An Anime is incomplete without arcs that make you sit on the edge of your seat.
An arc is an opportunity for an Anime to boast its wide range of characters, their developments, and world-building in only a dozen or so episodes. An arc can completely change the situational setting and tempo of an Anime, making it go from child-friendly entertainment to pure gore and bloodshed, all within a single arc.
So without delay, let’s go over what makes an Anime arc good.
What exactly is an anime arc?
An arc is a distinct segment of a story. The anime has a general plot, however, the arcs are unique sections of the plot that focus on a particular aspect of the story. They’re essentially subplots within the main plot.
Because it is a big element of the anime plotline, the anime is broken into distinct arcs that make up the complete plot. So if you’re in the first major arc, you get a piece of the whole picture, the second a larger piece, and so on until the final arc, where the entire anime connects from beginning to end and you get the complete plot.
In anime, what is the distinction between an arc and a season?
An anime season is a long collection of episodes released on a (relatively) regular basis over a certain period of time. The episodes are mostly linked by their release dates.
Arcs, on the other hand, are stories within the show that are directly related and span multiple episodes. An arc maybe two or three episodes long, but it is ultimately one story told within the limitations of a season.
Unless they are part of the same arc, episodes within a season may have nothing in common. The arc is essentially the stories told within the season, whereas the season is simply a collection of episodes linked together by their release dates.
What are the 7 Parts of a Story Arc?
These are the seven parts of a story arc:
- Exposition: This is the introduction where everything like the characters, time, genre, and theme is introduced.
- Inciting Incident: This is when something goes wrong and the main character starts attempting to fix it. The story begins from here.
- Rising Action: The story continues to build here and the plot becomes more complex and exciting. The main character goes through some ups and downs.
- Crisis: This is when the main character faces a lot of challenges that it seems almost impossible to get out of the circumstances.
- Climax: This is the most thrilling part. The main character usually takes some important decision to fix things up.
- Falling Action: The consequences of the main character’s decision are shown here. The tension begins to tone down.
- Resolution: The End!
What Is An Example of Good Anime Arcs?
These are some of the best Anime arcs:
Yorknew City Arc From Hunter X Hunter
The first several arcs of the Hunter x Hunter Anime (2011) are all colorful, somewhat wholesome, and childlike until the Yorknew City Arc completely throws everything off, making Hunter X Hunter go from a typical shonen to a darker more serious shoujo.
| Written by | Yoshihiro Togashi |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Demographic | Shonen |
| Original run | March 16th, 1998 till present |
| Volumes | 36 Volume List |
Viewers that prefer a bit of blood and gore are treated to the Yorknew City Arc and Kurapika’s vindictiveness quest, He wants to eradicate the Phantom Troupe, the world’s most infamous and influential gang of Nen users.
Without spoiling too much, it takes place in an underground auction setting that turns into a spectacular bloodbath, that’s only the beginning of the most intense arc this show has to offer.
This arc had serious implications, a missed step from the protagonists would result in their certain deaths, this is even more prominent when we find out that The World’s greatest gangs, dons, Assasins, Nen-users, and The Phantom Troupe themselves have gathered in the same den.
This arc is a prime example of outstanding tempo and character development, Hunter x Hunter was viewed as a children’s show with a bright and vibrant world until the once-timid Kurapika decided that he was going to take the world’s strongest gang.
Return To Shiganshina Arc From Attack on Titan
Ah—betrayal, death, and being lied to, are all the factors that go into making a suspenseful arc that completely changes up a story.
Our entire set of beliefs was suspended in mid-air. The Scouts had to reseal Maria’s hole while fighting off 3 of the Titan Shifters.
Nobody could have predicted what would happen in this arc. Anyone who claims otherwise is lying.
Commander Erwin, had a brutal yet spur-of-the-moment plan, A kamikaze If you will. A single plan led to the death and rebirth of “humanity”
Every fight was intense and full of suspense. Especially during the Beast Titan attack, the subsequent slaughter committed by Levi was all the more satisfying.
After all the death and loss, humanity finally achieved their goals of uncovering the secrets of Grisha Yeager’s cellar. Humanity was able to escape the confinements of those large walls, only to find themselves now trapped in a world that’s much larger and much darker. All of this gave rise to more questions in the viewers’ minds.
Marineford Arc From One Piece
A good arc is an arc that elicits strong emotional responses from viewers and Marineford does exactly that.
It’s perhaps one of the most iconic arcs in One Piece. The momentous implications of Marineford forever altered the narrative and the characters.
Did you think that pirates are only after treasure and money? No, well it depends on the pirate. For pirates like Luffy, friends, and family are more important than any treasure, even One Piece.
We all were distraught to save Ace, just like Luffy and the rest of the pirates. The amount of backstory that paid off in this plotline was dwarfed by the proportion of setup for future arcs. It completely changed the pacing of One Piece.
