Honestly JJK has a spot here too.
Would you agree that these 9 are the big 3 for each generation?
DiscussionThey’re around like 13 or 14
Don't say that... I'm feeling old now
Lol well, the last of gen alpha is born or being born this year
I can already hear the brainrot of gen alpha calling gen beta worse because of the "alpha male" shit going on.
The first 6 are millennial. The bottom 3 are gen z.
Edit: turns out gen z have apparently been watching anime in elementary school as their cartoons… which explains the overlap. But I still stand by my statement considering teenagers are the demographic for most anime.
The only real answer ive seen here
As a millennial, the first three were when I was in 1st-5th grade. The next 3 were middle and high school. There ain't no way bro.
Yeah I grew up with Naruto, there are younger adults asking me if I'm into Boruto and it instantly makes me feel 100 because I was a child watching Naruto.
Same I remember when Naruto first aired on Toonami, I was in 4th grade, the next day at recess there was like 12 of us pretending to use shadow clone jutsu and throwing sticks and rocks acting like they were Kunai. Had even more by the time Zabuza entered the picture.
Looking back I wonder what the teacher were thinking when they saw us doing the hand motions for jutsus 😂
"Look at these Narutards"
As someone from Gen Z I agree with this statement
Yea I was confused how
The big shonen 3 where considered Gen Z lol
Gen Z has grown up with Naruto and One Piece with a fairly same treatment as millennials. Demon Slayer came out when I was in college and im Gen Z.7 year old me was enjoying peak naruto
By the time the oldest gen z were in middle school, those middle 3 had already been airing for years. One piece and Naruto were on CN in 2005. (Oldest gen Z was 8 years old) and Bleach in 2006.
In My OWN experience, middle school was the prime time to get into anime. So it’s weird to me that the oldest of gen Z would’ve been in middle school in around 2010. Which is 4-5 years after those three had started airing on CN in America.
Yu yu hakusho was on CN in 2002 and DBZ was 1998. The oldest millennial was 17-21 years old. But the median millennials were 8-12 years old. when these were airing on Toonami.
But idk what happened with reruns and all that stuff. Obviously they were all playing for many years and that gives multiple generations a chance to get into it. And like u said, you started watching when you were 7.
If we are basing it off teenage years to be in criteria,maybe Id put AoT,HxH and DBZ Super on Gen Z instead as it was 2010s peak anime when Gen Z were in their teen year.
We were all allowed fmab, hxh, naruto ship, op, tokyo ghoul, konosuba, rezero, gintama, code geass, dbs, mha and we had highschool dxd lol
I was born in 97 and def watched naruto and one piece when I was really young and they were airing, but I don’t think that was the norm
Yeah idt that was the norm either which is why I think this. Also you’re the oldest gen z. Median age gen z were like 0 years old when they aired in America
we had toonami so yeah all of us 5-8 year olds were watching these shows. I remember every Halloween other kids were dressed as either Naruto, luffy and ichigo, or someone in their shows. 2005-2012 is regarded by many gen z prime cartoon era and we had a few bangers past 2013. Saturdays used to be so hype with the old school CN line up. Like we literally grew up with these shows I’d argue millennials only had a fraction of your childhood with them. 2005 - 2017 is Naruto for gen z’ers like me that’s age 7-19. For old millennials you would be in your late teens or early twenties by the time Naruto even airs. You definitely need to be a late millennial to even consider having them apart of your childhood.
I grew up with two older millennial siblings and a younger one as well, the difference in our shows definitely do contrast. They definitely love yu yu hakasho, inyuasha, cowboy bebop, and definitely DBZ. Whereas me and my younger sibling do like those shows, but we have a stronger attachment to just about all of the bottom 6 anime listed in the OP except DBZ everyone loves DBZ.
The middle literally came out during gen Z and yes I’ve been watching animes since I was born
Even as a milenial i was too young to understand one piece when it started...
