguazhang
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Enju (Inuyasha) – Wushu
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Karan (Inuyasha) – Hung Gar
The Kings of the Iron Fist (Baki, Ryoma, Takeshi, Kiibo, Alexander, Ichiro, and Ippo)
Boxing or Mixed Martial Arts? Who gives a damn? Seven strong dudes who use Boxing’s punishing punches while incorporating Mixed Martial Arts’ strangulating clinches and bloody attacks? You’re going to give a damn, especially when Baki Hanma, Ryoma Sakamoto, Takeshi Sendo, Kiibo Miyazawa, Alexander Volg Zangief, Ichiro Miyata, and Ippo Makunouchi combine their furious fists, super strength, and crushing clinches with aplomb! Once these seven strong clinchers and punchers put their fists and clinches to great use, their opponents need pray profusely for their survival to not end up dead, let alone reside in a hospital.
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Baki Hanma (Baki the Grappler) – Total Fighting Style Mixed Boxing
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Ryoma Sakamoto (Shura no Toki) – Pride FC Style Mixed Boxing
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Takeshi Sendo (Hajime no Ippo) – Naniwa Style Mixed Boxing
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Kiichi “Kiibo” Miyazawa (Shootfighter Tekken) – Nanshin Shadow Style Mixed Boxing
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Alexander Volg Zangief (Hajime no Ippo) – Otowa Style Mixed Boxing
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Ichiro Miyata (Hajime no Ippo) – Kawahara Style Mixed Boxing
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Ippo Makunouchi (Hajime no Ippo) – Kamogawa Style Mixed Boxing
The Queens of Titanium Strikes (Rosé T, Rose A, Winry, Megumi, Maya, Solty, and Kaoru)
There is no escape let alone point of blocking when these seven sultry babes have shell-shocking strikes to perfectly compliment their fancy footwork. Whether Rosé Thomas, Rose Anderson, Winry Rockbell, Megumi Minami, Maya Orihara, Solty Revant, and Kaoru Ichinose use their punches, kicks, and strikes to take their opponents down or use defenses and evasion to block their opponent’s attacks, they never surrender before the bell rings. Therefore, they may be beauties with a strong sense of sisterhood, but they fight like vicious beasts who leave their opponents bloodied and bruised without respite.
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Rosé Thomas (Fullmetal Alchemist) – Dutch Kickboxing
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Rose Anderson (Solty Rei) – Shootboxing
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Winry Rockbell (Fullmetal Alchemist) – American Kickboxing
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Megumi Minami (Detective School Q) – Sanda
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Maya Orihara (Ultra Maniac) – Japanese Kickboxing
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Solty Revant (Solty Rei) – Savate
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Kaoru Ichinose (Detective School Q) – Combat Hopak
The Vicious Executioners (Yoshiki, Mamoru, Tsume, Mitsuhide, Masaru, Tatsuya, and Ryuichi)
Heavyweight champions do not begin to describe Yoshiki Takaishi, Mamoru Takamura, Tsume, Mitsuhide Kuroda, Masaru Aoki, Tatsuya Kimura, and Ryuichi Hayami as combatants. These gentlemen are lord-high executioners who give their opponents a bitterly bloody taste of brutal blows and terrifying takedowns. Yoshiki, Tsume, and Mitsuhide have the towering terror as grapplers to compliment the lethal striking of Mamoru, Masaru, Tatsuya, and Ryuichi. Whenever opponents try to have a go at them, these seven champions would gladly deliver an execution that they will never forget or escape from even if they attempted to.
