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War is hell, and shonen anime is no different. The very prospect of going to war is enough to make many characters and fans tremble. War usually means a possible death scene that breaks into an extremely emotional plotline.
There have been story arcs revolving around wars that have resulted in one of the hero's finest hours, a villain's defeat, and moments that left fans breathless. This article will rank a few of those by how good they were and how fans reacted to them.
Note: This list is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive. The article contains spoilers and reflects the author's opinion.
10 of the best shonen anime war arcs, ranked
1) The Paranormal Liberation War Arc (My Hero Academia)
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The opening salvos leading to the final arc of the superhero shonen My Hero Academia made the top for being one of the series' best arcs. After the League of Villains barely managed to escape in prior arcs, this arc marked the point where they get serious. This arc delivered their first, real victory over the Hero society.
Following the recruitment of the Metahuman Liberation Front and the focus on work-hero studies training, a raid was executed on Jaku General Hospital and the villains' hideout. The aftermath of the resulting carnage and devastation saw well over 16,000 villains get arrested (including Mr. Compress and the Kaiju-sized Gigantomachia), but a total of 132 villains escaped, including All for One possessing Tomura's body, Spinner, and Toga.
The aftermath was rather much for a shonen anime, including the devastation of several cities, Dabi's video message condemning Endeavor and the Hero Society at large as well as the truth about Hawks, and the deaths of many Heroes including Midnight, X-Less, and Majestic. All For One likewise orchestrated a massive breakout of the prisons, releasing all the prisoners from their cells and further causing anarchy as many heroes opted to retire. This arc is considered one of My Hero Academia's best, and the hits keep coming as the final arc ramps up.
2) The Shinobi World War Arc (Naruto)
Despite losing some points for Kaguya Ōtsutsuki coming in out of nowhere at the end, the shonen anime Naruto gets praised for the Shinobi World War. Following Sasuke's rampage at the Five Kage Summit, Obito Uchiha declared war on the entire ninja world due to the refusal of various Kage to give up their Tailed Beasts.
The fight scenes in this arc are great, including Might Guy kicking Madara nearly into the stratosphere, the return of ninjas like Haku, Zabuza, and the Sound Four, Gaara's reunion, and reconciling with his father, the five Kage vs. Madara's Susanoo, and others. But what also sets this arc apart is its character moments, like Team 7's reunion, Neji's sacrifice, the various Infinite Tsukuyomi dreams, and Obito turning on Madara.
Naruto and Sasuke's final fight was a combination of every character moment this iconic shonen rivalry had been through, ending the ninja war with an explosive climax that fans have never forgotten about. The fact that it ended so positively after all the strife and conflict was indeed a nice touch.
3) The Summit War Arc (One Piece)
The saga from the shonen anime One Piece encapsulates the well-received Impel Dawn and Marineford arcs into one epic chronicle. After a mutiny by Blackbeard that resulted in Portgas D. Ace's capture, the Whitebeard Pirates went to war with the World Government. The Straw Hat Crew found themselves locked in the middle of this conflict, with Luffy attempting to rescue Ace following the events of the Amazon Lily arc.
The Prison Break that was in the Impel Dawn arc sees 241 prisoners (Luffy included) escape from the supposedly inescapable prison. The Marineford arc is considered one of One Piece's heaviest turning points and most iconic arcs as it features the deaths of two major characters, Ace and Whitebeard, and Blackbeard holding two Devil Fruits at once.
In the aftermath, this shonen anime's world changed with the Three Great Powers shifting to only include the Marine Government and the Four Emperors. Luffy's past with Ace was revealed, several new Pirate Lords and Warlords were named, and the Straw Hats all vowed to meet in two years when they had time to train for the trials ahead. It is One Piece's third longest arc and perhaps one of the most dreadful ones.
4) The Chimera Ant War Arc (Hunter x Hunter)
This is the longest arc in the shonen anime, Hunter X Hunter. It devotes quite a lot of focus on the villain Meruem. The anime is unique in the sense that the main heroes of the arc never fight the main antagonist once, but the result of the war leaves one of the protagonists in a coma.
Despite the length of this particular shonen anime war arc, it's still considered one of the good ones due to the twists and turns the story takes with Meruem, and the moral gray area Gon gets into. Long story short, Gon and Killua are part of a squad that is tasked with investigating an invasive species called the Chimera Ants.
With several characters ending up dead (Meruem, Kite, Ponzu, Pokkle) and Gon losing his Nen abilities in a vengeful rage against Neferpitou, it fell to Killua to become the new lead. The key highlights here are the great fights, Gon losing his powers, and Kogumi and Meruem's relationship that showcased the King of the Chimera Ants finding love and dying tragically alongside his dear friend.
