Top 10 Shounen Classics to Look Back to

For this new year a number of anime ne through a lot of changes and for this new year it is no different as a number of new anime have been reported under production and new seasons of popular works are ready for the screen. Yet even with all these new anime, a number of viewers still find enjoyment from the shows of the past, such as those in the shounen genre. Currently a number of shounen anime are considered to be classic works of anime today. The following listed are prime examples of shounen anime classics.

10. Rorouni Kenshin

This is the tale of a former assassin turned wandering swordsman from Bakumatsu during the 11th year of the Meiji period. Hitokiri Battosai now known as Himura Kenshin, following his work agains the bakufu, discards his former self and takes the new name with vow to never take another life and become a swordsman who protects the people of Japan.

9. Cowboy Bebop

Taking place in the year 2071 where humanity has colonized rocky planets and moons in their escape from the now inhabitable Earth, a legalized contract system created by the Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) in light of the rising crime rate where bounty hunters known as Cowboys are able to register and capture criminals alive in return for a reward. Working in a spaceship named “Bebop” are the main characters of this story consisting of five members with martial artist Spike Spiegel as the central protagonist.

8. HunterxHunter

Gon Freecss had went through his life believing that he was an orphan. But upon learning from that his father is actually alive from his apprentice Kite, Gon leaves his home on Whale Island in order to take the Hunter Examination and become a Hunter like his father had become. It is there that he meets three other applicants known as Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua Zoldyck. Together they face the many challengers and opponents that the examination brings, all the while facing the obstacles to their own personal goals.

7. Soul Eater

In a world where Shinigami are the norm and there are those with the capability to transform into weapons with wielders known as Meisters, the Death Weapon Meister Academy a.k.a DWMA is the school to go to for training in these fields. The protagonists for this story is meister Maka Albarn and her scythe partner Soul Eater who are attending the school along with assassin Black Star and his partner Tsubaki Nakatsukasa and Death the Kid and his pistol partners Liz and Patty Thompson. Each one of them has the same goal, and that is for the weapons to absorb 99 souls of evil humans and one witch and in turn they gain the rank of “death scythes” capable weapons of the Shinigami.

6. Death Note

Genius high school student Ligth Yagami one day comes across a “Death Note”, an item that belongs to a Shinigami known as Ryuk. He soon discovers that the item he had picked up has the ability to take away someone’s life by simply writing their name. With this new found power Light makes a plan to rule the world as god through the eradication of those he finds morally unfit to live and takes on the name Kira as an alias. But the deaths that he causes are not unnoticed and soon enough he has created a war of the minds with a world-famous detective known as L.

5. Fullmetal Alchemist

Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse have created a grave mistake in their youth and in result, Edward lost an arm and leg while Alphonse lost his body and in turn was placed within a metal armour. In a world set in a military state with alchemists as the norm the two brothers set out in search of the Philosopher’s Stone in order to return Alphonse to his body. Throughout their journey to this goal however, they also face creatures known as Homunculi and many other obstacles that come with it.

4. Bleach

Having the ability to see ghosts, Ichigo Kurosaki didn’t have the easiest of lives, more so with his bright orange hair making him stand out. One day, because of said ability he comes across a Soul Reaper name Rukia Kuchiki in pursuit of a creature known as a Hollow. Yet in her pursuit and in defending Ichigo against the creature she was injured and because of this she transfers a piece of her known as Spirit Pressure onto Ichigo so that she may fight in her stead resulting in her being trapped as a human as she teaches Ichigo on duties of a Soul Reaper.

3. One Piece

This world is filled with pirates and marines with the ocean as far as the eye can see and filled with adventures. Monkey D. Luffy wants nothing more than to explore these seas as a pirate like his inspiration and powerful, the Red Haired Shanks. Like many other pirates he seeks for the greatest treasure ever known, the One Piece left by former King of the Pirates, Gold D. Roger. Alongside with his crew and friends he travels the perilous seas with only one goal in mind, becoming the King of the Pirates

2. Naruto

Naruto Uzumaki wants nothing more than to be acknowledged by his peers and to become the Hokage (the leader/chief) of his village, the Hidden Leaf. This proves difficult as throughout his childhood he has been isolated due to an attack that had occurred on his birth. Yet he proves himself determined in his training as a ninja and upon gaining the rank of genin, he is placed in Team 7 consisting of the aloof Sasuke Uchiha, the strong but fangirlish Sakura Haruno, and their teacher, the strange and mysterious Kakashi Hatake. This is the story of his journey to becoming one of the greatest ninjas ever known.

1. Dragon Ball Z

A young boy with a monkey-tail named Goku one day meets a teenaged girl name Bulma and accompanies with her to search for the seven Dragon Balls in order to summon the dragon Shenlong where the user may have one wish granted. In their journey they meet Yam Cha, Chichi, and Pilaf, and in his search for the Dragon Ball that his grandfather had left him, Goku enters into the Tenkaichi Budōkai a.k.a the Strongest Under the Heavens Martial Arts Tournament and undergoes a rigorous training regime. This is the story of his journey and growth as a fighter.