The Best Story Arcs in All of Anime

[Johan Liebert]

While thinking of how to write my own stories, I've been pondering what the best story arcs in anime are. One story arc could shape the review of anime series greatly. For example, besides the Arrancar arcs, in the Bleach anime series, the only great arc is the Soul Society arc (in my opinion). When I think of great anime story arcs (arguably the best), the first five that come to my mind are as follows:

 

1. Chapter Black (Yu Yu Hakusho)

2. Ruenheim (Monster)

3. Chimera Ant (Hunter X Hunter)

4. Sasuke Retrieval (Naruto)

5. Soul Society (Bleach)

 

Now, I'd need a lot of time to form a top ten, and much more completed anime series under my belt as well. I've started a highly acclaimed story arc in anime history, known as the Kyoto arc of Rurouni Kenshin. It's had a strong start so far. So, what are your favorite story arcs, and why are they your favorites (try to avoid spoilers)?

[Agro]

I dont know about you, but the episode of cowboy bebop with the shrooms is at the top of my list

[mitchermitcher]

Dunno if people really rate and judge story arcs from shows separately like that or not...

 

That said, Sasuke Retrieval arc was possibly my favorite story arc in shonen manga. Everything from the setup to the individual fights to the direction it pushed the story on afterwards was just funking perfect. It's genius. (Spoilers incoming)

 

On a story level the arc happens as a result of Sasuke's development as a character reaching a climax after the events of the story thus far. Sasuke is the most relevant character to this arc, and this fact alone involves both Naruto and Sakura heavily into the story already, with Sakura's feelings and Naruto's friendship being their main motivations, although Sakura doesn't take an active role in this, but that's fine since her feelings drive Naruto further.

 

However the author manages to gather a team of mostly irrelevant characters to join Naruto in searching for Sasuke, and this allows him to give ample development to these mostly side characters. In each battle we get to learn more about these characters' thoughts and backstories and sympathize with them(funk I cried at Chouji's arc). It's a story arc that is both pivotal to the story's main characters as well as a arc to develop a group of minor characters all in one. Not to mention there's a heavy focus on the idea of camaradie and friendship, the central pillar of shounen manga. Not to mention the fight scenes were even more intense than usual AND we had a previously antagonistic character jump in to help the protagonists(another staple story trope in shounen manga) in two different instances(Neji joining the group at the beginning of the search, and Gaara and his siblings). And then the arc ends with a confrontation between the two main characters fighting it out. It's pure shounen manga, I can't say anything else. I feel hyped every time I think about the arc.

 

I can talk about the arc all day but yeah that's my favorite arc I guess.

[Shradow]

One Piece. Water 7/Enies Lobby. Nuff said.

 

But seriously, Water 7/Enies Lobby (they're technically 2 different arcs but they're sort of joined at the hips in terms of the story so many consider them 1 arc) is such a huge turning point for One Piece. It has some of the greatest, if not the greatest, character development out of the whole series with Robin finally becoming a true member of the crew, Usopp's inner struggle and his struggle with the crew, introducing two of Luffy's most important abilities, Franky's development and joining of the crew, etc. It was incredibly dramatic with things like Robin's backstory, making the transition from the Merry to the Sunny, and had such a global impact in the series with how the world sees the Straw Hats and the sort of information we learn like with the Ancient Weapons and the Void Century, as well as stuff like Garp/Dragon being Luffy's grandfather/father. The fights were incredible, the one against Rob Lucci still being one of my favorites to this day, and the scenery of Water 7, Enies Lobby, and the Sea Train was incredible.

 

It's easily the highlight arc of the whole series, not to say the rest isn't damn fantastic as well.

 

[Just Crouton]

The Ramba Ral arc in Gundam. The original series knew how to write the bad guys like people while understanding how full of s*** teenagers are, and this arc exemplified that perfectly.

 

The Miyuki arc from Tekkaman Blade. A lot of emotion with a great season-finale-that'll-change-everything-ish cliffhanger. Too bad the show jumped the shark after that.

 

The India arc from Street Fighter II V. A great reimagining of Sagat, great use of Dhalsim, with strong development for Ryu and Ken at the end.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Where to start...where to start...

 

Guess these two for right now...

 

[spoiler=Katekyo Hitman Reborn]

The Varia Arc (Link here)

 

The story arc that comes after the Daily Life and Kokuyo arcs. In short here, Tsuna and his friends come together in series of fights against those known as the Varia in order to complete the Vongola Rings, a symbol of the next generation Mafia family.

 

What I love about this arc is how the many characters that you saw in both Daily Life and Kokuyo arcs are brought together to form a rag-tag team. And how they can fair against a literal team of assassins in the seven separate fights that happen over the course of the arcs. Honestly, I currently have 3 fights that I absolutely adore from this arc:

• Battle of the Rain: Yamamoto vs. Squalo - Two swordsman going head to head, well one master swordsman and a baseball idiot (and yes, Yamamoto is classified as this). The techniques each one brings forth is amazing and the in-depth story behind one sword style is quite the unexpected twist.
• Battle of the Mist: Chrome/Mukuro vs. Mammon - What can be truly said about this awesome match...well, other than the beginning tentacles and a chick (...no I'm not kidding. Don't believe me? Here you go!). Yes at the beginning of the match, it obviously gets a bit one-sided, but the reason I love this fight is the unexpected surprise through it and literal hell that occurs.
• Battle of the Sky: Tsuna vs. Xanxus - A no-good teen versus a prodigy mafioso. Out of all the fights in the Varia Arc, I adore the Battle of the Sky the most. It shows the determination that Tsuna has against Xanxus as well as showing off the incredible work his training for this match had. But another reason I love this match happens to be the simple backstory that is given for Xanxus' actions before this arc even occurred. Not to mention, this is also the longest battle of the arc.