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Yoshiki Takaishi (Shootfighter Tekken) – Combat Sambo
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Mamoru Takamura (Hajime no Ippo) – Kamogawa Style Mixed Boxing
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Tsume (Wolf’s Rain) – Kapu Kuialua
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Mitsuhide Kuroda (Shootfighter Tekken) – Vale Tudo
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Masaru Aoki (Hajime no Ippo) – Kamogawa Style Mixed Boxing
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Tatsuya Kimura (Hajime no Ippo) – Kamogawa Style Mixed Boxing
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Ryuichi Hayami (Hajime no Ippo) – Otowa Style Mixed Boxing
The Explosive Attackers (Ichise, Kintaro, Kiba, Ran, Ayu, Nina, and Cheza)
Excruciating fortitude and fabulous grace entwine so beautifully when three powerful men and four fearless women team up to do a number on their opponents. Ichise’s strong deadliness, Kintaro Toyama’s fierce toughness, Kiba’s powerful blows, Ran’s quick reflexes, Ayu’s rapid limbs, Nina’s nimble agility, and Cheza’s unbreakable flexibility all serve to do collateral damage to their opponents. They demonstrate the concept of actions speaking much louder than words, and what opponents see in them is what they get. Therefore, these seven combatants talk the talk and walk the walk in fighting tough and strong.
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Ichise (Texhnolyze) – Muay Lao
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Kintaro Toyama (Detective School Q) – Pradal Serey
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Kiba (Wolf’s Rain) – Yaw-Yan
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Ran (Texhnolyze) – Limalama
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Ayu Tateishi (Ultra Maniac) – Musti-Yuddha
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Nina Sakura (Ultra Maniac) – Adithada
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Cheza (Wolf’s Rain) – Capoeira
The Fearsome Sirens (Blue, Satella, Mika, Takako, Akemi, Sakurako, and Kuniko)
Hell hath no fury like women armed with lethal strikes, numbing takedowns, and ballistic grapples that can make opponents flee in terror. Blue, Satella Harvenheit, Mika Seido, Takako Kawashima, Akemi Takaishi, Sakurako Yukihira, and Kuniko Touya are clear examples of mighty beauties who do not have the time to have a chat but would be more than happy to break any foolish opponent’s face in should they be so brazen to have a go at them. Besides, these seven grand dames of offensive attacks would never dream of holding back their attacks because there is no way they will ever want to give up after the fight is done.
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Blue (Wolf’s Rain) – Pencak Silat
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Satella Harvenheit (Chrono Crusade) – Krav Maga
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Mika Seido (Geneshaft) – Bokator
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Takako Kawashima (Shootfighter Tekken) – Jeet Kune Do
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Akemi Takaishi (Shootfighter Tekken) – Hapkido
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Sakurako Yukihira (Detective School Q) – Nippon Kenpo
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Kuniko Touya (Detective School Q) – Shorinji Kenpo
The Relentless Strikers (Kyuzo, Hige, Heihachi, Katsushiro, Toboe, Myu, and Luna)
Every strike Kyuzo, Hige, Heihachi Hayashida, Katsushiro Okamoto, Toboe, Myu, and Luna make can be considered blindingly quick and indubitably brutal to the touch. The chances of opponents acquiring bruises and wounds from these seven strikers’ attacks and takedowns are absolutely high because of how much focus and determination they have to never hold back until the final strike is made. Nobody is safe when they are around, as they embody the principle of never underestimating one’s opponents. Therefore, these seven strikers demonstrate that they mean business when they launch quick and effective attacks.
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Kyuzo (Samurai 7) – Tang Soo Do
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Hige (Wolf’s Rain) – Kajukenbo
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Heihachi Hayashida (Samurai 7) – Hwa Rang Do
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Katsushiro Okamoto (Samurai 7) – Kuk Sool Won
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Toboe (Wolf’s Rain) – Okichitaw
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Myu (Wolf’s Rain) – Kuntao
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Luna (Ultra Maniac) – Vovinam
There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The martial arts I believe are appropriate for each seven-person anime team. It was really enjoyable giving this a go, as I felt like a part of me was going down memory lane as well as found inspiration through research. I hope you all enjoyed this, and I will see you in the next submission. Take care, stay safe, and train hard, everybody.
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