Yo
So right before we cap off the 10th anniversary season of Death Battle and likely get a peek at our lineup for next year I wanted to make a list of my most wanted episodes. This was kinda inspired by my friends' own lists so go check em out but anyway let's start this list that I totally made recently and not a few months ago and I just forgot to post it.
15. Slayer vs Demitri (Guilty Gear vs Darkstalkers)
What better way to kick off this list than a battle between some of the dandiest vampires around? Both Darkstalkers and Guilty Gear are series in desperate need of more representation on the show and while Darkstalkers recently made a glorious comeback with Jon, Guilty Gear is still stuck with Sol as the ‘Sole’ (heh) rep for the series and that was all the way back in Season 2! But now with Strive finally making the series mainstream-ish Guilty Gear’s comeback is now seeming like a matter of when not if and with Slayer likely to make his return very soon this match would be an excellent way to bring Guilty Gear back as well as bring in one of the faces of Darkstalkers.
While this match might seem fairly basic at first, just glancing at both of their movesets, I think the interactions between both characters and the surprising strength both wield could make for a pretty unique fighting game match. Between Slayer’s attitude and strength driving Demitri mad over the course of the fight, an obvious Midnight Bliss scene, Demitri draining his blood and actually gaining an upper hand on Slayer. You can get so many great interactions and hype moments out of this match that would make for an amazing episode.
Both Guilty Gear and Darkstalkers have so much potential for great episodes and we’ve barely skimmed the surface of it and I think this match would be the perfect way to show it all off.
and let's face it any Darkstalkers content is good Darkstalkers content cause Capcom sure ain’t giving us anything
14. Megas vs Titan (Megas XLR vs Sym Bionic Titan)
Ah, a battle between two of the sickest cartoon mechs around who were unfortunately taken before their time. Truth be told I don’t know if there’s a whole lot I can say about this match besides “Oh hell yeah!” I think seeing how Death Battle would actually mesh these series would be really cool considering how tonally different the shows are and how different the styles are. You can get fun moments in the analysis too! Just try and tell me Coop isn’t Boomsticks kind of guy, that dude would be all over Megas in that analysis.
Death Battle has recently done a pretty good job at representing cartoon characters more and the crew have even expressed interest in bringing Megas XLR on the show. This match would bring a lot more love to two shows who, let's face it, haven’t exactly been given much of it and would make for a pretty dope episode that I think a lot of people would enjoy. I mean come on? Who doesn’t dig giant robots?
13. Mitsurugi vs Haohmaru (Soul Calibur vs Samurai Shodown)
Right back into the world of fighting games with a match that’s...actually pretty simple!? Well yeah even though both characters are a lot stronger than most people would expect, for the most part what we got here is a nice clean good ol’ fashioned duel between two of the biggest fighting game samurai. And it’s not like they are so simple that they’re boring, both Haoh and Mitsurugi have more than enough neat moves and hype shit in their arsenal that you can easily make it a fun fight, but I think the real draw here is that we have a clean basic sword fight with fighting game nonsense sprinkled in here and there with a series that hasn’t been on this show in a long time and is just begging to come back.
This is a rivalry that’s been acknowledged by both companies in Soul Calibur 6 and I would love to see it settled in Death Battle fashion. Is it a simple and basic match? Yeah and I wouldn’t blame anyone for thinking it’s boring at first, but sometimes some of the coolest matchups are the simpler ones and I think this is no exception.
12. Scar vs Kurapika (Fullmetal Alchemist vs Hunter X Hunter)
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Hunter X Hunter (2011) are easily my top two favorite anime ever, basic bitch taste I know lol, but finding matchups for both series that click with me has not really been easy. This one however? This one’s been in my head ever since I saw both shows, which was actually around the same time! And watching both FMA and HXH so close to each other just made it pretty clear just how much they had in common. Two members of scarlet-eyed races who witnessed their people murdered in front of them leaving them on a quest of vengeance, hunting down the members of the factions that massacred their people with their newfound abilities. Yeah I know the whole “dude wants revenge for the slaughter of their clan” is dime a dozen but these two series and characters mesh so well together that this is just kinda “The One” for me.
I think one of the coolest things about this match is how surprisingly unique it is with the stats here being so close that it likely comes down to a battle of tactics and how well Alchemy can interact with Nen. Could Kurapika figure out how Scar’s powers work by catching onto his fighting style over the course of the fight? Could his Nen defend from Scar’s destruction alchemy? Scar’s no dummy either so could he also use his smarts to get the hit in should his Destruction Alchemy actually work? Honestly, while one might think Kurapika’s limits with his Nen prevent him from being very fun to use, I think this match proves that you can still get an interesting fight with him.
