So, despite how some shonen series have hundreds or even thousands of episodes, that’s not necessarily always reflective of how much time has passed within the series. JoJo’s naturally allows time to pass, and Phantom Blood begins towards the end of the 1800s, while Stone Ocean is set in 2011.
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Still, over the years there’s been no shortage of impressive shonen anime thanks both to Shonen Jump and it’s many competitors. So for this list, we’re cutting things down to the cream of the crop.
Whether it's a hobby or an important life lesson, many shonen series can inspire the audience to learn something new. While watching anime isn't considered the most educational pass time, there are certainly valuable lessons to be learned from several series.
Shounen anime can get a bit ridiculous at times, and that's why these funny comedy anime series parody shounen tropes in hilarious ways.
Their one goal is to become the Wizard King, which is the most powerful mage in the land. Many people have argued about whether or not Attack on Titan should be considered a Shonen anime or not, but the fact is that it was originally published in a shonen magazine and contains several elements of the genre.
Shōnen manga (少年漫画), also romanized as shonen or shounen, are Japanese comics mainly marketed and aimed at a young teen male readership. These graphic novels and comics are primarily for boys between the ages of 12 through 18.
Well-made shonen anime tend to be massive hits — just look at Attack on Titan or Dragon Ball....Now, on to the best non-airing shonen anime of all time.1 Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.2 Gintama. ... 3 Haikyu!! ... 4 To Your Eternity. ... 5 Samurai Champloo. ... 6 Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files. ... More items...•
Out of all, Dragon Ball Z is the most famous and the King of Shounen.
Adventure Time with Finn and Jake (anime style) is an anime rendition of the show on Cartoon Network.
Attack on Titan is serialized in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shounen Magazine. As the magazine's name suggests, it is a shounen magazine. The official way to identify a series is not just through its themes or characteristics, it is mostly classified by the magazine where it is serialized in.
Written by Osamu Akimoto, KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops is a concluded shonen anime and manga series which finished its run at 1,960 chapters. As of this writing, it is the single longest running shonen with more than a 600 chapter gap to the next closest.
Talking about authors as gods of their creations is a subject which can easily get pretentious, but in the case of Osamu Tezuka, it's his freakin' nickname. Yep, Osamu Tezuka is frequently referred to as "the god of manga," so in a way, he's the most powerful "anime god" of them all.
In the Shonen anime community, there are four main series that have helped to define the Shonen genre. Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach are known as the “Big Four.”
Anime Top 10Top 10 Best Rated (bayesian estimate) (Top 50)#titlerating1Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (TV)9.082Steins;Gate (TV)9.043Clannad After Story (TV)9.028 more rows
0:0020:28The DARKEST Adventure Time Moments - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipBut the Land of Ooo is not a paradise. But a post-apocalyptic wasteland. And pretty much everythingMoreBut the Land of Ooo is not a paradise. But a post-apocalyptic wasteland. And pretty much everything in this universe has some strange dark origin. It's one of the most interesting in creative worlds.
hand-drawn animationIt was produced using hand-drawn animation; action and dialogue for episodes are decided by storyboarding artists based on rough outlines. Because each episode took roughly eight to nine months to complete, multiple episodes were worked on concurrently.
0:334:43Adventure Time Season 11 is CANCELLED! - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnyway when the show's final season came to a close there were still some loose ends. Which makesMoreAnyway when the show's final season came to a close there were still some loose ends. Which makes sense given that we're dealing with such an insanely large fictional world because of these loose ends
The shonen genre is responsible for some of the most noteworthy and successful anime series of all time. The genre specifically focuses on an audience of adolescent males, but the type of content has largely become synonymous with series that focus on fighting and action. Some exceptional shonen series have come out over the years, ...
Attack on Titan has proven to be one of the most satisfying and surprising anime series of its generation. It’s resonated on a level that’s honestly comparable to something like Breaking Bad and what initially looked like a story about man versus gigantic monsters has become so much more intricate.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure should be mandatory content for any fan of the shonen genre. The ongoing adventure of the Joestar family is immensely satisfying and the way in which different seasons shift perspective to new members of the family keeps the shonen series fresh in a way that’s impossible for other shows.
My Hero Academia is one of the breakout hits of the past few years and it’s become a major success for any anime, not just a shonen title. The series beautifully plays into the public’s current obsession with superhero culture with how it features the development of many budding heroes-in-training.
Many shonen series begin with normal underdogs that have aspirations of greatness and want to storm the world. In the case of Hunter x Hunter, Gon Freecss is determined to be a Hunter, but his journey is consistently exciting and unique.
