章 27: (Spotlight 35 A): Top 11 G.O.H. Fights!
Spoiler warning for G.O.H. chapter 1-454.
Ever since I started reading webtoons a couple of years back and I ever since I started the spotlights, I wanted to do more than just talking about webtoons that deserve their time in the limelight. I also wanted to shine a light on the different aspects and themes that each webtoon brings. And with me covering what I believe to be the big 3 of webtoon's global claim to fame (Noblesse, Tower of God and God of highschool) and their anime appearances being only months away I thought that it would be high time to at least have these "special spotlights." And I think out of the big three the true; perfect way to cap them all off is to probably put on a light on the first of the Big 3 I got into G.O.H.
Often considered to be the DBZ of webtoon The God of Highschool was one of my first introductions into manhwa, and I'm so glad that will always be the case. Noblesse might have a better cast of characters, and Tower of God might have the best story and world, but there is something about G.O.H. that just makes me always back to its greatest attraction, the fights. Through its 454 chapter run at the time of this spotlight and its unique combination of fun-filled over the topness, impactful emotion, and brutal martial arts, we've gotten dozens of fights that truly make us reexamine the word godly without ever even being close to peaking. And I thought that there was no better way to pay tribute to a series that has given me so much, than to relive and condense the literal dozens of fights, into the 11 that I believe are the cream of the crop. But before we get into that, here are the rules and honorable mentions before we begin.
#1, No stomps: With G.O.H. often being the master of all things hype, we tend always to get battles that we know our over from the second one. While some of them are easy to spot from a mile away, others are much harder, but since most of these exchanges are just an excuse to show off a badass character, I count these more as cool moments rather than fights. The best examples that won't be on this list are Mori Dan vs the executives, Mori Jin vs R (Final Round), Mori Jin vs Mori Jung (Second Round), Dawei Han vs the Greek Pantheon and Mori Jin vs many of the Ragnorak gods.
#2, No draws: These fights are ones with confirmed winners, draws are not allowed. The best examples are Dawei Han vs Mira Yoo's many confrontations in chapter 6.
#3, No skips: We have to see a majority of what happened in the fight for it to count; the Biggest examples are Taijein vs The Six, though I would want to see that fight shown one of these days.
Honorable Mentions
Mori Jin vs Ardun
With Mori Jin finally accepting his role as the monstrous monkey king and the planet of Oreaguk under siege by the infamous princes of Natak, it is up to him to face off against the deity of war himself, far above the heavens themselves. With both combatants being equal in power, each blow, they unleash on each other sends shockwaves that shake the world.
Overall while I do like the fight for the high stakes and expert usage of strategy through Mori's Yeoui, it is a very short exchange that doesn't have a lot to say in my eyes. Despite all of his godly power Mori at the end of the day is well, Mori he might be a god and while I do appreciate him trying to live up to his past mistakes they're just isn't much parallel to draw from besides it being two different gods fighting to protect, combine that with the exchange and I don't have much to say.
Dusik Kim vs Generation X
I don't know how much of a hot take this is, but I personally like Generation X as a concept. I feel their just a natural evolution of borrowed power that was foreshadowed with the concept of Wi-fi being introduced. And it's not like they have the best win record overall in the grand scheme. I wish we got time to delve into their motivations, though, as I feel like some were underutilized. But besides all that, I can say that this is probably the most fun fight on the list.
With all the power in the world and none of the teamwork Gen. X for their grand debut is going to be forced to tangle with the greediest of all gold diggers: Dusik Kim himself. In this ultimate battle of old vs new, the kids are forced into a war that they can barely understand as his god-given strength manages to match and even surpass the young power borrowers perfectly.
For me, there's a lot to like and a lot to kind of scratch your head at. I like how Dusik is portrayed at this gigantic video game boss that forces Gen.X into their video game archetypes just to survive, and any fight with Dusik is a win in my book. Though I think the only thing that irks me with this battle is kind of lack of progress. While it was super obvious that Dusik was going to win, it still is weird that the magical phone was trying to subvert our expectations while showing that these kids are doing absolutely nothing to Dusik for most of the fight. This was probably the point given the running theme of chapter 6 being the use of experience as a way to become an even stronger person, which our young combatants learned at the end of this fight. Still, though, it was the most fun fight on this list that showed cool moments for many underrated characters. Now, onto the real fights.