Technical yes, but the big 3 transcend the fake generations that we have allowed ourselves to be divided into. And there aren't any other big 3 than the big 3. DB walked so the big 3 can run, and now a lot of the shows that come out are flying because of the other shows. And if yall want to know who crawled, it was astro boy
One Piece and Naruto are definitely millennial anime. One Piece aired in the US when I was 12, and naruto when I was 13 the following year. The older Gen z would have been like 6 when these came out
I think this meme proves that Gen Z and Millennials have a lot more overlap in our interests than we are willing to admit lol.
Pretty sure Gen X also watch the first line since my mom knows all of them
Idk, I think the middle 3 are kinda both. Im gen z and they were the big 3 for me and a lot of my friends growing up. I could see a lot of millennials feeling they were the big 3 as well though as millennials were who was watching when they first came out.
All three of those anime came out and were popular when the majority of millennials were in the shonen age bracket.
One Piece is '97 ('99), Naruto '99 ('02), Bleach '01 ('04)
Most of gen z weren't even born or aware of them when they started airing and got popular.
True tho i was born in 2000 and vividly remember watching Naruto when it aired on Cartoon Network but I am an outliner ofc
No. The middle row was also the first for a lot of millennials who were just getting to the age of watching anime. One piece started in 99 when the oldest of Gen Z were 2.
One Piece started in 1997.
I was referring to the Anime
Yeah, people forget anime was NOT popular back then, and the internet wasn't as ubiquitous, so we barely knew anything about the anime, let alone even know what manga was.
I remember DBZ being on Sunday mornings in the 90s. Had no idea what Anime was for another 10 years, and didn’t know about Manga until I was in highschool. It’s crazy to remember those days and now see Anime everywhere.
Ah yes, still remember watching DBZ and being like: Wow, this show has a plot that lasts longer than 2 episodes?
Closest thing we had in american cartoons were the superhero shows like Batman and X-Men, which are also considered good for actually having a plot with continuity, even if it was largely episodic.
The power of lore is real.
Yeah I’d personally shift the gens up 1 tier
I disagree with top. Yu Yu Hakusho wasn't as well known as like Gundam - at least in my circles. Also Bleach and One piece came out when I was 7 & 12 years old, and I'm a millenial... Idk if I would classify that as Gen Z?
To be fair, Gundam is a multi-generation franchise. Also, even though YYH is my all-time favorite of this era (and always in my top 3), and was more popular than is remembered now?
Gundam was definitely bigger in the in the public consciousness. Gundam Wing? G Gundam? Gundam Seed, toward the end? There were model kits even in mainstream toy stores, and Zoids always seemed to get lumped in with them... while YYH merch was almost exclusively at anime-heavy stores like Suncoast and FYE.
Zoids get a little love for sure, its underrated to be honest, I started watching Zoids since 2006, and I fell inlove with it, I am Millennial and I mostly watched it and have every CD's and Manga of it and the same as Inazuma 11. I've watched YYH, for me its fire but not like those two that has so many interesting events.
I with you anyone that didn't want a Shield Liger ain't no friend of mine
Millenials: 1981-1996
Gen Z: 1997-2012
Gen Alpha: 2013-2025
Gen Beta: 2026+
Oh the show itself is a Gen Z I see what you mean.
I thought you meant the generation who grew up watching it.
That still makes no sense as no one would be old enough to watch these. Avatar the Last Airbender and My Hero Academia are Gen Z.
Ya that was my thought too
I agree in that I thought it should be based on when they came out relative to generational age and when they were old enough for it.
Anything before that is the baby boomer generation?
Gen X
Ah, thanks
then aot is gen alpha?
Yes idk what op was thinking making that gen alpha lol
gundam is amazing. but it is NOT nearly as popular(outside of gundam fans) as say pokemon or yugioh
Brooo I drop my answer and say Pokémon… how did I forget my favorite shit to this day hahahaha
I’m with you on the Gundam series and would also throw in Cowboy Beebop as a possibility
I agree with you. If not Gundam, I’d even go with inuyasha over yu yu hakasho if we are going to go with something from adult swim.
That Goku picture should be from DBZ. Super is well out of Millennial timeline.
