Why the Big 3 Still Outshine the Dark Shonen Trio

The Big 3, consisting of Naruto , One Piece , and Bleach, is a term coined by Western anime fans to refer to the three most dominant, popular, and influential shonen titles of the 2000s. In the 2020s, however, as the shonen demographic was undergoing notable changes and its audience’s tastes shifted towards more mature, bleaker topics, a new supreme triad emerged called the Dark Shonen Trio .