Shounen’s Top 5 Story Arcs

As you may remember, the prize for this year’s annual Top 10 contest was a “Top 5 Anything” commission.  Well, Alonom won the contest by guessing an impressive 9 of my 10 top series – and not only that, 8 out of those 9 were ranked within one spot of my final order.  A very impressive prognostication indeed, and much deserving of the prize.  And the request was for a “Top 5 Shounen Arcs”.  So,  without further ado, let me try and tackle that one.

This is harder than it sounds, because- well, for a couple of reasons.  I mean, I could easily rank just Hunter X Hunter arcs here and it’d be a pretty good list – not just because H x H is a masterpiece, but because Togashi neatly organizes his story into arcs that are easy to categorize.  Not every shounen author does – Adachi Mitsuru, for example, who’s someone I very much want to include on this list.  It’s also really tough paring this down to just 5 arcs, given the vast history of shounen manga and all the classics that have been written and adapted to anime over the years.

In an attempt to try and make this manageable I’m self-imposing a rule – no more than one arc per series.  I would be very tempted to include, for example, the Heaven’s Arena arc (at least) from Hunter X Hunter and the Jinchuu Arc from Rurouni Kenshin – but I won’t, just to at least make an effort to recognize more series.  Even so a lot of great stuff isn’t going to make the cut.  And it’s worth pointing out that a list of 5 greatest shounen series would look different than this one – because some (like Touch and Fullmetal Alchemist for example) are at their best when viewed as a whole rather than by arcs.

Without further ado, then, let’s give this a hack:

 

Chimera Ant Arc: Hunter X Hunter – For years I was convinced that my #2 on this list would never be supplanted in the top spot, but then Chimera Ant came along.  Simply put, I don’t think any manga has ever attempted to tell a story as subtle, intricate, profound and difficult as Chimera Ant.  It’s not without missteps, but the ambition soars so high here that even factoring those in, it’s impossible for me to place anything else in this spot.  Chimera Ant is technically an “arc”, but in truth it’s bigger in scope than the vast majority of all complete manga.  It’s miraculous that Madhouse managed to adapt it as brilliantly as they did, because the manga version – for all its genius – presented some unique and incredibly formidable challenges.

Kyoto Arc: Rurouni Kenshin – While I have to give the nod to Chimera Ant based on sheer ambition, the Kyoto arc is basically perfect as far as I’m concerned.  Just as Kenshin Himura is the perfect shounen protagonist.  Kyoto has everything – pathos, action, irony, suspense, tragedy, comedy (and probably the perfect shounen antagonist in Shishio Makoto).  And it utilizes everyone in the main cast brilliantly.  As Great as Jinchuu is (and what a tragedy it was never adapted) the Kyoto arc is RK at its absolute best – a story that’s simultaneously intimate and sweeping, personal and universal, heartbreaking and heartwarming.  If I were to choose one arc to try and teach young shounen mangaka how it’s done (and it sure as hell wouldn’t be Chimera Ant – who else would even try to pull that off?) this would be the one.  It is shounen – and it’s so much more.

Koushien: Cross Game – After initially starting out with formally named story arcs (“The Season of Wakaba”, “The Season of Aoba”) Adachi-sensei abandoned the practice – which leaves the remainder of Cross Game to be subdivided only by volumes and chapters.  I’m calling this “Koushien” because what I have in mind is the period broadly covered by the last four volumes, as Seishu attempts to qualify for Summer Koushien – though I could have as easily called it “Things Are Getting Complicated” for all the other stuff that was happening off the diamond.  Adachi doesn’t organize his stories into arcs like Togashi and Watsuki, generally speaking (the first part of this series being an exception) – rather, the series flow like rivers from beginning to end.  But if I have to pick out a chunk of Cross Game – and there was no way this series wasn’t going to be here – it has to be the last section for me.

