Dragon Ball Z was off to a strong start with the Saiyan Saga and the Frieza Saga, but fans also have immense respect for the Android Saga, including its Cells Games Arc. By that point, Cell had refined himself into a true threat as Perfect Cell, an arrogant and crafty being who relished the idea of challenging every Z Fighter in battle. That led to a stellar shonen arc of power-ups, believing in oneself, and overcoming fearsome odds in a refreshingly straightforward tournament sequence.
That being said, some anime arcs are even stronger than the Cell Games, either by beating that arc at its own game or offering incredible things the Cell Games Arc lacks. It’s true Dragon Ball Z‘s Cell Games Arc still holds up decades later and is a great early example of battle tournaments in shonen, but it has since been surpassed, showing how far the shonen world has come.
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My Hero Academia’s UA Sports Festival Arc is an Efficient and Layered Tournament
Most Class 1-A Students Got a Chance to Shine in the Arena
There’s some debate in the anime fandom as to whether My Hero Academia is a top-tier shonen anime or just another generic action series, but there’s no denying how My Hero Academia had some truly stellar moments. The UA Sports Festival Arc is definitely a feather in this anime’s cap, a fine example of the tournament arc without relying on subversions such as characters cheating or villains interfering.
Even without cool twists like those, My Hero Academia‘s UA Sports Festival Arc feels like an evolution and refinement of what fans saw in Dragon Ball Z‘s Cell Games Arc. That latter tournament was simply power vs power, like most battles in Dragon Ball Z are, while the UA Sports Festival Arc also focused on Quirk matchups and personal woes for characters like Shoto and Bakugo. It was also a neat twist how Deku, the protagonist, lost after just two rounds, while the actual winner felt like a loser upon receiving his gold medal.
Bleach’s Soul Society Arc Began With Rescue and Ended With Betrayal
Only Captain Aizen Knew How This Arc Would End
Among the original shonen “big three,” Tite Kubo’s Bleach has the most mixed legacy with lofty highs and dismal lows. Or at least, that’s how the fandom sees it, with parts of the Arrancar Saga feeling bland or the Fullbring Arc feeling weak in some fans’ eyes. But everyone agrees the Soul Society Arc was the apex of Bleach, a story segment that ranks among the most spectacular arcs in all of shonen. At bare minimum, the Soul Society Arc is Bleach‘s claim to fame among the shonen greats.
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So many elements combine to make Bleach‘s Soul Society Arc a winner, from Ichigo Kurosaki’s explosive growth and terrifying Hollow mask to Renji’s and Byakuya’s redemption, not to mention Captain Aizen’s shocking betrayal. Amidst all this, Bleach fans could actually feel the Soul Society Arc subtly morphing into something else entirely as the stakes and balance of power kept rearranging in suspenseful ways. It felt like the arc had a mind of its own to defy all expectations even for experienced shonen viewers, and that made it a blast to watch the first time around for any fan.
Naruto’s Pain’s Assault Arc Remains the High Water Mark of Naruto Uzumaki’s Adventure
The Cycle of Hatred and Violence Raised Some Intriguing Questions
Like its cousin Bleach, the hit anime Naruto does have some low points, such as its excessive filler and the sluggish final arc, but Naruto also has some of the brightest story arcs in the medium. The Chunin Exam Arc was like that in the original anime, while Naruto Shippuden boasts the astonishing Pain Arc. This story segment easily outclasses Dragon Ball Z‘s Cell Games Arc on nearly every level, starting with the heroes’ growth. Gohan’s power-up to face Cell was outstanding, but Naruto Uzumaki rising as the Leaf Village’s savior with Sage Mode was something else entirely. Naruto really grew into his role as hero and as Jiraiya’s successor.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
Above all, Naruto Shippuden‘s Pain Arc got fans thinking with its awesome thematic weight. Beyond the idea of Jiraiya’s students fighting one another, the arc challenged everyone to ponder the bloody cycles of violence and hatred that grip both the fictional and real worlds. It was the first time Naruto’s moral ground was seriously questioned in the anime, with Pain managing to make Naruto stop and doubt himself for a moment with words alone. It’s a rare thing for the villain to actually claim the moral high ground over the hero like that.
Death Note’s L Arc is the Ultimate Battle of Wits
Light Yagami Was on the Rise as a Dark God of Justice
It’s true the smartly written Death Note isn’t an action anime, so it almost feels like a case of apples to oranges with an action title like Dragon Ball Z. Fans of one might not find much to enjoy in the other, but beneath it all, these are both shonen anime with similar bones giving them some shape. Light Yagami, the genius, isn’t a Saiyan, but he does have well-defined abilities, a competitive spirit, and a goal he will pursue in the face of all opposition. Facing him is L, the detective, a classic shonen antagonist with immense abilities and the drive to see the hero vanquished.
This allows Death Note‘s L Arc to handily compete with anything Dragon Ball Z ever did, but with even better pacing and far more surprises for viewers to enjoy during the ride. Above all, Death Note has thought-provoking themes of fluid justice to make fans properly uncomfortable about society’s moral code. It’s nuanced and fuzzy when Light and L each have good and bad elements to them, something Dragon Ball Z lacks as a more conventional “heroes vs villains” saga.
One Piece’s Marineford Arc Saw Almost Every Major Party Collide in Battle
Luffy Lost, But He Clung to Hope For the Future
In almost every way, the One Piece anime surpassed its Dragon Ball predecessor, from its vastly superior worldbuilding to its more complex combat system, bigger cast of characters, and mysterious elements. On all those levels, many arcs in One Piece have the Cell Games Arc beat, but if fans had to pick just one, perhaps it would be the Marineford Arc. For one thing, it even feels like the Cell Games Arc as a story of one powerhouse facing a number of challengers. Whitebeard has Perfect Cell’s role in that sense, though no one would call him a villain.
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The Cell Games Arc gave everyone a chance to show off their many powers and abilities, including Perfect Cell himself, but One Piece‘s Marineford Arc took it to a whole new level. In that great clash, a stunning variety of Devil Fruits saw usage, sometimes in game-changing ways. It was in that arc when Akainu’s Mag-Mag Fruit managed to kill Ace and his Flame-Flame body, much to everyone’s shock, and Blackbeard somehow stole Whitebeard’s Tremor-Tremor Fruit. That’s how even the messiest war arc can stun longtime anime fans, with the sheer weirdness of those twists making everyone sit up and pay attention.
JoJo’s Diamond is Unbreakable Juggled Slice-of-Life With Stands and a Murder Mystery
Josuke Higashikata Saved the Day From a Sinister Threat in the Shadows
Here and there, Dragon Ball Z aimed to blend slice-of-life elements with Saiyan action, such as teenage Gohan meeting Videl at school or Goku trying to navigate everyday life, where his Saiyan strength won’t help him much. If fans want more of that, then the Diamond is Unbreakable Arc in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is the answer. More than most shonen anime narratives, the Diamond is Unbreakable Arc masterfully married the quaint joys of everyday life with the brutality and horror of supernatural action. Stands are the answer, since even the most ordinary people like Koichi Hirose might get them.
What really ties all this together is the sinister threat of Yoshikage Kira, who slowly and surely established himself as DIO’s successor as primary antagonist. Kira was a monumental threat to Josuke like Cell was to the Z Fighters, except Kira boasted a more memorable personality, trickier powers, and above all, the scariness of feeling so real. Stands may be fiction, but there are people like Yoshikage Kira out there who hide in plain sight as twisted killers who think human life is something to toy around with.
