It has become a tradition at this point that every popular shonen anime receives a movie adaptation. It makes sense from a business perspective. When a studio has one of the world’s most beloved and recognizable franchises, the movie business provides a great opportunity to cash in on that popularity.
While new franchises like Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer have recently used films to continue their canonical story, many older franchises used films exclusively for non-canonical spinoffs. Naruto itself has nearly a dozen spinoff films, while One Piece boasts an impressive list of 14. With this many non-canonical stories, most of these movies are bound to be lackluster, but a fair bit manage to impress even the most cynical of fans.
10 One Piece Film: Z Enriched The Anime’s World Even More
One of the greatest non-canonical anime movies comes from the world of One Piece. One Piece has built a name for itself with its fantastical worldbuilding and intriguing political structure. But even though it has over a thousand episodes, the anime still doesn’t have time to explore every nook and cranny of its world.
One Piece Film: Z had the unique opportunity to expand on the history of the Marines. Many fans adore the original character of Z the film created and believe his addition to the canon would help flesh out the World Government.
9 Naruto Shippuden: Blood Prison Was A Unique Take On The Formula
Many popular shonen anime fall victim to their own formula for success. When things are going right, it’s easy for a story to try and repeat what got it there. While that’s entirely understandable, many fans yearn for these popular shonen to break up the formula.
Naruto Shippuden: Blood Prison did exactly that when it took Naruto and placed him in the unorthodox setting of a dangerous prison. The story was a unique addition to the world of Naruto and even got reincorporated later on in the sequel series, Boruto.
8 Hunter X Hunter: The Last Mission Brought Fans Back To Heaven’s Arena
Hunter X Hunter has an incredibly rich world with complex political factions constantly at work. Yet the story is quick to abandon settings, often looking ahead towards new, fresh ideas instead of reveling in the old ones. But fans couldn’t help being charmed by things like Heaven’s Arena, a tower dedicated to 1v1 combat amongst the world’s greatest fighters.
While the official anime moved past Heaven’s Arena fairly quickly, fans got their chance to revisit the tower in Hunter X Hunter: The Last Mission, as well as meet up with Gon and Killua’s old comrade Zushi.
7 My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising Was The Original, Planned Ending
Fans have speculated about the My Hero Academia ending for years. With the series quickly approaching its conclusion, many wonder if the beloved franchise can stick its landing. But these fans can look towards My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising for a hint at what is to come.
This film is rumored to be adapted from the manga’s original, planned ending with a sequence involving Deku passing on his quirk to Bakugo and working together to take down the villain. While this concept has likely been scrapped, the film is fascinating to watch knowing how it could’ve potentially linked to the canonical series.
6 One Piece: Baron Omatsuri And The Secret Island Made The Anime Classy
It’s no secret that many popular shonen spinoff films are made with the motive of profit. These series are some of the most beloved in the entire world, and studios use movies as an opportunity to cash in on that popularity. But every once in a while, fans see glimmers of genius in these works.
One Piece: Baron Omatsuri And The Secret Island features the directorial talent of Mamoru Hosada, one of the greatest living animation directors in the world. It’s a unique crossover of talent, leading to one of the most visionary One Piece movies ever made.
5 Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower Reunited Fan Favorite Characters
One of the most beloved and treasured characters in the Naruto canon is the Fourth Hokage, Minato. Unfortunately for fans, Minato is only occasionally sprinkled into the actual anime, with a few flashbacks here and there and one prominent stay in the War arc. But these fans can take to Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower to scratch that itch for Minato content.
The movie features a time travel plot where Naruto gets to go on a mission with his father from the past. It’s a charming movie that more than delivers on the necessary fanservice.
4 Hunter X Hunter: Phantom Rouge Was Based Off Of A Canon Idea
When a creator works on a series, they often go through multiple different drafts before landing on the specific idea that makes it to print. Some of these drafts end up finding their way to the public and make for fascinating case studies of the artistic process.
Hunter X Hunter: Phantom Rouge is a rare scenario where the film adapts an original idea from Hunter X Hunter‘s creator that had been previously scrapped. While the film isn’t canon to the actual story, it provides a unique insight into one of manga’s greatest geniuses.
3 One Piece: Stampede Is The Fanservice Everyone Wanted
A shonen spinoff movie can’t always be a work of high art. At the very least, fans buy tickets to these films in the hopes that they can witness appropriate fanservice that reminds them why they love these anime. One Piece: Stampede is exactly the type of fanservice these viewers want.
The movie features a collection of One Piece‘s most popular characters in a race that lets them highlight each character’s unique powers and personality. It may not be the most classy of movies, but it is everything fans want and need from a spinoff film.
2 My Hero Academia: Two Heroes Gave All Might One More Chance To Shine
In the official story of My Hero Academia, All Might has long since passed his power to Deku. While he initially had flashes of opportunity to show off his strength, that window became more and more limited with each passing day. In the current continuity, All Might is fully retired and has almost no access to his former powers.
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes gives All Might that one last chance in the spotlight. The final battle of this film is everything a fan could possibly want in a fight featuring All Might and Deku on the same team.
1 Naruto: Guardians Of The Crescent Moon Kingdom Gave Rock Lee A Spotlight
The Naruto anime has a massive cast of characters that fans have come to love. But in spite of its hundreds of episodes, many of these side characters end up without a place in the actual series. These characters are often forgotten and left to waste, leaving a great opportunity for a spinoff film to pick them back up.
Naruto: Guardians Of The Crescent Moon Kingdom did just that when it put together a team of Naruto, Sakura, and Rock Lee for a mission. Rock Lee got an amazing showcase with beautiful animation that reminded everyone of why they loved this side character.
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