Anime speeches can be some of the most exciting moments in the entire series. They usually feature a single character speaking to dozens, if not hundreds, of other characters at once, rallying their friends into a moment of pure bravery. Some speeches are much smaller in scale, but leave just as big of an impact on the people who heard them. No matter the nature of the speech, a character going on a several minute tirade to explain their ideals is always fun to watch.
Great anime speeches vary in their purpose. Some are used to encourage troops, others are to reveal hidden truths, but they’re all incredibly meaningful. Speeches like Tanya’s from Tanya the Evil highlight just how insanely committed their characters are to their cause. Speeches like Erwin Smith’s from Attack on Titan also show a brave level of commitment, and are so unreasonably exciting, fans can’t help to watch them over and over again, either in the series itself or on YouTube.
10 Tanya Takes on God
Episode 12 in The Saga of Tanya the Evil
- Cast
- Aoi Yuki , Saori Hayami , Daiki Hamano , Hochu Otsuka , Nobuo Tobita
- Release Date
- January 6, 2017
- Seasons
- 1
- Creator(s)
- Carlo Zen
Tanya is one of the most unhinged characters in anime. In her previous life, she was a normal everyday Japanese salaryman. After she is killed by a disgruntled coworker, she blasphemes god, saying that she wouldn’t want to believe in such a dumb creator even if he was real. Well, it turns out Being X is very much real, and it was so frustrated by the salaryman’s righteous indignation that it reincarnated him into the body of young Tanya von Degurechaff.
Tanya is a walking one-man-army. She’s able to kill dozens of soldiers by herself in an instant. She’s a leader to her troops on the battlefield, and off of it, she gives them one of the best, most unhinged speeches in anime. She tells her soldiers to turn their backs on God and take his place on the battlefield. It’s such an insane speech her troops can barely believe their ears, but they believe in Tanya more than any metaphysical being anyway, so they side with her right away.
9 Reigen Has No Power
Episode 12 of Mob Psycho 100 III
Reigen is one of the best-written characters in anime history. He’s a real person in a world with unreal powers. He’s also a con artist, more than willing to lie to use the people around him to his own advantage. Instead of staying in a morally gray area, Reigen admits his lie at the end of Mob Psycho 100 in order to save his precious student Mob. It’s a move both completely in line and out of line with Reigen’s character, as he’s leaving his lying ways behind if it means saving Mob.
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Instead of trying to overpower Mob when his student was inadvertently destroying the city, Reigen lets his guard down. He does the opposite of what most people would do in this situation and shows his truest, weakest self. He tells Mob who he really is and apologizes profusely for lying to Mob.
8 Yoshikage Kira is Completely Normal
Episode 22 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable
Yoshikage Kira is one of the best villains in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. While most of the villains in the series have wider ambitions for world domination, Kira is one of the few villains who’s goals are far more modest. He’s a sociopath willing to kill as many people as it takes to protect his identity and continue living the life he chooses. In a moment akin to Patrick Bateman’s iconic speech in American Psycho, Kira tells Shigechi exactly who he is.
He gives a 2-minute speech that feels more like a ChatGPT response than anything. It’s robotic, monotone, and a complete lie. He sounds like he himself doesn’t even believe what he’s saying, but he wholeheartedly expects Shigechi to believe it. It’s a great speech that perfectly highlights just how insane Kira really is. It’s a brutal moment for Shigechi too, as Kira kills him not too long after in an attempt to keep his crazy identity undercover.
7 Gaara Rallies the Troops
Episode #261 in Naruto: Shippuden
The Fourth Great Shinobi War was almost over before it began. Before each of the Ninja Villages had a common enemy in the Akatsuki, they were each other’s enemies, and grudges don’t go away that easily. When they all met in the Village Hidden by Sand, it didn’t go very well. Old grudges were reigniting, and it looked like the Akatsuki were going to win the war easily.
The leader of the Hidden Sand, the young Kazekage Gaara, put a stop to all the fighting with one of the best speeches in the series.
He tells his troops about his own experience with hatred and his enemies. While he spent his youth submerged in anger, it was his enemy, Naruto, who pulled him out. Naruto acknowledged Gaara’s pain and compared it to his own, and even cried about the torment Gaara had to go through. It’s a humble, honest, and heartfelt speech that unites the Allied Shinobi Forces once and for all.
6 Bocchi’s Speech to Herself
Episode 8 of Bocchi the Rock!
Bocchi the Rock! was a surprise smash hit of the 2022 anime season. Before it was animated, the manga it’s based on wasn’t even translated into English. It gained a ton of popularity for a variety of reasons, none more so than the main character Bocchi herself. Hitori Gotoh, better known as Bocchi, isn’t a typical ‘cute girl that makes music’. While she’s absolutely adorable, that’s just a part of her character. She’s also incredibly anxious, socially awkward, and a master guitar player.