The shounen genre is one of the most popular and most watched genres in anime. Why? While they typically cater to boys, they have an audience that covers people of all ages and walks of life. Shounen anime are usually the biggest mainstream hits and often extend to having numerous episodes.
They typically have big hearts and lots of energy, though they may not be the most intellectually gifted.
The Story: Young Midoriya Izuku had always dreamt of being a hero ever since he was a kid. As a matter of fact, the number one idol that he looks up to is none other than the number one hero of the world—All Might! But no matter how hard he tries, he is troubled by the fact that he is quirkless (one who doesn’t possess any kind of super power). That is until one day, fate sets up a destined meeting between him and All Might. Midoriya Izuku inherits All Might’s power, One For All, after gaining his respect and approval. And thus, the incredible hero story that literally begins from zero begins!
Oftentimes, along with Natsu Dragneel, a dragon slayer, and Happy, a flying cat, they go on adventures to prove their worth as wizards.
Well, with adventure present all throughout, comic relief lunging at viewers, and occasional emotional moments touching the hearts of audiences— One Piece is a shounen anime that is definitely a must-watch! I recommend starting as soon as now because it literally has hundreds of episodes.
One Piece isn't the best Shounen Anime - it's the best Anime, no, the best fictional work in general. E on August 10, 2019: Why hxh it ended so terribly it’s like they cut your d*ck off when you were just getting started. I would vote it my favorite if they made a new series of them older like naruto shippuden.
Both shonen and seinen series include some of the greatest battles known to anime . While shonen brought us infamous fights like Gon vs. Neferpitou, Naruto vs. Sasuke, All Might vs. All For One, and countless others, seinen features incredible battles such as Akame vs. Esdeath and Kaneki vs. Arima.
Seinen, however, stretches across a much wider demographic, marketed towards adult men aged between 20 and 50. Although seinen seems to have an advantage by appealing to a wider audience, shonen takes the crown in terms of franchises under its belt, with many being the best-selling anime titles of all time.
Here's how the two most popular genres for manga and anime stack up against each other. Shonen and seinen are two of the main genres in manga and anime – in fact, some of the biggest franchises in anime sit under these categories. Major shonen titles include Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, and My Hero Academia, while major seinen titles include ...
There are many similarities between both genres, so much so that despite titles such as Attack on Titan being published in a shonen magazine, questions of whether it should be considered a seinen are often raised within the anime community. But the differences between the two completely set them apart.
2 Different: Seinen Is Less Cliché Than Shonen. There's no denying that every shonen story is unique in its own right, but overall, shonen anime tend to follow very similar themes and story arcs to one another.
Bloody seinen animes with buff, sword-wielding protagonists aren't exactly the most family-friendly choices in anime. At least, Kentaro Miura's Berserk proves that much. With a brutish sword-wielding protagonist and a band of mercenaries just as violent, the anime is thrilling for the same reasons that it isn't meant for everybody.
Almost nothing can be more different than Berserk than a school-life romantic comedy series. Yet, Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War has more than proven itself to be a very competent seinen series (yes, Kaguya-Sama is a seinen series.)
Vikings aren't a common topic in anime. It is fairly uncommon for Japanese animation to explore the intricate world of Scandinavian warriors. Vinland Saga proves why this subject is perfect for the screen, with dark, gory warfare and a historical twist.
Granted, March Comes In Like A Lion may not have the mainstream popularity that other series on this list have. However, the series is unique in its exploration of depressing themes and hopefulness.
Few in the anime community are unfamiliar with Cowboy Bebop. The space dawdling, sci-fi adventure became a classic to the seinen anime medium, much like Star Wars was to film. The anime explores a world where Earth is uninhabitable and the protagonists, on the spaceship Bebop, act as bounty hunters working against interspace crime.
Mystery is one of the best sub-genres of seinen anime, and for good reason. These types of series fascinate audiences with information manipulation and clever world-building, allowing the author to regulate tension and suspense far more than in another type of series — something that Made in Abyss does very well.
Sci-fi anime tends to go one of two routes: a space-based adventure like Cowboy Bebop, or a societal critique. Production I.G.'s Psycho-Pass falls into the latter category, and it does it very well.
There’s some expected suspension of disbelief and gratuitous “plot armor” that applies to the main characters in shonen series. These protagonists will often get pushed to the brink of death, but still survive the deadly altercation, only to grow stronger than ever before.
There’s a tremendous amount of anime that are set in Japan, or some sort of nebulous fantasy world that’s not supposed to have a real-world approximation. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure does eventually spend some time in Japan, but the story immediately feels grander in scope than the standard shonen series due to how it begins in late 1880's England.
