Crimgon's Top Twenty Favorite VS-Show Episodes

 Crimgon's Top Twenty Favorite VS-Show Episodes

Vs debating is dumb but its the fun kind of dumb. To celebrate this I decided to rank my top twenty favorite vs-show episodes. First I think I have to clarify that I will also be counting videos that have both analysis and fights, videos with only fights, and videos with only analysis.

20.Super Power Beatdown's Wolverine vs Predator

First I want to get something out of the way, I'm not too big on Super Power Beatdown. They're not bad or anything, but I find them kind of boring. Most of the time they are just capesh*t matchups with barely any variety, its enough to make Death Battle Season 7 blush. Even with that, the choreography also gets a little repetitive at times. That being said, I do have a lot of nostalgic memories of watching these videos with my dad. I also can't deny that the costumes are amazing. Out of all the ones I remember watching with my dad, this is the one I liked the most. The dynamic between wolverine and John Yaujta is entertaining, they bounce off so well with each other that it seems like a legit crossover. The choreography is also fairly entertaining. The only problem I have with it is that there is legit no suspense as to who would win, which is sad cause the fight does try to build some sort of tension. Any tension that is built up though, is killed by the fact that wolverine can well, heal. Like, am I really going to be biting my nails, wondering if Wolvering will die … in a knife fight. Wolverine's healing factor just makes any threat in this fight feel trivial, and it absolutely ruins the "fakeout" in the end. That being said, yeah its pretty good.

19. Crypto Xing's Oni vs Troll 

First I should probably explain what Crypto Xing is cause its relatively obscure as of now. Its a vs series that is entirely based on cryptids and mythological characters. They unfortunately have no fights after the first three episodes, but I still like it. This is extremely unique and always makes it worth a rewatch because its unlikely you'll see these characters covered in another show. Oni vs Troll is one of my favorite ones, though the reason why I like it is kind of petty. You see, in every single one of the videos, I had a pattern. The character I always liked more would lose. I always knew they would get stomped, so that always made it worse. Oni vs Troll however, is the first time the guy I was rooting for won, and man that's satisfying. 

18.  Death Battle's Yoda vs King Mickey

For years Dante vs Bayonetta was my favorite death battle premiere, then this episode came along and God, I love this episode! I loved so many scenes in this episode: both of them disarming each other and regaining their weapons, utilizing both of their respective "mystical power", the way their sword fighting skills matched each other, literally everything in the climax. The voice acting is great and the dynamic they have is fun. The music is great, cinematic and syncs up well with the climax of the fight. Yeah that's pretty much it, pretty good episode.

17.  Death Battle's Samurai Jack vs Afro Samurai

Outside of Bendy vs Cuphead, this is one of the best hand drawn vs animation ever made. It's impressive how good this episode was given how little these two had to work with in terms of animation potential. The bridge is such a great set piece that is utilized perfectly in the fight, and the waterfall and the mist give a good sense of atmosphere. There are so many great moments like the "you jump good bit", jack fighting with eyes closed, the fight on the tightrope, and that amazing one stroke duel leading to the brutal death. Someone once perfectly described the episode in one way, "They took a fight with no potential, and gave it plenty of potential".

16.  Death Battle's Snake vs Sam

Ah, Snake vs Sam. One of the best death battles of all time (the objective best in my opinion). What else can I say about this episode that everyone hasn't. The answer? Nothing... Yeah just watch a review for it online and that's pretty much all I have to say. Moving on!

15. Scouthedog1's Daleks vs Battle Droids

Scouthedog1's animations are always charming. They may not always be the most groundbreaking, but they are fun. Now why out of all of Scouthedog1's animations did I choose this one? Well, many reasons actually so I'll list them out:

1. I love army battles

There's something about fights between two giant armies that just keeps me consistently entertained.

2. I'm a doctor who fan 

 While I don't think a droid could ever kill a dalek, I still enjoyed the dalek W. Also it's fun to see Doctor Who in VS, the verse isn't used that often.

 3.The Escalation

I like the way the battle escalates. I originally had an entire paragraph planned out explaining what I mean by that, but I guess I don't really have a way to articulate it.