Hell as a bonus considering the tone of both series and characters here you can get pretty bloody with it and maybe have Kurapika try to get rid of Scar’s arm after catching onto his powers or have Scar blind Kurapika at the end for an intense finale until one character is able to get the upper hand and land the finishing blow on the other. Hunter X Hunter is universally considered one of the most overdue anime on this show and Fullmetal didn’t exactly leave the best first impression, so to have two of my favorite anime paired up against each other with this match would make me damn hyped, maybe hype enough to have commissioned someone to write this fight...
11. Ladybug and Cat Noir vs Cure Black and Cure White (Miraculous vs Pretty Cure)
Okay, let’s not beat around the bush here, out of all the fights on this list this one’s probably the biggest long shot on here and that’s saying something! If you know me you know that Precure is a series I’m actually a pretty big fan of and with its giant cast of characters with awesome yet ridiculous powers and feats I think it's something that would be a blast to have on this show and talk about. And Miraculous would also be really cool to bring in with the show being such a giant right now with a surprising amount of good candidates to have in that would make for great episodes. Of course, I know that Precure’s non-existent popularity in the west and the fact that Ladybug and Cat Noir both have MUCH more popular options means this match has basically no shot of happening but damn if that ain’t gonna stop me from wanting it especially with how well it works.
Both are duos from giant long-running shows that were heavily inspired by traditional magical girls and superheroes. Both shows follow a traditional monster of the week format and focus on two teenagers who transform into superheroes with the help of their mascot companions to battle and purify evil, all while juggling it with school and personal life. Yeah the connections might seem like the classic magical girl schtick but that’s honestly part of why I like it so much. We’ve yet to actually get a good ol’ magical girl fight on Death Battle (hell with the direction we’re going we might not get one ever) and I think this fight would be a good way to give us exactly that while at the same time also giving us a fun team fight which combined with the style of both Precure and Miraculous, would give us a really different feeling episode. There’s just so much you can do with this matchup between a really fun analysis with Boomstick just losing it the whole time with how ridiculous both franchises get, an awesome fight with the team dynamic going on, and the music. Have I mentioned how good Precure music is? That shits a bop.
Anway watch Precure
10. Homura vs I-No (Madoka Magica vs Guilty Gear)
Wow going straight from Pretty Cure to Madoka huh. Anyway this a match I’ve seen a few people throw around even before Strive made it basically thematically perfect. The connections here are pretty clear cut the two are both time hoppers who wish to prevent a disastrous future and return to their loved ones, but after going through so many timelines and watching those they saved die no matter what they did, they become colder and more distant with them eventually gaining godly powers at the end of their story and using it to change the world. While Madoka and Guilty Gear might seem like a strange combination at first I think their abilities and nature lend itself to a really cool and trippy fight that could start off pretty tame at first but escalate to an absolute insane finale by the end with them using their godly abilities in full force.
I’ve mentioned before that I want Death Battle to tackle more Guilty Gear characters and I-No might be my wanted character from it at this point with her having the most to work with out of any character in the series and her story having come to its conclusion in Strive. Madoka is also something I would be interested in having on the show and I think Homura is the prime pick from it, though I would probably wait until the next Madoka movie finally comes out to bring her in. Also the music here would just kick ass considering we’re dealing with both Guilty Gear and Madoka. Man no matter the form magical girl stuff just always brings in damn great music.
9. King Bradley vs Solidus Snake (Fullmetal Alchemist vs Metal Gear)
Words do little to describe just how fucking raw and badass this fight is. Eyepatch-wearing artificial super soldier leaders who serve as puppets for an even greater power and can take on militaries single-handedly despite possessing clear imperfections? Honestly to god this might be one of the most thematic matchups out there and you don’t even have to make an essay to show why! Fullmetal Alchemist and Metal Gear is another one of those pairings that “might be a bit odd to see at first but fit together way too well”. For the animation I think there’s plenty of styles you can go with that would fit this fight well but personally I very much hope for this to be 3D, both don’t have particularly crazy movesets and are relatively simple fighters for the most part plus just having another 3D Metal Gear sword fight would just be...so so goooood.
Bradley running down Solidus’ troops in Arsenal Gear before confronting the man himself for a bloody and brutal sword duel that escalates from them disarming and shattering eachother’s weapons to full on dismemberment with the the victor just barely managing to muster up every ounce of life left in them to land a finishing blow on their opponent. This is one of those matches where the appeal is very clear and the fight writes itself beautifully, I really hope we can get it some day.
8. Emperor Palpatine vs Master Xehanort (Star Wars vs Kingdom Hearts)
This is a matchup that needs no introduction. A battle between two immensely powerful dark lords from franchises that are near and dear to my heart (I didn’t even intend that lol) that is more than big enough to take the spot of a finale. While the DBX of this match was great and showed it can be much more than just a repeat of Yoda vs King Mickey, I still think it barely scratched the surface of what this fight can do. These two probably have the most to work with out of any other characters in their franchises with both essentially having...nearly every goddamn ability in both Star Wars and Kingdom Hearts, meaning you could get even grander than nuttier than any other fight of theirs so far.
