Top 10 Upcoming Shonen Anime of 2024 & 2025 – Spring 2024 was quite good for shonen fans, don’t you agree? New Demon Slayer, Kaiju No. 8, New My Hero Academia, Windbreaker, and loads more. But let’s get ahead of ourselves a bit and just for a short time, leave those hype shows behind.
After all, the anime industry has a lot of stuff lined up for us later this year and all the way to the next one. So that’s right, today’s list will have us look at the top 10 upcoming shonen anime of 2024 & 2025. Sequels, new anime, you’ve got them all in there. So I hate to keep you waiting, let’s begin.
10. The Blue Wolves of Mibu
Japan has no shortage of turbulent eras, but one of the most popular ones to be depicted in popular culture is the end of the Edo period. This era, one that heavily involved the Shinsengumi, is probably on par with the Sengoku era in popularity and it’s right up there in terms of political upheaval.
In the midst of all this is an orphan, Nio, who trudges on with his own sense of justice. It’s then that he meets two prominent figures, Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Souji, back when the Shinsengumi was still known as the Mibu-ro, the titular Blue Wolves of Mibu.
Nio decides to join the ranks of the Blue Wolves, but will a cruel new perspective of the world bring an end to his ideals? It’s a promising new addition to the samurai anime and is set to premiere this fall.
9. Tougen Anki
Oni and Momotarou are two factions at war. While the former causes chaos, the latter protects the human world from the former. Rebellious and unruly Shiki finds himself caught in the crossfire as his father, Tsuyoshi, gives up his life defending him from another Momotarou.
Turns out Shiki is an Oni, and this incident is the spark plug that ignites his awakening. There’s never been a bad time for more supernatural action series and this looks every bit as exciting for those who are already fans of the genre. The premise is something you’ve probably seen before, reminding me of, say, Blue Exorcist or Jujutsu Kaisen.
In its manga form, however, it boasts some amazing art and only time will tell if the anime’s production quality will exceed those expectations and give us a surprising dark horse series. It’s scheduled for 2025, so a lot can change from here on out, but for now, that’s it’s an anime that you can add to your watch list.
8. Dragon Ball Daima
It wasn’t too long ago that one of the greatest minds in anime history passed, but we still have one last chance to give him a fitting send-off. Yes, Akira Toriyama had left behind one final project for the generations of Dragon Ball fans and it’s set to air this 2024.
Dragon Ball Daima, however, takes the fan-favorite cast in a new direction, much to the mixed reactions from the fans. I mean, kid versions of the characters and a canon spin-off to both Z and Super at that, with it also taking inspiration from legends of the Japanese pop culture scene like Dragon Quest.
It would be awesome to see what Toriyama was cooking. All I can be sure of is that despite Daima seemingly being aimed at a younger audience, old-time anime fans will have something to like too. It is Dragon Ball after all. Daima may just be the last hurrah that looks to shake things up in a way that fans have never seen before.
7. Shangri-La Frontier Season 2
Over the past few years, video game anime has become a mixed bag of reception, so to speak, and while you get some entertaining ones like Bofuri, the cynicism with the genre, possibly partly thanks to how it conflates with a lot of forgettable isekai, is understandable.
Thankfully though, Shangri-La Frontier came by being an anime that really felt like it was made as a love letter to real-life gamers with its game-centric plot that had a lot of heart put into it. For once, the gaming aspects didn’t take a backseat and it came as little surprise, well to me at least, that a sequel was announced.
What was surprising was how soon it was scheduled. Fall 2024 is the date to mark on your calendars, so with only months to go, it won’t be too long before we have ourselves a reunion with Sunraku and the rest of the gang.
6. Blue Box
Our protagonist Taiki has always put his heart into the sport of badminton. He’s also a work ethic extraordinaire, the type of guy who’s the first person in the gym for practice. This time, however, he seems to have found his match, basketball rising star Chinatsu, someone he takes a liking to and happens to always beat him to the punch with practice.
The two seem fated to drift far apart with the up-and-coming Chinatsu being too out of Taiki’s league. That is until one fateful day when Taiki finds out that Chinatsu has become his housemate. If there’s one thing that can close the gap between two sports-minded individuals, it’s the spirit of competition.
