Who are the Big Three Anime?
The big three anime is One Piece, Dragon Ball and Naruto which are the most popular manga out there in history. First off Dragon Ball created by late Akira Toriyama who passed away March 2024 (the week of my birthday). He was a huge part of my life and many others around the world. Dragon Ball is the most iconic shonen anime to date, without it there will be no Naruto, Demon Slayer, Bleach and many others. The series is about a protagonist named Goku who is a saiyan off villains to protect planet earth. Goku grows stronger throughout the series along with other Z Fighters. There is some cosplayers and famous people make a nod to Dragon Ball. Right now, there is Dragon Ball Sparkling Zero and Daima going on right now. I think Akira’s legacy will live on within new and old generation of Dragon Ball fans.
Next up is One Piece which is created by Eiichiro Oda.This is about a pirate named Monkey D. Luffy who want to find a teasure called One Piece and become king of the pirates. Luffy journey to find his crewmates which he meets throughout the series. As we speak, Oda stated that it’s on the final saga after years of adventure with the Straw Hat Crew. Luffy is similar to Goku fighting off rogue villains and marines as well. He does grow stronger even doning a form which pay homage to Tex Avery cartoons. One Piecs as a successful Netflix live action show.
Continue
I am not going to get into deep witn One Piece and go luck trying to watch 1000+ episodes. There is Naruto, the very last one of the big three. Developd by Masashi Kishimoto, it’s about a protagonist named Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto Uzumaki want to become Hokage (which he does at the end of original series). He experience prejudice because of the Nine Tail Tox (who attack Naruto’s Villiage Konoha) is inside him. Later on Naruto gains allies and fight against rogue ninjas throughout the series. Do you see the pattern here? The series had a long run and was very popular in early 2000s era of anime. Just like One Piece and Dragon Ball, Naruto has some shine on merchs as well.
I play my share of Naruto games and brought some figures as well. That being said, there will be others who will feel the shoes of the three anime. There is Jujustu Kaisen, Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia that will fit the role. Every otaku will keep their eyes peeled for the next big anime show to come on. What will be the best selling manga? Will it come popular to be anime adaptation? Who know, I forgot about Bleach but its very unlikly or not. In closing, I really enjoy them very much and if you want to talk about anime. I have a discord server and second YT channel for it.
Will There be a Big Four
In my opinion alone, I think it might be a big three. We don’t know where the future holds for anime. Again, Dragon Ball, Naruto and One Piece were the big three. If there is a big four anime Bleach might take it but we got My Hero Academia. My Hero Arcademia has ended and will be getting a new season soon enough. What does this anime have in common? All three of them are in Weekly Shonen Jump, which is the most popular pusblishing magazine in Japan. Weekly Shonen Jump features another manga series like Chainsaw Man, Sakamoto Days, Gitama aand Black Clover. Don’t forgot Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter X Hunter both created by Yoshihiro Togashi. People forgot about non-Weekly Shonen Jump animes like One Punch, Attack on Titan and more,
There is alot of potential in this manga series to becoming the father or mother of big 3 anime. But these manga got to capture the reader attention with it’s story, artstyle and sales. Without sales, there will be no anime and will not ranked for “best manga in 2024” or beyond. But there was some big 3 of the 90s such as Slam Dunk and Rurouni Kenshin. I haven’t seen Slam Dunk in ages since I was in College, but there was a movie called “The First Slam Dunk” that was released in December 3, 2022. As far Rurouni Kenshin goes, there is a reboot in 2023 that covers first story arc and Kyoto. Feel free to check out on Crunchyroll, I have enjoyed it so far because I have watch 1996 tv series along with OVAs.
Closing
People will ask what is the new big 3 anime? You the fans will have to decide on that. Its based on opinion of other anime fans or otakus whatever you call yourselves. There is a fandom out for these manga series being transform into anime. You can see the disscussions on forums, social media and especially YouTube. There might be videos on these subjects and sometimes its there own opinion. What does creators think about this? I am sure they will get a kick out of this. What are your thoughts on big 3 anime? Let me know in the comments below and thank for reading this blog post. Stay tune for the next one from yours truly.
