20 Shounen Anime That Will Have You Saying ‘Just One More Episode’

Shounen (Japanese for “boy”) has definitely evolved beyond its original demographic. What started as an anime/manga niche for boys aged 12 to 18 has grown into an anime subgenre that anyone, regardless of gender or age, can enjoy.

I would know. As a girl who’s been hooked since the Toonami days of DBZ, I’ve seen it all change up close. Sure, we still have ham, but it’s not just about fights and power-ups anymore. Series like Attack on Titan and Death Note have shown us that the genre can handle dark themes and complex stories, too.

Putting together the Shounen top 20 list was no easy task. I didn’t just rank them based on my nostalgia or personal bias. I did my homework and factored in the popularity, critical acclaim, and fan reception. And as always, I made sure that there’s something here for everyone. Want to laugh? Covered. Need some fantasy battles? Say no more. Want to cry over a volleyball match? Weird, but yes, absolutely. Enjoy!

1. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

1 season | 64 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu, Prime Video

So, the creatives at Studio Bones weren’t about to churn out the same old hard work/friendship/victory routine. They teamed up with the A-list mangaka, Hiromu Arakawa, to bring her saga of Edward and Alphonse Elric to life. Twice.

Bones went freestyle in 2004, then nailed it with the true-to-manga Brotherhood in 2009. We got filler-free, character-driven storytelling, deep questions to debate on fan forums, epic battles (episode 53🔥), and all the adventure you’d expect from a high fantasy anime. TLDR? The best shounen ever.

2. Hunter X Hunter

6 seasons | 148 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Tubi TV

HxH is the brainchild of Yoshihiro Togashi (of Yu Yu Hakusho fame), Shōnen Jump’s top-paid mangaka (despite his reputation as the king of hiatus). Gon Freecss’ quest to become a Hunter hit the screens twice: Nippon Animation’s underhyped 1999 version and Madhouse’s 2011 knockout reboot.

Madhouse may not be at their peak nowadays, but they were on fire back then! HxH is packed with all the battle shounen goodies: fighting tournaments, dark underworlds, and character growth. Epic, bromantic (Killua is the best wingman ever), and even draggy arcs (ahem, Heaven’s Arena) are worth it for the world-building and top-tier power system, Nen.

3. One Piece

20 seasons | 1,090+ episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV

Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is like the Godzilla of manga—massive and unstoppable! Toei Animation kicked off the adaptation in 1999, and Monkey D. Luffy’s pirate adventure is still going strong. Netflix jumped on board with a live-action version in 2023, and even though I prefer my faves in 2D, I was hooked from start to finish.

We’re almost at 1100 episodes, but who’s complaining? OP is so fun and unpretentious with its maximalist animation, screwball comedy, and the least tortured hero on this list. I love my dark and brooding anime, but sometimes you need a jolly good adventure with superpowers, themed islands, and fantasy swashbucklery. A true Shounen hall-of-famer!

4. Jujutsu Kaisen

2 seasons | 47 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll

Masao Maruyama, the co-founder of Madhouse, left in 2011 to start MAPPA. He was 70. This power move got us some high-profile manga adaptations, like Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen. Yuji Itadori & the Sorcerer crew hit the screens in 2020, and JJK quickly became Crunchy’s most popular anime.

JJK gives off Big Three (Naruto, Bleach & One Piece) vibes, but with a dark twist. The battle scenes are spectacular (MAPPA flexing Sakuga skills & big budget), and the Cursed Energy system adds strategy to the slapfest. The characters are top-notch—especially Nobara repping for the shounen ladies, and Satoru clowning around. A new-gen classic!

5. Yu Yu Hakusho: Ghost Files

4 season | 112 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu, Tubi TV

Before Naruto and Bleach, Studio Pierrot hit it big with Yu Yu Hakusho. The story of Yusuke Urameshi, a punk-turned-paranormal-detective, was a 1990s smash hit—even giving Dragon Ball a run for its money! Oh, and credit where it’s due: Netflix’s 2023 live-action adaptation is surprisingly great too.

Dimension-slicing swords, spirit energy blasts, and villainous muscles—YYH is a classic fighting anime. Some of the humor has soured, but moments like Kuwabara’s grand battle speeches before getting owned are still hilarious. Sure, there’s depth with Yusuke’s growth and his romance with Keiko, but this anime knows what it is: big, loud, shounen fun!

SEE ALSO: The 20 Best ’90s Anime that Shaped a Generation

6. Attack On Titan 

4 seasons | 94 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu

AoT brings to life Hajime Isayama’s manga about humanity’s battle against the flesh-eating Titans. Studio Wit (a subsidiary of Production I.G) adapted the first three seasons, and MAPPA took over the fourth. Now, the whole stretch-it-out and milk-it-for-all-it’s-worth deal? Not my favorite—it took 3 years to get the final season out!

So, everyone and their cat have an opinion on whether AoT is really a shounen. Official stamp? Yes, it debuted in the Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine. But recommending it to your little cousin? No. It’s intense with a capital I—themes like war and imperialism, horror elements, and shell-shocked protagonists. Eren Jaeger took the genre to some dark places.

