As anime fans, we often wish our favorite series would go on forever, but all series have their end. Funnily enough, we also get a bit irritated or anxious when a series arc doesn’t seem to end no matter what. If an anime has more than 200+ episodes, a series arc can continue till 60 episodes.
Now that’s a lot, but there are some that even cross that threshold. We’ll take a look at the 10 longest shonen arcs in animes till now. While we are on this subject, you may already have some anime names on your mind. It’ll be interesting to see if your animes could get a reservation in the list or not.
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Top 10 Longest Shonen Arcs In Animes
10. Thriller Bark – ‘One Piece’
One Piece itself is a long series and it undoubtedly carries quite a few of the longest arcs in anime. The Thriller Bark, just as the name suggests is full of horror, creepy, and ghoulish creatures who roam around a haunted island. Luffy and his crew are summoned onto the island after they accidentally open a sealed wooden drum.
It’s an important arc of the series, as Brook is introduced and later joins the crew as their 9th crewmate. In the series, Luffy and his gang fight against a Warlord of the Sea and successfully dethrone him after quite a hefty fight.
9. Chunin Exams – ‘Naruto’
Surely even if you’re not an anime fan you must have heard of the series Naruto. Naruto itself has more than 800+ episodes, but a certain arc in the series covers 47 of the episodes. The Chunin exams are an important part of the story where major characters are introduced.
We get to see their backstory and even ninja’s outside of the Leaf Village are shown. Moreover, Orochimaru’s entry is the key that leads to the brewing chaos in the upcoming series. The Konoha 11 are introduced, who later in the series will always be present and play crucial roles throughout.
8. The Frieza Arc – ‘Dragon Ball’
Dragon Ball is one of the oldest yet an icon in the animeverse. Frieza an infamous character of the series attacks Goku’s planet threatening its existence. Our superheroes head into the battle which continues for 33 episodes in Dragon Ball Z and 19 episodes in Dragon Ball Kai, marking a total of 52 episodes.
The fight scenes are quite detailed and intriguing. We get to see Goku get more powerful as he pushes himself to the limit, plus a lot of developments take place throughout the story.
7. Fish-Man Island Arc – ‘One Piece’
Another ‘One Piece’ Arc which gets the ticket to the Top 10. It’s a crucial arc, more so than the Thriller Bark arc itself. In the series, the mention of three ancient weapons is made. One of them gets introduced in the series, Poseidon. It covers 51 episodes.
Luffy who is assumed to be the reincarnation of Joy Boy is an important piece to move and complete the promise to Poseidon made hundreds of years ago. Luffy’s connection to the Mermaid Princess will surely provide a crucial key later in the series.
6. Arrancar – ‘Bleach’
Funnily enough, Arrancar Downfall is not only the longest arc in Bleach, but it also takes the entire 14th season of the series. Just image! A whole season is an arc. The arc needed 6 different theme songs to cover its span. The arc indulges the fight between Sosuke Aizen’s Arrancar troupe versus the Soul Reapers.
Where one party fights for the destruction of Karakura town, the other fights to maintain the life of the people. Ichigo, the main character of the series undergoes tremendous power and his fights are worth looking out for. Just like the aforesaid anime, this arc also covers a span of 51 episodes, making it one of the longest shonen arcs.
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5. Grand Magic Game – ‘Fairy Tail’
Running for 52 episodes, Fairy Tail’s Grand Magic Games is a competitive arc where fights between different guilds take place to secure the Top Guild status in the Kingdom of Fiore. While competing against guilds, the mages are threatened by the incoming dragon army led by Rufus, a mage of Sabertooth.
4. Chimera Ant Arc – ‘Hunter x Hunter’
This is the last arc listed here that consumed 61 episodes. The top 3 anime arcs will be having more than 100+ episodes. It’ll be a straight jump from 61 to 100+. Chimera Ant arc is often known as one of the historic arcs in anime or even the worst considering its dark theme. The arc houses mutant ants born from a carnivorous or better to call it a human-eating ant.
The fight between the mutant ants and the hunters is a must-watch. The duo protagonists of the story undergo wild changes both physically and mentally. The arc continues to harbor dark themes where some even label them as gore substance. Nevertheless, it’s a must-watch and you’ll harbor a love-hate relationship with the main antagonist of the arc.
3. Fourth Great Ninja War – ‘Naruto’
Another ‘Naruto‘ arc that made the list is the last, or the Fourth Great Ninja War which spans up to 116 episodes along with fillers. The arc is sometimes frustrating considering how long it lasts with wars, deaths, reincarnation animation Jutsu, the Ten-Tails, and the revelation of the actual protagonist.
Madara who was considered to be the actual mastermind is later revealed to only be a puppet of a grand scheme. The introduction of Balck Zetsu and the ultimate villain was not really necessary, as fans think it would have ended on a high note with Madara only.
2. Dressrosa Arc – ‘One Piece’
Hold on! This is not the last arc of the anime One Piece that made the list. The Dressrosa arc is an extremely popular and important piece of the story. It unfolds many future events and predicts things that’ll cause a typhoon in the last piece of the Straw Hats journey.
Here the Straw Hats and the Heart Pirates form an alliance to defeat one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the king of Dressrosa Doflamingo. Their further aim was to defeat Kaido the Beast and one of the Four Emperors, but things just don’t run smoothly as they planned.
1. Wano Arc – ‘One Piece’
One Piece outdid its own series record with the Wano Arc. Before stating the number of episodes it houses, let me note that this isn’t over. It’s still in its continuing phase. The arc as of now has 120 episodes more or less.
It is rumored that this arc will finally end our favorite protagonist’s journey, though it is yet to see. We do hope that the series never comes to an end, but Oda has hinted that One Piece is nearing its last breath.
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