Sayonara: Hikaru no GoHikaru no Go is another of those series that more or less demanded to be on this list somewhere, with the tricky bit being just what part of the story to include.  “Sayonara” refers literally to the 10 chapters of volume 15, but I’m really including the prior volume in this selection too, as the buildup is an integral part of it.  I don’t do spoilers in posts like these, but the ending of this arc is among the most emotionally powerful passages in shounen or any other genre – I was absolutely devastated by it.  It represented both the high part of the series and it’s true ending in a sense (and that’s a sad story for another post).

Mifune Dolphins: Major – This is a personal choice to be sure, but like the Kyoto arc I think it represents perfection in its class.  The title is my own, since Mitsuda Takuya doesn’t name his story arcs – what I’m referring to here could as easily be called “Fourth Grade” because that’s when the entirety of it takes place.  Major is an epic, arguably the most influential pure sports manga ever, but it’s this part of the story where it soars most regally for me – and the anime adaptation directed by the great Kasai Kenichi is even better.  For me this arc of Major is sports manga at its purest and most elemental – the emotions ring as clearly as a temple bell on a frigid New Year’s Eve.  Simply put, it’s why people like me love sports manga in the first place, and like “Kyoto” it’s the arc I’d show young (sports, in this case) mangaka to give them something to aspire to.

 

It bears repeating – a list like this is both arbitrary and brutal.  I mentioned Touch and FMA already, but what of Baby Steps – probably the greatest pure sports manga ever written?  It’s just hard to pick out one part to focus on when the entire series is effectively the arc of Eichirou Maruo’s development as a tennis player and a person.  What of Boku no Hero Academia, the best of the “next gen” shounen action series and one which does follow the arc-driven narrative model – how can neither “Vs. Hero Killer” or “Hideout Raid” be here?  Lists like this are inherently incomplete snapshots of opinion, as notable for what’s left off as what’s included, but I’d certainly go to bat for the five arcs here any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Thanks for the commission, Alonom – it was a fascinating exercise for me to try and put this post together.  And please look forward to the Patron Rewards posts in the coming weeks.  Stay frosty!

 

 

 

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26 comments

  1. A

    Thanks Enzo! Great post as always, and really interesting to read. Though I must shamefully admit Hunter x Hunter is the only show on this list that I’ve watched. I have some catchup to do

  2. A

    In my country baseball practically doesn’t exist so it’s always hard getting into those shows. but now I got to at least give it a shot

  3. N

    What country is that, if I may be so bold as to ask..?

  4. A

    I’m from Israel. Baseball isn’t really a thing here

  5. https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sports/Israel-baseball-team-in-2020-Olympics-Thats-the-goal-563982

    ;-p

    Between Cross Game and Major, I would say an appreciation for baseball is less important with Cross Game.

  6. N

    Ah, I knew it! My compatriot 😀

    I don’t find that living in a country where baseball isn’t a thing a serious obstacle to enjoying baseball-themed anime. I mean, it’s not like we play Karuta, go, or mahjong either, and it didn’t stop me from enjoying shows that centered around these games. And to be honest, the baseball part in Cross Game is more of a plot device than anything else.

  7. Good on them.

  8. M

    Honestly, I’ve never heard of 2 out of these 5 series, guess it’s time to add them to my to-watch list.

    Thanks for covering shounen series beyond the “battle shounen” mold.

  9. N

    Reading between the lines here–are you saying that (in your opinion, of course) the Heaven’s Arena arc should be higher placed than Greed Island? I feel that the mere suggestion might give rise to an eternal conflict that would torment me for days.

    I’m also in two minds about the inclusion of Cross Game (an anime, by the way, I watched because of how highly you recommended it–and I thank you for that). I don’t really think of it as shounen. Hell, I don’t even think of it as a sport anime. I’m not sure what it is, besides awesome. I just don’t think it belongs in the same list as HxH, Kenshin, or even HnG. Honestly, the only list where it might feel at home is probably one that consists of Touch and Mix.

    My personal biases aside, good post! and a cool idea, Alonom!

  10. Defining what shounen is is a part of what makes this list so difficult. But for the record I’ve never seen CG categorized as not a shounen.