#11:Mori Hui vs Dante
Might as well start the list with my fave character. To finally cap off the emotional rollercoaster that was the Consolation G.O.H. tournament Team South Korea is forced to fight Sang Man-Jin, the Japanese team, and the sadistic Dante all at once to save the rest of the contestants from certain death. While Mori Hui holds the advantage in the first part of the exchange, his power quickly runs out, with the only the timely arrival of Alex being the only thing that saves him. As Alex and Violeta are one of the buying him the time he needs and his friends already preoccupied, it's up to Mori Hui to use his new wealth of Re-tawkendo info to not only rise up to but also separate himself from the legend of Mori Jin.
With the two clones putting their lives and legacies on the line Mori Hui finally stops doing everything that Dante had done up until that point; he stops using his status as a clone to hold himself back as he delivers one of the most utterly savage beatdowns of the entire series, overwhelming Dante with techniques all his own while still using Jin as his inspiration. And just like that, our Imoogi rises.
While this fight is technically speaking clear all the boxes I have for the fight, I think it has one real problem that holds it back, that being it's back and forth. There was never really a moment in this fight where I felt like Hui and Dante were relatively even as Hui starts with the advantage for the first third, Dante getting his time to stomp Hui in the second and Hui dominating the last chapter. Overall easily one of the most badass exchanges of the series and great way to close off the arc.
#10:Mori Jin vs Suijin Lee
Next up, we've got the most standard of G.O.H. fights in the most unlikely of locations. With both of their godly powers completely exhausted and Oreaguek only minutes away from complete decimation, the two fighters decide to repeat history once again in one of the most nail-biting moments in the entire series. The two don't even waste any time as not even the crumbling planet around them slows them in the least bit. Hell, they even use it to their advantage, using the falling debris as timely platforms and dangerous projectiles.
And pretty much from there, the fight only seems to ramp up even more as we see the full extent of both Northern ITF and many Re Tawekendo favorites after a long struggle filled with divine powers. Another unappreciated detail is that despite Suijin's grudge and previous actions, she and Mori display a relatively formal exchange as they compare the branches that their respective martial arts borrowed from.
To cap it all off the sheer power of their last couple of moves cause the already brittle planet to crumble as it all comes down to one of the closest shaves of Mori's entire career. With the nearly infallible kick of the twin dragons failing due to sheer speed of Suijin Mori in an instant, almost instinctive move uses another lesson from the past to edge out by the slimmest of margins. But instead of letting history repeat itself, Mori shows kindness in his last few moments and risks his life to save his former adversary, gaining a long time friend. Considering that this is one of the few absolute martial art battles in the entirety of the series left, I can certainly say it went out with a big bang.
#9:Mori Jin vs Dawei Han
By far, the earliest bout in the whole list is one of the few times where the emotion hits harder than anything else. The typically resolute and honorable Dawei Han, unfortunately, must do everything in his power to win the tournament and save his dying friend, even if that means turning on the principles he holds so dear. With some help from Baek, the powerful wave of the blue dragon and some downright dirty fighting the wide gap between Mori and Dawei is about as narrow as it can be. And I know that this series has rarely been to shy away from violence, but every blow in this legitimately painful as both opponents leave each other with blood-soaked sweat and broken bones.
And just when you think these fighters had reached their epoch, it was already too late. As Seungtae departs to the next world all alone, the nearly unstoppable Dawei loses all of his strength to fight. However, just before Mori could give a crippling hit to the already defeated man, Mira steps in to give Dawei his final message. To win the tournament and give the fight everything he has with a smile on his face, and just like that, this fight goes from being a one of sadness to one of glee as the two combatants fight on without a care in the world.
What follows next is another close fight as the two contestants duke it out with everything they have. Dawei using the power of Mori's kick, unleashes a Wave of the blue dragon so powerful that it doubles his level to 12! But Mori, in turn, uses the momentum of the attack to propel himself from the ring ropes to debut an iconic technique that will be used for years to come: The Kick of the Blue Dragon! While I think that Dawei deserved the win, I can't be mad as this fight already has so much else I can praise. This is the fight where our heroes truly become friends for life, where Mori learned a valuable lesson that will be his savior in his battle with Suijin and also a technique that will be as iconic as him. It may not be the grandest or even the most emotional, but it's a damn good battle.
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