Anime comes in all sorts of genres and flavors - action, romance, and thriller, just to name a few. No matter what type you're into, a great story arc is enough to draw you in, keep your eyes glued, and spread the word amongst your friends. The most memorable arcs are ones with plenty of plot twists, explosive action, or an incredible, satisfying ending to an ongoing plot point.
To clarify, an "arc" in anime is essentially a chunk of episodes that follow an overarching storyline with a beginning, middle, and an end.
Let's take a look at some of the anime arcs that we at SuperPod Network love and kept us totally enthralled to the very end.
DISCLAIMER: Possible spoilers ahead.
Chunin Exams (Naruto, Episodes 20-67)
Naruto blew me away from the very start, but I knew this series was in a league of its own when the Chunin exams arc began. At this point in the series, the Konoha shinobi way of life has been well established, and we've already watched our main cast of characters face a number of epic trials. Somehow, the deadly Chunin exams crank up the danger and intensity even more.
The Chunin exam arc introduces some of my favorite characters – Rock Lee, Neji, Gaara, Anko, and one of the greatest anime villains of all time, Orochimaru. Hinata and Shikamaru also receive more prominent roles in this arc. The world building opens up as we learn about the shinobi villages outside of Konoha. It's a long story arc, but since it's still relatively early in the series, there's only one episode of filler (episode 26). However, this 46 episode arc does not drag. Each crazy challenge is followed by another unique and interesting test. Naruto's character development really ramps up in this arc, and the immensely popular Chunin tournament showcases a stunning variety of new shinobi abilities.
It's been years since I've watched through Naruto, but there are scenes from the Forest of Death that are still clearly burned into my memory. Naruto is must watch anime, and the Chunin exams make for a legendary story arc. If you dive into this series, I strongly recommend skipping the filler episodes. There are some great English dubs from this era of anime, but sadly, Naruto is not one of them. So, I also recommend watching Naruto in the original Japanese with subtitles.
~ RetroMo
Chimera Ant (Hunter X Hunter, Episodes 76-136 )
This epic arc contains some of the best fights and character development in the entire anime series. Admittedly, Hunter X Hunter starts off pretty tame. You follow Gon on his journey to find his father, Ging, whom he hasn't seen for years. Up until this point in the anime, there hasn't been a whole of action. Previous arcs see Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio as they get their Hunter licenses, take on bad guys, and help Gon locate clues to find his father. Eventually Kurapika and Leorio depart to work on accomplishing their own goals, leaving Gon and Killua to adventure on their own.
This arc starts after Greed Island, seeing Gon and Killua finally leave the video game island and meet up with Kite - a friend of Gon's father. Due to Kite's relationship with Gon's father, Gon looks up to Kite as a role model and mentor. Here we learn about Chimera Ants - a type of insect that reproduces by consuming anything that it finds, in turn producing offspring with qualities and features of whatever species or material was consumed. After feasting on humans (a few being Nen-users), the Chimera Ants evolve from small pests to humanoid, Nen-using apocalyptic threats.
This arc cranks the action, emotion, character development, and story-telling all the way up, ripping the knob clean off and throwing it into the next town. By this point, Gon and Killua have developed their own Nen abilities, but are nowhere near the level of the Chimera Ants or the other Hunters that arrive to help with taking out the ants. They're definitely nowhere near the power level of the main antagonist, Meruem, the Chimera Ant king. Arguably the best fight in the arc sees Meruem facing-off with the chairman of the Hunter Association, Isaac Netero.
This arc seems to be pretty divisive among the Hunter X Hunter fanbase for a number of reasons. Some say that it takes too long, the pacing is slow, and the main characters (Gon and Killua) aren't the main focus of the arc. But if you're interested, absolutely check it out. I enjoyed every last bit of this arc, all the way to the incredibly tear-jerking ending. The entire series is one of my all-time favorites.
