10 Best Tournament Arcs In Shounen Anime, Ranked

The shounen genre is filled with comedy, sports, and romance series; but if everyone is being honest with themselves, the first thing people will think of when they hear the words “shounen” are epic battles. Whether it’s one vs. one or one vs. everyone, anime fans love to turn to the shounen genre to see fists and superpowers collide, and those aspects are never portrayed better than in the industry’s iconic tournament arcs.

The idea of the “Tournament Arc” facilitates everything people love about shounen stories: fights, rivalries, friendships, growth, and more. It condenses a series to a widely understood but heavily flexible formula that has given way to some of shounen’s best stories.

10 Battle City (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

The Battle City Arc of the Yu-Gi-Oh! original series may not be a traditional, fighting tournament, but it is one of the most quintessential experiences for the tournament arc trope. It’s a city-wide, battle royale that has a variety of duelists with different styles and backgrounds race one another to collect enough key cards.

The arc is essentially an evolution of the series’ first that builds on the original’s competitive nature with even more mystical cards and some wild death traps to make Duel Monsters so much more than just a children’s card game. Yu-Gi-Oh!‘s iconic characters are up against a slew of new and interesting enemies here, as they duel for the literal fate of the world.

9 Varia Arc (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!)

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! is often overlooked as a shounen recommendation, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that it originally started as a gag manga and its story has constantly pivoted between different gimmicks since it first turned into a traditional battle story. However, for those willing to give KHR the time of day, it can be a rewarding shounen experience, and there’s no better example than in its Varia Arc.

With Tsuna’s right to the Vongola’s head seat being challenged, he must assemble all of his friends together and somehow make them tough gangsters to challenge the Vongola Family’s own assassins to a tournament-style fighting contest. With some of anime’s quirkiest abilities being put under serious challenges, the Varia Arc helped Katekyo Hitman Reborn! stay relevant.

8 Hunter Exams (Hunter X Hunter)

Though it is considered an “exam,” Hunter x Hunter‘s first arc has a hefty curve that certainly won’t let anyone and everyone pass. The Hunter Exam Arc pulls so much weight as both an action-packed showcase as well as a foundational piece to the series’ world-building.

While Hunter x Hunter is introducing the friendship of its main characters, the story is establishing fantastical elements, notable figures, and, of course, the series’ villains. Owning up to the idea of a “Hunter,” the Hunter Exam also doesn’t value just raw strength. It showcases the series’ sense of strategy and psychology through mentally stressful challenges.

7 Sports Festival (My Hero Academia)

My Hero Academia‘s Sports Festival was jet fuel being added to the series’ already on-fire story. Sports festivals shouldn’t be a strange concept for fans of anime or Japanese culture as a whole, yet here’s one that utilizes superpowers as if kids had to compete with Spider-Man and the Hulk at the Olympics.

Displaying some of My Hero Academia‘s most rewatchable episodes, this arc was a beautifully effective showcase of U.A.’s student body that brought out everything from their unique abilities to their worst weaknesses. On top of that, it was both a physical and emotional journey that showed Midoriya Izuku being a hero among heroes.

6 The Royal Knights Selection (Black Clover)

Black Clover has been one of Shonen Jump’s most consistent battle series, even before its modern colleague, My Hero Academia. Its story isn’t trying to change the world. It gets straight to the point and gives fans all of the deafening passion that put shounen stories on the map.

One of the best examples of this is the Royal Knights Selection Arc, where different teams must work together to both protect their respective castles as well as be the last ones standing in a big, battle royale. It’s one thing to see a single anime character rise through obstacles, especially with an underdog like Asta, but it’s a whole new experience seeing people grow and come together for a common goal.

5 Owee Arc (Gintama)

Not every tournament arc has to be a fighting exhibition or even a serious story. Sometimes, all anime characters need is a little incentive, and what’s more rewarding than a video game console that definitely isn’t a ripoff of the Nintendo Wii? Giving new life to the tournament trope, Gintama‘s Owee Arc is one of the few, direct interactions between Odd Jobs and their rivals, the Shinsengumi, in a competitive setting.

Much rather than get in 1-on-1 bouts as samurai, these two groups often fight each other in the most ridiculous settings; and in this arc, they have to outplay each other in different, video game parodies for the chance to win a new video game console.

4 Grand Magic Games (Fairy Tail)

Fairy Tail‘s Grand Magic Games Arc is everything that fans love about the series, the shounen genre, and more. While the lead to it is a little rushed, the actual fights and contests do an incredible job of facilitating different challenges and mini-character arcs for Fairy Tail.

Even better, it gives a spotlight towards even some underutilized or forgotten characters, such as Elfman or Laxxus, and turns them into badass characters that could even rival Natsu. “Hype” is the name of the game, and nearly every Fairy Tail character gets a chance to show how hyped they really are.

3 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament (Dragon Ball)

Dragon Ball has had a few iconic tournament arcs, with their most recent being an intergalactic, interdimensional showcase of Dragon Ball‘s strongest fighters yet. However, there’s a certain magic and intensity to the series’ early fights that just makes them special, especially within the series’ 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament.

This was the final arc of the original anime, and it saw the culmination of Son Goku’s training go head-to-head with his greatest enemy, King Piccolo’s, heir, Piccolo, Jr. It’s interesting just to look back at this moment and think of how far this series has really come.

2 Chunin Exams (Naruto)

For many, Naruto‘s Chunin Exams was the arc that defined the series. It efficiently showed just how unique and diverse this series’ cultures and magic system truly are, and it got fans invested in the struggles and personalities of different side characters. The written exam alone was good enough to make taking a test look exciting.

From there, the series teases villains and rivalries as well as shows off the incredible fight scenes that people will be rewatching over and over again on YouTube for years. If nothing else, this arc is worth seeing for Rock Lee’s scene alone.

1 Dark Tournament (Yu Yu Hakusho)

Yu Yu Hakusho is one of shounen’s biggest and earliest innovators whose blend of human characters with supernatural action helped ground the genre to be more than just about muscular men (though it does feature Younger Togoro, one of the most muscular villains ever seen in anime). One of the series’ biggest and most influential arcs is its Dark Tournament storyline.

Yusuke Urameshi is up against his most terrifying opponent yet, and everyone is getting ready for a battle that will test both their strength and their souls. There aren’t just bare fists here. The Dark Tournament Arc, more so than its action, is famous for utilizing the stoic histories of its main characters to create emotionally engaging fights.