    Your between the lines reading is accurate. That’s just me, personally, and between HA, GI and YS it’s a paper thin margin for me anyway. Any one of them could easily be on this list. I just have a personal adoration for Heavens Arena. It clicks with me.

  11. K

    I am surprised the last three were sports based. I haven’t watched a sports based anime since Days and before that Giant Killing which were both superb in my book. Tempted to give at least one of these you highlighted a short Enzo but then I am not a fan of baseball. Decisions decisions decisions.

  12. Very curious to know what a short Enzo is!

    I would say that both Cross Game and Hikaru no Go are sports anime in the “soft” sense, while Major is in the hard sense.

  13. s

    Man I just finished binge-reading hikaru no go on the new shonen jump site the other day, and it is a sick joke that there aren’t another 100 chapters. I mean they also could have ended it after the sayonara arc you mention and it would have been more fitting. But still the stuff with Hikaru, Sai, and Akira is so good! Definitely one of the best shonen out there.

  14. s

    I both know RK and HnG and I definitely agree they are powerful arcs. I have just finished Baby Steps and since I find it consistent it is very hard to pick up one arc among them. I don’t know the other ones, in anime form I would say “Seirin-Touou rematch in Kuroko no Basket and “Ranma meets his mother” in Ranma 1/2.

  15. M

    I honestly don’t know which Kuroko match I liked better, Seiren vs. Touou Rematch introduced the ZONE and was hype, but Kagami’s Meteor Jam vs. Murasakibara was the TRUTH tho.

  16. Hikaru no Go was like a meteor which burned incredibly brightly in the sky and quickly flamed out. A terrible shame it ended how it did but when it was great, it was truly legendary.

  17. J

    Have to immediately say this – I couldn’t agree more with the first two pics. Chimera Ant as the definitive #1, and the Kyoto arc as the best arc pre-Chimera Ant. Last time I went through the Kenshin anime was in summer 2017 (manga was two years before that, so another re-read might be overdue later this year), and it still left quite the impression on me – both because of Kenshin and Shishio just being great, but also because of the stellar parts regarding Anji and Sano in particular. And I don’t even feel like attempting to describe just what makes Chimera Ant work – it simply does.

    And heck, I’m actually familiar with all three other picks too and have to agree that they fit the list, so that says something about the quality of the list for me, haha. Even if I’d probably pick other arcs myself. But then again… man, at its best, Shounen just has too much good stuff, especially in the manga department.

  18. The thing about Kyoto is, it’s amazingly and elegantly simple when you dissect it, despite everything that’s happening and all the characters who have vital roles to play. Chimera Ant, by contrast, feels like it’s always on the edge of complete chaos, like it could go totally off the rails at any time but somehow never does. Yin and Yang, to be sure.

    Watsuki was under 30 and relatively inexperienced as a mangaka when he wrote Kyoto, which makes it that much more incredible for its polish and narrative sophistication.

  19. C

    I had quite forgotten how devastating the core HnG “Sayonara” episodes were. It was truly “childhood’s end” and I can still remember the feeling of loss and emptiness. HnG was one of the animes that formed my taste when I was still a newbie, and it set an extremely high standard.

    As for other unmentioned shonen arcs, I remember being extremely impressed with the first 20 episodes of Naruto (of all things), although this was also in my newbie days, and I would have to re-watch it to see if it holds up from my current perspective as a grizzled veteran.

    As for “Chimera Ant,” yes. Absolutely.

  20. Z

    I knew chimera arc is gonna be here somewhere. For me, the best shounen manga arc is, Courtesan of a nation arc from Gintama. Its simply the best.

  21. No love for Enies Lobby from One Piece? Kappa ;_;

  22. Not a huge One Piece fan TBH. Respect more like actually like.

  23. Y

    Perfect choices!!! I adore that you included Hikaru no Go (one of my all time favorite series), and yes, I cry EVERY single time I watch/read that arc…

  24. Rivers of manly tears.

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