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Favorite story arcs in Shonen manga/anime?

C

chicagocubsfan

Member
For me, my top 10. No order really

Arlong Arc(One Piece)- Nami's backstory is so well done and everyone contributes to a crew victory. Good stuff.

Nagisa/Akutsu Arc(Shonan Junai Gumai)- The first real villain in the series that felt dangerous, and Ryuji finally gets a girl. Shame that Ryuji isn't a huge character in GTO, he was such a badass in SJG.

Alabasta Arc(One Piece)- Crocodile is my favorite OP villain and he beats Luffy a few times. Also liked the character of Vivi and the scene with the crew holding their arms up is iconic.

Pain Arc(Naruto/Shippuden)- While the anime version isn't as good as the manga, this is my favorite Naruto Arc no doubt. Naruto arriving on the toads and smashing Pain's first body is so badass. I'm including Jiraiya's fight in it, as that is also one of my favorite fights in the series.

Android/Imperfect Cell Arc(DBZ)- Everyone basically has a meaningful fight including Vegeta's awesome beatdown of Cell.

Briggs Arc(FMA/Brotherhood)- Awesome arc that introduces Olivier Armstrong, Sloth, and Pride. Kimblee is also pretty awesome in it.

Teshigawara Arc(Great Teacher Onizuka(manga only) )- Onizuka saves the day again and beats the hell out of Teshigawara after being shot. Saejima also has a cool part

Yorknew Arc(Hunter X Hunter)- Just a perfect arc. Kurapika gets his revenge and the introduction of the Phantom Troupe is amazing.

The Dark Tournament(YuYu Hakusho)- Best Tournament Arc in anime/manga history. Sorry Cell Games


Babidi Saga(DBZ)- Goku Vs. Vegeta and Vegeta's sacrifice are two of the best things that happen in the series.
 
Wiktor

Wiktor

Member
I must say that may favorite of Naruto's was the roadtrip with Jiraiya. Not all about fights, great humor, Rasengan, which was the only time it this manga did training properly and final kickass conclusion with Naruto taking Kabuto in utterly badass way.
 
Mr Nash

Mr Nash

square pies = communism
I kind of liked the arc in Gintama where Kagura had to face off against her brother.
 
W

WrenchNinja

Member
Naruto - Pain arc
One Piece - the one with Namis origin and the fish dudes
Bleach - rescue rukia in soul society arc
Dragon Ball - Demon King Piccolo
Dragon Ball Z - Cell
Full Metal Alchemist - THe arc when ed, envy and ling got stuck in gluttony
 
R

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Water 7 / Ennies Lobby thread? I think so

Thats
the best
One Piece arc for the uninformed
 
P

-Pyromaniac-

Member
I don't know if this counts but in Death Note when Light goes toe to toe with L in their back and forth game of chess. Nothing else on the show came close to it after that point.
 
F

Flai

Member
Dressrosa arc (manga) in One Piece has been pretty goddamn epic so far. This is the first arc I've read instead of watched anime, so what do I know though. I doubt that any new arc in the anime will be anywhere near as good as the older ones since the pace is so slow nowadays.
 
B

Byronic Hero

Member
One Piece - Enies Lobby Arc: All of the characters get to show off their new moves they learned after getting destroyed by Aokiji. Luffy's 2nd Gear, Sanji's Diable Jambe, Nami's Perfect Climatact, Chopper's Monster Form, ect. All accompanied by great fights and really good antagonists.

Hunter x Hunter - Chimera Ant Arc: I didn't think the Yorknew arc would be topped, but boy was I wrong. Everyone is getting significantly stronger, the main antagonist seems damn near unbeatable and Gon is pissed. I mean REALLY pissed. The last time I saw a main character this angry was when Krillin got killed by Frieza. Death lurks around every corner in this arc, and since I'm going in blind, I have no idea who will survive to see then end.

Medaka Box - Thirteen Party Arc: Similar to the Enies Lobby Arc, it had great fights and good antagonists. I guess I have a thing for 1 v 1 fights where the whole squad gets a time to shine.

Dragon Ball Z - Cell Games Arc: *See Medaka Box*
 
V

Verelios

Member
Mr Nash said:
I kind of liked the arc in Gintama where Kagura had to face off against her brother.
Click to expand...
Yoshiwara arc, which I also really enjoyed since it introduces Tsukiyomi who's a nice addition.

Also really liked the Benizakura arc, which had an amazing OST.
For OP, it's Enies Lobby without contest.
 
D

DarkKyo

Member
One of my absolute favorite arcs ever:
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N8floGu.jpg


-Vegeta dying
-Goku's arrival
-Frieza fighting with no arms
-The useless and time consuming spirit bomb trick
-Krillin dying
-One of the greatest moments in all of the Dragonball franchise, Goku's transformation into Super Saiyan for the first time
-The most epic fight in the first half of the series
-Planet Namek being absolutely obliterated
-Frieza's eventual desperation
-Frieza's crushing defeat by his own dirty move
-Epic escape by Goku!!