5) The One Year War (Mobile Suit Gundam)
The Shonen anime Mobile Suit Gundam's One Year War arc is long and stretches between the original anime, several OVAs like 0080 and The 08th MS Team, and even a prequel story in The Origin. The event ultimately saw Gundam propelled into the mainstream.
To summarize, the Zabi family took advantage of mounting protests against increasingly larger restrictions on humanity's space colonies to ignite a war against the entire Earth federation. The resulting conflict was so devastating the effects continued to last till Gundam Unicorn and beyond. Billions of lives were lost, and many of Earth's original continents (such as Australia) were forever changed, owing to floods as well as resentment being pushed at Spacenoids (space-born humans).
The Zeon remnants would attempt power grabs again and again but would be stopped every time. The conflict is mostly remembered by fans because it gave birth to the epic rivalry of Amuro Ray, a teen at the time, and the notorious Red Comet Char Aznable. Additionally, the original colony drop wherein an entire space colony was gassed and dropped on Earth is another highlight.
6) Marley and War for Paradis Arc (Attack on Titan)
Controversial ending aside, the War for Paradis is Attack on Titan's turning point. No longer are the people of Paradis island struggling to survive, they now take the fight to their true enemy. As this began in ancient times, Will Tybers gathered leaders of the world in Liberio and declared Paradis worth declaring war on, shortly before the Survey Corps alongside Eren launched an assault.
The assault led to the defection of the Beast Titan. It also led to Sasha Braus' death, and trouble at home as a cult of Eren supporters start making calculated moves to take over. The result is that Paradis is attacked directly by Marley, the Eldian Empire is started and Eren, through a complicated scheme and mind quest with Zeke, starts the Rumbling.
The Rumbling could be seen as a separate arc on its own, with terrible death and fighting to prevent the genocide of the world's population. Regardless of how fans see the end, the events leading up to it were great. It saw Eren embrace his role as villain, the other Titan shifters banding together to prevent the genocide, and ultimately trying their best to end the hate.
7) The Beastman War Arc (Gurren Lagann)
This conflict from the shonen anime Gurren Lagann ended better than the One Year War. After humanity was forced underground for many years and kept there thanks to the Beastmen, the sudden discovery of the Gurren mech by Simon and Kamina gave humanity a fighting chance.
The combination of Gurren and Lagann would defeat many beastmen, including repeatedly trouncing rival character Virel at least three different times. Though the conflict saw Kamina die, Simon had the aid to press on. With the defeat and death of the Beast King Lordgenome, humanity was saved and could move again on the surface.
While the warning of Lordgenome would eventually come true, most fans of the series prefer the first conflict to the second for its unambiguously pleasant ending. It's certainly better to see an underdog story end unambiguously happy rather than end up as bittersweet or a full downer.
8) One Week War (How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom)
A bit more on the political side than most, the fantasy-based shonen anime How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom focuses on the efforts of Kazuya Souma to help the kingdom of Elfrieden to help it become prosperous and avoid a war.
Seeing as the kingdom is suffering from shortages of food, nearing bankruptcy, and corruption is rampant, Kazuya sets out to help it thrive. Long story short, due to the generals in the army being rather ambitious, war is declared and lasts a week.
The surprising element about this war is that Kazuya tries to take steps to avoid as much bloodshed as he can but, failing that, always tries to use good tactics. Making a warship float without a crew to distract an air force while an army invades a fort, using hit and run tactics, etc. is a testament to the same. It ends with the Elfrieden kingdom emerging as the victorious side.
9) Humans and Demon war (Maoyu ~ Archenemy & Hero)
A demon queen named Mao and a shonen hero named Yusha are set to square off for the fate of their respective kingdoms. Instead of dueling to death, they teamed up to weed out corruption and prevent civil wars in both the demon realm and the human realm.
This shonen anime is a much more realistic take on war, with humans and demons alike profiting and wanting to continue the said war, whilst others want it to stop. Mao had to disguise herself as a Crimson Scholar whilst Yusha disguised himself as a White Swordsman and Black Knight to travel between the realms.
This shonen anime focuses more on the church and the ever-present rich and poor divide. It's got lighter political dealings then other entries, but is still commendable for going that road. The anime may have lasted only a season, but the manga continued it to the end with the battle against the Demon King.
10) Galactic Empire vs. Free Planets alliance (Legend of the Galactic Heroes)
The prior two shonen anime are fairly recent, this one is older. In humanity's distant future, a never-ending war rages between the monarchistic Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance.
The shonen anime Legend of the Galactic Heroes focuses on two individuals: Reinhard von Lohengramm, who seeks to free his sister from the ruling Kaiser and ultimately unite the galaxy under his rule as part of the Empire, and Yang Wen-li, a genius historian and strategist.
Despite this shonen anime being hardcore science fiction than most, it's arguably more niche. The prior two entries are an Isekai and straight-up fantasy story, respectively, this one is more scientifically strong and may have gotten lost in the shuffle.