Luffy and the Straw Hats were ready to challenge the government and the marines, to save Ace, who was on death row.
What makes an Arc in Anime?
To make an arc you need a certain segment or subject of the Anime on which the entire focus will be placed.
There are 2 types of arcs in an Anime:
- A story arc;
- and a character arc
An arc is a story segment in a Manga or Anime series.
It’s placed in a specific location during a specific event and it’s frequently named after that location (as in One Piece arcs like Water 7) or after the arc’s main antagonist.
Some Mangas lack longer arcs. They have epics that are broken down into smaller arcs.
I’ll use Naruto’s first arc as an example. Since it’s placed in the Land of Waves, it is known as the Land of Waves arc. However, some refer to it as the Zabuza arc because the arc’s main antagonist is Zabuza Momochi. This is the initial arc of the Naruto Anime and Manga.
It begins in episode 1, and the prologue is also included in this arc.
An arc can also be named after a tournament or a rescue mission, such as the Sasuke Retrieval arc in Naruto.
Here’s a summary of what goes into making an arc:
- An arc is a subplot of the main plot.
- It frequently introduces new locations, characters (including villains), abilities, and epic battles.
- It frequently concludes when the arc’s main villain is defeated or when the protagonist accomplishes something significant to the main plot line.
- It aids in the progression of the plot and the development of the characters.
What makes a Good Character Arc?
A character arc is a character’s conversion or inner journey throughout a story.
If a narrative has a character arc, the persona begins as one type of person and progressively morphs into a different type of person as the story progresses.
The change is frequently substantial and gives rise from one personality trait to the polar opposite trait. A good character arc has a strong storyline and great character development, it helps us to learn more about the character and narrates the character’s story in such a way that the viewers either fell in love with the character (if he’s portrayed as a hero) or start hating him (if he’s a villain).
Here are some examples of a good character arc:
Himura Kenshin From Rurouni Kenshin
Kenshin‘s character is fascinating in how drastically he has changed from one of the greatest and most lethal swordsmen of his period to a wandering pacifist. This personality change contributes to his character arc.
Fans don’t realize how much he has changed until they see the film Samurai X, which is based on his life as a serial killer.
The show presents Kenshin with numerous opportunities to return to violence, but he maintains his moral compass.
Vegeta From Dragon Ball Z
Vegeta is arguably one of the most iconic foe-turned-friendly characters in all of Anime. His personality change is very drastic and it is constantly changing towards a kinder more gentle human-like personality.
He joins the Earth’s heroes, and while he’s still a jerk who sees himself as number one, he associates with the good guys and fights other villains.
Fans adored him as a villain. He was full of himself, thirsty for vengeance, and greedy for power, and he belonged to the same race as the central protagonist, Goku.
However, As the series progresses, he evolves into a family man. He has a daughter and a son from his relationship with a human woman.
Armin From Attack On Titan
At the start of Attack on Titan, we see kid Armin as a street urchin who is constantly kicked and bullied, because of his timid and anti-standoffish nature.
He completely lacks confidence and considers himself to be frail and unqualified for his fortune.
However, as the story progresses, he gains the courage and intelligence of a military commander.
He also becomes very brave and puts himself in extreme danger to protect his friends.
Now here’s an example of a bad character arc:
Misa From Death Note
Misa is like the textbook example of a bad character arc, Although I consider Death Note to be a masterpiece, it severely lacks in creating compelling characters.
Misa is a character with a lot of untapped potentials.
She’s powerful because she made the sacrifice that Light refused to make to obtain Shinigami’s eyes. She’s, however, completely obsessed with him and allows him to use her as a tool in his schemes.
It would have been great to see Misa change in some way before Death Note ended.
However, she remains the same throughout the story, obsessed with Light, and this obsession leads to her eventual suicide after Light’s death.
Conclusion
- There are seven parts of a story arc.
- An arc is an opportunity for an Anime to boast its wide range of characters, their developments, and world-building in only a dozen or so episodes, an arc can completely change the situational setting and tempo of an Anime, making it go from child-friendly entertainment to pure gore and bloodshed, all within a single arc.
- The first several arcs of the Hunter x Hunter Anime (2011) are all colorful, somewhat wholesome, and childlike until the Yorknew City Arc completely throws everything off, making Hunter X Hunter go from a typical Shounen to a darker more serious Shoujo.
- In the Return To Shiganshina Arc, humanity was able to escape the confinements of those large walls, only to find themselves now trapped in a world that’s much larger and much darker.
- A good character arc has a strong storyline and great character development, it helps us to learn more about the character and narrates the character’s story in such a way that the viewers either fell in love with the character (if he’s portrayed as a hero) or start hating him (if he’s a villain).