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Bloodiest shonen anime of all time is a discussion as old as time, and fans everywhere have their reasons to talk about it: some like the violence, others like how real it feels, and others simply like the visual spectacle and level of detail in battles. And while sometimes violence has to be toned down in anime because of rating factors, it's safe to say that some series have broken that mold.
The medium's evolution in this topic has changed over the years, with some periods being more open to graphic violence than others. For example, recent series such as Attack on Titan show a greater willingness to show blood and gore in its action scenes. Therefore, here are the ten bloodiest shonen anime of all time, ranked.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for all of these series ranked as the bloodiest shonen anime of all time.
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Attack on Titan and nine more of the bloodiest shonen anime of all time, ranked
10. Bleach
Bleach's case as one of the bloodiest shonen anime is quite interesting when taking all things into account. Author Tite Kubo went to some violent places in the manga. Still, the original anime toned down several moments, including Uryu Ishida losing his hand against Vasto Lorde Ichigo or Chad getting his arm torn apart by Yammy.
However, the anime was still fairly violent. For example, Grimmjow gets his arm cut off in one section of the Arrancar arc and just rolls with it, and the same can be said of multiple scenes where characters lose body parts or leak a lot of blood.
The recent anime adaptation of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, though, has been very faithful to the violence of the source material, and they have no problem showing people being dismembered and things of that nature.
9. Tokyo Ghoul
The Tokyo Ghoul anime adaptation was a monumental failure in terms of living up to the brilliant source material in the manga, and that is always going to be a big shame. However, it cannot be argued that Studio Pierrot still gave a lot of leeway for violence in this anime, and this showed a darker side to the shonen genre.
This series is one of the bloodiest shonen anime, and the setting fits with that approach quite well: it is set in a world where flesh-eating ghouls and the protagonist, Kaneki, is turned into one.
Now, he has to deal with his urgency to eat humans while holding onto the parts that make him who he is, and chaos naturally takes place.
8. Claymore
Claymore is a series that never gets the credit it deserves. It's an epic dark fantasy series starring many strong female characters while subverting many tropes of the shonen genre and, yet, very few people talk about it, thus becoming a cult classic of the medium.
Be that as it may, there is no denying that Claymore is also one of the bloodiest shonen anime out there. Manga author Norihiro Yagi and Madhouse Studio hold no punches with this series, showing the enemies are dismembered and torn apart, and the blood is splattered across the page and the screen.
7. Baki
Baki is the embodiment of physical violence and getting bloodied. The series revolves around underground fighting and how the titled character wants to become strong enough to defeat his father, who is so powerful that he is viewed as a demon and a monster across the world.
The series is over the top, with many crazy concepts and tropes, but it also has no problem getting violent. There have been multiple adaptations of the manga over the years.
Still, the capacity to make bloody scenes has been a constant, which is essential considering the type of story that author Keisuke Itagaki.
6. Hunter X Hunter
When it comes to the bloodiest shonen anime of all time, Hunter X Hunter has a very unique situation. Author Yoshihiro Togashi is a master at taking classic tropes of the genre and subverting them, which comes in full force with this series and shows in some major plot points.
The series at first can appear to be a very typical shonen, but the key lies in how it gets darker and darker until exploding into moments of graphic violence.
The manga is certainly more violent, but both anime adaptations have been willing to push the envelope in some scenes, which adds to the range that Hunter X Hunter has a story.
5. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Like Hunter X Hunter, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a series that can be misjudged before actually watching it or reading it. A lot of newcomers could think that this is a comedy anime that parodies the shonen genre, but the reality is that author Hirohiko Araki is one of the biggest creative forces in the business and also has no qualms about adding graphic violence.
Araki has always been prone to adding a lot of blood and violence to every part in JoJo. While earlier storylines such as Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency, and Stardust Crusaders were a lot bloodier, the entire franchise is full of those moments.
This ability to change the tone of the series when necessary, similar to Araki changing many elements with every part, is what makes this franchise so enduring.
4. Fist of the North Star
If the discussion is about the bloodiest shonen anime of all time, the role of Fist of the North Star cannot be understated. It is one of those shonen franchises that pushed the envelope in the early 80s and added a lot more action and violence to the genre, which series such as Dragon Ball took to a whole new stratosphere.
Of course, the series' tone made the violence all the more logical. This was a post-nuclear apocalypse world where people had to fight to survive, and the protagonist, Kenshiro, is one of the last remaining forces of good.
Characters are murdered, bleed to death, and even dismembered without a second thought, highlighting Ken's ruthless world.
3. Saint Seiya
Saint Seiya is a very unique case when it comes to the anime industry. While the series has lost a lot of popularity in Japan over the years, Masami Kurumada's greatest hit still has a lot of status in Latin America and Europe due to many factors, including how shockingly violent the series was, which left a lasting impression.
At first, Saint Seiya's concept of mystical warriors based on the Zodiac doesn't strike as something overly violent. However, the original anime of the 80s had no qualms about making characters bleed or go blind while sticking their own fingers in their eyes, being stabbed, and so on.
That, combined with the androgynous looks of the characters, made for a very lasting impression as one of the bloodiest shonen anime of all time.
2. Attack on Titan
There is no denying that Attack on Titan has the storytelling, the characters, the themes, and the world-building, but also the violence. This is a very dark story, and it has been proven time and time again that it has no qualms about getting bloody when the moment requires it.
Considering that the concept of the series revolves around fighting titans that kill and destroy anything they see, the fact that this is one of the bloodiest shonen anime of all time makes sense.
There is also the fact that this kind of violence adds a lot to the characters' morally gray approach to things, especially Eren and his actions across the series.
1. Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied had a lot of popularity back in the late 2000s, although it had a lot of hype and attention in recent years. One reason that has been mentioned a lot is the constant use of graphic violence, which hasn't aged well according to many people, although it is worth pointing out that it fits with the story's themes.
Lucy is a modified being against her will and decides to go on a killing spree after escaping. The constant use of blood and violence fits with the concept of monsters created through experiments on humans against their will, which has made it the bloodiest shonen of all time.
Final thoughts
The bloodiest shonen anime is always going to be a topic of discussion because graphic violence can sometimes add drama and shock value to a story. While it doesn't work all the time, there are some stories, like the ones mentioned on this list, that need this kind of element.
