The shonen genre is responsible for some of the most noteworthy and successful anime series of all time. The genre specifically focuses on an audience of adolescent males, but the type of content has largely become synonymous with series that focus on fighting and action. Some exceptional shonen series have come out over the years, but the genre can seem daunting to outsiders and difficult to penetrate.
Every year, there are exciting and new anime series, but there’s a whole history of shonen titles that are both worth the investment, as well as anime at the opposite of the spectrum of the genre that should be avoided and are an insult to shonen.
10 Should Watch: My Hero Academia Mixes Superhero Staples With Great Characters
My Hero Academia is one of the breakout hits of the past few years and it’s become a major success for any anime, not just a shonen title. The series beautifully plays into the public’s current obsession with superhero culture with how it features the development of many budding heroes-in-training.
Izuku Midoriya is a protagonist that has grown in substantial ways and in addition to the compelling narrative, there are always stunning action sequences that exhibit the wildly contrasting superhero powers that are on display in this anime.
9 Can Skip: Fairy Tail Is A Cookie Cutter Take On The Genre
Fairy Tail follows Natsu Dragneel, a powerful wizard who longs to find his father in a world that’s filled with dangerous monsters and incredible magic. Fairy Tail feels like it might have some subversive takes on the genre, but instead, it delivers a highly derivative take on the shonen genre.
Characters, scenarios, and the loose magic abilities all feel like variations of ideas that are seen elsewhere and problems are frequently solved in convenient and unearned ways. Everything in Fairy Tail is done better somewhere else.
8 Should Watch: Hunter X Hunter Allows Itself To Continually Evolve
Many shonen series begin with normal underdogs that have aspirations of greatness and want to storm the world. In the case of Hunter x Hunter, Gon Freecss is determined to be a Hunter, but his journey is consistently exciting and unique.
It’s very easy for shonen series to become repetitive, but Hunter x Hunter works hard for each of its arcs to feel different and focus on eclectic characters and themes. Hunter x Hunter isn’t without its sections of filler, but it never loses sight of its goal and it genuinely improves over the course of its hundreds of episodes.
7 Can Skip: Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Wastes Its Ammunition
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! tries to do something a little different with how it digs into the politics of a mafia crime syndicate. A meek boy, Tsunayoshi Sawada, becomes the next in line to take over the Vongola crime family, so the family's legendary bodyguard, Reborn, takes him in as his protégé.
Hitman Reborn! is quirky and has a great premise, but everything else about it is mediocre. Unremarkable animation drags down the series and hinders its action and the characters never feel like they realize their potential. It's a case where there's a lot more to enjoy in its manga.
6 Should Watch: Attack On Titan Is A Masterclass In Storytelling
Attack on Titan has proven to be one of the most satisfying and surprising anime series of its generation. It’s resonated on a level that’s honestly comparable to something like Breaking Bad and what initially looked like a story about man versus gigantic monsters has become so much more intricate.
Attack on Titan is an amazing adventure that proves just what anime can accomplish and the maturity that’s now present in some series. There’s never been a better time to jump into Attack on Titan now that the title is close to ending its remarkable run.
5 Can Skip: Future Diary Becomes An Exercise In Patience Because Of Its Cast
Future Diary looks at a dozen special individuals who find themselves in the running to become the next successor to God through the use of their powerful Future Diaries. In the end, Future Diary comes across as a less successful version of Death Note with highly passive and problematic characters.
To the series' credit, Future Diary wants the audience to hate its characters and the decisions that they make. This may have thematic resonance, but it still turns the shonen series into a highly frustrating exercise with characters that are very hard to get behind.
4 Should Watch: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Crafts A Generational Story Like No Other
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure should be mandatory content for any fan of the shonen genre. The ongoing adventure of the Joestar family is immensely satisfying and the way in which different seasons shift perspective to new members of the family keeps the shonen series fresh in a way that’s impossible for other shows.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure only continues to grow more ridiculous, but its heightened characters and unconventional battles help JoJo stay in a league of its own. It’s a true delight that feels unlike any other shonen series, which is very difficult to accomplish.
3 Can Skip: Dragon Ball GT Struggles As A Sequel To A Classic
The Dragon Ball franchise is one of the most recognizable shonen series and it’s contributed to the genre in fundamental ways. Even at its worst, Dragon Ball is still very popular, but Dragon Ball GT is one of the few chapters from the franchise that has been erased in some ways.
The sequel series feels more tonally in line with the original Dragon Ball and feels anti-climactic in Dragon Ball Z’s wake. There are still plenty of fun sequences and strong ideas in the shonen series, but it’s still the one Dragon Ball series that many say is worth skipping.
2 Should Watch: Gintama Features Sublime Comedy, Action, & Characters
Gintama has been running for over a decade, has produced hundreds of episodes, and it’s even become a running joke that the shonen series will never actually end. Gintama’s plot is fairly simple, but it mashes together so many different ideas into a Samurai narrative and the end result is a highly meta take on the genre.
It’s just as much a gag anime as it is a shonen series and it’s without a doubt one of the most hilarious anime of all time. Gintama adeptly juggles emotional storytelling with wonton silliness in a way that shouldn’t work, but does.
1 Can Skip: Boruto Already Begins With Diminishing Returns
Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are still looked at lovingly in the anime community and they're very influential shonen series. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is the anime's sequel follow-up that centers on the children of the former anime.
Boruto suffers from the central character's cocky and unbecoming attitude as well as how much of it wallows in filler that just feels inconsequential in the wake of Naruto. The anime's strongest material is when it focuses on the former cast and gets away from its new characters, which is not a good sign.