Best Shonen Anime Ranked

In Shonen anime, the lead roles are portrayed by men and they play different characters like King, Doctor, Magician, and Warrior.

Be it Manga or Anime, these fictional shows are taken for kids, families, and teenagers. In Anime, there are a plethora of genres, and shonen is something that’s only recommended for high school boys. Of course, shonen shows can be watched by girls and kids as well. Let’s see the best shonen anime shows of all time according to animeking.

Top Shonen Anime Ranked in 2024

1. Hunter x Hunter (2011)

• Genre – Martial arts, Fantasy 
• Episodes – 148

Hunter x Hunter is an evergreen show that portrays the life of a small boy named Gon Freecss who works hard to become a powerful hunter. Gon finds the secrets about his father and his identity as a hunter propels him to become a Hunter. The world of Hunters is different as these characters can claim glowing treasure chests, slay beasts, and unlock resources. Hunter x Hunter will always remain one of the best Shonen anime shows.

2. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009)

• Genre – Dark Fantasy 
• Episodes – 64

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood is inspired by the manga of the same name and it’s the second anime from the franchise. The story takes place in a fictional village called Resembool in the country named Amestris. The anime focuses on brothers Alphonse Eric and Edward and their interest in alchemy. After losing their mother, the brothers learn the top secrets of alchemy and magic to bring their mother to the earth. 

When their research fails, Ed loses his leg, and Alphonse has to find ways to complete the research successfully. As the story progresses, both brothers travel to the state and aim to become Alchemists for the government.

3. One Piece (1999)

• Genre – Fantasy

One Piece is one of the highest-grossing anime shows since its premiere and the show has not been completed yet. The tale of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew is shown beautifully and the main plot is how they find the secret chest. Luffy is a happy-go-lucky boy who travels beyond the world through seas to find treasure with his crew.

4. Naruto Shippuden (2007)

• Genre – Adventure, Fantasy Comedy
• Episodes – 500

The Naruto Shippuden is a colorful adventure that focuses on the journey of Naruto Uzumaki, a Ninja. Naruto Shippuden takes place during the teenage of Uzumaki and he returns after completing the training with Jiraiya. Naruto, the leader of the village continues his journey to become the powerful Hokage.

5. Samurai Champloo (2004)

• Genre – Historical
• Episodes – 26

Samurai Champloo is one of the classic historical anime shows. The story is set in the Edo period and showcases the struggles of Fuu, a tea waitress who wants to find her abandoned father in Ikitsuki. Fuu finds his father to take revenge and she eventually finds the Sunflower Samurai in a dying state. Throughout her journey, Fuu travels with the ronin Jin and outlaw mugen.

6. Haikyu! (2014)

• Genre – Sports, Comedy, Coming-of-age
• Episodes – 85

Haikyu, the manga series, has created plenty of records in sales, and its anime has some of the best shows of all time. Haikyu is all about the emotional story of a small boy named Shoyo Hinata who dreams of becoming the greatest volleyball player in the town. After watching the national game featuring Karasuno High School boys, he shifts his focus towards volleyball.

Hinata doesn’t have any experience, but his skills and agility make him a potential contender for the volleyball team. Things change when Hinata joins the volleyball club and he eventually becomes the only one to do. As the story progresses, Hinata manages to hire more members from his high school and becomes a successful player.

7. Noragami (2014)

• Genre – Supernatural 
• Episodes – 12

Noragami narrates the story of Yato, a minor god whose only aim is to become a powerful God. Yato’s fate changes when he meets Hiyori, a high school girl, who eventually loses her soul. When Hiyori is trapped, she meets Yato in a parallel world and gets his help. Yato finally gets a shrine and he has an opportunity to save 5 souls including the high school girl. Noragami is a suspense thriller and has gripping episodes.

8. Gintama (2005)

• Genre – Science Fiction, Comedy
• Episodes – 201

Gintama is a fun sci-fi anime show and this is hailed as one of the best shows featuring aliens. The Samurai Gintoki Sakata plays the lead role as a freelancer. Gintoki joins the Aliens for a big deal, but he changes his mind and saves the Earth from aliens. Throughout the show, Gintoki works for many organizations and gets a huge amount as a reward.

