Everybody gangsta till Rock Lee drops his weights.

Kankuro: Gaara's never been hit Lee: Lmaaooooo ok

The sheer look of fear on gaaras face as he realizes he can’t even anticipate where Lee’s coming from always gives me goosebumps

This might be the best fight in the show. When Lee takes off his weights and Gaara realizes he can’t see him anymore I get goosebumps. Bro was flabbergasted.

I love how sakura was talking about she couldnt believe lee had no nijutsu or genjutsu but its like bitch what did you have for the entire series?

I love how overpowered they made Lee here. Something Anime's shy away from doing far too often is letting a side character outshine a main character.

The power system was so much more well thought out and interesting in part 1. I love how each character had a distinct moveset and fighting style. It was showcased in this fight in particular, but also throughout the chunin exams. Kiba: Overwhelm the opponent with nonstop combo attacks with Akamaru Shino: Control the battlefield with his bug army Ino: Has an incredibly powerful jutsu with massive risk, so is generally better as support. Choji: His rolling boulder can pack a punch, probably one of the best jutsu for breaking through walls and defenses. However, it is quite slow and predictable, and he can't really do much else. Shikamaru: His shadow possession jutsu is quite impractical and difficult to pull off at first glance. Thus, he needs to be crafty to defeat his opponent. Sakura: Very... vanilla. She didn't come from a clan, so the only ninjutsu she knows are the ones she learned at the academy like the illusion clones. Tenten: Her fight with Temari was not shown in the manga, so she actually has no canon feats. We do know she's a weapons user though. It makes sense that that's an area she'd chooose to specialize in, as, like Sakura, she wasn't part of a clan, so she didn't have any training in ninjutsu outside of the academy. Neji: His 360 degree vision, rotation and taijutsu skill make for a formidable defense. And with his Gentle Fist, can take anyone down in a few hits. Hinata: Ghetto version of neji. Kankuro: Uses chakra strings to control his puppet while he hides. It's a simple and likely chakra inexpensive jutsu. His taijutsu is poor and he likely doesn't have a large chakra pool, so he relies on making good use of his puppet. Temari: Specializes in long-range wind ninjutsu. She's one of the few genin that is able spam ninjutsu like that, meaning she likely has decently high chakra reserves. However, her ninjutsu isn't anywhere near as powerful as Gaara's. Rock Lee: Focuses solely on taijutsu as he has little choice. His fifth gate is the single most devastating attack in the chunin exams. Any of the genin other than Gaara loses to it. Gaara: The opposite of Rock Lee. His incredibly powerful sand shield protects him from almost any attack automatically. This, combined with his ability to control the sand and his absurd chakra reserves thanks to Shukaku, makes him pretty much the only character that can fight using nothing but ninjutsu, without ever needing to engage in taijutsu, or even so much as bother dodging a kunai. Naruto: Has a very powerful ninjutsu (arguably the most powerful in the chunin exams, aside from Gaara's sand abilities and chidori) in his shadow clones. In addition, he is the only genin aside from Gaara with enough chakra to spam such powerful ninjutsu, and spam it he does, something even most jonin can't pull off. He doesn't know any other ninjutsu at this point and isn't particularly skilled at taijutsu, so he ends up relying on his army of clones and his huge chakra pool to overwhelm his opponent. However, he can be quite crafty with his clones. Sasuke: Probably the most versatile genin. Sharingan, good fire ninjutsu, good taijutsu. He can fight you up close, from distance, you name it. Notice that most ninjas do not spend the whole fight spamming powerful ninjutsu (unlike in Shippuden where they spend the fight trying to one-up each other's explosions), as they do not have enough chakra to do so. Gaara and Naruto are exceptions. Even jonin like Kakashi have this issue. In the case of genin, they also don't have a large repertoire of ninjutsu. A genin's arsenal consists of the ninjutsu taught at the Academy (so basically the illusion clones) and maybe one C-rank jutsu their clan taught them (Shikamaru and his shadow possession, Sasuke's fire jutsu, etc). And, if they're really lucky, a Kekkei Genkai. The only ones who even had access to powerful ninjutsu were Naruto with his Shadow Clones (which he learned by stealing the First Hokage's scroll), Gaara with his sand abilities, and, later, Sasuke with chidori. These are jutsu that most of the other genin could die even attempting, due to the chakra required. The power system just has a depth to it that isn't there in Shippuden

Kakashi’s reaction “Gai, you are too much.” Had me rolling…especially after the exposition later on in the series about their close friendship.