Agreed I think I should’ve changed that.
big 3 relate to Manga sales not anime if there would be a modern one it would be jujutsu kaisen, demon slayer, and black clover
Yeah jjk and demon slayer are definitely 2 of the 3, I dunno what the third is I would personally say my hero but I can see an argument for a few
it's not sales. there is only ONE big three and there will only ever be one big three
Black clover manga has consistently sold less than those two and beneath mha throughout its entire existence.
nah my hero needs to be there
OP doesn’t understand generations lol. One Piece debuted in 1999, Bleach in 2004, Naruto in 2002. I was born in 1989 so I was 10 for One Piece, 15 for Bleach, and 13 for Naruto. Those are prime young years for anime. Even Shippuden was 2007 before I graduated high school. None of those anime are Gen Z.
No, big 3 aren’t generational; It’s just Naruto, Bleach and One Piece nothing before or after. Also Black clover would be swapped by AOT or JJK
I'd agree the middle row are the big three... and that's about it.
The title was made up specifically for those 2 anime, and refers specifically to those 3 anime.
Yeah. DBZ and Sailor Moon are sort of the monoliths that basically brought anime into the modern age, and are the icons. As much as I love YuYu Hakusho, it isn't in the same league. Gundam might be, but they were never really grouped like that.
On the other side, no recent anime has held attention long enough to be a true pillar of the community. Even big titles like AoT, Demon Slayer, MHA, OPM, and such have only had a couple seasons of super popularity before fading back into regular popularity. Additionally, modern series just aren't as long. Bleach is over 250 chapters longer than MHA. On top of that, there is a lot more competition nowadays. As such, we'll probably never see another series with such enduring impact.
This is all discounting Gundam (because it's a franchise, not a connected series) and Pokémon (because we don't count Pokémon).
As much as I love YuYu Hakusho, it isn't in the same league.
I might disagree, since a lot of future anime would steal or ape YuYu Hakusho massively. Not every one, of course, but YYH redefined/revised/popularized the Anime Tournament, stat rankings, group combat/roles, and also was the introduction of truck-kun.
I’d say Pokemon goes where YYH is, and Attack on Titan instead of Black Clover
I was thinking about that & I’d say Pokemon is a whole different league of its own and that’s coming from a Pokemon fan…
No it is, telling my parents that Pokemon is an anime and watching them go "no, it's a cartoon" really shows how successful it was
Millennial here grew up on Naruto, Bleach, and YuYu Hakusho. Inyuyasha also. Stayed up till midnight to what some of them. 😀😃😄😁
I'm a millenial Sailor Moon and DBZ were my first time ever seeing anime. But, Bleach is what got me into anime and manga as a medium. Bleach is still my fav.
How did the softest of all the age categories get named gen alpha lmfao
They’re probably going to start calling each new generation of people after Greek numbers. Alpha, beta, and then whatever comes next
Hey, where's yugioh and pokemon?
Maybe don’t use a DBS image for millennials. It started airing in 2015.
There's only one Big 3.
Who the fuck cares about bottom left, relative to everything else here?
One piece started in 97 (anime started in 99), Naruto in 99 (2002), and Bleach in 2001 (2004). Going by Wiki, the oldest Gen Z were 2, 4, and 6 when the manga started. Or 4, 6, and 9 when the animes started. That's like saying Cheers is a Millenial TV show cause technically it start in 1982 and the top end of millenials might have started watching it as toddlers and/or seen new episodes when they were under 10.
cheers being a millenial show sent me. i remember watching that old ass shit on nick at night lmao
replace black clover with jjk and ur set
Just because you are showing YYH some love I agree <3
Depends if we’re on about DBS, DBZ, DB or DBGT. Super came out during the Gen Alpha period and is generally more well known than Black Clover, at least where I’m from. DBZ debuted in the millennial era so it would hold that place.
Not really, the big 3 are special because they started at the same time, we all long shows, and we’re all decently equal in popularity. The older ones had a huge disparity in popularity and the newer ones are on the verge of ending.