7. Naruto & Naruto Shippuden

21 seasons | 720 episodes

Watch Naruto: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Tubi TV, Pluto TV
Watch Naruto Shippuden: Crunchyroll, Hulu

Pierrot hit the jackpot once more with Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto. The manga was already selling like hotcakes, and when the anime dropped in 2002, it became a global pop culture sensation (remember everyone trying to do the “Naruto run”? Heh). Fast forward 25 years, and it’s the most Googled anime ever.

So, instead of lambasting Naruto (or DBZ, for that matter) for fillers and power-ups, I’d rather enjoy it for what it is: a compulsively watchable Shounen featuring the world’s least subtle ninjas. What’s not to love about frenemy-ship, monologuing villains, and the knuckle-headed hero? Both the OG series and the upgraded Shippuden are essential anime experiences.

8. Dragon Ball Z

9 seasons | 291 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll

This big, fat hit is an adaptation of the final two-thirds of Akira Toriyama’s iconic manga, and a follow up to the OG Dragon Ball series. If Toei Animation invented the battle shounen playbook with Fist of the North Star, they perfected it with DBZ, and Goku basically became the hero template for the genre.

Anyway, the word among the pseuds is that DBZ has devolved into a silly beat-em-up show. Nonsense, says I. The adventures of anime’s quintessential Determinator are a rollicking good time, filled with nostalgia (who could forget Goku’s Super Saiyan debut?), epic anime hair, and the infectious energy that only Shounen anime can offer. A must see for any anime fan.

9. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

3 seasons | 55 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu

I never pegged Ufotable (Fate/Zero and Garden of Sinners) as a Shounen studio. But in 2019, they came out swinging with the anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotouge’s Demon Slayer, stirring up some buzz around the New Big Three. Yeah, not a thing—there’s only one Big Three, okay?

The series starts slow, but once it revs up, you’re hooked! The demon-infested setting is terrific, and Breathing Styles are a fresh spin on elemental fighting. The characters are solid—the kind-but-will-kick-your-ass, Tanjiro, and the Michael Jackson-looking big bad, Muzan, are standouts. And the feels are real—the Mugen Train Arc still haunts me.

10. Bleach

16 seasons + TYBW | 392episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Hulu

Pierrot turned Tite Kubo’s Bleach into a smash hit that aired from 2004 to 2012, joining the ranks of shounen anime legends. The finale, though, left us hanging. Then, in 2023, the studio came back strong with Thousand-Year Blood War, adapting the manga’s final arc and giving us the closure we needed *happy tears*.

OG Bleach was a slow-starter with some questionable power logic, but it was still a blast: a bit of romance, the classic grind-to-glory storyline, and action that just won’t quit. And now, with TYBW, the series is at its peak. The battles are art, the music is fire, and Ichigo & Co. are looking sharper than ever. A movie-level glow-up!

11. My Hero Academia 

6 seasons | 138 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu

Masahiko Minami left the mecha masters, Sunrise, in 1998 to start Studio Bones. Lucky for us, because who else could’ve brought Kōhei Horikoshi’s universe to life in all its colorful, off-kilter glory? MHA scored “Shonen Series of the Decade” at Funimation’s fan poll, and Deku got props as one of the “Best Boys of the Decade” (I totally voted for him).

MHA does have some table-setting, but once the League of Villains starts stirring s**t up, it’s full-throttle superherodom. As for our protagonist—it was high time for someone to fill the gap between Eren Jaeger-like berserkers and all the Goku Expys. You can’t help but root for Deku & the rest of the hammy do-gooders as they battle for greatness with Quirks blazing.

12. Chainsaw Man

1 season | 12 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu

The 2022 adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man arrived on such a hype train that I wondered if it would ever live up to expectations. Good news: MAPPA totally delivered! While it’s not yet as popular as JJK, with the dark Shounen trend in full swing and a huge seinen periphery demographic, CSM is on its way to becoming a big, gory deal.

I didn’t mind the freakish characters, carnage, and black comedy—I mean, CSM is about a guy who can pop literal chainsaws out of his body! It was the eye-roll-inducing lechery that nearly made me bail. But, in between his bloody outbursts and pervy antics, there was the real Denji: a luckless boy grappling with trauma. So yeah, I’m sticking around for more!

SEE ALSO: The 10 Best Seinen Anime with Mature Themes

13. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

5 seasons | 190 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Tubi TV

Hirohiko Araki’s manga about the Joestar family battling crazy supernatural baddies debuted in 1987. After several meh adaptations, David Production (founded by former Gonzo members) got it right in 2012. They aced JBA’s campy vibe with quirky dialogue, classic rock nods, and 80s macho cheese—even on a shoestring budget.

When I saw Jojo with a friend for the first time, they asked if it was made by someone who had been, um, herbally assisted. It’s a bizarre world of pose-striking beefcakes, OTT action, and absurd Stand abilities—one of which, Sticky Fingers, can open zippers on any surface, including humans. And beneath all the wackiness? A big, sentimental heart.

