The concept of a tournament arc is one that all anime fans should be familiar with. The tournament arc is probably one of the most well-known tropes in anime and for good reason, it is always a fantastic addition to a series.
So many shows have taken on their own spin on the classic tournament archetype. While some keep to the more traditional tournament style, others take things in a completely unique and exciting direction to match the style of the show.
After much consideration, here are what we consider to be the 15 best anime tournament arcs.
15. Dragon Ball – The 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
We’re starting off with one of anime’s earliest and most iconic tournament arcs: the World Martial Arts Tournament from Dragon Ball.
Of course, across Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT, there are quite a few World Martial Arts Tournaments to consider, but we have to go with one of the best, the 23rd.
The 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament was the last arc in the original Dragon Ball series and saw the rivalry of Goku and Piccolo Jr. bloom before ultimately coming to a thrilling climax as Goku came out the victor.
More than a tournament title was on the line here as Piccolo Jr. sought to continue his father’s evil ways, but of course, Goku managed to pull out the W, removing the threat of his foe. This is also pretty much the only time we really see the rivals duke it out as Piccolo develops a bit of a soft spot for Goku’s son in Dragon Ball Z, before the two ultimately became friends and allies.
14. Deadman Wonderland – Carnival Corpse
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
As the name implies, this is definitely one of the darker entries on our list.
Deadman Wonderland’s Carnival Corpse pits Deadmen against each other in a battle to the death, all for the entertainment of the Undertakers as they watch idly by, placing their bids on who they think will win.
Deadmen, for those who haven’t watched the show, are humans who have been infected by the Nameless Worm –a parasite that gives the host an extraordinary power to manipulate their blood to be used as a weapon.
Some of the match-ups in the Carnival Corpse arc are gruesome, terrifying, and heart-breaking, but you won’t want to look away.
13. Haikyuu!! – Spring Interhigh Qualifiers
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
For the players in Haikyuu!!, volleyball is everything and so every match may as well be a fight to the death. However, no match felt quite as important as the ones in the Spring Interhigh Qualifiers.
Sports in anime and sports in real life aren’t all that different, an athlete’s goal is ultimately the same –to win. The Spring Interhigh Qualifiers saw several incredible matches between Karasuno High and some fierce competitors, with the series’ starring team pulling out some impressive wins.
There may be plenty more matches to come following the Spring Interhigh Qualifiers, but this was one tournament we can’t overlook.
12. Food Wars – Tōtsuki Autumn Election
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
Food Wars isn’t just a fun name for the show; it is the name of the game as the characters regularly compete in intense cooking competitions known as Food Wars.
The Tōtsuki Autumn Election is the first real tournament of the series and saw some great matches, before ultimately ending in a three-way battle between Soma, Akira, and Ryo.
The Tōtsuki Autumn Election defined what a Food War really means and gave us plenty of matches to exemplify that meaning. If you thought a show about cooking wouldn’t be very exciting, Food Wars is ready to prove you wrong.
11. The God of High School – The God of High School tournament
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
The God of High School doesn’t just have a tournament arc; no, instead it is a full-on tournament show. The show’s name “The God of High School” derives from the God of High School tournament present in the series.
The show opens with the primarily round for the God of High School tournament, rivaling high school students from Seoul against each other in hopes of advancing to the Regional Tournament, and finally the National Tournament where the winner will allegedly get any one wish granted.
The show has a great cast and incredible fight choreography. The only reason its relatively low on this list is because unlike other shows that use a tournament arc as a fun and exciting way to show off character’s improvement, The God of High School is all about the tournament –losing a little bit of what makes a tournament arc so special to begin with.
10. Yu-Gi-Oh – Battle City
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
The Duelist Kingdom tournament was incredible, and we’re not denying that. However, when we think of Yu-Gi-Oh, Battle City is the first arc to come to mind.
The tournament saw so many incredible moments from Joey’s close call against Odion, all the way to Yugi beating both Kaiba, and Yami Marik in the same tournament. He even managed to collect all three Egyptian God cards in the process.
The Battle City Tournament is technically split into two halves due to the presence of the Virtual World arc taking place in the middle of the action. However, for the sake of this list and due to the fact that neither half is complete without the other, we decided to throw them in as one entry in the list.
9. Pokémon – Sinnoh Pokémon League
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
While it is just one of many examples of Ash winning the Pokémon League, the Sinnoh Pokémon League from Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl: Sinnoh League Victors is by far one of the best in the series.
Not only did Ash make it all the way to the semi-finals, he had to beat his latest rival Paul to get there.
Paul was a special kind of rival –a character that you just hate so much that you can’t help but recognize him as the perfect rival for Ash. Paul is Ash’s complete antithesis as he shows very little regard for his Pokémon on his quest to gain power.
Their rivalry really began when Paul released his Chimchar as he deemed it be too weak for his team. After countless losses to Paul throughout the series, watching Ash beat Paul with his old Chimchar, who has now fully evolved into Infernape, was an incredible payoff and a great way to end the Sinnoh series.
8. Dragon Ball Super – Tournament of Power
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
We’ve already included the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament from the original Dragon Ball. However, Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power is not only different enough from the classic entry in the list, but is also just too damn good not to include.
The Tournament of Power is a little bit different than Dragon Ball’s standard tournament formula as it steps away from the classic 1v1 match-ups in favor of an all out battle royale between the universes.
With the fate of Universe 7 on the late, we get to see unlikely allies form with Freiza and Android 17 joining the Z fighters in the tournament. Not to mention, Master Roshi goes all out and it is incredible.
