Whether they think the Big Three are vastly overrated or they’ve just watched every episode of Naruto, Bleach and A piece many times anime fans have a lot more shonen shows to choose from, even if they are specifically looking for action or adventure titles.
Of course, some of these alternatives to the Big Three are already extremely common — Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z, demon slayer, Fairy tale, The attack of the Titans, my hero academia and Jujutsu Kaisen, to only cite a few. To experience something they’ve never watched before, viewers may need to go back to much older titles, think outside the box a bit, or opt for something much more underrated than the shows below. above.
Sang + (2005-06)
Aside from a case of amnesia and suffering from anemia, Otonashi Saya lives an ordinary life with his adoptive family in Okinawa. However, that all changes when Saya’s past catches up with her and she is suddenly attacked one night at school by a terrifying creature seeking human blood. She is saved in no time by a mysterious man named Haji, who forces her to drink his blood, allowing Saya to enter a trance-like state and kill the monster. From then on, Saya and Haji team up with an organization called Red Shield, which exists to defeat the bat-like creatures known as Chiropteran who feast on mankind.
While most titles like these are based on already established shonen manga, Sang + is an anime original that inspired its own shonen manga the same year it aired (and later several other manga, light novels, and even video games). A unique combination of vampire-themed horror-mystery combined with more shonen-esque supernatural action and drama, the story of Sang + spans the globe, from Japan and Vietnam to Russia, France and eventually America, weaving a complex and compelling story all the time.
Chrno Crusade (2003)
A historical title set in New York in the Roaring Twenties, Chrono CrusadeThe main characters are the nun apprentice with a gun Rosette Christopher and her demon partner Chrono. Both members of the Order of the Magdalen, whose goal is to eliminate demonic threats to the country and the world, Rosette and Chrono travel across America to literally fight hell, while searching for the lost brother of Rosetta, Joshua.
Based on a shonen manga serialized from 1998 to 2004, Chrno Crusade is an interesting mix of supernatural action and relatively straightforward romance, though the latter plot aspect doesn’t play a significant role in anime in the traditional sense. That said, the bond between Rosette and Chrono is touching and plays a major role in the series’ bittersweet ending, lending a surprising intensity to the story as a whole.
Mushrambo / Shinzo (2000)
In a world where humanity is virtually extinct thanks to a deadly virus, followed by a war between humans and a newly created race called the Enterrans, a girl named Shindou Yakumo awakens from her slumber chamber, centuries after the end of the conflict. Placed in the slumber chamber by his father – then one of the planet’s last scientists – Yakumo soon encounters an Enterran named Mashura, who swears to aid him in his quest to revive humanity and restore peace between the two breeds. Joined by two other Enterrans, Sago and Kutal, the group is tasked with finding Yakumo’s missing memories and locating the hidden shrine known as Shinzo.
An oldie but a goodie, Mushrambo, also known as Shinzō outside of Japan, is a science-fantasy action/adventure series loosely based on the 16th century Chinese novel Travel west, just like the tastes of Saiyuki and Dragon Ball are (as well as characters like Digimon, RWBY and Miraculous Ladybug). Like Sang +, Mushrambo is an anime original that later inspired a shonen manga adaptation, although the anime’s more tragic elements were largely removed in the manga to create a happier ending.
Nabari no Ou / Roi de Nabari (2008)
In modern-day Japan, Rokujo Miharu is an apathetic high school student going about his daily life. However, unbeknownst to him, his classmate Aizawa Koichi and English teacher Kumohira Tobari are ninjas from the Banten clan, and Miharu himself carries within his body the Shinra Banshou – a scroll that contains the most powerful secrets of the Nabari ninja world. When Miharu is one day attacked by a Gray Wolf ninja, who seek to use the Shinra Banshou for personal gain and are more than happy to kill the wielder to obtain it, the Banten Clan ninja swear to protect him at all times. price.
Nabari no Ou is based on a shonen manga series that was serialized in Monthly GFantasy – a magazine published by Square Enix which tends to feature a lot of supernatural and fantasy titles with a lot of action and/or horror such as Saiyuki, Pandora Hearts, black butler and Zombie-Borrow. For its part, Nabari no Ou deftly combines drama and even bits of comedy with its more conventional action/adventure elements, creating a well-rounded and gripping story with more depth than some might assume at first glance.
Sengoku Basara (2009)
Set in Japan’s Warring States period, several powerful warlords whose names have become legendary – among them, Date Masamune, Takeda Shingen, Sanada Yukimura, Uesugi Kenshin and of course, Oda Nobunaga – fight to maintain their influence and, ultimately, to unify the country under a centralized government. While many of these warlords bicker among themselves, they must put their differences aside in order to defeat the demon Nobunaga, who seeks to rule Japan with an iron fist.
Sengoku Basara is neither a manga adaptation nor an anime original, but rather a title based on a game first released in 2005. The series is a fantastic mix of samurai/martial arts action and pure tumultuous comedy; for example, Date Masamune is portrayed as a samurai version of a gang leader whose horse is also a motorcycle, while Sanada Yukimura and his master Takeda Shingen share a bond that forces them to fight each other out of manly trust and affection while shouting repeatedly. names. The anime also happens to have one of best opening credit sequences of all time – a must-see in its own right and a preview of the shenanigans the show itself has to offer.
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