~ Aaron
The Wedding Dress Arc (Dragon Ball, Episodes 149-153)
Notably the final arc of the original 1986 Dragon Ball anime, the Wedding Dress Arc is an excellent example of anime filler done right, bridging the gap between the original series and its eventual successor Dragon Ball Z. While filler in anime tends to get a bad rep in the eyes of modern anime-watchers (with very valid reasoning), occasionally there will be a filler arc that actually adds a good bit of content to a plot thread that was originally either glazed over or out-right ignored in its source material. In the case of this arc, it not only wraps up the original Dragon Ball story line in a very satisfying manner, but also sees a ton of character development that is generally not found in the series main story arcs.
As for the arc itself, it starts immediately following the conclusion of the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament and the defeat of Piccolo Junior (later just referred to as Piccolo) at the hands of Goku in one of the series greatest fights. With Goku departing along with his new fiance Chi-Chi to begin planning their upcoming wedding, the duo return to the Ox King's castle just in time for Chi-Chi to receive her mother's wedding dress. However, the following day the castle is engulfed by a mysterious fire that leaves the Ox King trapped inside protecting the Dress from the flames, leaving Goku and Chi-Chi to find a way to stop the flames in a race against time. With the remainder of the arc following the pair's journey running into a number of different faces (both good and evil) as Goku and Chi-Chi use the lessons and items obtained to finally sove the mystery of the fire just in time for the duo's marriage and that ever-classic ending theme one last time before transitioning into Dragon Ball Z.
This arc is such a fun time, seeing one of Goku's final adventures before the series would shift into a much more action heavy direction. While also giving us some final farewells to a number of characters including Grandpa Gohan and the Pilaf gang (in the final appearance until their official return in Dragon Ball Super), overall perfectly capping off the light-hearted classic story. Although my favorite part of this arc may be the portrayal of Chi-Chi in by far her most likable appearance in the series, with the arc really showcasing the growing relationship between Goku and herself in a positive and heartwarming manner.
While technically a filler arc, The Wedding Dress arc is an absolute blast to watch through. It may be a little short only spanning five episodes, and might not be the most exciting concept overall, lacking most of the series primary cast. But this arc to me is the perfect conclusion to OG Dragon Ball and absolutely warms my heart every time I reach it in subsequent rewatches, with the dub cast over at Funimation really coming into their own by this point (particularly Sean Schemmel and Cynthia Cranz). I highly recommend this one to any fan of Dragon Ball.
~ Bill
The Garlic Jr. Arc (Dragon Ball Z, Episodes 108-117)
I have a complicated history with this arc in particular. In all honesty, when I was a kid, I absolutely despised it. But looking back on it, I believe I was unfair to it.
I never really hated the arc itself. What I really hated was the fact that we had just gotten an epic Goku fight featuring the debut of Super Saiyan only to have to watch an arc that had NO GOKU! Especially in the days when you only got one episode a day if you were lucky, it would feel like forever until we got back to some high speed Super Saiyan action! In my "advanced age" however, I have grown incredibly fond of this story. Looking at it now, a story that features no Goku whatsoever is actually a welcome change that doesn't happen again in Dragon Ball until the Super Hero film.
Having Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillin as the main characters we start out with the return of a villain from the first movie of the series infecting the world with the "Black Water Mist", effectively creating subservient zombie/vampires out of just about every other person on the planet, including all of our hero's family and friends. They encounter an immortal Garlic Jr. and his new improved henchmen at Kami's Lookout and have to rescue Kami and Mr. Popo so that they can retrieve the "Sacred Water" from the bowels of the Lookout. Along the way fighting the angry spirits of the previous Gods of earth so that they can cure the plague that has grasped the world. While the climax of the arc could have used some polish, the fresh and interesting ideas used for it were very novel for that time in DBZ's cycle. It was a great way to give the manga more time to release material to adapt while simultaneously giving other characters a chance to shine that otherwise wouldn't. To anyone who, like me, disliked this saga back in the day but haven't watched it since, I implore you to go give it a second chance.
Plus, who doesn't want to see Krillin in that suit? Talk about Drip!
~ Matt