There's just so much good stuff in this arc that it was super enjoyable to watch the first time around. It feels long because they draw certain events out but that just made the stakes so much larger... Frieza is one of those enemies that is so cruel and pompous that it feels so good seeing them sweat(and eventually panic), so an entire arc of Frieza slowly losing his confidence and his cool was just awesome. Add to that Goku's amazing new form and powers that changed the rest of the DBZ story and lore and you have a timeless arc, and what I would argue is the best in the series.
 
M

Mortemis

Banned
Yoshiwara and 4 devas arc in Gintama, Yorknew and Chimera ant arc in HxH, Sensui arc in YYH, enies lobby in OP, and I'm probably forgetting a couple others.
 
T

Torraz

Member
Bleach: Rukia Soul Society Rescue
Naruto: Hidan / Kakuzu (until the point where they lost in the end), Pain
One Piece: Nami origin, Water 7
Yuyu Hakusho: Dark Tournament
 
M

Mumei

Member
Oooh.

Rurouni Kenshin's Kyoto Arc is fantastic, and I really like the pacing. The anime's run of it also has a great score. I also love the flashback story arc told in Jinchuu, though the OVA did a much better rendering of that story. Hunter x Hunter's York Shin arc is amazing. I haven't read the manga, but the 1999 anime captured the seriousness and moodiness of it better than the 2011 anime. I am quite enjoying the Chimera Ant arc, especially how dark Togashi has gone with it, but I don't think the story is as interesting, and the pacing is not as good. I might change my mind before it ends, though. I don't know if I could characterize this part of Hikaru no Go as a discrete 'story arc' exactly, but Hikaru's journey from becoming an insei through the end of the pro tests is amazing. The Dark Tournament Saga was definitely the best story arc in Yu Yu Hakusho. I felt like the arcs that followed it were sort of disappointing, because up until that point YYH felt like it was continually topping itself. I think that Water 7 or Alabasta are my favorite arcs in One Piece, though I have a tendency of conflating Water 7 and Enies Lobby into one arc in my head. My favorite Naruto arc was the Chūnin Exam Arc. My interest started falling off as we progressed from there.

... It's actually harder to think of story arcs than I'd thought. And I haven't really seen that much shounen. :|
 
D

DominoKid

Member
1. Dark Tournament - YYH
Yorknew City - HxH (I'm still waiting on the Chimera Ant arc to end to watch it)
Cell Saga - DBZ
Soul Society - Bleach
Band of Seven - Inuyasha
Kyoto Arc - Rurouni Kenshin (great show overall)
Battle City - Yu-Gi-Oh (Duelist Kingdom was fun too)

I was never really that into One Piece and I read it for a while too.
 
B

Byronic Hero

Member
Honestly, any arc with a tournament (Yu Yu Hakusho, Fairy Tail, DBZ, Naruto) or a bunch of battles consisting of the main protagonists (One Piece, Hunter x Hunter, Medaka Box, Reborn!, Bleach) are usually the best ones.

I forgot about Reborn's Future Arc. So good.
 
H

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
King Bradley versus the world.
 
B

bishopp35

Member
Saint Seiya - The Sanctuary. This show is in my "best memories of childhood" folder, and the Golden Saints represented the ultimate badass.

Ranma 1/2 - Martial Arts Dining. The hardest laughs that I had on manga, was in this arc it was so stupid in all the right ways.
 
I

injurai

Banned
Pain arc is my favorite arc of all time, and what cements Naruto as truly one of the greatest animes. It's understandable how people write it off early though. It's just so satisfying to see Naruto's character develop.
 
V

Vincent Alexander

Member
The One Piece arc about Nami's backstory is why I quit One Piece. The show was good and I was told that is where it gets great. But it packed no emotional punch for me and the fighting was just okay. I figured if the arc everyone loves didnt do much for me, I should probably give up there.

Bleach - Soul Society arc.
Naruto - Pain
DBZ - Frieza saga
 
I

ishibear

is a goddamn bear
Dark Tournament in YYH ; so damn awesome. To this day, YYH is my favorite shounen series.

Chunin Exams in Naruto ; it was a great arc, but I no longer enjoy the series.

And there was a really great one in Rurouni Kenshin, but I can't remember the name of the arc. Actually there was a few...
 
K

Kabuki Waq

Member
Vincent Alexander said:
The One Piece arc about Nami's backstory is why I quit One Piece. The show was good and I was told that is where it gets great. But it packed no emotional punch for me and the fighting was just okay. I figured if the arc everyone loves didnt do much for me, I should probably give up there.

Bleach - Soul Society arc.
Naruto - Pain
DBZ - Frieza saga
Click to expand...


Yea my buddy is all about one piece but I see nothing that distinguishes it from all the other crap out there.


He told me it only gets good at something called the cp9 arc.

I think kenshin(kyoto) and ippo(everything) have the best arcs.
 
