Shonen anime has produced many instant successes. From Dragon Ball to One Piece to the now immensely popular Chainsaw Man, some anime are undoubtedly overnight sensations. However, the same can't be said for plenty of other shonen series. Some have such outlandish premises or bad luck that it seems like the odds are stacked against them.

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There are many anime that don't have the instant success that some others have. Some are from creators who haven't had a good track record. Others are unique or have strange premises that make viewers wonder how they got greenlit. At any rate, taking a chance was worth it for some anime as they became shonen classics.

10 MAR Ran On The Air For A Surprising Amount Of Time

An image from MAR.

MAR, also known as Marchen Awakens Romance, was based on a manga created by Nobuyuki Anzai. His previous series, Flame of Recca, didn't fare well on television as it was canceled after 42 episodes. The manga only ran for about three years, and fans thought that the anime would only be a few cours.

The anime ended up being 102 episodes despite the manga being quite short. The animation studio had to create more anime original content to fill up time, but the series wound up becoming a hit.

9 Zatch Bell Is A Bit Silly, But It Had A Good Run

Gash Bell & Kiyomaro Takamine in the Zatch Bell anime.

Zatch Bell was a series about life-size dolls who fought each other with the help of a human partner to help cast spells. Proxy battles work well for Pokémon, but this concept seemed a bit too out there for some who dismissed it initially. It didn't seem like a show with this goofy premise would survive on television.

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As it turned out, it ran for a whopping 150 episodes. The show's humor and intense action more than made up for its silly premise. Zatch Bell ended up becoming a beloved shonen series for many. It even has a sequel manga currently running.

8 Astra Lost In Space's Creator Worked On A Comedy Manga Beforehand

Aries and her stranded crew goof off in space in Astra Lost in Space

Astra Lost in Space was created by Kenta Shinohara. In the 2000s, he was best known as the mind behind the gag manga Sket Dance. While Sket Dance delved into drama occasionally, fans were unsure about his next project, Astra. The series would be a science fiction travel story about high schoolers trying to get back home.

Shinohara didn't have much experience with drama or sci-fi, so fans wondered if this would work out. The story ran for five volumes and even got an anime adaptation in 2019. The story was well-executed, and the characters were relatable. It had drama, comedy, romance, and even a few conspiracies thrown in.

7 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Had To Surpass Its Predecessor

Official art for Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist of the Roses.

Yu-Gi-Oh! originally had an anime from Toei Animation (dubbed "Season Zero" by many fans). It followed the early manga. That series didn't do well and was canned after 26 episodes. Studio Gallop tried their hands at adapting the Duel Monster portions of the manga as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters. There had yet to be an anime about card games, so this was a bit of a gamble.

This version of Yu-Gi-Oh! caught on like wildfire as it ran for about four years, totaling 224 episodes, and gained international success as well. The card game featured in the show was brought into the real world and still sells well today.

6 Eyeshield 21 Took An Unfamiliar Sport And Gave It The Spotlight

An image from Eyeshield 21.

Eyeshield 21 was a sports anime from the 2000s about American football. This sport wasn't exactly well-known in Japan. Many wondered if the series would get off the ground with such an obscure subject. Author Riichiro Inagaki explained the rules and stakes of football well, and the series took off.

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Some of the success is due to Sena, the series' underdog hero. He spent his life up to that point as a gopher for other students. He was close to being one in high school, but he was recruited for the football team as a manager. Sena developed immense speed from his time as a gopher and soon became the star running back for the Devil Bats.

5 Bleach Proves That One Can Learn From Failure

Ichigo Kurosaki looking confused in Bleach.

Tite Kubo published Zombie Powder in 2000 in Weekly Shonen Jump. It was considered a commercial failure and was canceled after four volumes. Kubo went back to the drawing board. After some encouragement from Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, Kubo tried again with his next series, Bleach.

Bleach was the opposite of Zombie Powder in almost every way: Japanese motifs instead of Western ones, urban setting, limited violence. Some wondered if the series would do well, but Bleach became a hit. The first 63 episodes, in particular, struck a chord with audiences. With the Thousand-Year Blood War airing right now, Bleach has captured fans' imaginations once again.

4 Dr. Stone Won Fans Over With Its Unique Premise

Dr. Stone poster featuring all the protagonists of Dr. Stone, with Senku at the front.

Dr. Stone premiered in the 2010s and had a somewhat odd premise. The world's population had been turned to stone following a mysterious event and remained that way for millennia. Science whiz Senku was able to free himself and vowed to restore the world to its former glory with the power of science.

While many shonen series have an escalation of danger or power, Dr. Stone had an escalation of technology. Audiences weren't sure what to make of this unique premise at first, but they soon embraced it. The series teaches viewers about science while developing a captivating story about rebuilding the world after a tragedy.

3 Dr. Slump Was Toriyama's First Big Hit

Arale and Penguin Village make silly faces in 1980s Dr. Slump anime.

Dr. Slump was an anime from the early 1980s about a scientific genius who built a robot girl named Arale. The doctor, Senbei, was originally the protagonist, but author Akira Toriyama's editors convinced him to focus on Arale. A shonen series with a female protagonist was unheard of back in those days. Even Toriyama himself was against this at first.

However, Arale's quirky nature and gleeful demeanor won over just about everyone. Dr. Slump was, at its core, a gag series. It was full of alien invaders, talking poop, and parodies of superheroes and tokusatsu. It would be overshadowed by Dragon Ball with time, but Dr. Slump is still one of the most fondly remembered anime of the '80s.

2 Assassination Classroom Threw Life Lessons In With Its Antics

Koro-Sensei wears a Hidden Leaf Village headband in Assassination Classroom.

Assassination Classroom was a 2010s anime about a high school class tasked with killing their teacher, an unstoppable space alien, before graduation. If they couldn't do it, the Earth would be destroyed. The teacher, dubbed "Koro-sensei," instilled life lessons into his students while they tried to find the secret to taking him down.

The premise for this series seemed a little out there. Fans were unsure of it at first. Even so, the series succeeded thanks to its interesting characters, wacky comedy, and heartfelt moments. The series ended its run after two seasons and is an underrated shonen series.

1 Death Note Proved That Suspense Could Rival Action

L from Death Note crouched on a chair.

Death Note was a series from the 2000s about a high school student who discovers a notebook that can kill people. The boy then decides to use it to rid the world of crime. The story spanned 37 episodes and featured suspense, drama, and questions about morality.

Back when the series was running in Weekly Shonen Jump, people were unsure about whether it could succeed. The story was darker than the average shonen manga, and it was suspense-driven rather than action-driven. Death Note became a cult hit with legions of fans. There was even a parody of the series in a The Simpsons episode.

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