The art of conversation isn’t dead, even in shonen anime. While shonen anime tend to end their confrontations or story arcs with massive battles, beam struggles, or some combination of the two, a conversation can really turn things around and help to either avoid a fight or start an important story arc.

From Vegeta’s final explosion being preceded by his conversation with Goku in Dragon Ball Z’s Majin Buu Saga to Usopp nearly leaving the Straw Hats crew in One Piece, it’s clear that conversations have just as much impact as fight scenes in shonen anime. This article will showcase 10 important conversations in shonen anime that changed the course of their series.

Disclaimer: The following article will contain spoilers for a wide selection of popular shonen anime. The opinions expressed therein are only those of the author.

10 important shonen anime conversations that changed the course of their stories

1) Saiyan reveals, future warnings, and final explosions (Dragon Ball Z)

Dragon Ball Zhas a plethora of important conversations. From Goku discovering his Saiyan heritage back in the beginning to Trunks’ dire warning much later on, this shonen anime have more than a few conversations fans tend to overlook. To simplify this entry, it’ll only have a couple of them.

Starting off, there are Android 16’s last words to Gohan to save the world. Raditz’s rant toward Goku about the Saiyans is likewise included. Finally, there is Trunks’ dire warning involving the Androids in the future and Vegeta’s conversations before his final explosion.

Raditz’s rant at Goku confirmed the existence of aliens in Dragon Ball and was a huge plot twist. Trunks’ dire warning from the future saved everyone’s lives, including Goku’s, and saw Goku take a backseat as the protagonist. Gohan went Super Saiyan 2, much like his dad did on Namek when 16 died. Vegeta’s last words to his son cemented his turn into a good guy.

2) Truths, friendships rekindling, and revelations (Naruto)

Like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto has had plenty of conversations that have changed the status quo or revealed something that informed what came before. There are many events and conversations throughout one of the Big Three shonen anime to fill several books on the whys and hows that they completely changed things.

Like the Dragon Ball Z example, this one has several entries. The truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, the Sage of Six Path’s revelations, Naruto meeting his parents and helping the Tailed Beasts, and Sasuke finally acknowledging Naruto as a friend are among the few that were chosen.

The truth of the massacre came from the reborn Third Hokage, therefore closing that mystery and clearing Sasuke’s head. Naruto finally meeting his parents and helping Kurama were important moments that helped everyone, including the Tailed Beast. The Sage of Six Paths’ revelations changed Naruto and Sasuke’s roles and the whole story, and Sasuke dropping the rivalry was the culmination of his character development.

3) Quirks attained, atonement, and Heroes saving Heroes (My Hero Academia)

There are plenty of conversations in My Hero Academiathat end up swinging the status quo out of control. This shonen anime is chock-full of important moments, conversations especially, that drive people and the plot forward. It’s nearly impossible to truly summarize them all.

To put just a few of them into perspective: there’s Deku and All Might’s conversation(s) about One for All and Deku meeting the vestiges, Endeavor’s apology and atonement toward the rest of his family, and Class 1-A’s helping of Deku/helping of Aoyama.

All Might passing on One for All to Deku and Deku meeting the vestiges is important as it reveals the gravity of All for One’s threat. Endeavor’s atonement arc is likewise important, showing how the new Number One Hero has changed. Class 1-A helping Deku and Aoyama shows how far they’ve come as heroes that help instead of treating them as irredeemable.

4) Stands, time loops, and a really bad boss (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventurehas the word « bizarre » in it for a reason; it’s absolutely bonkers, and yet it makes sense. This shonen anime series has plenty of conversations amidst all the action that ultimately turns things on their head or reveals something that turns the story around.

The reveal of Stands in Stardust Crusaders serves as one example. Serial killer Yoshikage Kira’s time loop plan backfires on him by monologuing too loud in Diamond is Unbreakable. Likewise, the one and two punch of the boss’ reveal in Golden Wind and DIavolo’s death.

Stands were ultimately a game changer for Jojo because it made virtually anyone a threat, especially when the topic of Stand Arrows was revealed. Kira’s time loop plan backfired owing to Hayato’s brilliance in using the prior loops to talk to Josuke, learn his phone number, and record the serial killer to reveal him.

Likewise, Golden Wind sees Diavolo’s reveal and the time skipping King Crimson’s reveal, and Giorno Giovana reveals Diavolo’s fate of being stuck in a death loop.

5) Treasure, friends fighting, and quitting bad jobs (One Piece)

For a swashbuckling adventure across the ocean, with all the associated islands, people, and big fights, One Pieceis also a shonen anime that shows plenty of conversations worth looking into. Major betrayals, reveals, and all manner of things happen that are preceded by two or more people talking to each other.

One of the more important ones was when Usopp nearly left the Straw Hats crew during the Water 7 arc. Another was White Beard, bloody and bruised, at Marineford, confidently yelling that the One Piece did indeed exist. The third and more understated moment was Luffy giving Nami his hat. A fourth is Jinbei leaving Big Mom.

