5 Shonen Anime Without A Single Flaw

Anime is an incredibly competitive medium both in the entertainment industry and the vast attention economy through which it constantly generates buzz, with perhaps no demographic being more strongly associated with it than that of shonen. While traditionally meaning "young boy" and essentially meaning the young teens up to age 18, shonen manga and anime have since evolved far beyond such a limited scope. Adults and children, regardless of gender, have thoroughly enjoyed some of the medium's most ambitious projects, frequently adapting some of the most prized shonen manga available.

However, upon pulling back from the latest hype-driven ongoing spectacle, it can sometimes be easy to grow complacent and uncritically accept far too many of the newcomer hits of recent years. There's nothing particularly wrong with enjoying what one likes, but when it comes to helping spread word-of-mouth on outstanding shonen anime of the past and present, or just appreciating the best shows around, it can be helpful to recognize the shonen anime that have endured without any particularly noteworthy flaws.

5 Hikaru No Go (2001)

Adapting the work of Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata (Death Note), Pierrot's Hikaru no Go nails down its emotional beats in a coming-of-age story far more touching and wonderfully-executed than its silly premise may lead viewers to believe. While its manga is certainly the best way to enjoy the full story, the anime focuses squarely on Hikaru Shindo's growth from a young Japanese kid with utterly no real ambitions for himself, into a prodigious Go player, all thanks to his discovery of an old Go board haunted by a tragic Heian-era instructor, Fujiwara no Sai.

It's difficult to overstate just how strong Hikaru no Go's anime truly is. One doesn't need to understand the archaic board game at its center to perceive the real human drama as Hikaru, who goes from letting Sai play through him, into learning to play for himself. Hikaru develops rivalries, grows friendships, and carves a de facto mythology about Sai as he balances his own budding ambitions with the fading aspirations of Sai as he realizes even his time as a ghost is almost up.

The ending, despite still leaving much of the manga uncovered (beyond an OVA which, again, doesn't cover the rest of the series) is one of the most emotionally powerful renditions of one boy becoming a man and seizing his destiny, even if he balks at what he must leave behind to do so.

4 Attack on Titan (2013)

Despite initial reactions to its final season and episodes being certainly more mixed, rewatching Attack on Titan is a truly enlightening experience. Details one may have missed are actually thrilling to discover as the series foreshadows many of its biggest developments with excellent subtlety. Its animation is superb, and it's a particular joy revisiting earlier installments by WIT Studio before the handoff to MAPPA, although the latter studio certainly deserves all the roses it gets. The series was praised for pushing anime into the mainstream for good reason: it's excellent in ways many other shows can still only aspire toward.

Voiceover performances both in the original Japanese and even the English dub are superb in the series, with particular shouts out to J. Michael Tatum's Commander Erwin for dub fans. There are so many special moments in the Attack on Titan anime that certainly deserve praise before ultimately giving recognition for Hajime Isayama's sprawling narrative throughout. It effectively avoided many of the worst pitfalls of the original manga's ending to also make Attack on Titan's anime the most definitive way to enjoy it, aside from some fringe lunatics opting to play Attack on Titan 3 rather than watching the final few episodes.

3 Hunter x Hunter (2011)

One really can't talk about flawless shonen anime without recognizing the acclaimed, revamped adaptation of a manga so influential it gets outright shoutouts like in One-Punch Man cover art. Hunter x Hunter is an institution, and Madhouse's anime is no exception. It dives into a phenomenal power system straight out of the mind of Yoshihiro Togashi, and story arcs that continue to influence some of the biggest anime of the new generation.

Combat feels satisfying to watch in Hunter x Hunter for being significantly more strategically-oriented rather than focusing on powerscaling outright. Storylines have a spectrum of tone and emotionality to them. Even poster-child characters may step away from the spotlight but side characters get plenty of time to shine in their absence. The only real "flaw" dragging Hunter x Hunter's remade anime down is that there wasn't originally more manga to adapt by the time it ended, which is increasingly being addressed thanks to Togashi's tireless work on new chapters.

2 Haikyuu!! (2014)

While plenty of shonen sports anime have come and gone, many of which being excellent and worth anybody's time such as Hajime no Ippo or The Prince of Tennis, Haikyuu!! is perhaps the most obvious choice when considering offerings the closest to "flawless". The series, much like with Hikaru no Go, uses its coming-of-age elements to mix seamlessly with the growth of its central athletes, in this case, the volleyball team at Karasuno High School, home of the famous "Little Giant" whom Haikyuu!!'s protagonist, Shoyo Hinata, idolizes.

Haikyuu!! is great in how it not only builds up Hinata and his central rival and teammate, Tobio Kageyama; it's also about the redemption of Karasuno's once-illustrious volleyball team, as their reputation fell into disrepair after the era of the Little Giant. Each member's arcs are engaging, and rivals are thoroughly rewarding to watch as they interact with Karasuno and Hinata. Characters grow meaningfully both on and off the court, with viewers quickly growing attached to Haikyuu!!'s cast as the series intimately focuses on what can make volleyball truly thrilling to watch, thanks in large part to the wonderful animation by Production I.G.

1 Mob Psycho 100 (2018)

Considering the many superlatives pointing to Mob Psycho 100 as not only a great shonen anime, but one of the best anime ever made, it's not hard to see how it'd be easily recognized for flawless execution of its concepts. ONE is a brilliant writer, with character development being excellent for its god-tier esper, Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama, whose initial answer to keeping his dangerous powers in check was to repress the emotions that, when running amok, can unleash devastation. But it also held him back as a person, holding back his chances to hone a sense of empathy.

But Mob Psycho 100 does more than develop its main star. Despite the utterly comedic tone of the series, characters like con artist and mentor Arataka Reigen get far more engaging arcs than one may have ever expected. Family members put off by Mob's abilities, unpleasant spirits, rival espers, and even former villains grow as individuals to overcome their flaws, become model members of society, and make for rewarding experiences to follow through the anime's three seasons.

The animation style may come off as less refined than the usual output by Bones, yet it only serves to set Mob Psycho 100 apart as possibly the studio's most acclaimed shonen anime since Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and that's saying more than enough.