The shonen genre in anime has always been making waves. They become ultimately popular among anime fans because of how thrilling the stories are. Characters with supernatural abilities are cool to watch. Having strong motivations or even the power of friendship to victor among battles are entertaining and satisfying. Most importantly, the combat and fight scenes can make jaws drop while the minds are at awe.
So, it is no wonder the genre is widely loved by anime fans. But which shonen anime are truly worth watching? Which shonen anime can get a viewer to appreciate it?
Even though any avid shonen fan has most likely watched the anime featured in this list, it would not hurt to recommend it to anyone interested in shonen right? Or to help someone get into anime with these fantastic stories?
Take note that the anime listed are not ranked by their numbers! Also, this list may not be definitive for you.
The shonen anime listed below are based on the popularity and the ratings it received.
1. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Synopsis: Two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, has experienced catastrophic consequences when they attempted to do forbidden alchemy on human transmutation. Alphonse’s body disintegrated while Edward lost a leg. Edward then sacrificed his right arm to keep Alphonse tied in the physical world alongside a suit of armor.
Fortunately, they were helped by their neighbors in this predicament – namely Pinako Rockbell and her granddaughter Winry. Winry is also a bio-mechanical engineering prodigy who managed to provide Edward prosthetic limbs.
After training for years, Edward and Alphonse set off on a journey to find the Philosopher’s Stone – the gem that can restore their bodies. Along the way, Edward becomes an infamous alchemist known as “Fullmetal”.
2. Bleach (includes Thousand-Year Blood War)
Synopsis: Ichigo Kurosaki’s normal life turned upside down when his family got attacked by corrupted, human-eating spirits: the Hollow. He then met a Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki, who protected Ichigo’s family. Ichigo then accepted Rukia’s offer to get her powers so he became a Soul Reaper as a result in order to protect his family.
Ichigo is now responsible for fighting against the Hollows plaguing their town since Rukia lost her powers. He is joined by his closest friends and allies in this battle.
However, Ichigo soon realizes that there are more enemies other than the Hollow. This is none other than Asguiaro Ebern, a Arrancar who leads the return of the ancient Quincy king, Yhwach. Yhwach wants to reignite the bloody feud between Soul Reapers and the Quincy, as he wanted to erase the human world and Soul Society permanently.
And so, Ichigo and his allies has to team up with some enemies to stop Yhwach and the world from destruction.
3. One Piece
Synopsis: The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, has gained recognition for sailing the Grand Line. Before his death after being captured by the World Government, he spoke of the greatest treasure in the world – “One Piece. This declaration spawned the Grand Age of Pirates, where men would embark on a journey to find One Piece.
This includes the 17-year-old Monkey D. Luffy, who is quite an unusual pirate. Instead of the intimidating and wicked pirate who ransacks villages, Luffy is actually full of childlike wonder. He genuinely loves adventuring and meeting other people while searching for One Piece. He does not seek the treasure out of greed, as he savors the crazy adventures he has while touring the Grand Line.
4. Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Synopsis: 12-year-old Gon Freecss wants to search for his missing father, Ging, who is a Hunter. Being a Hunter means getting assigned with dangerous tasks such as searching for rare monsters or items across the world. However, becoming a Hunter requires a very risky examination. Aspiring Hunters would get handicapped or killed during the process.
Gon still remained his determination to reunite with his father, so he persevered in the examination. He befriended the ex-assassin, Killua; the vengeful Kurapika; and the medical student Leorio Paladiknight along the way.
Read More: What Is the Grand Line in One Piece Explained
5. Demon Slayer
Synopsis: Tanjiro Kamado is living a peaceful life with his family in the mountains until a demon attacked and killed them all. Tanjiro’s younger sister, Nezuko, got turned into a demon herself. Intent on restoring Nezuko back to her human form, Tanjiro joined the Demon Slayer Corps so that he can avenge his family.
He became friends with the terrified Zenitsu and the unruly Inosuke as they went on dangerous missions to eradicate demons. Tanjiro will come to realize that there is more to demons than meets the eye all the while he is making efforts to preserve Nezuko’s remaining humanity.
6. Attack on Titan
Synopsis: It was told that humanity had perished beyond the three walls where Eren Yeager and his friends, Mikasa and Armin live in. Only giant human-eating Titans are crawling outside of them, and humanity is protected by the walls. But one day, a Colossal Titan has broken down the wall – thus letting in hordes of Titans to destroy the home Eren grew up in.
