Anakin Skywalker vs Cin Drallig - Examination and Discussion
Here's a brief reexamination of Anakin Skywalker's duel with Cin Drallig.
"Stone-faced, Obi-Wan watched younglings run into the room, fleeing a storm of blasterfire; he watched Cin Drallig and a pair of teenage Padawans-was that Whie, the boy Yoda had brought to Vjun?-backing into the scene, blades whirling, cutting down the advancing clone troopers with deflected bolts. He watched a lightsaber blade flick into the shot, cutting down first one Padawan, then the other. He watched the brisk stride of a caped figure who hacked through Drallig's shoulder, then stood aside as the old Troll fell dying to let the rest of the clones blast the children to shreds."(Source: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith novelization)
The full exchange is again stated here:
And visibly seen in the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RTtst_ebcA&t=2h04m21s
The film visibly shows Skywalker slashing Cin Drallig's shoulder here:
So, Anakin Skywalker killed Cin Drallig in two to three strikes with one hand.
And, let's just look over what he brings to the table:
"One of the Jedi Order's top swordsmen, Cin Drallig served as the Jedi Temple's lightsaber combat instructor. Stationed on Coruscant, he taught the basics of lightsaber combat forms one through six to thousands of students, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker."(Source: Star Wars Insider 87 - "Order 66: Destroy All Jedi"😉
"An esteemed Jedi Master and a swordsmaster of nearly unparalleled skills, Cin Dralig represents the Jedi Order's tenets in their purest form."(Source: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Prima Guide)
"Cin Drallig is honored with the mantle of both Chief of Security and Battlemaster for the Jedi Temple. His unparalleled skill with a lightsaber has benefited many a Jedi under his tutelage, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker."(Source: Star Wars: The Force Collection)
So, even if you want to discredit one source as not being accurate, numerous sources highlight Cin Drallig as a B-Team or greater combatant.
Also, he's a greater lightsaber combatant than Shaak Ti, as stated here:
Obviously note Shaak Ti was inside the Jedi Temple and fighting the defenses, as stated here:
And Shaak Ti obviously has impressive feats, which are well known, and accolades, with some posted below:
This is direct proof Anakin Skywalker is capable of two-shotting the likes of Shaak Ti, Kit Fisto, Cin Drallig, etc. in a pure lightsaber battle.
That's a level of skill that puts him directly up with the foremost swordsmasters in the mythos, like Palpatine, Yoda, and Luke Skywalker.
Dismissing a top-rate Jedi swordsmaster like that is vastly beyond Dooku's capabilities. It's vastly beyond Mace Windu. It's vastly beyond Darth Vader.
And really, it shouldn't be much of a surprise. Let's take a look at this quote:
"By the time of the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker has studied some lightsaber technique from Obi-Wan's journal and and greatly advanced his abilities. Without a Master, such advancement would have been impossible for most, but Skywalker's unparalleled aptitude makes him a match for Darth Vader in their fateful duel onboard the second Death Star. Both are limited, Vader by his cybernetic body parts and Skywalker by his relative lack of experience dueling. But Skywalker's skill at blaster deflection is highly refined, and his lightsaber technique so superb that he is able to duel the Dark Lord on even footing - and finally able to defeat a man who is a powerful living product of the ancient Jedi sword traditions from time immemorial. Such an achievement with little formal training is a testament to Skywalker's innate abilities and instinctive skill. Tremendously strong with the Force, Skywalker never crosses the line into Sith hatefulness and ceases his attack immediately upon rendering his foe helpless - an even more impressive demonstration of self-mastery than his lightsaber skills."(Source: Star Wars: Insider 62 - "Fightsaber"😉
And this is further enforced by the following quote:
"For the first time, the thought entered Vader’s consciousness that his son might best him. He was astounded by the strength Luke had acquired since their last duel, in the Cloud City—not to mention the boy’s timing, which was honed to a thought’s-breadth. This was an unexpected circumstance. Unexpected and unwelcome. Vader felt humiliation crawling in on the tail of his first reaction, which was surprise, and his second, which was fear. And then the edge of the humiliation curled up, to reveal bald anger. And now he wanted revenge."(Source: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi novelization)
The first quote directly attributes Luke Skywalker's innate potential as a central reason for being capable of directly matching Darth Vader in combat. When one considers how vastly greater Anakin Skywalker's potential is (on par with the anchorites), it's frighteningly clear how skilled he really is. By the time of his final fight with Dooku or Cin Drallig, Anakin Skywalker is the foremost duelist on Djem So with years of combat experience. The text makes note that against Obi-Wan Kenobi alone, the two have spent "thousands of hours" sparring together. But further yet, his skills, which are already among the best, is rooted in the greatest pool of power the galaxy has ever known - power certainly relevant to the scene of the battlefield. In the fight with Dooku, Skywalker shows virtually unlimited strength, capable of simply growing more and more powerful without backing down or tiring. The text also conveys the image that his raw physical strength is greater than anything Dooku has ever encountered - which includes Grievous, Mace Windu, and yes, Yoda. Simply comparing those three performances against what Anakin Skywalker displayed against Dooku makes clear that what he did on the Invisible Hand was absolutely ridiclous. He outright and indisputably humiliated a Mace Windu-tier combatant into submission. Yes, Dooku did gain the advantage due to Dun Moch, but that isn't an indication of skill, so the point's mute to what I'm trying to argue.
Anakin Skywalker is quite possibly the most powerful Jedi to have ever lived - it's time we begin to accept it.
Unlimited power. Unlimited strength. Unlimited speed. Unlimited skill.