                               4. I'm a doctor who fan

                                        Yeah this fight is also carried on my bias. 

14. DBX's Lucario vs Blaziken

This dbx was similar to goro vs machamp in the way I reacted to both the announcement and my initial response. A "oh great, like I'll look forward to that" followed by a stunned 5 minutes after watching it as I realize how good it ended up being. I heard that this animation was something that an animator worked on in his free time in order to improve his skills and that makes sense given how much there was in the animation. Seeing the two teams of Pokémon going at each other was so chaotic, I never wanted it to end. Butterfree's "sacrifice" near the end actually made me a little emotional and really made me root for Lucario (good thing he won, because having him lose after Butterfree sacrificed themselves would make me sad). This video in my opinion perfectly encapsulated what DBX says it is: No Rules, No Research, Only Bloodshed.

13. Death Battle's Goro vs Machamp

This video is what made me an actual fan of Death Battle, which is ironic because I almost quit the channel when it was announced. You see, season 7 was a tough time to be a casual Death Battle fan. Nearly every match was some dumb thing that I didn't really care about, there wasn't any reason for me to stay involved. So when this match was announced, I felt like moving on. I thought that "since they can't make videos that interest me, why should I keep watching?". Eventually the episode came out and I decided to watch it as one last goodbye. When I finished it, I was silent. It took 5 more replays for the episode to really sink in. I was in utter shock at how much I enjoyed it, shock. This dumb matchup that I felt would be a waste of time, ended up being some of the most fun I had the entire week. And its easy to see why! The graphics are good, the choreography is fun, the voice acting is great, and the music is fast paced. This episode made me decide to stick with the channel as now I knew that they could take an episode as boring as Goro vs Machamp and make it one of the most exciting things ever. 

 

12. Smash Bracket's Sonic vs Fox 2

I love this episode. There is almost nothing at all that I can dislike in it. While the Spiderverse intro to Sonic's analysis drags on for a little bit, it isn't bad and the rest of the analysis is great ignoring some parts (I still don't know what Excalibur Sonic does). Fox's analysis is my favorite though as I was interested in learning who Fox is, and I was surprised with how formidable the verse was. But let's not dilly dally, the fight is what steals the show. The voice acting is great, the choreography is excellent, the graphics and puppet rigging are near perfect, the characters are in character, and its just plain fun. Having the other characters join in the fight made it so much more fun than it already is. The conclusion is also nice, and actually makes me convinced that base sonic does better against the arwing than super sonic. Speaking of which, I think this is one of the only vs animations to not use Super Sonic which is also cool. The conclusion also leaves makes it so that you can actually see both sides of the argument which is neat. This episode gave me a fun time that I haven't had in a while, embodying why I fell in love with these goofy fight animations. I can't really think of a serious flaw. Why is it not top ten? Simple, I worry my love of this episode is cause of recency bias. If I still have the same opinion of this episode in a couple of weeks then I'll move it up, but for now I'm going to see how my opinion changes overtime.

11. Mini Rumble's Pacman vs Tetris 

Man the battle for the number ten spot was intense. I was almost going to swap it with number ten. This fight may be short, but damn is it fun. When I first saw this pop up in my feed, my first thought was: "How can you even do a fight with Tetris?", and then I watched the video. Well, they sure as hell found a way how. I love how creative they were with this fight, they legit had Pacman fight the game itself. I especially love how the moves tetris made were actual strategies used in the actual game. While Tetris may bring all the positives, its pacman that brings it down. He acts entirely like his smash bros self and mostly just jumps around. He is the most boring part of the fight, that being said Tetris alone is entertaining enough to bring this animation this far on the list. 

10. Super Power Beatdown's White Ranger vs Scorpion

Now I know last time I gave Super Power Beatdown a lot of slack earlier in the list, but this one doesn't have any of the problems other Super Power Beatdowns have. The match is fun, the choreography is constantly changing and doesn't get repetitive, you are always wondering who would win. That coupled with the consistently good costumes which legit looked like official power ranger costumes. The reason this beat Pacman vs Tetris is that instead of one combatant doing something cool, both combatants do something cool. Jason David Frank playing the white ranger was the cherry on top, may he rest in peace.