To be honest I’m not sure what else to add here that hasn’t been said already. Palpatine is a character a lot of people have been wanting on for a long time and more Kingdom Hearts is always appreciated, especially when it's someone with a lot of importance like Xehanort. It’s honestly hard for me to name any fight that can match this one in just how perfect it is and even though it might take a while until it actually happens as a full episode, I’m more than happy enough to wait until that day comes.
7. Vilgax vs Ridley (Ben 10 vs Metroid)
This one I love mainly just because of just how fucking awesome the fight potential is. Even though I can admit that the connections are fairly basic and that you can probably find more thematic matches for either I don’t think anything quite tops this in just how epic the fight can be. There are so many directions you can take this fight depending on what’s used for both characters with the set piece of a huge fleet battle between Vilgax’s army and the space pirates being a must have either way. You also got some pretty fun interaction potential both in terms of their movesets and how violent this fight can get with both just tearing into each other by the end.
To say Ben 10’s first go in Death Battle was controversial would be a massive understatement but I think the series should still absolutely come back at some point with Vilgax being the obvious next rep. Metroid we haven’t seen on this show for a good while and Ridley is a pretty highly requested character, doing this match would kill two birds with one stone while also giving us a really awesome fight.
6. Captain America vs Kamen Rider Ichigo (Marvel vs Kamen Rider)
With how many Marvel characters have made returns to the show recently it’s really surprising that Cap has yet to have a runback, especially when he’s the one who probably needs it the most out of any Marvel hero. And out of all of Steve’s options, I think the one that gives him the most respect and interests me the most is the original Kamen Rider himself Takeshi Hongo. Kamen Rider has been requested to be on this show for ages and the DB crew themselves have expressed interest in bringing it on, I think this match would be a really good way to introduce Kamen Rider on the show. A legendary battle of Eastern and Western superhero icons, The First Avenger vs The First Kamen Rider.
I would love it if much like All Might vs Might Guy, both Cap and Ichigo show a great amount of respect to each other during the fight. Hell a track with a similar feel to “Mighty” would honestly fit perfectly here. With how much fun you can have with all the old school Kamen Rider and Marvel vs Capcom nonsense as well as the respectful vibes this fight can give off, I think if this match were to happen it’d be a really good time.
5. Hellboy vs Nero (Dark Horse vs Devil May Cry)
Nero is easily one of my wanted characters to be on Death Battle, in a series where pretty much every character has amazing animation potential Nero sticks out as having the most to work with out of all of them. And my preferred opponent has always been the chad himself, Hellboy. Both Nero and Hellboy play off each other amazingly with their shittalking, weapons, transformations, etc, so much of the fight practically writes itself. You can make various gags like Nero getting grossed out by Hellboy’s cigarette smoke or reference Hellboy’s shitty aim with him missing every one of his shots before just throwing the gun itself at Nero, and of course, the cutaway gag of Wiz using the Devil Breakers is practically a shoe-in. And then there’s the badass finale you could have with Hellboy waking his Devil Heart to go up against Nero in his Devil Trigger. Add in the awesome music potential Nero brings to the table with one of the best themes in Devil May Cry and it leaves you thinking…when you look at everything this matchup has to offer it's truly hard not to think of it as a match made in hell.
4. The Mandalorian vs The Courier (Star Wars vs Fallout)
Despite being such a massive part of gaming and pop culture in general the Western RPG representation on this show has been...well nonexistent. Even though series like The Elder Scrolls, Deus Ex, and Mass Effect have been requested since early on in Death Battle’s life, WRPGs have yet to make any actual appearance which is a massive shame and why I hope this match could change that. I’ve mentioned earlier that Star Wars is a series that is very important to me and being able to explore more of the non-force users with one of my favorite modern Star Wars characters would be really cool to see. So pair that up with one of my favorite video games of all time?
New Vegas and Mandalorian are just an aesthetically cool combo and the fight lends itself to a really neat western vibe. Both Mando and Courier have a ton of weapons and gadgets that you can play around and get fun interactions with like having the Mysterious Stranger and Miss Fortune jump in when Courier V.A.T.S. Mando’s Whistling Birds, or the ending of the fight having an epic clash with the Darksaber and Proton axe. We don’t get fights like this on the show often so I think having a more grounded western style duel with a bunch of fun gunplay would make for a very cool change of pace.
3. John Constantine vs Raidou Kuzunoha (DC vs Shin Megami Tensei)
This is one of those matchups that the second you hear it just clicks.
