Record of Ragnarok is an anime that pits many renowned people from human history against gods from many different mythologies. They fight in a tournament to decide if humans deserve a continued existence or if they should be wiped out by the gods.
The anime is currently only two seasons long, but that’s long enough for its all-star cast of characters to create many memorable moments. These are the ten best episodes out of the twenty-two that are currently available.
10 Episode 3: Killer Move
Lu Bu was stated to be the strongest human during his initial introduction, but the extent of his power was unclear at the time. The third episode served as his backstory. Despite never meeting another human on his level of strength, Lu Bu continued to train hard.
This flashback ends with Lu By revealing his ultimate technique. Being capable of splitting the clouds in the sky with one single spear swing gave viewers a nice perspective on how strong he really is. This flashback episode ranks lower than some of the others due to Lu Bu not having as much of a personal obstacle. Most other characters have a large hurdle they had to overcome in the past.
9 Episode 4: Joy
The previous episode’s purpose was to showcase how strong Lu Bu was, while this episode’s purpose was to reveal how weak he is compared to godly figures like Thor. There was a lot of action in this episode, but it all came down to one single moment.
Lu Bu gambled it all on his ultimate technique. He would ride his bike companion straight at Thor as he swung his sky-splitting spear. Unfortunately for him, Thor brushed the attack off with ease. This made it seem unlikely that any human could take down a god.
8 Episode 17: Requiem
Heracles seemed like the clear winner until Jack used his own blood as a weapon. Heracles underestimated his opponents and lost as a result. Jack’s bitter-sweet victory was the second win for the human team, but at the cost of a hero’s death.
This fight was the first one where the human contestant was clearly evil, while the god character was clearly a warrior of justice. It excellently showcases that this tournament isn’t about good versus evil but rather purely about survival.
7 Episode 7: Expelled From Paradise
This episode retells the story of Adam and Eve with a few unique twists. In this version of the story, Eve is entirely innocent, and Adam eats the forbidden fruit on purpose to anger the counsel of the gods, which he despises.
Adam delivered many powerful lines of dialogue throughout the course of his fight with Zeus. He fights for the future of all his descendants, and this backstory episode helps establish his motivation well.
6 Episode 15: Birth Of A Monster
Not a lot is known about the real-life Jack the Ripper, so Record of Ragnarok didn’t have much to work with. Instead of delivering a short take, the author decided to create an entirely unique backstory for him.
Seeing the unfortunate circumstances of Jack’s family situation made him a much more interesting character. This incarnation of Jack eventually got his own spin-off manga to expand his story even further.
5 Episode 16: The Final Labor
Heracles is a Legendary hero from Greek mythology that had to overcome twelve labors. Most of these labors involved killing or capturing a monstrous creature, although a few were much simpler tasks.
Record of Ragnarok’s version of Heracles is capable of harnessing the power of these creatures into his own power. Most of Heracles and Jack’s action-packed fight takes place in this episode, where Heracles summons Cerberus to aid him.
4 Episode 10: Greatest Loser
Kojiro’s backstory is one of the most interesting because it doesn’t actually depict him as an outstanding man like the others does. Everyone else was defeating giant monsters, gods, wiping out armies, splitting the skies, or doing some other incredible miracle, but Kojiro’s is simply about learning to adapt.
Kojiro considers learning more important than winning a fight. He would continuously seek out stronger opponents to hone his abilities. He never won a single battle in his entire life, yet he went down in history as one of the greatest swordsmen ever due to his incredible skill.
3 Episode 8: Grace Abounding
Zeus and Adam’s fight seemed over after Adam countered everything Zeus through at him, but Zeus wasn’t ready to give up so easily. Their battle raged on as both contestants pushed their bodies to their limits.
Despite many fans being upset with who won the fight, Adam VS Zeus still remained a fan-favorite battle. Adam may have lost, but his display of power and passion helped humanity stay determined for all the future fights ahead.
2 Episode 6: Great Emulation
Adam’s ability to copy the power of gods with his Eyes of the Lord ability made him one of their deadliest adversaries. Adam was originally going to fight Shiva, but Zeus decided to step up to the battlefield because he knew how strong Adam was.
Having one of the most overpowered fighters from both teams fight so early on was a very exciting change of pace. They both seemed equally matched, unlike the previous fight, which made it seem like humanity didn’t stand any chance at all.
1 Episode 12: And Ragnarok Goes On
Season 1’s finale involved the most underdog human overcoming a god that most other gods feared to fight. It’s an amazing fight that showcases some of the best attributes of humankind.
Poseidon believed he was perfect and looked down on those he saw as imperfect. Kojiro believed that nothing was perfect and that there was always room for improvement. Kojiro’s victory excellently demonstrates how hard work can overcome anything.