Shonen series often create fantastic protagonists that the audience looks forward to follow for hundreds of episodes. Some shonen series will spread the wealth, but it’s unusual for their main character to completely change.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure begins with a sunlight-based energy source known as Hamon, which is especially useful considering the focus on vampires that’s present in Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency. JoJo’s makes a drastic shift when it removes Hamon from the equation in favor of battles through humanoid Stands.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure begins in an intimate place, where a simple case of jealousy and complacency between Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando results in a generational feud that carries on to this day.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure remains such a compelling saga because of the meticulous canon that’s established between Phantom Blood and Stone Ocean. The conclusion of Stone Ocean, the sixth major JoJo’s saga, results in an unbelievable reset of the universe, courtesy of an extremely powerful Stand.
Time can be a tricky thing in shonen series, and dozens of episodes can be condensed to minutes of in-series time. So, despite how some shonen series have hundreds or even thousands of episodes, that’s not necessarily always reflective of how much time has passed within the series.
While not entirely classified as a parody genre, One Punch Man is probably one of the first that comes to mind when it comes to a shounen parody. In One Punch Man, Saitama, also the titular protagonist, is a typical Japanese adult - he has his own apartment, pays his rent and taxes, and is often on the lookout for opportunities to get by.
In The Misfit Of Demon King Academy, the Demon King Anos Voldigoad made a deal with the hero Kanon - the hero’s life for peace across the land. Now, 2,000 years, Anos finds himself reincarnated in a world where magic is weak and royal demons rule over “lesser” hybrid demons with an iron fist.
Another take on One Punch Man and its superpowered protagonist idea lies in The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K. In this story, pink-haired high schooler Saiki K. has a host of various psychic abilities that don't necessarily faze people around him.
When anime fans think of a parody anime, Gintama will probably take first place, and for good reason. Taking place in Feudal Japan, the arrival of alien conquerors has suddenly placed a ban on swords, making life for samurai extremely difficult.
At first glance, Hayate The Combat Butler seems quite the action anime given the “combat’ in its title, but funnily enough, it’s nothing like what viewers would expect. The story begins when young Hayate Ayasaki begins turning to kidnapping as a means to repay his family’s huge debt to the Yakuza.
For a slice-of-life anime, it’s safe to assume that Lucky Star is a comedy, but not all newcomers to the show would expect it to be a parody of otaku culture.
Although more of a parody of the fantasy genre than straightforward shounen, Senyu provides more than enough flavor to show just how ridiculous shounen plots can get. In Senyu, the human hero Creasion manages to seal a rampaging Demon King 1,000 years ago.
One of the most popular anime genres out there is shounen anime. This particular genre features mostly male main characters and is filled with action and adventure. As much as fans of these shows root for the heroes, it does not make them perfect. There have been many times when a shounen protagonist has made a mistake and dealt with certain ...
However, it is his last fight that proves to be the most costly. When his comrade Kite is killed by the cat humanoid Neferpitou, Gon loses control and summons up every bit of his Nen, or life energy.
Unlike Shoujo, this anime have very little to do with romantic endeavors. Shounen is basically a crossover between supernatural fantasy and action-packed drama. It still remains to be one of the most popular genres ever known to anime.
Compared to most others on this list, ‘ My Hero Academia ‘ is a fairly recent Shounen anime that seems to be the next “Big Thing” in the genre. What really stands out about this one is how it uses references from all other popular works of Shounen Jump. One example of this is its Exam Arc that looks like it has been inspired by both ‘ Naruto ‘ and ‘ Hunter X Hunter .’ If you look closely, you will also find that it strongly resembles popular American superhero series such as ‘ The Flash ‘ and ‘ Arrow ,’ among others.
‘Naruto’ sold over 200 million copies of its source material, it won many awards during its runtime and later, after being ranked as the most viewed anime in Japan, it turned into a wasteland of endless filler which received a whole lot of internet backlash.
The final “Kyoto Arc” of the anime is absolutely unforgettable and is full of great action scenes along with a whole lot of emotion. What follows this arc is just a bunch of filler arcs that the creators were never able to get out of because of certain constraints.
With close to 900 episodes by now, ‘ One Piece ‘ is one of the longest-running anime out there. It has been here since two decades now and is still going strong despite its slightly rocky start in the beginning. Initially, ‘One Piece’ came into the limelight after it premiered on Cartoon Network.
Dragon Ball Z (1989 – 1996) It all started off when Goku was living an ordinary peaceful life with his friends and family on Earth. One day, to the surprise of Goku and other family members, his long lost brother Raditz returns home all of sudden.
It still remains to be one of the most popular genres ever known to anime. As typical and repetitive most Shounen anime may seem, every once in a while, a new one comes along that completely refines the formula, breaks into new boundaries and most of all, subverts old conventions of the genre. It’s these shows that eventually become gems in ...