Story arcs in shonen anime are often highly long to balance the enormous casts, giving as many characters as possible in order to futher their personal arcs, and give them memorable moments. However, with some stories extending into epics like One Piece's Wano and Dressrosa arcs, Naruto's Fourth Ninja War, and Hunter x Hunter's Chimera Ant arc, a short reprieve can be refreshing. It can also be brilliant when the leads take a step back, and the world expands. These smaller arcs perfectly break up the pacing while doing clever world-building for their individual stories.

When authors use a short arc to introduce or flesh out political powers within their world, it elevates the stakes for the entire series. Breaking up the pacing allows these long-running stories to breathe and move independently of their leads. Adding these invigorating smaller story arcs into the mix spices up the overall feel of a story, making it feel more balanced and the world more realized. While these arcs may not be the most critically impressive, they are undeniably impactful.

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The Reverie Arc Introduced Another End-Game Boss

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Eiichiro Oda impressively broke up the post-time-skip story of One Piece with a shockingly powerful and mysterious arc. While the Zou arc didn't span the exhaustive number of chapters and episodes like Fishman Island, Dressrosa, and Whole Cake Island, it felt like a connection arc in many ways. Zou totes impressive reveals and wonderful or not-so-wonderful reunions, but it remains smaller in scale. On the other hand, the Reverie arc is more concise yet vastly more significant in scale.

Mystery has surrounded the Five Elders since their first appearance during the Jaya Arc. Highlighting the Elders and world leaders and introducing the even more mysterious power sets up the Reverie Arc. Introductions, reveals, revelations, and mysteries clean the palate between Whole Cake Island and Wano. The arc also establishes clear reasons to be excited about the series' future.

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Including multiple characters from previous Arcs grounds, the Reverie arc, with an excellent familiarity, makes it easier to introduce foreign concepts and characters. Being able to catch up with King Nefertiti, Wapol, and others gives the world a sense of life and movement as many events occur off-screen and away from the Straw Hats. These familiar faces also prevent the arc from being overwhelming as it highlights Im, Mjosgard, and the Revolutionary Army.

Establishing another serious enemy outside Akainu and Blackbeard further builds the mystery for the end of One Piece. Putting the Revolutionary Army into the heroic seat develops more investment in their mission and connection to Bartholomew Kuma. The Reverie Arc is an essential break in the story that builds tension and excitement while allowing fans to enjoy a compressed adventure away from Luffy and his crew.

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The Five Kage Summit Led Into the Great Ninja War

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Early Naruto stayed close to Konoha without fleshing out much of the world. Kishimoto spends most of the first half of Naruto developing the main cast from Konoha and the elements of the ninja world, helping give context to future interactions and issues. Subtle issues from within Konoha start to bubble over during the Five Kage Summit Arc, while the world grows immensely with the introduction of impressive world powers.

Meeting and witnessing the power of the Kage and their inner circles put the world into better perspective. Their introductions flow into the story as they enter into verbal conflict before shining in a short-lived battle with Sasuke's crew. The strength of a well-established ninja becomes humbled as the immense strength and wild abilities of the Kage leave an unforgettable impact.

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Watching them handle and challenge Sasuke's newly evolved Sharingan abilities with different techniques gives them deserved weight. Experiencing so many people in such a short time who rival the strongest ninja ever seen hints at the potential scale of future conflicts. Knowing multiple global powers with abilities that create mass destruction will all be on one battlefield drastically raises the overall stakes.

Balancing a bracket of fights for Sasuke with the rocky formation of a global alliance makes this arc a perfect bridge into the Great Ninja War. Kishimoto handled this story in a tournament-like fashion, aggressively introducing characters and placing them on different battlefields to shine versus a familiar force. It ends on Sasuke's fierce battle with Danzo tied up loose Konoha threads ridding the next arc of even more criminal entities.

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The Chairman Election Arc Is the Perfect Beginning, and Ending

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After the lengthy and emotionally exhausting Chimera Ant arc, Togashi repeats his trend of spinning Hunter x Hunter in a unique direction. The Chairman Election Arc builds up the world of Hunters while driving home just how vital Netero was to the Hunter Organization's balance. While offering up a few awkward conclusions, the arc opened so many doors it felt like an entry point into a wild new story.

Weird and mysterious Zodiac members add more wonder to the Hunter Organization without removing the stakes of previous arcs. The Chimera ants still feel like a threat and potential issue. However, Togashi works great with established power ceilings, preventing the series from falling into runaway power levels.

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Ging Freecs's presence in the arc is enormous and handled delicately. Exceptionally few story threads around Ging tie-up, while even more questions pop up. Having the weakest lead, Leorio, punch Ging gives a sense of awareness but a humble understanding to him that echoes Netero. Leaving his abilities and motivations a mystery plants seeds for future story beats.

While Killua and Leorio play decent roles in the arc, it spotlights the Hunters, namely Paristons antagonization of his fellow Zodiacs. Even with conclusions to Gon's journey to find Ging and Killua's desire to rescue his sister, the arc feels open-ended. The Chairman Election Arc is the perfect turning point from Gon's tale into the other lead's stories and provides a nice break between epic story arcs.

Epic shonen arcs carry unrivaled excitement and tension as they culminate in wars, daring rescues, or dangerous tournaments. The whole narrative evolves when those epic stories step away from the central chaos to flush out their world in short political arcs. Making a world feel active while boosting the story's stakes gives any piece of media more weight.