14. Gintama

4 seasons | 367 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu

Sunrise (now renamed Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc.) kicked off the anime adaptation of Hideaki Sorachi’s Gintama in 2006. Then, Bandai Namco’s new animation crew, BNPictures, wrapped it all up with season four. For those fussing about the last season going to a “lesser” studio—nope, didn’t happen. It was all in the family.

So, alien scumbaggery, samurai action, and lovable goofballs who melee their way out of (or into) trouble—that’s Gintama for you. It’s full of jabs at Japanese culture and animanga, slapstick gags, and meta-humor. And when it takes a break from all the roasting, a story about friendship and fighting the good Shounen fight shines through.

SEE ALSO: 20 Best Comedy Anime Of All Time

15. Death Note

1 season | 37 episodes
Watch on: Hulu, Peacock, Tubi TV, Pluto TV

Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s Death Note blew up globally, sparking DIY Death Notes, a ban in China, and even a real crime connection. And then in 2006, Madhouse adapted the story of Light—a genius teen with a deadly notebook and zero chill—into unwholesome anime entertainment.

Death Note is one of those anime that gets the conversation going. Or is it just me who couldn’t stop talking about it to anyone who would listen? It shows that a) hero protagonists aren’t a must for a great Shounen story, b) good vs. evil isn’t black and white, and c) intelligence and strategy can be just as gripping as any physical battle. A classic!

16. Black Clover

4 seasons | 170 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu

In 2017, Pierrot tackled another big shounen property, Yūki Tabata’s story of Asta and Yuno, the no-power underdog and the magic whiz, both gunning for the Wizard King title. Now, I can’t help but feel that this was a slapdash effort from the studio with some wonky animation and pacing, but we still got a good dose of action and fantasy.

Initially, Asta’s yelling and his “mada madas” got on my nerves. But then the plot picks up. The Black Bulls level up, Asta grows into a legit hero, and his bromance with Yuno becomes one for the ages. I know BC catches some flak, but it’s not here to reinvent the wheel. This is an anime for the genre faithfuls—true to its Seishin values and Shounen formula.

17. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. 

3 seasons | 120 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Netflix, Tubi TV

J.C.Staff adapted Shūichi Asō’s gag manga into an anime series in 2016. Then, Netflix dropped a sequel anime, Reawakened, in 2019. Honestly, I enjoyed the Netflix version, but it didn’t really add anything fresh or improve on the original series. Same old gags, not much character growth. OG is still tops for me.

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. has gags, puns, and characters off their rockers to spare. But no one beats Saiki. A shounen protagonist with every ESP power in the book [dramatic pause] who isn’t out to save the world?? No life-and-death stakes and no grand twists—just a snarky introvert trying to mind his own damn business. Shounen comedy gold.

18. Haikyu!!

4 seasons | 85 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Disney+

Haikyu!! (meaning “volleybal”) is the brainchild of Haruichi Furudate, zooming in on Hinata, a short high schooler with big volleyball ambitions. The adaptation landed in 2014 with some slick animation from Production I.G, and it was so good that we voted it the “Sports Series of the Decade” at Funimation’s Decade of Anime poll.

Sports anime and its “regionals” or “nationals” never interested me much. But watching Haikyuu made me realize that maybe I’m too attached to familiar settings. This is still about mismatched folks teaming up—as in my other shounen faves. The Karasuno team hustles, bonds, and proves that, as Kageyama puts it: “You don’t win alone. That’s just how it is.”

19. Spy x Family

2 seasons | 37 episodes
Watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu

Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo is the story of Lloyd (aka Twilight), a top-notch spy who fakes a family for a mission. The Wit Studio and CloverWorks-produced adaptation debuted in the spring of 2022 and quickly became the season’s most popular anime. No surprise there—this is seriously one of the best things to hit screens lately.

The series brings together Mission Impossible, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and a slice of (fake) family life. It’s not a particularly ambitious anime, but I give it the perfect 100 points for entertainment value. Watching a top spy and assassin get totally outplayed by their adorable “daughter,” Anya, is the best part. Hilarity, spy thrills, and genuine feels.

20. Assassination Classroom

2 seasons | 47 episodes
Watch on: Funimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu

Who better to bring Yusei Matsui’s sci-fi comedy manga to life than Studio Lerche? These guys love a good classroom setting (Danganronpa, anyone?). This time we’re in Class 3-E, where Nagisa Shiota and his fellow misfits have an assignment: off their alien teacher, Koro-sensei, and save the planet.

What a ridiculous premise, right? But for shounen heads, it’s never just about plot mechanics. There is something about the emotional connection, too. And Nagisa and his inspiring transformation smack all of us odd-ones-out square in the feels. Plus, the series milks the misfit class vs. alien teacher situation for all the laughs it’s worth.

And that wraps up my list of 20 best Shounen anime! Did your favorite make the cut? Share your thoughts in the comments below—I’d love to hear from you!

Disclaimer: The Rockle has no affiliation with the streaming services mentioned in this article. Our opinions are based on our research and experience, and we do not receive any commission or compensation for promoting these services.

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