The Best Shonen Anime Of All Time (May 2025)

Well-made shonen anime (or shounen anime, as it is sometimes spelled) tend to be massive hits — just look at Attack on Titan or Dragon Ball. It is by far one of the most popular “genres” of anime with countless numbers of manga adaptations and original series being created for fans. Shonen is also a demographic rather than a traditional genre, so it covers a wide spectrum of shows.

In a category with countless anime to watch, it can be difficult to choose which series to get into. Still, some shonen anime are so excellent that they stand above the rest and should be on every fan’s must-watch list until they’ve seen them all. Let’s go over the best shonen anime of all time, and the picks will cover more than just battle shonen.

Updated May 4, 2025 by Mark Sammut: The Spring 2025 season has now aired enough episodes to highlight its best shonen anime, at least when it comes to new shows.

Best New Spring 2025 Shonen Anime

The Spring 2025 anime season is well underway by this point, and it is shaping up to be fairly decent. In terms of shonen anime, the lineup has a couple of big sequels. Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc, Wind Breaker Season 2, Fire Force Season 3, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! Season 2, and Aharen Is Indecipherable 2nd Season are, at the bare minimum, good, and all of them have the potential to reach new peaks. These anime do not need to be introduced or sold, but the same cannot be said for the newcomers. Except for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, all of Spring 2025’s new shonen anime are relatively unknown, at least when compared to the demographic’s massive hits.

The line-up is surprisingly well-rounded too, showcasing shonen’s talent for action, comedy, mystery, romance, and even ecchi content. A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof is shaping up to be a solid Shaft comedy, while Please Put Them On, Takamine-san dives deep into fanservice territory. Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? has been pretty interesting so far, although it does feature one of the most polarizing romance female leads in a long time. Let’s highlight Spring 2025’s best new shonen anime.

Witch Watch

In a season packed with comedies, Witch Watch is shaping up to be Spring 2025’s funniest anime. Kenta Shinohara previously worked on Sket Dance, and the author’s comedic voice is consistent between the two shows. While sprinkling in some action and hints of romance, humor is undoubtedly the anime’s main focus and, more importantly, its biggest strength.

After completing her witch training, Nico returns home and moves in with her ogre childhood friend, Mori. The latter is chosen to be the former’s familiar, which is a magical way to say that he is her bodyguard. However, Nico has an obvious crush on Mori, and she regularly tries to impress her roommate. These plans tend to spiral out of control.

Witch Watch is just fun. The protagonists are likable and charismatic, and they bounce off each other quite well. Nico and Mori are the stars, but they are supported by good secondary characters.

Yaiba: Samurai Legend

A new adaptation of a classic shonen manga, Yaiba: Samurai Legend seems ripped right from the ’90s, albeit with modern animation that ranks among the season’s best. Born and raised in a forest, Yaiba is an energetic child who is driven solely by the call of the samurai, which means taking on strong enemies (and gorillas). After he moves to the city, he meets Takeshi Onimaru, starting a rivalry that quickly turns supernatural.

Yaiba: Samurai Legend is kinetic. Fluid and gorgeous, the animation is constantly stellar and really comes alive during the action sequences, which are nothing short of immaculate. Although nothing too special, the story has a simple charm to it, and the same can be said for the characters.

Now, onto the best shonen anime ever…

34

Call Of The Night

MyAnimeList Score: 7.95

Call of the Night is all about freedom. Although he is a good student, Kou Yamori finds that he struggles to relate to other teenagers, particularly when it comes to matters of love. While suffering from insomnia, he ventures out in the night, a decision that changes the guy’s life forever when he meets Nazuna Nanakusa, a vampire.

Enamored by her approach to life, Kou sets out on a path to become a creature of the night, but he will need to first fall in love with Nazuna to actualize this dream. Call of the Night is whimsical, stylish, and funny. Kou and Nazuna have instant chemistry, and they are hardly the only great characters to exist in this world.

33

Case Closed

MyAnimeList: 8.17

One of the very few shonen stories to eclipse One Piece in episode count, Case Closed has been a fixture of the anime scene since 1996. Also known as Detective Conan, the series follows a teenage detective who is turned into a child by a mysterious organization, forcing him to find unique ways to help the police solve cases.

Putting aside the occasional development to the overarching narrative, Case Closed primarily consists of stand-alone investigations that, more often than not, last only a single episode. Although arguably not reaching the same heights as some of the other best shonen anime, Case Closed is surprisingly consistent, with most episodes serving up entertaining and easily digestible mysteries. Characters like Conan, Ran, Kogorou, and Kaito are icons.

32

Kaiju No. 8

MyAnimeList: 8.30

Except for the biggest sequels, Kaiju No. 8 was Spring 2024’s most highly-anticipated anime. Based on Naoya Matsumoto’s popular manga, the adaptation benefits from Production I.G’s production value, with the first few episodes standing head-and-shoulders above most currently airing shows. Going beyond its esthetics, Kaiju No. 8 has a premise that simply sells itself, even if it is not necessarily breaking new ground.

As Japan has a kaiju problem, the country relies on a special team to take down these monsters whenever they appear. Driven by a childhood tragedy, Kafka aspired to join this task force, only to fail the entrance exam. Now in his early 30s, the odds of him making the grade are very low; or, at least, that was the case before Kafka received an unexpected power-up that allowed him to transform into a kaiju.

