Record of Ragnarok continues to be one of the most prominent spectacle anime events with every release. While its animation doesn’t necessarily always stack up against other current contemporary hits, it makes up for it with engaging action and fun character stories. Season 2 intensifies this, with sympathetic and fun characters on both sides, blurring the lines in terms of who the viewers want to win. Humanity has the most to lose in this fight, but there are several bouts where you don’t want the gods to lose. We’ve ranked the most engaging and thrilling fights in Record of Ragnarok Season 2!
What Are the Best Fights in Record of Ragnarok Season 2?
In its sophomore season, we see Record of Ragnarok improve its animation, with this improvement showing more strongly for certain fights. The kills are brutal just like in the first, but now it’s far more conflicting to see some characters lose, as they win the hearts of their viewers. In Season 2’s lineup, we see former champions of mankind among the gods, and deities swapping sides for the sake of humanity’s survival, with the following featured in Season 2:
- Round 1: Hercules vs. Jack the Ripper
- Round 2: Shiva vs. Raiden Tameemon
- Round 3: Zerofuku/Hajun vs. Buddha
Related: Ranked: The Best Fights in Record of Ragnarok Season 1
This time the Greek presence isn’t quite as plentiful, with Hercules being their lone representative. Meanwhile, we get a classic Hindu deity with Shiva, and Zerofuku is a rare exception, a fictional entity incorporating pre-existing Japanese fortune gods into himself.
Meanwhile, the human fighters, or Einherjar, get the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper; the greatest sumo wrestler and the strongest muscles in history, Raiden Tameemon; and Buddha, who turns on the gods, wishing to give humanity a fighting chance.
The characters on each side are varied in their motivations, sympathetic appeal to the viewer and combat tactics. But I’ll preface with this: Season 2 didn’t have a bad fight, simply some more excellent than others.
3. Shiva vs. Raiden Tameemon
This fight featured a controversial depiction of the Hindu deity Shiva resulting in it being banned in India. That hasn’t stopped the fight from being one for the books. While Shiva’s awesome might doesn’t indeed debut until later in the battle, his fiery showcase against Raiden is one to remember.
In one corner, you have the greatest brawler in heaven. In the other corner, you have a man whose muscles grow so uncontrollably strong, they threaten to kill him but can dismember the gods when kept in check.
As far as spectacle goes, this fight is an interesting one. Raiden doesn’t technically have a weapon for his Volundr, even if the Valkyrie Thrud is a perfect match for him. Instead, his Volundr is a mawashi allowing him to control his muscles from crushing him. In this fight, the spectacle is seeing how these muscles grow, warp, and become deadly weapons, making Raiden into a quasi-shapeshifter as he fights the God of Destruction.
Shiva, meanwhile, gets his ass kicked for a lot of the fight, but once he unleashes the awesome Tandava Karma, the fight draws rapidly to a dramatic conclusion. Both characters’ backstories were rather interesting, and the prospect of Raiden’s natural strength being enough to tackle a supreme god is dope. Shiva calls it the best fight ever, and while it may be great, it’s not even the best fight of Record of Ragnarok Season 2.
2. Hercules vs. Jack the Ripper
I knew this one would be exciting just because of how well it was written in the manga. Jack the Ripper was the first truly unsympathetic Einherjar for humanity, while Hercules is one of the most iconic mythological heroes ever.
Jack is history’s most infamous serial killer, able to directly see the emotions of others, emitted as different colors, with macabre undertones for when their emotions are dark or fearful. Hercules is a former human who retains his love for humanity, while having drank ambrosia, transforming him into the demigod he is.
The biggest strength this fight had going for it was the writing and characterization of Jack, showcasing his tactical intellect, combined with Hercules’ Twelve Labors-related abilities. Each twist and turn was wonderfully accented with the recreation of 19th-Century London, where the fight felt like a far cry from the disappointing silliness such as Season 1’s worst fight.
The only drawback is in the occasionally lazy-looking animation, as Hercules would lifelessly bat away projectiles. But this is minor enough to only prevent it from cinching the top spot, and it’s still an excellent fight. Viewers will have a hard time choosing somebody to root for, but they’ll spend all of it on the edge of their seats, with Jack’s deceptions deserving extra recognition.
1. Zerofuku vs. Buddha
Okay, so technically this one has multiple characters appearing in the gods’ slot as multiple transformations happen. I loved this one for the backstory and enormously entertaining twist: it’s technically 2 gods, squaring off in Round 6. This fight was so epic it got a separate release as Record of Ragnarok Season 2 Part 2, and it’s hard to see why not: the fight is amazing.
Zerofuku is the most important of the characters who fought for the gods, a conflicted deity who wished only to absorb the misfortune of others and take it upon himself. His resentment twisted him, making him into a vengeful, angry fighter. Buddha, however, was a radical presence that interacted with Zerofuku in the past, winning humans over effortlessly.
In terms of combat, it was also an interesting spectacle. Visually, Zerofuku and the later form Hajun’s attacks are among the most insane ones in the series, including massive strikes capable of crushing everything in the stadium at once. Buddha’s Six Realms Staff, meanwhile, responds to his emotions, resulting in a weapon that’s flexible and alternates drastically in its uses. It’s an unpredictable tool, but Buddha is already a wildcard, so it winds up fitting and is thrilling to see them manifest as a giant shield when he fears for his life or a mighty golden shortsword to trade blows or even a deadly scythe.
But the part that makes this fight truly great is in the final moments. For fans who were paying attention to the other fights, Buddha didn’t go in with a Volundr, being a god who was already capable of fighting other gods. But this gets addressed spectacularly, resulting in a far more dramatic finish I won’t choose to spoil unless you want to find out here. The fight is close, Buddha is an exciting and fun character to watch in action, and it’s a clear winner for best fight in the season.
Record of Ragnarok Season 2 brought many fights on the level of Kojiro vs. Poseidon from Season 1, and we can only hope that Season 3 brings the heat similarly. But we will likely not be disappointed, as Hades vs. Qin Shi Huang is next, along with some other truly electrifying fights you can catch on Netflix. Humanity may still have hope at this rate!
