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When anime fans think of shonen anime, they think of shows with epic battles and good triumphing over evil. The most popular series serving the demographic include One Piece, Dragon Ball, and My Hero Academia. Shows like those are true examples of what shonen is.
There are many shows serving the shonen demographic that end up not getting the praise they deserve. There are several good shonen shows that a lot of people, especially younger fans, don't know anything about. Shonen describes a wide variety of anime. Some may be lesser-known, but that doesn't make them any less amazing.
10 Great Teacher Onizuka Is Ahead Of The Curve
Great Teacher Onizuka is about a former biker gang leader who decides to become a teacher. His unorthodox methods make him a real riot. Between him chasing single moms and him giving his supervisor a German Suplex, Eikichi Onizuka is a wacky guy.
GTO is a great slice of life series. It's packed full of wacky antics and life lessons. Not to mention Onizuka is a wonderful protagonist. He always has his students' best interests at heart. He's willing to risk his job (and his life) to protect his precious students.
9 Eyeshield 21 Scores A Touchdown
Eyeshield 21 is a unique sports anime. This is due to the fact that the sport in question is American football. The series grew awareness for the sport in Japan. Eyeshield 21 stars a boy named Sena who perfected his running speed by being a gopher all throughout middle school. He's recruited to join the school football team and has a knack for running the ball.
Eyeshield 21 has the action typical of a sports series. It has the unique element of being about a mainly American sport. The colorful cast of characters also keeps fans entertained, especially Hiruma. The series is perfect for football fans.
8 Sket Dance Is Full Of Laughs
Sket Dance is about a high school club dedicated to helping the student population with its problems. The stories are often comedic in nature and the characters are quite wacky. The manga has yet to be officially translated, but the anime is available on Crunchyroll.
What sets Sket Dance apart from other gag anime is its ability to transition seamlessly from comedy to drama and back. The show knows how to tug on people's heartstrings when it wants to. In addition, the show has lots of memorable characters. From the peppermint samurai to Switch, a boy who communicates through text with speech programs.
7 Black Cat Doesn't Give Bad Luck
Black Cat is about Train Heartnet, an assassin-turned-bounty hunter who thirsts for revenge against the man who killed his good friend. The series shows his growth from a cold-blooded killer to a happy-go-lucky fellow. The show has cool fights and interesting powers.
Black Cat's biggest strength is its characters. Aside from Train, there are a few other great characters. Sven, for example, is an ex-federal agent who can see a few moments into the future. Then there's Eve, an artificially created girl made of nanomachines who just wants a normal life. There are several other great characters who make this show a must-watch.
6 Rave Master Is A Fun Adventure
50 years before the start of Rave Master, there was a disaster that almost destroyed the world. It was saved by the Rave Master. He is now walking the Earth trying to find a new Rave Master to defeat the Demon Card organization. On Garage Island, he meets Haru and passes the task onto him. With his allies in tow, Haru goes off to save the world from Demon Card and their Dark bring stones.
Rave Master was the series Hiro Mashima worked on before creating Fairy Tail. The same type of humor shines through in this series. Rave is arguably better because of its setting, cool fights, and overall better writing.
5 Bakuman Is A Good Slice Of Life Story
Bakuman is about two teens who try to create a hit manga in Weekly Shonen Jump. The artist, Mashiro, must make it big enough to get an anime adaptation, so he can marry his longtime crush. The series points out a lot of the ins and outs of one of the biggest comic magazines in the world.
The manga within a manga alone makes Bakuman worthwhile. The side characters, such as Eiji Niizuma, also make this a must-watch anime. Mashiro and Takagi really struggle at some points, giving all the more reason to root for them until they eventually make it.
4 Astra Lost in Space Is Far Out
Astra Lost in Space features a group of teens who get sucked through a wormhole and are forced to make the trek back to their home planet in a spaceship they find. The series has good drama and the characters demonstrate good problem-solving skills. The series is from the same creator as Sket Dance.
Astra Lost in Space really knows how to captivate its audience. Astra deals with conspiracies that surprise fans. The series also has a lot of cool intergalactic locations. Astra Lost in Space is a great adventure that is bound to satisfy its viewers.
3 Muhyo & Roji Is Scary Good
Muhyo & Roji's Bureau Of Supernatural Investigation is about a Magical Law Executor and his assistant attempting to exorcise ghosts. The series is mystery-based and deals often with death and unfulfilled wishes. The series has two seasons and fans can't wait for more.
The series is good supernatural horror. It knows how to spook the audience while giving sympathy to the ghosts and demons. Muhyo himself is a very Stoic character who is blunt to just about everyone he encounters, but has a strong sense of justice.
2 Blue Exorcist Has The Devil's Luck
Blue Exorcist concerns a boy who is the son of Satan himself. He decides to go become an exorcist to retaliate against his old man. He must learn to deal with his lineage while hiding his secret from the other students.
Blue Exorcist has great action and fun characters. Rin, the main character, is a fiery shonen protagonist, and the rest of the cast is rather interesting as well. The opening music alone is worth looking into. There are also a couple of good J-Rock jams. Blue Exorcist delivers on what shonen fans crave most: great battles and relatable characters.
1 Kinnikuman Slams Other Series To The Mat
Kinnikuman was a classic Weekly Shonen Jump series from the early 1980s about a man who was accidentally left on Earth as a baby and became Earth's protector. The fights in this series are settled in a wrestling ring. The series features wacky one-off characters and dastardly villains.
Kinnikuman was quite influential on many anime and manga that came after it. Kinnikuman helped create a few shonen tropes, like power levels. The mix of comedy and action is on par with series like Gintama. The best action in Kinnikuman holds its own against other classic shonen anime. Fans won't be disappointed when they track down his series.