This list is objectively wrong. The ONLY Big 3 are Naruto Bleach and One piece. The big 3 is NOT an opinion. It’s a title given to the 3 most popular anime/manga series of the 2000s that filled the hole Dragon Ball left behind when GT stopped airing. So this “millennial big 3” and ”gen alpha big 3” is objectively wrong
I was going to say it's incorrect, but I forget millennials are 1981 to 1996
I always think it's all 1990s for some reason
Saint seiya should replace yu Yu hakusho. People underestimate just how big that series was especially in Latin America. It rivals dragon ball z. Saint seiya was and still is huge. Love yu Yu hakusho but Saint seiya was bigger
Gen Z ended 2009 right? So I’m technically part of Gen alpha being 13 but only one of my goats is only the list and that’s The flaw of the world Asta D GOAT
Naruto is actually pretty old.
Sailor moon is gen x. Inuyasha is millennial
Get out of here, middle row is still Millenials
Naruto, One Piece and Bleach are the Big 3 for all generations, anyone can enjoy them
No. There is only one big three. That's all there ever will be. The big three is bleach Naruto and one piece. That's it.
I'd replace black clover with JJK
🤨 most of the big 3 were finished before gen z was even in Highschool
I feel like Yu Yu Hakusho should be replaced. I love the series, but I don't think it sits up as high as the other two in the realm of a big 3 at the time. I'm not really sure what it should be, my wife says it should be DBZ, Sailor Moon, Pokemon. To leave Pokemon out with how big of an impact it had on the world seems wrong.
What people need to understand is that there is no "new big 3" its just The big 3 Naruto, Ichigo, and Luffy thats it and thats all there will ever be.
Why is demon slayer there?
I would replace black clover with jjk
Goku
WHERE THE FUCK IS JOJO’s
Jojo is complicated, the manga literally started in January of 1987 and only got an official anime adaptation in 2012.
It did have a OVA
I’d replace Black Clover with JJK
Honestly, the lines are pretty blurry to me. Really the way I see it, the target audience was the young generation at the time. As in teenage to young adult. So DBZ may resonate more for kids born from the 80s and 90s. Assuming they saw it on toonami.
I disagree with yu yu haka show, I do not think that show was famous enough to be big 3 for millennials. Gundam Wing and possibly other anime were more popular at that time.
Im 17 and i watch DBZ one piece and demon slayer, they are all peak
One piece is till a top 3
The big three is only One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. There is no other big three.
And there is only 3 on this list I haven’t watched. I have watched all of the Big 3, Dragon ball, Demon Slayer, and just started Black Clover this morning
As a Gen Z I grew up with all of them.
User deleted comment
2d
Millenials requires Spike Spiegel.
You’re a generation ahead for each set.
i dont agree at all
Tbh JJK fits in more than black clover
Replace black clover with jujutsu kaisen. I love black clover but throughout its entire existence neither the manga nor the anime have ever reached the heights and popularity of demon slayer or the big 3. It’s always been a mid tier series and that’s not me commenting on the quality of the series, no , that’s based on its placements on the table of contents in the weekly y shounen jump magazine (the most direct way to gauge popularity of their manga, it’s own sales and response to the anime. Black clover is a fun shounen. I’m a big fan of it, but honestly never been that popular or big. Something like Seven Deadly Sins or chainsaw man more presence in the zeistgeist than black clover. Whereas JJK & Demon Slayer have dominated anime/manga and have overreached that culture much like how Naruto and dragon ball did before it (especially demon slayer which is basically the face of shounen now)
I would imagine JJK would replace Black Clover in popularity but I’m not sure in manga sales.
lol no.
Yuyu haukisho no
Gundam wing Yu-Gi-Oh Pokemon Digimon
Any of these would be far more iconic
the BIG 3 (naruto bleach one piece) are MILLENIAL. PERIOD. Also as great as YYH is pokemon is undoubtedly up there with DB and SM. Period
I would personally put Ash in place of Yusuke. I prefer Yu Yu Hakusho over Pokemon, however, there is no denying that Pokemon was and still is bigger.
Take black clover out and replace it with like jujutsu kaisen
Maybe move the generations back a bit, but otherwise, yeah. Also love the love for Sailor Moon. It's underrated.
the young and the restless, bold and beautiful and whatever other soap opera are the big 3 of all time lmao
AoT should be there somewhere or at least a singular between lol same with deathnote
There is only one big 3
Yeah I literally watch 2/3 of the Gen Z shows
im gen z and dragonball is my fav anime
No. Where's Pokemon?