 

 

 

[spoiler=Fairy Tail]

Grand Magic Games Arc (Link Here)

 

Firstly, I chose the GMG Arc instead of any other arcs, such as the Tartaros Arc, due to the fact that I haven't gotten that far.

 

After a 7 year timeskip (and a few episodes after it), the Fairy Tail Tenro Team return seeing that Fairy Tail is no longer Fiore's top guild. And when talks of the Grand Magic Games comes up, Natsu and friends are all for it. Unfortunately, the last seven years Fairy Tail competed in it, they always lost.

 

What I enjoy from this arc is seeing more of Fiore depicted in the series. Not only this, the introduction of two more Dragon Slayers: Rogue and Sting, Third Generations Dragon Slayers. Within the span of five days (in anime) there are various challenges and battles that each of the eight guilds must face. However, with this arc, there is another story unfolding as well: the Eclipse Gate. That plus the GMGs just continue to make things interesting.

 

One moment you have the epic brawls...and the next moment you're watching them go head to head against dragons. Plus the Eclipse Gate portion of the arc invokes a personal favorite thing of mine: time traveling.

 

 

[Shradow]

You left out the best fight in the whole arc:

[Johan Liebert]

I'm almost finished with the Kyoto arc of Rurouni Kenshin, and it's pretty damn good. In relation to Cowboy Bebop, Ballad of Fallen Angels is by far my favorite. CP9 was pretty much the only thing that might make me give it another shot. Technically, the anime series of Berserk is one arc, and that'd be up there for me. Also, the second story told in Mononoke is amazing, too, as is the entire series. Apparently, the Urumi stuff from Great Teacher Onizuka is acclaimed, but I honestly disliked her a lot. Oh, and if this qualifies as an arc, The Laughing Man stuff from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex was amazing. I'm also a sucker for the Search for Itachi and Pain's Invasion arcs of Naruto Shippuden. I also enjoyed the Dragon Ball Kai version of the Namek and Androids/Cell arcs quite a bit. Another arc from Monster I loved was Munich, and another arc I greatly enjoyed from Hunter X Hunter was the Phantom Troupe arc. But if I'm gonna give my top five favorite anime arcs of all time, here they are (and they're ranked):

[Johan Liebert]

Here's my list:

 

1. Chapter Black (Yu Yu Hakusho)

2. Ruenheim AND/OR Munich (Monster)

3. Chimera Ant (Hunter X Hunter)

4. Kyoto (Rurouni Kenshin) (so far)

5. Umibozu AND/OR Bakeneko (Mononoke)

6. Sasuke Retrieval (Naruto)

7. Phantom Troupe (Hunter X Hunter)

8. Search for Itachi (Naruto Shippuden)

9. Soul Society (Bleach)

10. The Golden Age (Berserk)

?. L (Death Note)

?. The Laughing Man (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)

?. The Bitter End (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

?. CP9 (One Piece)

?. R1 (Code Geass)

?. Ballad of Fallen Angels (Cowboy Bebop)

?. Chunin Exams (Naruto)

?. The Dark Tournament (Yu Yu Hakusho)

?. Androids/Cell (Dragon Ball Kai)

?. Namek (Dragon Ball Kai)

 

Alright. This list is pretty much impossible for me to make. XD

[The Amazing Avian]

Does manga count? If so, Steel Ball Run

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

Speaking of jojo, battle tendency

[mitchermitcher]

Well, entire parts of Jojo seems a bit too grand in scale when talking about story arcs, even if each part basically is just a single story arc composed of a lot of battles. Since you mentioned SBR though, the arc about that stand that you had to spend everything you gained by the end of the day, that arc was probably my favorite. That or the confusing as sheet part about who shot a certain someone.

 

Johan you mentioned Urumi's arc in GTO and I agree with the general consensus that the arc was amazing. At least for me it's the first thing I remember when I think about GTO.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

You left out the best fight in the whole arc:

 

Ahhh...the shortest fight in the arc...

 

But at the same time, still continued to show Hibari's awesomeness xD

[Johan Liebert]

I finished Kyoto; it was amazing. Honestly, all five stories of Mononoke would rank very high with me (I really wish that I knew SOMEONE who's watched the series). Also, I somehow forget to mention the Homunculus arc of the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime series, and the final arc of Brotherhood. I'd also like to mention the Pain's Invasion and the Hidan/Kakuzu arcs from Naruto Shippuden, and the Arrancar arcs of Bleach. And I don't know how you'd categorize the arcs of Hajime no Ippo, but I loved everything with Date and Sendo quite a lot.