AR Feature Talkback: The Top 30 Greatest Story Arcs in Anime and Manga

[LumRanmaYasha]

Good work again today. Due to personal bias, I find anything from One Piece ranking higher than anything from Monster somewhat questionable, but all three of ya did a fine job articulating your points, as usual.

Thanks, Foggle!

I actually did want that OP arc a little lower on the list at one point, but since it's

Spoiler

the only OP arc on this entire list

[close]

I feel that it's placement is pretty deserved. It really is one of the best arc in it's genre, and the medium as a whole.

Also, like E-K stated, we arranged the list in a way that took into account what were some of the best in a particular genre/type of series and placed them accordingly. We also tried to stave off personal biases as much as possible in some of these cases as well. For instance, the Maison Ikkoku story arc is actually my favorite story arc in anime/manga (tied with a certain section of AnJ), and I could have easily made a case for it being top ten worthy. But I'm the only one between the three of us making this list that has seen/is very passionate about MI, and I also wanted the top ten to be series that more than one of us could justify and write about, so I was perfectly satisfied leaving it just outside the top 10. I think our top ten ended up very well-rounded and is organized well with diverse, solid entries. While I don't think there are a lot of people on this board that have seen all of them, rest assured they are some of the very best and more than two of us could agree on that outside of just our personal biases. I think you'll understand our reasoning on how we ordered this list a little bit better once you see it.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I can say for sure that Avaitor has seen at least 8/10 from our top 10 entries (possibly 9, but I'm not sure about one of them). Foggle has seen at least 5 of them, and I believe that Dr. Insomniac has actually seen all of them at one point or another.

It'd be interesting to see if anyone can correctly predict what our top 10 will contain based on that knowledge, and knowing about our personal tastes and biases as well. There is one particular arc that if anyone on this board knows me at all, they will know it's going to be featured pretty high on the list.

[Avaitor]

I think I have an idea for some of them, but I'd rather not say.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'll give you all a hint: one of them rhymes with Raptor Zack. I bet nobody will see it coming.

[Avaitor]

 

But is there room for *insert random Naruto story arc here*?

[Dr. Insomniac]

That feel when Naruto will finally end soon.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, OBVIOUSLY the incredibly excellent and in no way laughably terrible Pain arc of Naruto was always going to be our number one. I mean, that's not even a spoiler. Who wouldn't have seen that coming? Even CX can vouch for that. Now whether it's the Arrancar or Fullbring arc from Bleach in second place is an entirely different story which I won't spoil for you.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

That feel when Naruto will finally end soon.

I think that you have it backwards. That's the feel that everyone already has with Naruto while they wait for it to end. The actual finale will be like the equivalent of curing MDD, which is technically impossible.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Okay, the actual feel when Naruto finally ends.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, Madoka and Homura definitely sum up my feelings, but Mami actually looks disappointed. Huh, I never would have pegged her as a Narutard.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Well, OBVIOUSLY the incredibly excellent and in no way laughably terrible Pain arc of Naruto was always going to be our number one. I mean, that's not even a spoiler. Who wouldn't have seen that coming? Even CX can vouch for that. Now whether it's the Arrancar or Fullbring arc from Bleach in second place is an entirely different story which I won't spoil for you.

And of course we all know that the Tenrou Island arc of Fairy Tail will be #3. The moment where every member of Fairy Tail held hands in that giant friendship circle before getting blasted by Apocalypse Dragon was the greatest, most tear-dropping scene in any anime or manga and that is a fact. A FACT I SAY! The time-skip was super-duper important and totally necessary to the story as well. Fairy Tail is so much better than any other shonen on this list (besides Naruto and Bleach, of course, they be godly) it ain't even funny, amirite?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, unless we're specifically talking about the Fishman Island arc from One Piece. Now THAT was class!

[LumRanmaYasha]

Aw, yer right. That arc was damn exciting and intense. I was on the edge of the seat during those chapters where the Straw Hats fought Hodi's crew and wiped the floor with them effortlessly in the end even though it took them a long time. Hodi Jones was like such the best villain ever. Hell, all of the villains were so much more interesting and fleshed out than any of the previous ones. WAAYYY better than Baroque Works or the CP9!

[Foggle]

There is one particular arc that if anyone on this board knows me at all, they will know it's going to be featured pretty high on the list.

Trost, no doubt.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Part 5 is up!