Shonen anime is probably the most popular demographic in anime, mainly due to battle series such as Dragon Ball Z, Fist of the North Star, One Piece, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Designed to appeal to teenage boys, shonen tends to provide plenty of action and humor, with the plot typically sticking to traditional good versus evil dynamics.
Regardless of what its most popular properties might suggest, shonen offers a respectable amount of variety. A Silent Voice, Your Lie in April, and Aria are also shonen, and they are as far removed from the likes of Naruto and Bleach as shows get.
While the likes of Gintama and Attack on Titan need no introduction, there are plenty of shonen anime series that are overlooked. Here are a few anime worth checking out while waiting for the latest weekly shows to drop new episodes.
Disclaimer: To provide some criteria for an anime to qualify as "underrated," only shows with less than 50,000 users on MyAnimeList will be considered. For example, Black Clover has over 380,000 votes.
10 Hinomaru Sumo
Haikyuu!!, Hajime no Ippo, Slam Dunk – these are just a sample of the plethora of great shonen sports anime. Debuting in Fall 2018, Hinomaru Sumo was overshadowed by the (superior) Run with the Wind, but the former is by no means a mediocre show.
Hinomaru Sumo tells an instantly engaging story about a sumo wrestler who is just too small to go pro. Naturally, he joins a school club and packs it with unconventional members, and then they set out to conquer the sumo world. While the anime diverts quite a bit from the manga, and not necessarily for the better, it is still a fun and engaging show about a sport that is rarely explored.
9 Magic Kaito 1412
Kaito Kuroba is an anime icon, courtesy of Detective Conan's endless run. Due to the latter's thousand or so episodes, a newcomer unfamiliar with the franchise might feel hesitant to jump into a spin-off. Magic Kaito 1412 works well as a standalone product, as it does a solid job of introducing its protagonist and benefits from following a case of the week format.
Kaito is plainly an endearing protagonist, one who manages to be both likable and kind of cool. The writing is generally strong and action-packed, making Magic Kaito 1412 a really easy sit.
8 Star Driver
Diving into mecha territory, Star Driver takes place on an island where battles featuring Cybodies happen in a special realm. With great animation and a killer soundtrack, Star Driver is a visual and auditory treat, one that seldom ceases to be entertaining.
The characters are fine enough, although the anime could have explored them more thoroughly. While the individual episodes are strong on their own, the show does hesitate to deviate much from its basic formula, which leads to a bit of repetition. Despite these criticisms, Star Driver is still a blast.
7 Yakitate!! Japan
Food Wars wasn't the first anime to tackle the culinary arts. Yakitate!! Japan is all about the craft of baking and follows Kazuma Azuma, a teenager with godly hands who seeks to create a truly unique bread. Pushing humor to the forefront, Yakitate!! Japan is genuinely hilarious, with Ken Matsushiro being a delightfully silly character.
Eventually, Yakitate!! Japan goes down the tournament route, and it does a decent job of it. With 69 episodes, Yakitate!! Japan takes viewers on a somewhat long but satisfying journey.
6 Kyou kara Ore wa!!
An adaptation of Hiroyuki Nishimori's awesome manga, Kyou kara Ore wa!! Consists of 10 OVAs, and each one delivers something special. Seeking a change of pace and reputation, Mitsuhashi Takashi and Itou Shinji decide to embrace a new school by altering their characters and adopting delinquent personas. The process is, naturally, not easy, but they are determined to become known as the toughest bad boys around.
Funny, clever, and well-written, Kyou kara Ore wa!! Takes the time to develop its characters, and that extends beyond just its protagonists. This '90s anime deserves to be remembered.
5 City Hunter
City Hunter is simultaneously a classic and an underrated shonen anime. Spawning multiple sequels that are all worth seeking out, City Hunter was a staple of the late '80s and early '90s, and Ryou Saeba continues to stand tall as one of shonen anime's greatest main characters.
A detective show that is not afraid to get weird with its cases, City Hunter can be thrilling, hilarious, and even dramatic. In many ways, this is the perfect shonen anime, especially for those who yearn for a series with an older cast of characters.
4 Neuro: Supernatural Detective
Shonen is not lacking in fantastic mystery shows, and Neuro: Supernatural Detective ranks among the very best. Desperate to solve her father's murder, Yako Katsuragi makes a deal with a demon, Neuro, who simply enjoys solving mysteries. Neuro also has a rather wicked sense of humor, along with a devilish smile that makes his more sadistic tendencies easier to swallow.
Neuro: Supernatural Detective doesn't have a dull moment, with each episode exploring a new case. The show constantly highlights Neuro's awesomeness and Yako's understanding of human psychology, and they make for a fun pair.
3 Those Snow White Notes
Debuting in Spring 2021, a season that was jam-packed with great shows, Those Snow White Notes flew slightly under the radar. A music anime about the shamisen instrument, this series boasts an atmospheric animation style that adds an element of wonder to its relatively straightforward premise.
Setsu Sawamura moves to Tokyo and joins a shamisen club at his school; due to his experience with the instrument, he assumes an educational role. Those Snow White Notes offers a welcome change of pace from the more action-oriented shonen anime.
2 Getter Robo: Armageddon
Getter Robo is a classic, with Ken Ishikawa and Go Nagai's manga helping to establish many of the conventions of the giant robot genre. An anime adaptation came out in the '70s, and while not terrible, it can be difficult to revisit in this day and age.
However, that is not the case when it comes to 1998's Getter Robo: Armageddon. A sequel/reboot/alternate reality OVA series that takes inspiration from the original manga and anime, Getter Robo: Armageddon is nonstop insanity in the best possible way. The animation holds up shockingly well, the battles are glorious, and the story works well for what it is trying to do.
1 World Trigger (Season 2)
World Trigger suffers from a rather slow start, but the anime does gather quite a bit of steam around the 20 episode mark. Once an invasion storyline launches, World Trigger is constantly spectacular, and season 2 is especially strong.
Perhaps due to the time gap between seasons 1 and 2, World Trigger lost some momentum along the way, and its 2021 return was not greeted with an enormous amount of fanfare. With season 3 set to debut in Fall 2021, this is the ideal time to pick up World Trigger.