Summary
- Best arc of shonen anime till now, from the highly famous shonenverse
- One Piece - Wano Arc tops the chart and is the best-written arc ever
- Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Arc is the best rated anime of 2024
In every shonen jump anime, there has always been a major arc that is the reason behind the protagonist’s character development, unleashing their power and bringing the limelight to the whole of the anime series.
One Piece - (Post Time Skip)
Wano Kuni Arc
The Wano Kuni Arc from One Piece is an art that combines beauty and culturally nurtured style, growth, and power struggles. Wano is based on feudal Japan and the colours and motifs of the place give it a lively appeal. The warmth is brought back by the reunion of the Straw Hats, but the comedy ingredient is back as well as the appearance of Kaido who is depicted as a near invincible Yonko makes the challenge a lot tougher. The Onigashima raid also features invigorating clashes such as Luffy in Gear 5 awakening and amazing fights like Zoro Vs King and Sanji Vs Queen. As Wano’s people stand against Kaido and Orochi, feelings of liberty from oppression are presented as the major elements of the story. Strong bonds are showcased between the Straw Hats, Heart Pirates, Kid Pirates, and Wano samurai while major new distractive information about Void Century, Joy Boy, and Poneglyph, Oden and Roger Flashback. As promising the characters’ emotional returns as it is brimming with great battles and making many advancements in the overall plot, Wano is the epitome of a defining arc, preparing One Piece for the final saga.
One Piece - (Pre-Time Skip)
Ennies Lobby Arc
The Enies Lobby Arc in One Piece remains one of the best arcs in the series as it settles to focus on the Straw Hats’ main character trait – determination to stand for their friend. The arc details their activities during a dangerous mission to the rescue of Nico Robin from the World Government–an action that provides some of the best moments ever twinned with anime. As the arc witnessed“I want to live!,” from Robin, to: “Burn the flag!” from Luffy, the elements of freedom and loyalty are displayed. Detailed, close-quarter fights against CP9 reveal the crew’s development: featuring Zoro’s Asura, Sanji’s Diable Jambe, Luffy’s Gear Second, and Gear Third techniques. Franky has an emotional history and joins the agency making the story even more engaging. The final battle of Luffy against the CP9 member Rob Lucci is one of the most memorable fights because it’s an endurance and/or willpower match. The character presence of Sogeking has also brought an added advantage to the arc in the pre-time skip period.
Naruto Classic
Chunin Exam Arc
The Chunin exam arc in the Naruto Classic series is a great mix of fight scenes, tactics, and character arisen, which lays the foundation of the whole setting and reveals the main motifs of the show. Mental tests through the written test to physical challenges of the Forest of Death reveal different talents and personal traits in the young shinobi arc. Best face-offs include Sasuke vs Orochimaru, Gaara having monstrous strength, power, and passion seen in Naruto vs Neji. The return of Orochimaru to Konoha and the death of the Hokage has moved the storyline to the next generational elements. The anime fans particularly loved the series of powerful battles and thrill in addition to the strong character’s development in the story, particularly in the Chunnin Exam arc.
Naruto Shippuden
Pain Arc
The Pain Arc in Naruto Shippuden is deemed as one of the most influential story arcs that highlights pain, suffering, and hope. The arc is after the tragic attack of Konoha by Pain ending up in the destruction of the village and great fights such as the Naruto-Pain struggle in Sage Mode. Thus, the arc shows the process of hatred and harm experienced by Jiraiya and Nagato as a result of the war. Naruto’s talk with Nagato brings them to an outstanding fight where he gets to be a meaningful asset as a hero figure to the universe. While the visuals bring home the high concepts explicitly, the emotions of the characters make that high-concept game meaningful and memorable. The arc is most likely Naruto’s revenge for the death of his beloved Sensei, Jiraiyya.
Jujutsu Kaisen
Shibhuya Arc
The Shibuya Arc in Jujutsu Kaisen is a relentless and emotionally charged saga that pushes every character to their limits. Being centered around a simultaneous assault by curses and magical comrades, the arc doesn’t lose tempo for a single moment, providing the characters with a constantly unrelenting battle in Shibuya. Gojo is sealed which means for the first time the tables have turned for the sorcerers; On the other hand characters like Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara survive close scrapes that through experience could end their lives. Primary arcs consider aspects of bereavement and perseverance concerning stunning deaths and betrayals being central. Loving it is definitely packed with an emotional punch that’s action-heavy – what sets it apart from the array of modern shonen. The comeback of Ryomen Sukuna brings a fiery ending to the Shibuya battle with Yuji ending up losing his comrades.
Attack On Titan
Return to Shiganshina Arc
Of quite dramatic and emotionally charging arcs of Attack on Titan, the Return to Shiganshina Arc is the most complex providing deep reveals of truths alongside actions. The Scouts stand up for a dangerous operation to take back Wall Maria, get down to fight the Beast, Armored and Colossal Titans. Erwin marching to his death along with his soldiers has been the peak animation in Attack on Titan. Some of the incredible fight scenes that the manga displays are the ongoing fight between Levi and the Beast Titan as well as the strategy that Armin uses hence sacrificing himself to pull down Bertholdt. Promising discoveries like the truth buried in Eren’s basement alter the series’ story and provide the background to the mystery of the Titans and the world outside the walls. This is one of the moments that tie knots in the series.
Demon Slayer
Entertainment District Arc
Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc is a visually spectacular and emotionally engaging chapter filled with action and sweetness of the characters. Tanjiro, zenitsu and Inosuke along with the sound hashira Tengen Uzui go stealthily into the district to find out that Upper Moon demons are active there. ‘The high point of the episode is the fight with Daki and Gyutaro and the development of the trio, as well as the Upper Moons throughout the show. The intense fights are very smooth with cool animation that depicts how determined Tanjiro is and the transformation of Nezuko. This arc of family, sacrifices, and endurance makes for one of the favorites in the series.
Bleach
Soul Society Arc
In Bleach, the Soul Society Arc is the climactic and encompassing storyline and new world definition of the show. This arc portrays Ichigo and his friends as they invade the Soul Society to save Rukia from the death penalty. Comprising numerous fights, such as those between Ichigo Aizen and Byakuya Ichigo, the extent of growth displayed in the series is well depicted in this particular arc. Some of the interesting factors that are added by captains of Gotei 13. Dynamics that have been introduced the political aspect of the Soul Society is given more insights. It is a defining component of Bleach, and a subgenre staple of shōnen narrative, that the arc provides a master class in pacing, levels of conflict and commitment, and the construction of a narrative world.
Bleach
Thousand Year Blood War Arc
The Bleach’s Thousand-Year Blood War Arc is massive and full of awesome action and dramatic moments that lead up to shocking final blows. In the arc the conflict is between the Quincies led by Yhwach and Soul Reapers the Soul Society. When the captains are up against their greatest opponents, including the Quincy formidable skills and Yhwach himself, the level of danger rises to the pinnacle. Ichigo’s birth and relation with the Quincy are illustrated, as well as the endings of key character arcs. This arc gives some of the most mind boggling fights, strategic battles and emotionally satisfying conclusions that makes Bleach one of the all time favorites in the shonen realm.