Eren also witnessed the brutal death of his mother at the hands of these Titans – spurring in him enormous hatred against them. He trained to become a soldier to join Survey Corps, the military branch dedicated to fighting Titans. He is also accompanied by Mikasa and Armin in entering the military.
As Eren spent his years being a Survey Corps soldier, the closer he is in discovering the truth behind the Titans, the world, and himself.
7. Jujutsu Kaisen
Synopsis: Yuji Itadori is a regular high-school boy who enjoys spending his free time investigating paranormal activities in the Occult Club. He is also taking care of his bedridden grandfather, and playing sports. But his life took a turn when he encountered a cursed item – a disgusting finger. As such, cursed spirits were drawn into it and attacked the school Yuji is in. In order to save his friends, Yuji swallowed the cursed finger. However, he brought back the most powerful and evil cursed spirit in the process – Ryomen Sukuna.
He was then sent to a jujutsu high school so that he could train to become a sorcerer who fights against cursed spirits. He discovers newfound powers along the way, while Sukuna is also getting stronger.
8. Black Clover
Synopsis: Asta and Yuno grew up together in a church as orphans. They are very close to the point that they shared the same dream together – to become the strongest mage or simply, “Wizard King”.
However, only Yuno is the fortunate of the two. Yuno was able to wield magic with impressive power and control, while Asta cannot awaken his magic and has to physically train to compensate. Yuno was also given a Grimoire leaf, while Asta has none.
In a battle with a certain person named Lebuty, Asta was able to receive his 5-leaf Grimoire, the Black Clover due to unleashing his inner rage. As such, Asta found himself capable enough to compete with Yuno in becoming the Wizard King.
Read More: Attack on Titan’s Creator Hajime Isayama Talks About Eren’s Worst Parts
9. My Hero Academia
Synopsis: Izuku Midoriya has always wanted to have a “Quirk”, a superpower that allows humans to manipulate elements. He has the desire to be a hero, but he never had any Quirk.
Fortunately, he had managed to gain the attention of his personal idol, All Might. All Might’s Quirk can also be inherited, so he had chosen Izuku to be his successor.
Izuku is beyond overjoyed in being able to change his fate so he dedicated himself in training. He also enrolled in UA, a prestigious high school that hones heroes through their excellent training program. Through this, he was able to meet a lot of people with different Quirks, and a lot of adventures that will make him grow.
10. Death Note
Synopsis: Light Yagami is a genius student who is bored with his school life. He then stumbled upon a mysterious, black notebook named “Death Note”, in which when a person’s name was written on it, the person will die. When Light discovered that the Death Note is actually legitimate, he started using this to cleanse the world of evil by killing off criminals.
As it went on, Light began to envision himself as a god with the moniker, “Kira” in the new world free of criminals. But unfortunately, there will always be conflicting or opposing sides. A world-known detective, L, intended to stop Kira.
Light/Kira then engages in an intense cat-and-mouse chase with L, trying to outsmart the other.
11. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Synopsis: English nobleman George Joestar and his son Jonathan is indebted to Dario Brando because the latter saved them from a carriage incident. However, Dario has no good intentions, and has only intended to ransack their belongings because he believed them to be dead. The Joestars are unaware of this, and George even went on to adopt Dario’s son, Dio after Dario’s death.
On the outside, Dio expressed love towards his new father. But he is really planning to steal the Joestars’ fortune. The first step of his plan is to create a divide between George and Jonathan, so he attempted on outshining Jonathan in everything he does. However, after being pushed too far, Jonathan managed to defeat Dio in a brawl.
When George became sick, Jonathan suspected that Dio is behind this incident and wants to catch him redhanded.
12. Chainsaw Man
Synopsis: In a world plagued with Devils, teenaged Denji wanted nothing more than to have food in his stomach and have a girlfriend. He befriended a Devil dog named Pochita, who has a chainsaw sticking out of its head.
Among his odd jobs, Denji got betrayed by his employer, the yakuza, as they left him to die among the hands of a Devil. Pochita then revived him by merging with his heart, so Denji became a hybrid chainsaw devil/man.
Denji, reborn as a hybrid, was taken in by Makima from a governmental agency, the Public Safety Bureau. Denji immediately gets smitten by Makima. He willingly participated in missions assigned to him if it means getting the affections of Makima.
Read More: 10 Best Shonen Anime With Female Protagonists
13. Vinland Saga
Synopsis: As a child, Thorfinn had heard of stories of Vinland. It is a peaceful place where everything is warm and bountiful, in contrast to the icy village he grew up in. When he grew older, he became a mercenary and he is used to a life of war. But he recalled his father’s words, “You have no enemies, no one does.”