The Water 7 moment nearly shatters Usopp’s faith in Luffy and their mission since Luffy considered scrapping the Going Merry for another ship, and the two fought over the ship’s sentimental value.

The second, with White Beard at Marineford, prompted a mass pirate migration to the New World and upset the balance of power. Luffy giving Nami his hat was important for solidifying their friendship. Jinbei leaving Big Mom showed that Pirate Emperors could be resisted and lived out to tell the tale.

6) A death god and a vengeful student start a crusade (Death Note)

Death Noteis arguably one of the more conversation and mind-game-focused shonen anime, where even a single solitary slip can mean any number of fates, including death itself. While that is an exaggeration, the mind games and metaphorical chess game between Light Yagami and L Lawliet captivated many fans.

Several important events happened due to a conversation, including Light and Ryuk’s first meeting, L and Light’s mind games and working as part of the Kira task force, and the showdown that led to Light’s ultimate demise in the divisive second season.

The fact that Ryuk and Light’s first meeting is what kickstarts the series and ultimately leads to the end is what’s being highlighted here. A regular high school student, the son of a police detective no less, meets and converses with a god of death and starts killing people with a book is just one major inciting incident that forever changes everyone’s lives in Death Note.

7) Threats, final words, and meetings among enemies (Attack on Titan)

Even a shonen anime about surviving giant monsters can have some sentimental conversations, especially those that precede something horrifying. Sometimes it’s final words, sometimes it’s a reveal, sometimes it’s just two people conversing after a horrible event trying to keep each other sane.

Several conversations that turned everything upside down included Eren talking with Reiner before the attack on Marley, Eren’s conversation with Historia, the captured Marleyans talking with the Scouts, and even something as simple as Eren talking with Zeke and the Founder Ymir.

All of these have the importance of helping things along. Eren confirms he can indeed sympathize with Reiner before tearing apart Marley’s military leadership; Eren and Historia discuss alternatives to his Rumbling plan; The Marleyans and Scouts working together fought against Eren; Eren using the Paths kickstarts the events of the series.

8) Future Devil, meeting Makima, and POWER! (Chainsaw Man)

Yes, even a shonen anime as bloody and gory as Chainsaw Manhas important conversations. Granted, they mostly involve either flashbacks with Aki and Himeno or Denji and Power trying to get along and foreshadowing Makima’s ultimate role in everything, but they count.

A few of these conversations included Himeno and Aki telling each other why they got into the business, revealing the true extent of the Gun Devil’s threat. Then there was Power genuinely beginning to warm up to Denji, even if it didn’t seem like it. Finally, at least for the anime’s current run time, there was the inciting incident: Denji getting ambushed by the Zombie Devil.

All of these are important. Up until the point Denji got bonded with Pochita and became the titular Chainsaw Man, Denji had been living on the street to pay off a debt. After being found and accepting Makima’s job offer, Denji got acquainted with his new partners. This included getting Power to start caring about him. Meanwhile, Aki had a meaningful relationship with Himeno, and the Future Devil helped him get revenge for her death.

9) An entrance exam went awry, and a villain finally met (Spy x Family)

For a shonen anime focusing on spy work and not communicating the truth with their significant other, Spy x Familyhas several conversations of importance that ultimately push the status quo into orbit. This isn’t an exaggeration either, since the status quo from episode 3 and onward is that Loid, Anya, and Yor live together.

As this will be focused on the anime, a few things that affect the plot are conversation based. One that particularly stands out is Loid getting his foot in the door regarding Damian Desmond and the entrance exam/interview Anya had to go through.

The two moments stand out as particularly important in Operation STRIX. The entrance mock interview was a practice in self-control for both Yor and Loid, showing that they could’ve killed the teacher who insulted Anya and got her in. The final episode of season 1 shows Twilight finally talking to his target and getting his foot in the door in a surprisingly tense sequence.

10) A twisted phrase and abandoned friend (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury)

Of all the examples of a shonen anime where mecha action happens, The Witch from Mercuryhas plenty of conversations that throw everything out of proportion. Like many of the examples already listed, this is a tough choice for this shonen anime.

There’s everything between Suletta and Mirorine, Prospera scheming and blaming Miroine for participating in Quiet Zero, Nika being revealed as a spy and nearly killed for it, and many others. This was a difficult choice between « Move Forward, Gain Two » or the latest episode in season 2 where Eri and Suletta speak.

They both shook the series up: the former because it’s a form of mental suggestion that twists Suletta’s personality, the latter because it’s a spiraling catastrophe of things going wrong for Suletta. The former led Suletta to smash a man into a fine paste to save Miorine, and the latter had Aerial abandon Suletta following the two having a mind-altering conversation about Eri’s status in cyberspace.

Thus ends the list of 10 conversations in shonen anime wherein the status quo and narration moved and changed a lot in their respective narrations or meant more than what anyone could perceive at the time. This proves that action scenes aren’t the only things that matter; sometimes, a good conversation can lead to character development.

While this is more seen in seinen, shojo, or even josei anime, shonen anime has these examples and plenty more. If any other examples in shonen anime leap out at viewers and weren’t listed here, feel free to list them in the comments.