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When her band is giving a lackluster performance, a switch flips in her head. She decides that she’s done being mediocre and gives herself a small but powerful pep-talk that finally sees her come out of her cage. Bocchi then goes on to shred her guitar, making even her bandmates confused about where her overwhelming ability comes from. It’s the best moment in the series, not only for Bocchi’s amazing skills but for her ability to come out of her shell when her friends need her most.
5 Eren Sees the Ocean
Episode 59 of Attack on Titan
When they were kids, Armin was always telling Eren about the ‘sea’. Neither of them really knew what it was, as they had spent their entire lives surrounded by Wall Maria, but they were excited about it nonetheless. When the Survey Troops finally made it to the ocean, everyone was overjoyed. Everyone except Eren. He had already seen the sea in his father’s and his own memories. Not only did he already see the ocean, but he saw the horrors beyond it.
It’s one of the first moments in the series that solidifies Eren as one of the darkest characters in anime. While his friends are having fun, splashing around in the water, he’s already seen The Rumbling. The same sea he sees in front of him is the same one in his future memories, confirming that the memories are true. He realizes how dark the future is going to get, while his friends can’t seem to understand him, beginning their split that yet again leads to The Rumbling.
4 Rem’s Speech to Subaru
Episode 18 of Re:Zerp – Starting Life in Another World
Natsuki Subaru is one of the most tragic characters in anime. When most other characters are transported to a new world, they either get a cool new power, friends who support them through their journey, or a harem of characters to enjoy. Subaru gets none of the above, and instead got an incredibly bittersweet power in Return by Death. He can come back to life at a predetermined point in time, but only after suffering one of Re:Zero’s brutal deaths.
After several horrific, hopeless deaths, Subaru is broken mentally. He tells Rem that he’s tired of this life and wants to run away with her. While she likes the idea, and even gives a speech about their potential life together, she stops him. She tells him that she loves him exactly as he is, and if he were to leave now, then he wouldn’t be the man she fell in love with. It’s a deep, poignant speech about true love and identity.
3 Goku is the Hope of the Universe
Episode 96 of Dragon Ball Z
Goku’s first transformation into his Super Saiyan form is just as legendary as the Super Saiyans themselves. Frieza had just dominated Goku and all of his friends in battle, but Goku was able to hit him with a Spirit Bomb to try and turn the table. Even though the Spirit Bomb is technically supposed to be Goku’s strongest attack, it’s his least consistent, as Frieza survives and ends up killing Krillin in the process. It’s the catalyst Goku needs to achieve his strongest form in the series yet.
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Frieza can’t believe his eyes and questions Goku as to what he’s become. In an iconic speech, Goku tells Frieza that he’s “The Hope of the Universe”. He goes onto to say that he’s the incarnation of everyone who’s wanted to stand against the tyrant. He’s the embodiment of their strength and will, and now, it’s time they got their revenge.
2 Darkness’s Ideal Man
Episode 14 of KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!
KonoSuba is the funniest isekai series hands down. It features a near-useless cast of main characters that somehow bumble their way into success time and time again. The funniest, most unhinged character in the group is Lalatina Ford Dustiness, better known as the Crusader Darkness. To call Darkness a pervert would be an understatement. She’s one of the most perverted characters in anime, which is incredibly ironic considering how she looks nothing like a typical old perv like Master Roshi.
When she’s about to get married to a nobleman, she can’t take it. She leaves the marriage with her friends Aqua and Kazuma and goes on to tell them about her ideal man. While most women’s ideal man might be tall, handsome, and maybe even kind, Darkness’s is anything but. She goes on to describe one of the worst men ever with nothing but a smile on her face. It’s an insane speech that fits perfectly with her character, and it’s also one of the funniest speeches in anime.
1 Erwin’s Soldiers’ Rage
Episode 53 of Attack on Titan
Erwin Smith’s speech to his Scout Regiment is nothing short of iconic. It’s a speech that’s been watched on YouTube in both English and Japanese millions of times, and it’s easy to see why. Erwin Smith was already a pretty cool character in Attack on Titan, but this speech solidified his standing as one of the coolest characters in anime. When the Beast Titan has the Survey Corps pinned down, their death is only a matter of time.
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Erwin Smith makes the heroic choice to charge right into the Beast Titan’s line of fire, sacrificing nearly all of his troops but giving Levi a chance to kill the monkey. He bravely tells his troops that they, under no uncertain terms, are about to die. Some of them are having trouble finding meaning in this suicide, but Erwin reassures them and says that’s not their responsibility. Their allies will find value in their deaths. He was right, as his sacrifice allowed Levi to capture the Beast Titan and finally turn the tide on their war.