His father got murdered by Askeladd, so Thorfinn is driven to take revenge on him. All the while, the war between England and the Danes are getting worse, with numerous lives being taken. The viking mercenaries are enjoying every bit of it.
14. Blue Lock
Synopsis: Yoichi Isagi feels disappointed and bitter with himself when he did not win his high school soccer team. His decision to pass the ball to his teammate has been weighing on him. That is until hope presents itself in a form of invitation from Japan Football Union. He was invited to a controversial project called “Blue Lock“, in which its goal is to produce a star striker for the Japanese national team.
Isagi has to compete against others through a series of solo and team games. Due to his fervent desire to compensate for his failure to win his high school team, Isagi put aside his ethical reservations. He wants to rise to the top even if it means crushing others’ dreams.
15. Dr. Stone
Synopsis: Taiju Ooki has been planning to confess his love to Yuzuhira Ogawa after harboring his feelings for five years. Unfortunately, before that happens, a green light struck the Earth and everyone turns into stone.
Taiju awakened after several millennia later, with humanity non-existent. He then encountered another living human, a scientist and his friend, Senkuu. The two then collaborated together to revive the petrified humans. But this grand plan was being challenged by those people who are awakening.
16. InuYasha
Synopsis: Kagome Higurashi was transported into the past in her 15th birthday. Back in feudal Japan, Kagome is being hunted by demons due to the item she has on her person: the very powerful Shikon Jewel.
Kagome then met a half-demon boy, Inuyasha. Inuyasha mistook her for Kikyou, a shrine maiden he hates. As such, Inuyasha disliked Kagome and it took some time for him to help Kagome out.
During a fight, the Shikon Jewel got shattered and its power spread across the land. To prevent catastrophic events, Kagome and Inuyasha set off to find the pieces before it falls onto the wrong hands.
Read More: Does Blue Lock Have Romance?
17. Mob Psycho 100
Synopsis: Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama has been aware of his inner psychic powers at a young age. However, he suppresses this ability after realizing the potential dangers. As such, he only used his power to impress his crush, Tsubomi, who is getting bored with his tricks.
Mob wants to control his abilities, so he enlists the help of Arataka Reigen – who poses as a skilled psychic. Mob was able to exorcise evil spirits, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of his powers. If his power and emotions remain uncontrolled, a cataclysmic event will ensue.
18. Assassination Classroom
Synopsis: A rather isolated school in the mountains, Kunugigaoka Middle School, housed the delinquents and drop-outs of Class 3-E. These students have little to no hope for their success, but hope presents itself when the national government tasked them with getting rid of their new teacher.
This new teacher, the octopus-like Koro-sensei, has threatened to destroy Earth by the following year – which further motivated the students of their mission. However, killing him was proven to be a difficult task. Koro-sensei is fast and highly resistant to any weapon. And he also happened to be the best teacher Class 3-E ever had.
19. Dragon Ball Z
Synopsis: Gokuu is now living peacefully with his wife and son after winning the martial arts tournament five years ago. But then, a mysterious Raditz appeared and introduced himself as Gokuu’s long-lost brother. He explained that Gokuu was from an extinct Saiyan race, and was sent to Earth as a baby to destroy the planet. This purpose was forgotten as Gokuu suffered from a head injury and he completely changed from being violent to gentle.
Raditz failed to recruit Gokuu, so instead he warned the latter of the approaching new threat on Earth. An intergalactic conflict might happen, and there will be a war over the seven mystical balls.
20. Naruto (including Shippuden)
Synopsis: The Nine-Tailed Fox or the “Kyuubi”, has attacked the Konohagakure or the Hidden Leaf Village moments prior to the birth of Naruto Uzumaki. The Fourth Hokage or village leader at the time sacrificed himself and sealed the Kyuubi inside baby Naruto.
However, this incident led Naruto to become shunned and ostracized by everyone in the village. Despite still finding his place among his people, his desire to become a Hokage remains strong. As such, he met friends and foes alike as he tried to achieve his goal.
He went into intense training for two years as he left Konohagakure. Then an elite rogue ninja group, Akatsuki, are planning a grand scheme that threatens the safety of the shinobi world. Naruto became even more confident with his abilities, as he takes on the duty of protecting his friends and home. His dream of becoming a Hokage still burns deeply in his heart.