Arcane: Best Fights Of Season 1, Ranked | ScreenRant
Arcane: League of Legends was one of 2021's most successful animated shows. With stunning animation, beautifully interwoven stories, and carefully crafted characters, the show was action-packed with a killer soundtrack to boot - no one skip's Arcane's brilliant opening sequence.
With tougher-than-nails characters in the game, the show was guaranteed to have awe-inspiring fight sequences, some of which exceeded all expectations of the League of Legends adaptation. The show even opens showing the terrifying devastation left from an unseen battle between Piltover's upper-class police and Zaun's rebel army. But what were the best showdowns in season 1?
9 Vander's Kids Vs. Deckard's Crew
The show begins explosively - quite literally - when Vi and the others kids break into a laboratory in Piltover. Running from guards turns to fighting for their haul in the first fully-seen fight scene in the show.
It sets up how strong the main character Vi was from such a young age perfectly. While the older sister is already a formidable fighter, Powder has yet to find her stride in their group when Claggor and Mylo also prove to be strong and capable during this back-alley brawling match.
8 Vi Vs. Silco's Minions
Cementing her role as one of the strongest female characters in today's animated TV landscape, Vi faces someone twice her size and likely twice her age, and it doesn't even register for her. All she's focused on is rescuing her family as she wields her adoptive father's iron gauntlets.
It already is an iconic image of the series. Seemingly with ease, she decimates Silco's forces while Claggor and Mylo free Vander. She is only stopped by Deckard, her earlier opponent, whose veins now run rampant with Shimmer.
7 Vander Vs. Silco's minions
Since the early scenes of the show's first episode, Vander has made it abundantly clear that he's not a fighter anymore, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still have that spirit. In one of Arcane's most shocking scenes, Powder's monkey bomb goes off right before the surrogate family can escape; killing Claggor and Mylo in the process.
Grief-stricken Vander reignites that fighting spirit and quickly dispatches the last of Silco's minions until going against the Shimmer-induced Deckard. But if Vander has taught his adoptive children anything; it's to never give up. Giving Vi a chance to survive, Vander doses himself with Shimmer and at least the audience can see how powerful Vander truly is before his death.
6 Vi Vs. Sevika Round 1
From Vi kneeing Sevika in the face to Sevika stabbing Vi in the gut, this fight doesn't halt in tension or action for a second. Fueled by age-old animosity, these characters are not hesitant to duke it out in the middle of Sevika's card game.
It is also the reveal of Sevika's robotic and Shimmer-charged prosthetic arm that has replaced the one she lost to Powder's monkey bomb in episode 3. The years between Act 1 and Act 2 have since toughened both Vi and Sevika, with neither of them pulling punches. While it is close, the fight is brought to a halt when Caitlyn shoots at Sevika's powerful prosthetic. The scene is quick and leaves more to be desired from these fiery and formidable female characters.
5 Jinx Vs. Firelights
The transformation from the sweet and innocent Powder to the ruthless and bloodthirsty Jinx is nothing short of terrifying and thrilling. This contrast could not be better shown than in Jinx's first battle, which was captivating and epic.
Such a contrast to Powder's earlier experiences in fights, in this face-off she is most definitely hands on and is able to take down the Firelights with ease - even when one of the soldiers turns out to be a Vi lookalike. This battle is made even better when the audience later finds out that Jinx has been fighting her childhood friend Ekko. Her skills are phenomenal, her weapons (like Pow-Pow) strike fear in her enemies, and her aim is merciless, leading her to shoot on her own people.
4 Jinx, Vi & Caitlyn Vs. Firelights
The fights continue to get better and better, each one more captivating than the last. The reunion between Vi and Jinx is bittersweet but beautiful - from Jinx's blue flare lighting up the night sky to the terrifying hail of blasts the loose cannon unleashes on the Firelights. As the only battle with both Vi and Jinx fighting, the audience's eyes can help but be glued to the screen and imagine what could have been.
It is a rapid succession of Jinx's weaponry, Vi's killer punches, and the vibrant colors from the Firelights' hover-boards. It is a tense and dramatic scene, as while Caitlyn rushes to grab the rolling Hextech gemstone, Vi realizes just how much her sister has changed since her disappearance. She is instantaneously terrified of and for Jinx, who has become one of the most powerful characters in Arcane.
3 Jayce & Vi Vs. Shimmer Guards
The first fight using League weapons like Jayce and Vi's signature weapons (the Mercury Hammer and the Atlas Gauntlets) is nothing short of epic. One of the unlikeliest pairings in the show, Vi and Jayce take down Silco's Shimmer factory with relative ease thanks to the Hextech. The fight is an assemblage of vibrant color - from the bright blue of hex crystals to the Shimmer's petrifying pink hues.
While Vi is as dynamic and relentlessly combative as always, the scene is stolen by Jayce. He finally appears as more than just an inventor and politician, but a fighter too, painting a picture of his future from League as protector of Piltover. Jayce is ruthless, shooting in all directions until he accidentally hits a child, and suddenly the fight loses its luster and shows the terrifying realities of war.
2 Vi Vs. Sevika Round 2
The final showdown between Hextech and Shimmer is round 2 of the eagerly-anticipated Vi and Sevika's deathmatch. It is easily one of the show's most dynamic fight scenes and poignant character moments. Rivaling Sevika's Shimmer-enhanced arm, Vi now possesses Hextech Atlas Gauntlets from the earlier battle.
The scene becomes increasingly mystifying when the lights go down and all that can be seen is the glow of their weapons, which simply enhance their innate fighting talents. It ends so suddenly, as most fights do, when Vi grabs hold of Sevika's prosthetic limb, and with the strength of the gauntlets, she rips it out. The fight between two powerful women is not only brilliant and bold but provides a moment of catharsis for Vi. When Vi has a vision of her surrogate father Vander, he reminds her to never give up and the importance of love and family.
1 Ekko Vs. Jinx
The battle between former childhood friends on the bridge between Piltover and Zaun is extreme, fast-paced, and exquisitely animated. The boy savior and the loose cannon reminisce about old times playing games. The ticking of Ekko's stopwatch is intense and the colorfully animated fight appears as choreographed as dancing.
The innocent memories of their childhoods are suddenly halted to show the fight in the present and in real-time. Compared to the artistic scene of Ekko and Powder playing, the actual fight between Ekko and Jinx is seamless and quick. It ends only when Ekko falters - believing Vi that Jinx isn't all bad. Unfortunately, this lets Jinx detonate a grenade which critically injures her. Not only is this scene a fan-favorite, but it culminates in Jinx receiving Shimmer surgery and enhancements, which allows her to be an even more powerful character in the final episode and future seasons.