Uzumaki

What Is the “Big Three” of Anime? (And Why the Term Is a Bit Dated)

The “Big Three” traditionally refers to One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach — three shonen series that dominated Weekly Shonen Jump’s popularity simultaneously in the 2000s — but the term has become less commonly used as newer series have reshaped the genre’s landscape.

The term originated to describe a specific period when One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach ran concurrently in Weekly Shonen Jump and dominated shonen popularity and cultural conversation simultaneously, making them a natural grouping for discussion at the time.

Of the three, Naruto and Bleach have both concluded (Bleach’s manga ended with a later anime continuation, Naruto’s story concluded with sequel content in Boruto), while One Piece remains the only one still actively ongoing in its original form.

More recent discussion sometimes references a broader or updated set of dominant shonen series (including newer hits like Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and My Hero Academia), reflecting how the genre’s landscape has shifted since the original “Big Three” era.

Understand the term as historically specific to the 2000s Naruto/Bleach/One Piece era rather than a permanently fixed ranking — the genre’s dominant series have shifted since then.

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    Original Big Three

    One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach — three series that dominated Weekly Shonen Jump popularity simultaneously in the 2000s.

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    Current status

    Only One Piece remains actively ongoing in original form; Naruto and Bleach have both concluded their main stories.

  • What are the three anime series known as the "Big Three"?

    One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach — three shonen series that dominated Weekly Shonen Jump popularity simultaneously during the 2000s.

  • Is the "Big Three" term still commonly used today?

    Less so — it's historically specific to that era, and more recent discussion often references newer dominant series like Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen instead.