Setting his sights on the Nationals, Taiki starts training, hoping to build on his budding new relationship. Romance and sports series aren’t a combination you see too often. They’re quite underutilized if you ask me. Our two main characters also have good chemistry, so their developing bond will be definitely at the forefront of this series moving forward.
5. Hell’s Paradise Season 2
Hell’s Paradise had a rather wild ride of a history entering its season. It had a lot of hype, being one of the more anticipated shonen series thanks to its intriguing plot. In the hands of Mappa, it managed to push through and became a decently entertaining watch with some great fights and character work.
It did feel a bit too short. I mean, that would get addressed, however, as a second season has been announced. Gabimaru and the group’s journey through the treacherous island continues with even bigger challenges ahead of them. The plot thickens as more lines are drawn in the battle against the Tensen.
With the first season having roughly covered a third of the manga material, I’m expecting a third season to follow for things to get wrapped up, so if you’re even mildly interested in the series, don’t miss the second season.
4. Blue Lock 2nd Season
Amongst the many attempts at rejuvenating the sports genre the past couple of years, one name has stood out and stuck. Blue Lock has definitely risen above its peers in terms of popularity and overall appeal, becoming quite the merchandising juggernaut.
Being framed more as a sports take on the dark battle royale genre, it looked good, was exciting to watch, and had a lot of cool moments the fans will remember. If there’s a knock on season 1 though, it’s been the inconsistent art direction that became a tad more evident as the season started winding down.
With a new directorial team, it’s looking like there’s going to be some major shake-ups on the books and only time can tell if they can do better than the season 1 team did. With more hype arcs coming our way, let’s keep our fingers crossed that they bring their A-game.
3. Sakamoto Days
The greatest hitman of all time left that life in the underworld behind, having found love. Now he’s known as Sakamoto, everyday convenience store clerk. Turns out leaving behind a reputation like his is more than he bargained for because it seems that many people from his past line of work didn’t get the notice.
Partners and enemies alike still go after him, and holding on to his promise to completely drop his past of killing people, Sakamoto must find new and creative ways of overcoming these trials, all for the sake of his store, his town, and all he holds dear.
The John Wick-esque premise isn’t anything new. But if it works, it works, and boy does Sakamoto Days make it work with how it blends its action scenes with spirited comedy. In a landscape dominated by dark shonen works, Sakamoto Days feels like a comfy change of pace. It’s going to be a welcome addition to the lineup that looks to open 2025.
2. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Conflict
When the dust settled, the second part of Bleach’s return was met with great reception. With the second season ending on a cliffhanger, fans were left waiting for the next part, and here we are.
Bleach’s Thousand-Year Blood War is set to return with its third part, subtitled The Conflict, promising the return of a lot of fan favorites as well as the usual affair of added scenes to help build the world’s lore. This third part looks to continue the momentum from the first two parts in building to what’s already become the definitive way to enjoy Bleach’s final arc.
Expect expanded battles, more world-building, culmination, and a lot of plot-relevant things to be revealed, all of which never found a spot in the original manga. Bleach fans, rejoice! We’re going to be feasting this 2024.
1. Dandadan
Dandadan is one of the hottest new shows in town, and it’s unlike anything we’ve seen before. You know, a lot of people use that saying as hyperbole of sorts, but one look at Dandadan and you know I’m not exaggerating. It’s an adventure that’s really out of this world with how off the rails things go: ghosts, aliens, monsters, and everything else under the sun.
It feels like someone took Mob Psycho’s premise and chucked all sorts of genre elements at it in the weirdest and most absurd ways possible, and the result is a glorious mess, a catastrophic concoction of madness, yet a damn entertaining one at that too.
You know, Dandadan’s sheer absurdity shines thanks to its spectacular characters who all do a lot of heavy lifting to make things work. As a manga, it is indeed a solid series, but here’s to hoping that the anime will live up to the hype. Fall just can’t come sooner.
That is it from today’s post on Top 10 Upcoming Shonen Anime of 2024 & 2025. If you do not agree with the points in the post and have some of your own opinions, share them with us in the comments section down below. Keep visiting Animesoulking for more information about Anime and Manga.
Also, Read:
Chandan is the writer of “Top 10 Upcoming Shonen Anime of 2024 & 2025”. Also, Connect with me on YouTube and Facebook.
