Summary

• The best anime tournaments gather characters for epic battles, like the Interhigh Volleyball Tournament in Haikyu!
• Tournaments in anime vary in structure and rules, but the best arcs create unique and thrilling competitions.
• The Dark Tournament in Yu Yu Hakusho, Tenkaichi Budokai in Dragon Ball, and Duelist Kingdom in Yu-Gi-Oh! are iconic anime tournaments.

The best tournament arcs in anime perfect one of the most beloved tropes in shonen anime. Stand-alone fights are great, but there’s only one thing better: getting as many characters as possible together for an all-out battle to determine the strongest of all.

Typically, an official tournament is held in advancing brackets. However, many shows feel free to be a bit more flexible with the structure and rules. Whatever their format, the best arcs take the time to make their tournaments unique and thrilling, from the comparatively easy first rounds to the nail-biting finals.

10 The Interhigh Volleyball Tournament

Haikyu!!

Considering Haikyu!! is one of the best sports anime ever made, it's no wonder the series would provide fans of shonen with some incredible tournament arcs. Though that competition is tough, the series' best tournament arc is still its first, the Interhigh Volleyball tournament which capped off season 1. The tournament serves as a culmination of all the training and hard work Kurasuno High has put in throughout season 1, and the result is nothing short of marvelous.

While the fist few handful of matches are all enjoyable, what really sets this tournament arc apart is the final match against the private school Aoba Johsai. This match is edge of the seat tense, but most importantly, ends in a loss for Kurasuno high, locking them out of the quarter-finals. This loss serves as a major rallying point for Kurasuno High to up their game and establishes them as under dogs. Though the previous matches might weight the arc as a whole down, the last one is good enough that it earns Haikyu!!'s Interhigh Volleyball Tournament a place among the best tournament arcs of all time.

9 The Dark Tournament Is Long And Brutal

Yu Yu Hakusho

Almost immediately after they form, Team Urameshi is put to the test. They come out on top over many other teams of fighters to qualify for the Dark Tournament, a shady competition run by sleazy humans and fought by vicious demons. The team that wins will be granted one wish.

The Dark Tournament Arc is famously one of the longest arcs in Yu Yu Hakusho. Team Urameshi fights through many opponents, both as a group and in one-on-one matches. All four’s true potential in battle is shown for the first time in spectacular fashion throughout this arc, especially in their fights against Team Toguro, the standout villains of the saga. The arc is iconic for good reason, with intense action and plenty of tense moments.

Watch On Tubi

8 Dragon Ball Holds Many Tenkaichi Budokai Tournaments

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, etc.

Naturally, Dragon Ball has had many tournaments throughout its run. The Cell Games had every hero take on Cell in a one-on-one fight, and the Tournament of Power was fought to decide the fate of many universes. However, the most famous Dragon Ball tournament is the Tenkaichi Budokai, or the World Martial Arts Tournament.

Every four years, the greatest martial artists in the world (adults and children both) gather on Papaya Island to battle and determine who is the greatest bare-fisted fighter under heaven. There are many ways to lose a match in this tournament, including using illegal weapons, ring-outs, and even crying. But the one way to win is by being the absolute best.

Watch On Crunchyroll

7 Ohtori Duelists Fight For The Hand Of The Rose Bride

Revolutionary Girl Utena

This tournament is unique in that most of the population of Ohtori Academy has zero idea it’s happening, let alone are allowed to watch. One of the most powerful student councils in anime fight amongst each other for Anthy Himemiya, the Rose Bride, whose mysterious power they believe will let them revolutionize the world.

While Revolutionary Girl Utena isn't a shonen, the early Ohtori Duelist arc uses many of the genre's trappings, showing shonen's influence even on anime like Utena.

With the signet ring qualifying her as a duelist, Utena Tenjou is a competitor none of them expected. The dueling game does not have many concrete rules, nor do the matches have set times. Every challenge and every battle hones the swords of the fighters, until finally one is strong enough for Akio - who intends to be the only real winner here - to use himself. Revolutionary Girl Utena is famously avant-garde, and that's definitely true of its tournament arc as the series' trademark metaphor-laden imagery leads to fights that are both thrilling to watch and philosophically interesting.

