We're coming back at ya with some more of our favorite anime story arcs! There are entirely too many great arcs in all of anime to choose just one or two. So you can expect to see more of these in the future.
Okay, that's enough intro. Let's get down to it.
Ice Kaguya Arc (Kaguya-sama: Love Is War - The First Kiss That Never Ends)
Out of all the more modern anime to see a release during the late 2010s and into the early 2020s, Kaguya-Sama: Love is War may just be one of the biggest surprises to me. In a lot of ways the quintessential romcom of its era, Kaguya-Sama follows the day to day lives of Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane, the vice president and president of Shuchiin Academy's Student council. What turns this usually predictable concept on its head is the twist where both individuals have fully realized their feelings for each other, but are too proud to admit it to one other, leading both to engage in a battle to get the other to confess first. This core concept is what carries the show's first three seasons with the downright wacky antics of the series' cast of characters being one of the main draws alongside its incredibly on-point humor. But what happens when the confession inevitably happens and the main couple finally get together?
In an interesting, shift rather than continuing on with a fourth season (split into four parts for streaming), the next arc was instead adapted into the series first film covering the excellent Ice Kaguya Arc from the manga and continuing directly after the events of the third season's finale. Honestly this was a choice that I could really get behind, as the arc in the manga is incredibly important to the series' plot and spreading it out across a season would not have done it justice the same way a film could.
The First Kiss That Never Ends continues immediately after the events of season 3, and follows up on the recent love confession of Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane, with the titular characters adjusting to their new dynamic. While happy at first, the anxiety of the new situation causes Kaguya to revert to her older cold personality - dubbed Ice Kaguya, a much more harsh and abrasive version of herself in hopes that he can convince Miyuki to kiss her despite her drastic character shift. Throughout the arc the two continue to misunderstand each other, leading to a wedge being driven between them. The arc eventually reaches its climax with the two finally understanding that they love each other despite their flaws, and want to truly know who their real selves are. The film ends with the two returning to their normal selves and beginning their relationship for real this time.
All-and-all, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – The First Kiss That Never Ends is an excellent film that perfectly concludes the original Love is War story line. Notably giving us a satisfying conclusion while also diving much deeper into the more complex nature of the series' two main characters, something that was only briefly touched on in the previous seasons. With everything tied together well with the series usual humor and excellent supporting characters, leaving viewers both satisfied but also wanting more. Definitely a strong recommendation for any fans of romantic-comedy anime.
~ Bill
Chapter Black (YuYu Hakusho, Episodes 67-93)
YuYu Hakusho is an all-time classic for me. A 90s anime with a fairly distinct 80s vibe based around a street punk named Yusuke who gains both power and responsibility through his untimely death and subsequent revival. He has to spend his time solving cases and fighting demons with his group of friends that he makes along the way. The cast of characters are so vibrant and inherently likeable and the dub for the series only accentuates that between the script and the dub cast.
Most fans of the series tend to say that the Dark Tournament Arc is the peak of the show. While I can understand that line of thought, I personally feel that the Chapter Black Arc is the stronger arc in a lot of ways. After the tournaments end it is revealed that someone has been working at opening a portal to connect the human world and the demon world, and cause untold death and destruction. As a result of the portals creation, many otherwise normal humans begin awakening psychic powers and joining factions on either side of the fight. One side fighting for the humans led by Spirit Detective Yusuke and the side fighting for the demons is led by none other than his predecessor, former Spirit Detective Sensui.
This story has a lot to say about morality and the dangers of a "Black and White" ideology. The driving force of this being a video tape featured in the arc called "Chapter Black" which apparently has recorded on it all of the most evil and heinous acts ever performed by humankind, which Sensui uses to turn confused and otherwise decent humans to his side. The main antagonist Sensui is an incredibly powerful and charismatic enemy with many sides to his personality (HaHa). I won't go too deep into spoilery territory for those who haven't watched it yet, but I'll say the perfectly full circle symbolism of the ending is the best possible way it could have concluded and I implore anyone who hasn't to seek it out and watch the whole series. You won't regret it.
~ Matt
Stardust Crusaders (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Episodes 27-74)
It isn't very often that you see a manga/anime series completely change its power system. In the first two arcs of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, the protagonists used a power called "Hamon", which is powered by breathing and allows them to defeat immortal beings like vampires and the pillar men. But forget all of that - we're using Stands now. A Stand is a physical manifestation of one's life energy. Each Stand is completely unique in both appearance and powers. There are too many types of Stands to go into further detail, but man are they sweet. Being the first appearance of Stands, their powers are pretty simple at first. But they get more and more complicated as the series goes on.
Taking place 50 years after the previous arc (Battle Tendency), Jonathan Joestar and his grandson, Jotaro Kujo, alongside a group of fellow Stand-users, must journey from Japan to Egypt in order to find and kill Dio. As the heroes journey along to Egypt, they're attacked by other Stand-users that work for Dio. Every single fight is intense (with very few exceptions) and it's awesome to see the protagonists using their Stand powers in-tandem with their wits to overcome each enemy. As the arc goes on, the enemies' Stand powers become increasingly lethal and the odds are stacked even higher against our gang of protagonists.
Once our gang finally arrives at Dio's palace, the action is off-the-rails. There's a bird with ice powers, a Stand that can create a void by consuming itself, and we even see Jotaro beat a Stand-user by playing a video game. The final battle against Dio is one of the most intense, climatic fights in all of anime.
If you haven't watched this series, I highly recommend you do so. The first two arcs are fun, but nowhere near as good as later ones. While I do enjoy later arcs and the wild Stand powers that come with them, Stardust Crusaders is a bold classic that never gets old.
~ Aaron
Finale Arc (Trigun, Episodes 23-26)
Trigun is a short and concise anime, so you might not necessarily think about its episodes being categorized into "arcs", but there's still quite a variety when it comes to the feel and intensity of its 26 episodes. The final four episodes in particular rank very high for me as some of the best anime I've ever seen. Since there may be some readers that haven't yet seen this classic 90s series, I'm going to keep this write-up vague so as to avoid major story spoilers.
At first glance, Trigun may appear to be just another 90s "space western" anime (a la Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, etc.). However, as the series progresses, viewers are treated to a slow and steady reveal of a surprisingly complex sci-fi story just packed with heavy themes and a full spectrum of intense and emotional scenes. All of this being accompanied by an amazing soundtrack of course. In the first few episodes, we're introduced to "Vash the Stampede", a goofy but capable vigilante that doesn't seem to deserve the villainous reputation and $$60 billion double-dollar bounty he's acquired. By episode six, "Lost July," the series begins to pull back the curtain a bit, and we learn about Vash's mysterious connection to the various power plants throughout No Man's Land.
Vash eventually meets a mysterious priest named Nicholas D. Wolfwood, one of my favorite characters in the series. Our hero later faces off against one of the most underrated anime villains, Legato Bluesummers, and we get to glean bits and pieces of backstory about the enigmatic Rem Saverem. Also, for the sake of limiting spoilers, I haven't even mentioned one of the most interesting characters in the series. The whole second half of Trigun is just one slow and steady burn that culminates into an epic finale. I love the whole series, but some may feel that you have to "get past" the initial episodes of goofy cowboy antics in order to get to the masterfully crafted core storyline at the end of the series.
I'm hesitant to share anything more about the finale, as you really just need to stop reading this and go watch Trigun. But, I will say, there is so much more to this series than meets the eye. Stick with Trigun through to the end, and you will be rewarded with its finale arc – four of the best episodes of anime I've ever seen.
~ RetroMo