9. Death Battle's Chuck Norris vs Segata Sanshiro

Death Battle's joke battles are always hit and miss with only two that everyone unanimously agrees are good. The first is Dan Habiki vs Hercule Satan, the second is this masterpiece. To fully explain why I love this episode so much, I should probably break it down scene by scene, and by scene by scene I mean just the analysis and fight. First the analysis, its fun. The way Chuck Norris' analysis starts with him killing the "child born from a dragon destined to bring good to the land" is hilarious and the rest of his analysis continues that streak of being hilarious. Segata's analysis however is my favorite because my lack of knowledge of him made his analysis infinitely more fun. The fight is something else. It somehow has some of the best pacing, while also increasing in scale exponentially. It is just pure fun, it never fails to deliver. I do love the references to the other fights at the end, especially the sprite Goku vs Superman 2. While having it end in a tie is a bit of a cop out, its saved by both chuck and segata as well as the constellation appearing in several other death battles.

8. One Minute Melee's Bill Cipher vs Sans

This one is almost this high purely just on nostalgia. I remember every day before elementary school, me and my sister would sit down and watch One Minute Melees. Out of all of them, this is my favorite. The set up is actually my favorite part, the way Sans initially acts toward Bill before he snaps and attacks him is "bone chilling". The fight is also entertaining. While Bill does really get his ass handed to him, he still puts up a good fight and its in character for him to be a jobber until he gets pissed and actually tries. The hat of judgement at the end was also funny. What else can I say outside of it being a good time. Best minute of my life.

7. Death Battle's Hulk vs Doomsday

While it is nice to have a fight with great interactions, excellent dialogue, and deep connections, a straight up brawl is also great. For me, this is the junk food of good death battles. It can be just summed up as: Big guys punch each other. My god is this animation just fun. The sound design makes every hit feel like its shaking the planet, the choreography is surprisingly creative, and the kill... oh god... That kill alone is enough to put it this high.

6. Crypto Xing's Bunnyman vs Goatman

 

I really love Crypto Xing, but for me there was always a flaw. For a cryptid vs show, there isn't really a lot of cryptids. Most of the combatants were mostly mythological monsters, not that there's anything wrong with that of course its still entertaining, but I always feel a little ripped off. This video, however, uses the cryptid aspect the most. The analysis for both were fun as I had no idea who they were and it was fun hearing the wacky backstories for both of them. The debate was also unique due to the ambiguous nature of the two characters. While the Goatman stomped, the debate was interesting due to how it was a physical living being fighting a poltergeist and I legit don't know any debate like that. Despite not having a fight, I tend to rewatch and enjoy this video more than some death battles which is saying a lot.

5. Multiverse Match's Ghostface vs Jack Slater 

 

Unfortunately this is the only Multiverse Match in this list, but I want everyone to know I love their stuff a lot. I like the idea of this matchup so much, both of these characters are great parodies of their genres so it did make sense to match them up. Ghostface's analysis was good, but man Jack Slater's stole the show. I just loved the hosts' exasperated reactions to the insane stuff that happens in Slater's franchise (He made death his bitch?) and how they actually managed to have Slater's analysis make me feel emotional for the character. The fight is also great. The Schwarzenegger impression is not perfect, but its good enough. Ghostface's voice performance is great and I can see it being an official one. I love how they manage to incorporate both horror and action tropes in the fight, swapping between them fluidly like a duet of the two. The hand drawn stuff is also great. Ghostface's motivation for killing Slater and his plan with the ticket is chilling and is actually something I can see a Ghostface doing given that they were once motivated to kill in order to make better Stab sequels. As both a fan of horror and cheesy action movies, this was a great treat.