Watch On Crunchyroll

6 The Manalo Conference Is Ash’s Moment Of Glory

Pokemon Sun & Moon

As one of the longest-running anime of all time, Pokémon has had many tournaments to challenge Ash and company. For Trainers and their teams, winning the Pokémon League of each region is one step closer to the ultimate dream: becoming a Pokémon Master. Ash’s dream finally came true when he took on the Alola League.

Though Ash also won the Orange League, Alola was the first time he became regional Champion.

In the shiny and new Manalo Stadium, Ash defeats Gladion, Guzma, Kiawe, and other powerful opponents to finally claim the Champion’s trophy that’s eluded him for real-world years. Though it heralded Ash’s nearing departure from the show, fans everywhere still rejoiced. Ash and Pikachu winning against Tapu Koko in his exhibition match with Kukui was just icing on the cake.

Watch On The Roku Channel

5 The Fall Classic Chooses Tootsuki Academy’s Next Top Chefs

Food Wars! Shokugeki No Souma

Usually, people associate the phrase “Fall Classic'' with traditional sports, from lacrosse to hockey to the World Series. The students of Tootsuki Culinary Academy associate it with the high-stakes tournament they hold every year to decide their class rankings. In their cutthroat environment, impressing in this contest is everything.

Some translations also refer to this tournament as the "Autumn Election."

Students regularly challenge one another to spontaneous one-on-one shokugeki cooking matches. The Fall Classic is more organized; the eight junior chefs who the preliminary round compete in a tournament bracket until a winner is decided. This tournament arc features some of the most surprising victories and wildest dishes ever cooked on Food Wars!

Watch On Hulu

4 The Inter-Middle Championship Decides Multidimensional Victors

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid

What’s the only thing better than a tournament? A magic tournament! The Dimension Sports Academy Association holds the Inter-Middle Championship (usually just called the Inter-Middle by the participants) for the most promising young mages alive to show what they’re made of in front of the whole universe.

Representatives of multiple dimensions, including the previous year’s champion, fight through the preliminary rounds, city championships, to finally world and interdimensional championships. Vivio and her friends must work fast to develop their magical techniques and become strong enough to last against dozens of powerful opponents.

3 The Kengan Annihilation Tournament Leaves Few Alive

Kengan Ashura

In the days of the Roman Empire, gladiator battles in the Colosseum were the most famous life-or-death competitions around. In the world of Kengan Ashura, CEOs fall back on this tried and true method to decide business dealings. They choose a fighter to represent them in the Kengan arena and get them their way by force.

In one of the best boxing anime, battle-hungry street fighter Tokita Ohma is discovered and launched into the Kengan Annihilation Tournament. To win their handlers the chairmanship of the Kengan Association, Tokita and his fellow fighters beat each other bloody in the arena in front of thousands of screaming spectators.

Watch On Netflix

2 Duelist Kingdom Starts The Show With A Bang

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

Similar to Pokémon, the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! runs on the game of Duel Monsters. As such, its many series feature tournament after tournament to determine the best players of the trading card game. They range from traditional bracket matches to more unique formats, like Duelist Kingdom’s Star Chip qualifiers.

The tournament many fans best is the first one in the show: Pegasus’ Duelist Kingdom Tournament. Before they were world champions, Yugi was learning to work as a team with the Pharaoh’s spirit and Joey was coming into his own as a duelist here. This tournament introduces several iconic characters and monsters, as well as the supernatural origins of the game.

Watch On Tubi

1 The Chunin Exam Ends In A Shocking Tournament

Naruto

The genin of the Five Hidden Villages must a lengthy and often deadly exam to level up to chunin rank. While the first phases of the exam are a written test (sort of), a free-for-all among teams in the woods, and randomized one-on-one matches, the final phase of the exams is a tournament-style event with bracketed matches.

From Naruto versus Neji to Sasuke versus Gaara, the final tournament has some of the Naruto. Unlike the qualifying matches, these are public stadium matches that shinobi and Leaf Village civilians alike show up to watch as entertainment. The Sound and Sand Villages use this to their advantage, as they use the final phase to kick off their invasion of the Leaf. Given that it still has some of Naruto's most memorable moments, it's no wonder the Chunin Exams ranks as the best shonen tournament arc of all time.

Watch On Crunchyroll