Shonen anime have been an anime staple for decades. Ever since writers and artists discovered that people really liked passionate people trying to overcome the odds (mostly with their fists), they founded a goldmine that's influenced Japanese media and more all the way to today.
The genre has had several defining series, such as early standouts like Fist of the North Star and City Hunter to genre leaders like Dragon Ball and Yu Yu Hakusho. As the genre began to perfect itself, it gave way to the "Big Three" in Shonen Jump juggernauts Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach. With plenty of great shonen anime out there, a shonen fan is bound to never be bored.
10 Jujutsu Kaisen
Jujutsu Kaisen has been leading the rankings in Shonen Jump within the past few months. Such consistency and success have given way to the series' first anime within the past fall season, and it has made a tremendous impression since episode 1. Yuuji Itadori was once a simple high schooler that was just trying to bide his time in high school.
However, when his high school's Occult Club comes face to face with actual, paranormal enemies, Itadori steps up to save them and consumes a cursed finger to unlock incredible power. Now imbued with the power and personality of the "King of Curses," Sukuna Ryoumen, Itadori now enrolls in the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School to train to become a great Jujutsu sorcerer.
9 Demon Slayer
Demon Slayer has been a force within the industry as of late. After the release of its gorgeous anime made by Ufotable, the manga has been setting sales records and easily dethroning sales giant, One Piece, in 2020's sales. This is for a good reason: Demon Slayer is really good. Set in classic Japan, the story focuses on Tanjirou Kamado.
When his family is attacked by a demon, he finds that his only remaining family member is his younger sister, Nezuko, who's been turned into a demon herself. This sets Tanjirou on a long journey to join the Demon Slayer Corps and find the demon that raided his home, seeking to both avenge his family and turn his sister back to normal.
8 The Promised Neverland
Emma and her foster siblings have an idyllic life on the Grace Field House. They have a massive field to play on, plenty of good food, and a kind, caring den mother taking care of them. Each day, the kids only dream of getting adopted as they work hard on studies and take a variety of intelligence exams.
However, all of this is just a ruse for a sinister plot. The children are actually being raised as livestock for an entire, demonic race, and their den mother is simply fatting them up or, at least, their delicious minds. After discovering this, Emma leads the other kids on a massive escape from this life as well as a revolution against the monster race preying on them.
7 My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia is perhaps the truest successor to the Big Three. Taking the most inspiration from Naruto, this series focuses on the timid and feeble Midoriya Izuku, aka Deku. Deku aspires to become a hero but was born without a Quirk in a world filled with people with superpowers. All of that changes when he comes across the world's mightiest superhero, All Might.
After seeing Deku's heroic resolve first hand, All Might takes him in as his successor and even transfers to him his own Quirk, One for All. However, this is just the beginning of a larger journey, as Deku starts a challenging academic life at the world's premiere hero academy, U.A.
6 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a series that likely needs no introduction, especially given that it's been around since the '80s and because of a wave of meme content that's washed over the internet within the past few years. Its story initially focuses on a prestigious family's supernatural battle against vampires and the devilish opportunist, Dio Brando.
However, as the story evolved and it adopted its iconic Stands, the series became truly bizarre, covering epic journeys across Egypt, small-town mysteries, and even gang warfare. All of this is coupled with some of the strangest bouts ever seen in anime.
5 Hunter x Hunter
From the same creator of Yu Yu Hakusho, Yoshihiro Togashi, Hunter x Hunter has made a mark on the industry as one of the strongest and most cerebral battle shonen out there. Utilizing Togashi's masterful character writing and world-building, the story focuses on Gon Freecss as he sets out on a journey to find his estranged father.
To do so, he must become a Hunter, an elite member of society entrusted with exploring the world and taking on dangerous missions. In doing so, he meets a variety of interesting people, starts traveling with his new, best friend, Killua Zoldyck, and puts himself in the middle of different conflicts involving gangs, a deathly video game, and an entire, secret battle against mutant ants.
4 Death Note
If anyone ever wanted proof that shonen series don't need grand battles with fists, they need to take a look at Death Note. Heralded as a battle shonen without actual battles, Death Note focuses all of its action and tension on the legendary mind games between Light Yagami and L. Light was once just a bored high schooler, albeit a superstar in academics.
However, when he comes across the Death Note, a supernatural journal that allowed him to kill anyone by simply just writing their name, he begins a mass killing spree to rid the world of its criminals as well as anyone that opposed him. Hunting him down is a series of investigators as well as the world's most legendary detective, L., whose intelligence and eccentricities match Light's own devilishness and newfound power.
3 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
World War II never looked quite as epic until it involved reality-warping magic and superhuman mutants. In a world where advanced knowledge of science allows people to manipulate matter with their bare hands, Edward and Alphonse Elric foolishly try to use it to resurrect their dead mother.
However, Edward ends up losing an arm and a leg and Alphonse loses his entire body and must now exist as a suit of armor. Wanting to get back their original bodies, the two begin exploring the world and enlisting as State Alchemists. In doing so, they find themselves in the middle of a grand conspiracy whose consequences span religion, wars, and the lives of their entire country.
2 Attack On Titan
Attack on Titan is one of the few shonen series to see massive success outside of the Shonen Jump umbrella. In a world haunted by human-eating giants known as Titans, humanity now resides in cities surrounded by massive walls and protected by an elite group of soldiers equipped with grappling wires and dual blades. Eren Yeager loses his family when the Titans finally breach civilization's main defenses.
On a path to avenge the people he's lost, he joins the Survey Corps in an effort to fight the Titans head-on. However, unbeknownst to him, he's gained the power to transform himself into a Titan. Weathering giant battles and political intrigue, Eren must fight Titan and humans alike.
1 Dr. Stone
Any series that can make learning science look and feel like an entire, shonen battle deserves some kind of reward. After all of humanity gets turned into stone after a mysterious event, Senku Ishigami and Taiju Oki free themselves from their casings and find themselves in a world that's seen several millennia without human involvement.
Being a super genius when it comes to science, Senku discovers a way to turn people back to normal and hatches up a plan to bring civilization back on its course in progress. However, after he and Taiji resurrect the elite fighter, Tsukasa Shishiou, they must now begin an arms race as Tsukasa begins his new plans for a much more unforgiving society.