9. Jujutsu Kaisen (2020)

• Genre – Dark Fantasy 
• Episodes – 47

Jujutsu Kaisen is an enthralling show featuring Yuji Itadori in the main role. Yuji is a part of the Jujutsu Sorcerers clan that works together to destroy the curse of Ryomen Sukuna. Yuji is an intelligent boy from Sendai who takes inspiration from his grandfather. The story focuses on how Yuji and the organization stop the curse in the town.

10. Death Note (2006)

• Genre – Psychological Thriller, Supernatural Thriller 
• Episodes – 37

Death Note is another epic shonen featuring Light Yagami, a high school student in Tokyo. Light gets a magic book and he has the chance to kill criminals by writing their names in it. When Light unexpectedly meets the old owner of the book, many revelations start to come out. The story takes a twist when a model actress gets another magic book from a Shinigami. 

Misa Amane, the model actress, wants to befriend Light and marry him before she finds his true identity. Misa has the power to find names of humans with the Shinigami eyes and Light plans to claim this. When Light makes a mistake, both lose the powers of the magic book and end up in different situations.

11. Dragon Ball Z (1989)

• Genre – Martial Arts
• Episodes – 291

Dragon Ball Z is a fan-favorite anime and this takes place 5 years after its prequel. Son Goku and Gohan play the main roles along with Raditz, an alien that reveals Goku as a member of Saiyans, an alien warrior race. Raditz also reveals Goku is the only living saiyaan from the Vegeta planet.

Raditz threatens Goku to kill humans and help him find the aliens, and also kidnaps Gohan. Goku joins his rival to defeat the alien, and his son Gohan gets superpowers during the battle. Dragon Ball Z is a fun action show and one of the best anime from the Dragon Ball series.

12. Attack On Titan (2003)

• Genre – Post-apocalyptic 
• Episodes – 94

Attack on Titan is one of the most-viewed shows and it created lots of records after getting published on shonen magazine. Eren Yeager, the young boy from the village is skilful and focuses on destroying the humanoids called Titans. Eren trains hard to defeat these titans and also takes revenge for his mother’s murder. The village is protected by three walls to deny the entry to the humanoid forces. The battle between Eldians and Titans in the village is the main story of the show, and Eren has portrayed a powerful role throughout all episodes.

13. Yu Yu Hakusho (1992)

• Genre – Martial Arts, Supernatural 
• Episodes – 112

Yusuke Urameshi, a martial artist and teenager is killed in a car accident when he tries to save another boy. Yusuke has only done good deeds and this gets him another chance to return to the human world by the underworld member, Koenma. He then becomes the underworld detective and finds demons in the human.

Yusuke has to meet demons in the human world and win a martial arts competition to get magical powers. Yusuke also has to find and beat Rando, a demon that has become a threat to martial arts. After defeating Rando, he gets an opportunity to meet the old female martial artist in the mountains. As the story moves, Yusuke works on many cases and manages to unravel secrets.

14. Mob Psycho 100 (2016)

• Genre – Supernatural, Action, Comedy 
• Episodes – 37

Mob Psycho 100 portrays the mob named Shigeo Kageyama in the main role. Shigeo is an innocent boy with psychic powers and he works for the conman, Arataka Reigen. Shigeo aims to live a simple life, but he gets into lots of troubles and eventually uses his psychic powers to win battles. Mob Psycho 100 is an epic and emotional tale, and is hailed as a classic shonen anime.

15. Dr. Stone (2019)

• Genre – Post-apocalyptic, Sci-fi 

Dr. Stone is a sci-fi show and it has Senku Ishigami in the main role. The scientific genius works on a new experiment to rebuild the world after the disaster in 2019 which also froze the earth for 3700 years. Senku works in a camp and uses a substance to revive the petrified humans, but one member warns Senku to not revive the old humans and also plans to kill him.

One day,Tsukasa tries to kill Senku, but he is saved luckily. Tsukasa is unaware of the events and starts dreaming of owning the Stone World. Senku manages to wake up and also finds a new set of tribes on the planet. He persuades them to learn science and the tribe accepts his request. In the end, it’s revealed the village of these people is actually built by Senku’s father.