The Dragon Ball franchise has a lot of tournaments to consider, but as the most action-packed, high stakes of the bunch, the Tournament of Power is worthy of making the list.
7. Hunter x Hunter – Heavens Arena
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
Heavens Arena may not be the best arc in Hunter x Hunter, but it is a great tournament and well worth its placement on this list.
Serving as a sort of training arc for Gon and Killua, Heavens Arena tasked the young fighters to win 200 matches in hopes of making it to the top floor, where Gon would finally face off against Hikosa.
Gon and Killua really upped their game during this arc, learning the basics of nen and how to effectively use it in battle. Without this arc, the two wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight with any of the series big wigs from this point on.
It was crucial to their development as fighters, as well as for Gon personally as he finally got to have his rematch with Hikosa –a moment he’s been waiting for ever since the hunter exam.
6. One Piece – Corrida Colosseum
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
The Corrida Colosseum tournament was only a small section of the Dressrosa Arc –which is not surprising considering how long the arc actually is. However, its impact lasts far beyond the final match.
The Corrida Colosseum tournament saw some incredible match-ups full of a cast of new characters, in addition to a few very surprising returns. Not only did we get to see Bellamy for the first time since the Sky Island Saga –some 600 episodes earlier– we also got to witness the reunion of Luffy and his brother, Sabo, who until now was thought to have died years ago.
Sabo winning the tournament and claiming Ace’s old Devil Fruit, the Mera Mera no Mi, would have been the icing on the cake, but the tournament entrants all banding together against Doflamingo and later forming the Straw Hat Grand Fleet really stole the show.
5. My Hero Academia – Sports Festival
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
My Hero Academia’s sports festival came at the perfect time for the series. As a relatively new show just starting its second season, the sports festival was the perfect way for the series to develop some of its key characters.
Most importantly, Todoroki. Not only did we get to learn more about his dark backstory and his issues with his father, we got to see the plot come to a boil in an explosive 1v1 between him and Midoriya. A fight that surely ate a large chunk of the season’s budget.
While All Might vs. One for All may have taken the cake for the series’ best fight so far, Todoroki vs. Midoriya held that title for a while.
4. Black Clover – Royal Knights Selection Exam
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
The Royal Knights were formed for a reason: to take down the Eye of the Midnight Sun. In order to achieve this goal, the Royal Knights would have to include the best of the best, and the selection exam was the perfect way to put this elite squad together.
The entire selection exam was one exciting battle after another, ultimately culminating to a couple of the series’ best fights up until that point.
The fight between Yuna and Rill, and the fight between Asta and Langris were both excellent, but nothing beats a little sibling rivalry.
The match-up between Finral and Langris may not have been the most even, but it was an unexpectedly thrilling watch. It was heavily built up to, and managed to not only meet expectations but to blow them out of the water.
It also developed Finral’s character beyond that of a woman-crazed fool, and gave us the incredible still shown above.
3. Fairy Tail – The Grand Magic Games
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
The Grand Magic Games served as Fairy Tail’s reintroduction to the world after seven years without its strongest members.
Natsu and the gang needed to show the world that they are back and ready to rumble, but with Fairy Tail being the laughing stock of the tournament, they had a long way to go to take down the new kids on the block, Sabertooth.
The final fight between the four Dragon slayers, or well mostly three as Natsu managed to take down both of Sabertooth’s Dragon slayers, Sting and Rogue, on his own, was an incredible fight and a fantastic way to highlight how strong Fairy Tail has gotten since their loss on Tenrou Island.
The tournament also revealed a lot of the show’s backstory, including some much needed lore, setting up the rest of the arc beautifully.
2. Yu Yu Hakusho – Dark Tournament
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
The Dark Tournament is only the second saga in the series, but yet still manages to stand out as one of, if not the best parts of Yu Yu Hakusho.
The Dark Tournament may be the only entry on this list able to rival Deadman Wonderland for being, well, dark.
The tournament is run by a group of corrupt humans looking to make a quick buck. The tournament contestants consist of some of the most vile, violent creatures of the spirit world looking to bask in the blood of their opponents.
The tournament throws fight after fight at Team Urameshi, and despite some close calls, the group lead by the spirit detective surprisingly wins most of their matches.
The tournament really comes to its peek with the long-awaited fight between Yusuke and Toguro, the main antagonist of the show’s first two sagas.
1. Naruto – Chunin Exams
Best Anime Tournament Arcs
The further we got in this list, the harder it became choosing one tournament over another, but there was no doubt that Naruto’s Chunin Exams deserved the number one slot.
Even after hundreds of episodes across the two series, the Chunin Exams still holds some of Naruto’s greatest fights. Sasuke vs. Gaara, Rock Lee vs. Gaara, Naruto vs. Gaara… Okay, most of the best fights were against Gaara but the kid was just such a good villain and foil to Naruto at the time, that every fight against him held high stakes in a supposedly harmless tournament.
The Chunin Exams built up the show’s world and set up so many of the show’s key plot points, from fleshing out the concept of a Jinchuriki, to expanding the world’s scope beyond the Hidden Leaf Village.
It also set up Sasuke’s future as a rogue ninja, which clearly became a vital part of the series.
If the Chunin Exams weren’t so damn good, who knows how successful the show would have been. Luckily, they were that good, so we have no need to wonder otherwise!
Published: Jan 26, 2021 09:19 am