People in the sand village: "When did your change of heart begin?" Gaara: "So this goofy looking kid kicked me in the face once...."

Everybody face when the weights hit the ground is priceless

I love how konkuro basically went over to talk to Naruto strictly to play with him and get info and yet just gives up all of gaaras secrets like no problem. "Man, does this guy have any weaknesses?" Kankuro: "man, let me tell you those weaknesses!"

The chills I get seeing Gaara's insane smile being masked by his usual stoic expression is indescribable

Imagine being your village's secret weapon and getting trash canned by the rival villages reject kid.

Rock Lee takes off weights* Gaara: why do I hear boss music?

The first time gaara actually took a fight seriously

This is why Rock lee is my fav. Sure, just like the others, he speaks for like to hours but it's a breath of fresh air. Him and his master is a reminder that you don't need jutsus to kick ass.

lee would have stomped literally ANYONE else in this whole competition

Such a waste of a good charecter. They did nothing with lee in part 2

This was written for anime. Literally garra just standing there and moving sand allowed them to dump so much budget into Lee's movement. Stellar.

This battle will be remembered through generations

Who's here to see Lee takes his weights off? Just me? Ok

Rock lee could have defeated anyone else in the room but his destiny made him fight Gaara.

This fight was a testament to how powerful both of them are, especially Lee. Had either of them fought anyone else, they'd easily win

Who still comes back to rewatch this scene every once and a while?

This scene was the main reason for naruto franchise to rise up until now

The sand village: Nobody can hit Gaara Rock lee: hold my weights

I distinctly remember sitting in my living room when I was 7 or maybe 8 years old watching toonami having no idea what anime even was and when I saw Lee drop those weights my mouth dropped probably just as hard, it was truly an eye opening moment for me and here I am over a decade later at 22 years old re watching this fight and cannot belive just how good the animation is the choreography the music and especially the actors in this scene, one of THE BEST anime fights of all time

Guy sensei was not wrong when he said "LEE YOU ARE A GENIOUS OF EFFORTS"!!! Literally one of the best fights in naruto . Lee is a inspiration to all of us!! My man Lee 🥺🥺😭😭

I just love how excited Lee gets when Gai tells him to drop the weights. He finally gets to kick some ass uninhibited and he's so excited about it.

Why does Sakura get so much screen time of her just being surprised

5:04 kakashis reaction 😂

Rock Lee was so happy when he took the weights off it warmed my heart lol

Undoubtably one of the best fights throughout the whole series simply because Lee is the total embodiment of what we humans can become or at least the closest thing we try to attain

Bro why rock lee look like a wii character 😳😭 😂

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained" - Rock Lee

7:36 When you defeat the final boss but a new healthbar shows up

According to how fast Lee was, Kishimoto should've upgraded his skills, strength and speed as he grows but too bad he was wasted just like that, a rare Shinobi like Lee deserves more screen. He was one of the strongest at an early age

“No ones been able to touch him” Lee: proceeds to touch him

8 years later the hype is still just as intense

Fear not the man who has mastered a thousand techniques, fear he who has mastered a single technique a thousand fold

I forgot just how creepy and mysterious Gara was even before Shippuden

The animation here will never not be extremely impressive to me. It's so fluid, and to think that it's all hand drawn just makes it even more amazing for its time. The animators didn't have to go this hard, but they did. They did it for us.

both Lee and Gaara learned something about their strengths and weaknesses after this fight

Baki's reaction at 6:13 is the best part Even the jonin are in awe

Who else waited for him to take off his ankle weights

The first thing came to mind when he drop them weights: he's been fighting with those on the wholeeeeee time??!?!😳

This one fight so perfectly showcased Guy and Lee’s relationship for me.

The fight that got a whole generation into anime

Lee: Drops weights and goes super saiyan Gaara: “All that for a drop of blood”

Gara took “i m about to end this man whole career “ reference too literally !!