S

Silky

Banned
DBZ - Android saga.
Naruto - Invasion of Pein arc.
One Piece - Alabasta
YuYu Hakusho - Yusuke as a ghost episodes
Bleach - Rukia Rescue Arc
JoJo - Stardust Crusaders
 
N

Namikaze1

Member
Naruto - Pain Arc
How do you introduce the mysterious leader of Akatsuki with the weird eyes to the world? By having him face off a fan favorite character and
killing him.
Then you have him show off how truly powerful he is by doing what no other villain in the series had done:
actually destroying Konoha.
All this culminating in Naruto's greatest non-Sasuke battle. This arc had a great villain, great emotional moments (I still havent forgiven you Kishi! Damn you for
killing Jiraiya!
), and Naruto actually had some great character development during this arc. And then everything went down hill once the arc ended.

DBZ - Frieza Arc
I love this arc for the mere fact it had a great villain and while the fights were spread out over several episodes, the action was top notch.

One Piece - Enies Lobby Arc and Nami's Origins
Yu Yu Hakusho - Dark Tournament
Yu-Gi-Oh! - Battle City

Edit: ^ Totally forgot about Gurren Lagann. Such a great anime.
 
T

tringworldso

Member
Rurouni Kenshin - Shishio aka Kyoto Arc

The manga/anime reached it's apex with this arc and could never match up to it. The battle between Kenshin and Shishio was just mind blowing.
 
M

Mr-Joker

Banned
Dragon Ball: The Red Ribbon Saga, it showed the best side of Goku and had his first defeat in fight and how he tried to get stronger.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Jin-e arc, the Kyoto Arc and the Tomoe arc both the flash back and the aftermath.

Dragonzord said:
The best Naruto arc is still the first one with Zabuza.

Says a lot, really
Click to expand...

Yep, I pretty much stop reading the Manga halfway through the exam saga when I realised I wasn't liking it.

Mumei said:
Oooh.

Rurouni Kenshin's Kyoto Arc is fantastic, and I really like the pacing. The anime's run of it also has a great score.
Click to expand...

Tell me about it, I was obsessed with the anime adaptation of the Kyoto Arc and it was probably the animé only highlight.

Mumei said:
I also love the flashback story arc told in Jinchuu, though the OVA did a much better rendering of that story.
Click to expand...

I am still kinda bitter that the Jinchuu arc never got a proper animé adaptation.
 
D

Dali

Member
Crewnh said:
Naruto - Pain arc
One Piece - the one with Namis origin and the fish dudes
Bleach - rescue rukia in soul society arc
Dragon Ball - Demon King Piccolo
Dragon Ball Z - Cell
Full Metal Alchemist - THe arc when ed, envy and ling got stuck in gluttony
Click to expand...
Bleach... Lol. Is that an arc or is that where the series should have ended? Bleach is like supernatural (the TV series). Only difference being supernatural was still watchable.
 
K

Kallor

Member
Naruto - Pain arc
That ending! Naruto finally gets the recognition he's waited for through the entire story

DBZ - Android/Cell saga
Goku dies, Gohan finally ascends, Hercule, trunks, super piccolo.
Just amazing

Rurouni Kenshin - Kyoto Arc - I've probably never blazed through something so fast. So good.
 
N

Necrovex

Member
I'll write mine later but this thread is remininding me that I need to power through my Yu Yu Hakusho Blu-ray collection; I have never seen the now beyond 10 episodes. I need to watch Kenshin's Kyoto arc; I loved that arc in the manga! And I must watch Hunter X Hunter still.
 
C

computers putin'

Member
Yu-Yu Hakusho-The Dark Tournament ( Ioved the whole run of Yu Yu Hakusho though,even the Three Kings Arc)

The Kyoto Arc- Ruroni Kenshin

Bonus picks that are mostly nostalgia fueled:
DBZ-The Saiyan Arc
Naruto-The Chunin Exams (Naruto is so up and down in terms of quality after this arc)
 
L

Lingitiz

Member
Yoshiwara, Four Devas, Benizakura, Popularity Contest, etc from Gintama are all amazing. I wish the show would come back already, it's the most fun I've had watching an anime ever.
 
N

Neato_Jinkins

Banned
Probably the most epic shonen arc I can recall is the one in which Kazaki Jiuhushoe finally demoralizes the demon Gaugoru and brings the King of Grey Demons to his knees in front of his entire horde. No easy victory considering he's a Omega-4 level Kappiugori Battle Lord. Nobody in the fandom saw that coming.
 
N

Neato_Jinkins

Banned
A close second would be the Ozaikirukai arc from Masterful Train Conductor Kenijuro. I shivered with spasmodic glee when the White Bullet Kanamiro arrived right on schedule. Who didn't though?
 
P

PaulExcellent

Member
Dark Tournament from YuYu Hakusho.

Oh, you have a theory on what's about to go down?
FUCK YOU TAKE CRAAAAAAZY FIGHTING TO THE MAX HOLY SHIT
 
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