Kaiju No. 8 knows its main selling point and instantly gets to it. The anime starts with a great kaiju sequence that also does a fantastic job of setting up the story’s key players, especially Kafka, Reno, and Mina. Although a bit loud at times, Kafka is a charming and frequently funny protagonist who fits the everyman role while still very much having a strong personality. As it progresses, the show transforms into an almost ensemble action show, with Kafka and Reno joining a team of very talented rookies.

31

Chainsaw Man

MyAnimeList Score: 8.46

Chainsaw Man was by far and away one of 2022’s most hyped anime, which speaks to the popularity of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga. As its title suggests, Chainsaw Man is about a man who can transform parts of himself into chainsaws. The story includes the Yakuza and devil hunters, along with a lot of gore.

Yes, this is a battle shonen anime for adults, and this goes beyond just grotesque villains. The source material touches upon mature themes, even if they are presented through Denji’s juvenile perspective. The adaptation delivered on its promise for the most part, although the show’s legacy will depend on the quality (and existence) of the sequels. Chainsaw Man could dominate the shonen anime scene for a few years.

30

My Hero Academia

MyAnimeList Score (Season 1): 7.84

While hardly the first to feature superheroes, My Hero Academia is anime’s most famous example of the theme. With six seasons and a couple of movies under its belt, the show has enjoyed a long and successful run, and Deku’s story is not done yet.

At its best, My Hero Academia offers unforgettable fights, chilling villains, decent humor, and a constant sense of growth for its protagonist. Now, the series has had a few flat arcs; in fact, seasons 4 and 5 are both considerably weaker than the rest of the show, and they can be difficult to get through since they span almost 50 episodes. Thankfully, season 6 was a massive step in the right direction for the anime, and season 7 is shaping up to be a decent, if inconsistent continuation.

29

Ranma ½ (Both Series)

MyAnimeList Score (2024 Series): 8.04

Rumiko Takahashi is an all-time great mangaka, and her stories should ideally be experienced in their original forms. That said, for the most part, adaptations based on her works are pretty good, and Ranma ½ is probably Takashi’s most famous masterpiece alongside Inuyasha. The manga received two adaptations, one that aired during the early ’90s and a new iteration released in 2024. Both do a splendid job of showcasing Takashi’s incredible talent for humor and romance, all the while throwing in creative fight sequences.

Now, when it comes to choosing a version to watch, the modern remake is arguably the better pick. MAPPA’s animation is beautiful, and the anime really nails its pacing. That said, the classic version has two great seasons that advance Ranma and Ayane’s relationship. After that, the series enters filler territory, which means a lot of amusing but inconsequential episodes.

28

Spy X Family

MyAnimeList Score (Season 1): 8.46

A highlight of Spring and Fall 2022, Spy x Family chronicles the Forgers’ comedic escapades that can range from school break-ins to terrorist attacks with potentially widespread consequences. Tasked with befriending an important diplomat, Twilight, the eponymous spy, crafts a fake family man persona and adopts a girl named Anya, who just so happens to be a mind-reader. As Loid, Twilight also marries Yor, a woman who moonlights as an assassin.

These secrets simultaneously separate and bring this family together. Part 2 starts to develop the characters’ relationships, showing that something genuine is threatening to blossom from this artificial connection. Spy x Family season 2 aired as part of the Fall 2023 season; for the most part, the show remained very entertaining, although the story’s lack of forward movement did begin to grate after a while.

27

Bleach (Original & Thousand-Year Blood War)

MyAnimeList Score (Original Series): 7.97

At its best, Bleach compares favorably with any other action anime out there. The Soul Society arc is wildly recognized as one of the strongest early sagas in shonen, and those 40 episodes feature fantastic action, world-building, and storytelling. The Thousand-Year Blood War, which started airing in Fall 2022, is another high point that brought back Bleach in a big way after a long hiatus.

While the positives outweigh the negatives, Bleach notoriously overuses filler arcs to the point they regularly derail the show’s momentum. Sagas like The Bount arc have their moments, but they are so overly long that they drag down the rest of the series. However, as they are filler, these arcs can be skipped, and that is arguably the best way to enjoy Bleach.

26

Naruto & Naruto Shippuden

MyAnimeList Score (Naruto): 8.01

For a couple of years, Naruto was the most popular anime in Western countries, eclipsing the long-dormant Dragon Ball and the slow-to-crossover One Piece. Living in the Hidden Leaf Village, the eponymous ninja has been treated as an outcast for most of his days, but rather than wallow in self-pity, Naruto plans to gain everyone’s respect and trust as he strives to become his home’s Hokage. The first step in this journey involves starting shinobi training, which sees Naruto partnering up with the brooding Sasuke and Sakura, with the students operating under the tutelage of Kakashi.

Lasting for more than 700 episodes, Naruto goes through its share of highs and lows, but the series is generally quite consistent. Naruto and Sasuke’s friendship/rivalry drives the story forward, and the anime has one of the strongest roster of antagonists in shonen.

25

Dr. Stone

MyAnimeList Score (Season 1): 8.27

Dr. Stone has an awesome premise and an even better protagonist. Out of nowhere, most of Earth’s population is turned into stone, causing the world to gradually regress over the span of a few thousand years. Eventually, Senku breaks from his prison, and the intelligent teenager quickly sets out to unfreeze everyone while speedrunning humanity’s technological progress. While he might not be strong, Senku is incredibly intelligent.

Dr. Stone is an unapologetic celebration of scientific discovery, and the anime tries to keep things grounded when it comes to Senku’s inventions. Narratively, the show tells a good story filled with likable characters, including a few memorable villains.