Very obvious theme that vibes
explores types of characters that we don’t see often on Death Battle
really cool animation potential,
And to top it all off with how much stuff is going on with both characters it makes for a pretty interesting debate that depends entirely on how their abilities counter each other
Constantine isn’t your run of the mill DC Herald who goes around punching universes away nor is he just your average street tier guy. Sure John’s magic is strong enough to keep around with herald tiers but for the most part, it’s the man's tricks and smarts that allow him to get by in most of his encounters and I think his analysis could be a lot of fun going through all of his ridiculous abilities and accomplishments.
However if anything were to give all that a run for its money it would be going through the nonsense that is Shin Megami Tensei and all the demons that Raidou can summon, Boomstick or Constantine’s reaction to Mara is very much required.
2. Magneto vs Tetsuo (Marvel vs Akira)
I think few would disagree with me saying Magneto is one of the most long overdue characters for Death Battle. Hell the DB crew themselves have said the mans probably should’ve been in by now but they just didn’t have any good ideas for him…which is funny because it feels like immediately after they said that a bunch of different Magneto ideas started getting a lot more popular. And while I do like a bunch of the ideas I’ve seen for Erik, personally the one that vibes with me the most is the legendary forehead man himself. Akira is one of the most iconic anime out there and Tetsuo to me always felt like one of those “classic really strong” characters who you’d see thrown around a lot in the very early days of VS debating, he’s been requested since the very beginning of Death Battle he just never had that one opponent for him.
With how much the sprite team has evolved with all the beautiful 3D backgrounds and effects you see nowadays I think their take on this match could be absolutely stunning. Akira has always been peak aesthetic so integrating all those beautiful visuals as well as showing off the sheer destruction and body horror would look visually stunning. You could have so many good interactions with these two as well as awesome set pieces when they both finally show off their full power at the end of the fight. Also Magneto saying “Welcome to die” or a “Where's yo curleh mustache at?” and “He is so Pringles!” references are very much a necessity here and an episode featuring Mags would be incomplete otherwise.
Honorable Mentions
Frieza vs Megatron
Akuma vs Raoh
Ahsoka vs Cure Moonlight
Whitebeard vs Escanor
Arbiter vs Predator
1. Master Chief vs Doomslayer (Halo vs Doom)
Halo is my favorite game series of all time and Master Chief is my favorite video game character ever. I’ve always wanted Chief to make a return to Death Battle someday and after playing through Doom 2016 and getting into the Doom series the idea of a rematch between Master Chief and Doomguy/Doomslayer quickly made its way up my most wanted. But this year after replaying through the Halo series for the series’s 20th anniversary and in preparation for Infinite AND having played through and fucking loved Doom Eternal the year prior this match that I was already pretty fond of ended becoming my most wanted episode as a whole.
I’ve seen so many people ride this match off as just a spite match and that people only want it to have Doomguy win, everytime I hear someone say this it annoys me to no end. Quite frankly I do not care if Chief were to lose, while I would absolutely prefer for John to win in a possible episode I would still want the match to happen no matter the victor. Halo and Doom are two series that have a very long history with each other with Combat Evolved effectively helping kill the classic “Boomer Shooter” style with all the big FPS’s from then on taking a lot from Halo. Hell (heh) the Doom franchise made its grand comeback when the Halo series was at its absolute lowest point.
And now that both are owned by Microsoft the demand for the two to crossover has increased even more especially since both of their new installments take a lot of ideas from each other. The idea that a rematch is wanted solely for spite couldn’t be farther from the truth, this is a pairing with a lot of history to it and people want a revisit because they want to see Master Chief and Doomslayer go at it with all their new weapons and abilities that they’ve gotten from their games that released after the original. Just because one random dude might want the match solely because they want to see Doomguy kick Chief’s ass doesn’t mean everyone wants the match for that.
While the original might’ve been fine for a Season 1 episode, the potential that a rematch has is absolutely insane. The fight starting in a ship that’s crashing down to a Covenant and Hell infested Earth with the two space marines tearing through the armies while battling each other. Both going through their arsenals and clashing swords and hammers while also pulling off bullshit stunts much to the annoyance of their A.I., Chief's new mobility options in Infinite also open up a lot of potential with both having grappling hooks and dashes to play around with in the fight.
Having Halo and Doom make their long awaited return with this match would make me incredibly happy as someone who loves both series and I have confidence that the Death Battle team could pull it off.
One Last Thing…
It is absolutely surreal that we’re already reaching the end of this 10th anniversary season, this show has been a part of my life for so long and the fact that we’ve hit this milestone is honestly kinda insane lol. I’ve met a lot of great people through Death Battle and have had so much fun talking to others about it and our own most wanted fights. The popoff of finally having one of your most wanted be revealed as the next time is a feeling that can’t really be topped. Death Battle means a lot to me and I truly cannot wait for Season 9