“Guy you are too much” 🤦🏽‍♂️ kills me 😂😂😂

I like how Kankuro is friendly enough to spend time talking with naruto in these early episodes. Back then it was obvious that the sand team was apart of "the bad guys" but even so Kankuro stood out as being the; non edgy, familiar one. Which is funny considering his jutsu and appearance.

temari :you really think you will be able get through gaara's defenses just by dropping a couple of pounds of weight? rock lee : ima end this man's whole career

The instructor must be like “These kids are stronger than me” 😂

I'll never forget watching this as a kid for the first time, the absolute level of hype when the weights came off

Lee was already faster than any Genin but Guy saying: Lee got no talent whatsoever! just completely floored me😳 This Lee who is moving already faster than the average was holding back?! Best moment! He flying and jumping around like feather! Incredible

This fight is the best fight in the whole of OG Naruto hands down

Lee dropping the weights is still the most badass moment in history

Lee dropping those weights is still the hardest shit I've ever seen in an anime, what a thug.

4he Boruto show needs this kind of energy underrated comment

Can’t believe Lee is so strong. Imagine how strong his sensei is 💀

Naruto: Kurama, rasengan Sasuke: Rinnegan, chidori Rock Lee: 5th gate, TaiJutsu Gaara: I got a jar of sand

“Just a couple of weight” Lee: Yea, dont be too excited ladies! I have a lot of strength 😏🤫

Lee: *_*Drops weights_* Everyone: ⚪️ __ ⚪️

“A sand manipulating jutsu, hm? It will not be easy getting through that. But nothing ventured, nothing gained!” These words ring in my head every now and then. Simply because Lee acknowledged how hard it’s going to be to even touch him, but he’s going to brute force his way through it anyways. No matter what it takes. Legendary.

The scene that made me fall in love with naruto in the first place

I’ve watched a fair amount of Shonen Anime at this point, but Lee dropping his weights and freaking Gaara out might be the greatest moment in all of them, from a sheer hype perspective. It’s not the best written or animated but it just connects with something in my core that gets my heart pounding with excitement.

Gaara going from bored to scared after Lee started moving is so awesome

Temari: Gaara has ultimate defence nobody can touch him Lee:

Temari: “come on you really think you can get through Gaara’s defense by just dropping a couple pounds of weight?” Lee: *Drops few hundreds pounds of weights* Also Temari: *°0°*

this is one of the fights that got me into the whole show

Love how when he started moving fast he had many openings to hit gaara yet just wanted to flex how fast he truly is before landing that kick on him, lee was a menace for sure, if only sasuke was able to see how fast he was moving lol

This takes us wayyyy back

If only boruto would understand how much rock lee had worked hard to become a amazing shinobi🙄

I love how Rock Lee utilized his sigma grindset on haters like Temari. The look on her face was absolutely priceless lmao.

This was one of the best episodes and show of a character ever... Lee Got everyone and their momma's respect after this fight...

Best underdog fight in all of anime!

When you finally realize that it’s Gaara’s mom protecting her precious baby boy the best way she knows how🤣🤣🤣🤣

Who came by watching lee dropping weights in Instagram reels?

damn didn't know iggy's stand was in naruto

This is when I hated Gaara, now he is my favorite character.

One thing this anime taught me is that natural born talent beats hard work anyday. The hardest working characters in the show were always getting their arse kicked left and right by natural born talents.

Gara didn't use sand to protect himself Sand to it itself

Who else wanted to skip to when Lee took off his weights but didn't cause they love the suspense- 😂😭✋🏼

"let the power of youth *explode* " Diedara wants to know your location.

They did Lee so dirty in Boruto. He's got a huge bald spot and wears a wig.

Imagine finishing off and yelling “LET THE POWER OF YOUTH EXPLODE!” 😂

Kakashi, saying Gai, you are too much, made me laugh 😅

Naruto: Uh-oh is right! YOUR FRIEND WITH THE EYE MAKEUP IS GETTING THE STUDFING BEAT OUT OF HIM 🤣🤣🤣🤣👍👍

5:22 gaara is literally so adorable while being confused

All up to this point Gaara was such a deadly threat who had apparently never even been touched. And yeah he was still a threat after this, but this fight was the beginning of the end. Lee may not have won, but he showed that god could be cut.

Remember kids, being good isn't the same as winning.

6:05 “I like ya cut g”

This was the first battle in Naruto that got everyone hooked. Truly Legendary.

Kankuro: “No one has been able to touch him” Lee: “Hold my leg weights…if you can”

*Rock Lee is the only Ninja in Naruto. Everyone else is a Wizard freak pretending to be a Ninja*

Rock lee's dub voice is easily one of the best

Imagine winning but still taking a L😭

A video I will rewatch every time. This scene is crazy

Watching this 10yrs on and i still love it