 

4. Death Battle's Saitama vs Popeye

While some episodes may end up feeling special, some you know are meant to be special. Saitama vs Popeye is one of those episodes. This episode feels like its a finale, it feels like its a special event, that its something that has been built up to. The analysis for both builds up how strong they are while also having good enough jokes to be entertained. But the fight is what steals the show. The first segment in hand drawn is great and I'm surprised by how well the 3d background blended with the hand drawn stuff. The transition to a different animation style was a big surprise and was the most excited I felt watching an animation, out of everything death battle could've done, I never expected them to utilize multiple animations styles in one animation. While I'm not too big on the sprite portion, the 3d portion is my favorite part of the animation. I love how over the top it gets. It also helps that the animation is also funny like hell, everything Popeye does gets a laugh out of me and I find the 3d popeye hilarious to look at (I hope that's intentional). The ending is perfect, with saitama having a nice character moment and popeye just turning him to eggs. In my opinion, its the best finale of any vs show period.

 

3. Death Battle's Hercules vs Sun Wukong

First I would like to start off with saying that I did indeed use the better thumbnail that they should've used. Before season 9 started, the Death Battle team claimed that this season would be unique in terms of the new franchises they would be using. So of course... the fanbase didn't believe a thing they said and proceeded to bemoan about all the capeshit filler matchups we would have to endure. Even with new franchises like Demon Slayer and League of Legends, everyone (including me) were complaining about the boring predictable matches. And then this episode was announced Well, we all certainly shut up. This was a great time to be a part of the community, almost everyone was excited for the next episode and were interested in seeing how these characters would be analyzed. Then the episode came out and it was pretty good. Not perfect by any means; Hercules' arrow spam was weird, Wukong's analysis focused too much on goku, and the death sucked. But it was nice. I keep finding myself visiting this episode time and time again, still in shock at how a matchup like this happened. The fight is also fun and I'm always down to rewatch it. For me this is the comfort food of death battles for me. Something I know will always give me a great time, and for that I love it.

2.  DBX's Cuphead vs Bendy

This is no doubt, the best DBX they ever made. This short animation legitimately looks like its an actual crossover. The animation is that good. Hell, the animation was so good, I became a fan of BATM for a while, just because of this animation. That's saying a lot.

Honorable Mentions:

Mini Rumble's Michelangelo vs Rash

The animation is solely carried by the retro themed second half which is near perfection.

Death Battle's Gogeta vs Vegito

I just put this here so I have the chance to say that it should've been Gogeta vs Omnimon

Rewind Rumble's Punisher vs Red Hood

The h2h in this fight is the best in any sprite fight I've ever seen. The only problem is that I have to put it in at most 0.75x speed to be able to comprehend it.

Smash Bracket's Ice Climbers vs Duck Hunt

I used to have this as one of my favorites, but revisiting this its the matchup that carries it. Everytime I rewatch it, its so I can watch the analysis for the characters only. Sometimes I even skip the fight! Not that its bad of course, but its not anything special either. The music, while fitting the retro theme, becomes a little grating on the ears during the avalanche scene.  

Death Battle's Omniman vs Homelander

It's good but the others edge it out with longer fights + more investment in the matchup

Death Battle's Ironman vs Lex

I love it...but I just love others more. However, if the list was "top twenty best VS-show episodes" it would be here.

Death Battle's Rachet and Clank vs Jax and Daxter

This episode is criminally underrated. The action is fun and the teamwork between both teams is conveyed well. I also like the usage of the R.Y.N.O. and the 1812 Overture near the end.

1. Death Battle's Dio vs Alucard

I don't know what to say about this episode. I didn't have any investment at all when it was announced. I wasn't against it, but I wasn't ecstatic for it. Unfortunately, this episode came out at the time I was at my breaking point with Death Battle, Macho Man vs Kool Aid Man just came out and it was my most hated episode at the time. This video, however, completely made up for the MachoAid. To start, both analysis are terrific. Good story coverage, decent enough jokes and they both end in a way that contradicts each other which is nice. The fight is terrific, while it initially starts off pretty standard, it really takes off once Alucard goes level zero. The inclusion of the abridged line, the 3d blood flood, the zombie battle, all leading to the perfect Big Ben fight. There are only a few flaws (the frame rate during dio's world speech), but they always end up leading to a banger moment that makes up for it. One final thing, I love how the clocktower in the background of the thumbnail is the same one in the fight.