Anime displays endless variety when it comes to the style and scope of its different shonen series. Howeveer, certain stereotypes still carry over between series, like the emergence of a deadly martial arts tournament. Battle shonen series make fights and action sequences their priorities, so organized tournaments are a helpful way to deliver non-stop battles without needing to get bogged down in the story.
Anime tournaments are a great way to increase stakes and establish where everyone’s strength currently stands. That being said, some shonen showdowns are more important than others, and there are even some tournaments with fatal consequences.
10 The Tournament Of Power (Dragon Ball)
Tournaments are common in 706z87″ title=”akira”>Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, and many attest that the original series didn’t really catch on until the events of the World Martial Arts Tournament. This martial arts competition has become a regular tradition across the franchise, but it’s controlled in nature and the furthest thing from deadly.
The Cell Games and the Other World Tournament are considerably more intimidating procedures, but none of them can compare with Dragon Ball Super‘s Tournament of Power, a multiversal battle royale where elimination equates to the erasure of one’s universe. The Dragon Ball universe is extremely lucky that Universe 7 wins these proceedings and doesn’t jeopardize everything in existence.
9 The Dark Tournament (Yu Yu Hakusho)
Yu Yu Hakusho is a stellar battle shonen series that doesn’t always get its due. There’s a lot to love in this supernaturally-charged series, and Yu Yu Hakusho‘s concentrated Dark Tournament Saga is frequently cited as the anime’s best stretch of episodes.
Yusuke Urameshi and four of his friends make up one of 16 teams, all of which engage in ruthless competition between the vilest demons in the Spirit World. Victory of the Dark Tournament, also known as the Demon World Tournament, promises the winning team’s members to each receive any wish of their choosing.
8 Hell In The Hole (Tiger W)
Tiger Mask W is a modern continuation of the original Tiger Mask wrestling manga and anime from the 1960s and ‘70s. Set 40 years after the original series, Tiger Mask W looks at a new fighter who dons the title of Tiger Mask in a bid to get revenge on another ruthless wrestler, the Yellow Devil.
Tiger Mask must jump through many hoops before he can finally face Yellow Devil. “Hell in the Hole” isn’t the final wrestling competition that must be conquered, but it’s the most dangerous due to its lack of rules, strenuous endurance expectations, and death upon failure. Takuma, a friend of Tiger Mask, barely survives this ordeal.
7 Ragnarok (Record Of Ragnarok)
There are many anime that depict mankind’s battles against impossible threats, but Record of Ragnarok is a fascinating dissection of humanity’s desire to prove that they deserve to exist to a higher power. In Record of Ragnarok, 13 Gods and 13 humans are assembled to fight in combat, and whichever side reaches seven victories first is declared the ruler.
The Gods definitely have the advantage here, but humanity proves that this is hardly a one-sided endeavor. Ragnarok is the name of this destructive duel where mankind is literally forced to fight against their extinction.
6 God Of High School Tournament (God Of High School)
Based upon the Korean webtoon of the same name, The God of High School has become one of Crunchyroll’s most exciting original anime productions from the past few years. The God of High School taps into an action-heavy premise where high schoolers from across the globe are assembled in South Korea to compete in a special martial arts competition.
God of High School excels with its showcase of eclectic fighting styles, which are represented through the tournament’s multicultural fighters. The God of High School Tournament initially seems like a fun way to figure out who’s the strongest teenager. Still, it later reveals itself to have a more nefarious purpose where these powerful high schoolers become deadly pawns in a much bigger cosmic plan.
5 Megalonia (Megalobox)
Ashita no Joe is a prolific boxing anime that celebrated its 50th anniversary through Megalobox, a radical sci-fi dystopian take on its underdog boxing narrative. Megalobox transforms its standard boxing narrative into a crunchy steam-punk success story where boxers compete with exoskeleton-like “gears” that aid them in combat.
A vagrant fighter known as Junk Dog gets the prestigious opportunity to participate in Megalonia, the top Megaloboxing tournament. Junk Dog, now fighting under the alias Joe, has a limited time to rise the ranks of Megalonia or be exiled and left with nothing.
4 Joint Training Battle (My Hero Academia)
My Hero Academia gets more mature with each passing season, and it’s reached a point where there are intimidating stakes and battles where hero casualties aren’t just possible but likely. My Hero Academia features several competitive exercises among its U.A. High students to better prepare them for the outside world as well as help them perfect their growing powers.
The Sports Festival receives a lot of acclaim, but it’s the Joint Training Battle between the students of Class 1-A and 1-B that leaves the greatest impression. This tournament also occurs in the show’s fifth season at a point where these characters can actually cause some damage to one another.
3 The Ultimate Chojin Tag Tournament (Kinnikuman)
Kinnikuman, otherwise known as Ultimate Muscle in its North American dubbed form, is an outrageous blend of wrestling, luchador theatrics, and heightened superheroes. Kinnikuman creates a ridiculous setting wherein Kinniku must win a wrestling tournament in order to secure his role as his planet’s prince. Still, the anime establishes a baseline where flashy, ringed showdowns become the standard way to resolve conflict.
The Chojin Olympics is the most common wrestling competition in Kinnikuman, where superheroes face burly demons. Any Chojin tournament is a dangerous endeavor, but the Ultimate Chojin Tag Tournament includes some especially deadly demonic duos.
2 Ura Butou Satsujin (Flame Of Recca)
Flame of Recca is a satisfying shonen anime from the 1990s that shares a lot in common with Yu Yu Hakusho and Naruto, but at only 42 episodes, it doesn’t get enough time to really get going in its story. Recca Hanabishi learns that he possesses prolific ninja powers and pyrokinetic skills.
Recca hones these skills throughout the anime, but it’s not long until he enters the Ura Butou Satsujin, a deadly martial arts tournament. The Ura Butou Satsujin dominates the rest of Flame of Recca, and these constant battles help Recca understand the severity of the path of the Hokage.
1 Gundam Fight (Mobile Fighter G Gundam)
Mobile Fighter G Gundam is an odd mecha outlier from the 1990s that’s a black sheep in the grander Gundam franchise. G Gundam is the mecha series’ most blatant attempt at a battle shonen series, and it replaces intergalactic war with organized tournament battles between the galaxy’s strongest Gundam. In Mobile Fighter G Gundam, political disputes are settled through Gundam Fight, a tournament that’s held every four years in place of war.
Each nation sends its own Gundam representative, and the winner governs all of the other colonies until the next tournament. G Gundam looks at the 13th Gundam Fight, where Neo Japan’s Domon Kasshu hopes to forever change history.