T.O.M. Our presence has been detected. It's time to go.
Yuyu hakusho over pokemon?
You're a bit off center there, pal.
I'd replace the guy on top right with Ash from Pokemon (Pokemon counts as anime, right?), and Asta with maybe Chainsaw man or the guy from JJK
Mmmm....no
Gonna say big 3 always refers to Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece for their popularity in the mid too late 2000's and onward. Although popular Sailor Moon and Yu Yu Hakusho are they didn't come close to Dragonball, Pokemon, and Transformers did.
Jujutsu Kaisen, instead of Demon Slayer. Supposed to be long running series.
Demon Slayer is more adjacent to FMAB at least pop culture standing wise (less review/standing).
I've watched at least once from each row...
No instead of YU Yu Hakusho you probably shoulder replace it Rourni Kenshin, trigun, case closed or Most likely Tenshi Muyo.
There's only one Big 3
JJK is more relevant than Black Clover ever was
Im pretty sure the bottom row should be labeled Gen Z and the middle row Millenial
Asta isn't quite there
Make the top two rows both millennial and then make the last gen Z / Alpha and it's accurate
Gen alpha ain’t even been around long enough to have a big three. Thats Gen Z’s big three, bro. Imo, gen alpha’s big three is gonna have Kaijuu No. 8 on it. I hope it does, anyway. That’s shit is 🔥
Yeah I would say so. I would replace black clover with JJk because I hear about that more often than black clover and I love black clover
Hell Yeah!
I mean One Piece came out in like 1997 and was a 90s Manga series prior.
No absolutely not
Millennials are Naruto, Dragonball/DragonBall Z, and Bleach. I was watching all 3 in middle school. Naruto couldn't control the 9 tails chakra, Ichigo had got flash stepped on, and we was watching Frieza cook everyone on Namek. All are kinda early into those shows.
I'm at a loss, here. Though the shows started during the years of the listed generations, it was primarily the previous generation watching them. I'm GenX ('77) and I grew up watching Dragonball ('84), Gundam ('79), and Macross ('82). YuYu started when I was 15. I think the list should be who the target audience is at series release, not the birth years vs. release.
Gen alpha is so wrong
I love demon slayer but even I recognize that most do not
Same with bnha, and black clover??? The kid who cant stop screaming (yes i know it gets better)
Wow, there's gen alpha now?
Bro the top tow was out before half of the Millennials were even born. They’re more like Gen Y or whichever one is before Millennials
No?
I never watched dragon ball or sailor moon but YuYu was one of my absolute favorites along with Naruto and Bleach (one piece is too long I didn’t start it when it first came out so now I have no motivation to watch/read it)
I feel like gen Z and Gen A are kinda fused, I’m gen z but demon slayer, JJK, and black clover were still starting when I started watching anime
As a millennial, mid 3 were more my anime entry than the top 3.
Me, who can name 4 out of nine: "Just give me something for the pain, and let me die." 🫡🫠🥲😂🤣
People have No Clue what the Big 3 are. They’re The 3 Most Popular, as in Best Selling.
As much as I love Yu Yu Hakusho, when I think back to when I watched Toonami in the 90s/00s, I feel like gundam should've taken the 3rd spot. It was popular enough that there were many different series shown
We’re first Ash, Yugi and Goku for me. Itadori needs to be in the bottom
Not having JJK is disrespectful.
more or less
I’d argue ranma 1/2 and one piece are missing
Who's bottom left?
I understand the thought; in my opinion these are the top 3 of the 90s, 00s, and 10/20s respectively but I don’t think that translates to generation. As a millennial (1993) I could actually take one from each as the most influential of my life
Dont think Black Clover is as big as Jujutsu Kisen
More like:
Older millenial, Younger millenial, Gen Z
And replace Black Clover with JJK. Also, since this is very shonen centric, replace Sailor Moon with Kenshin.
Gen alpha and gen z are perfect I think yu yu Hakusho should be replaced with Gundam
Top is millennial, bottom is Gen Z, middle is a grey area
Replace BC with JJK an yea I completely agree
My zero can eat my ass. One punch man should be there instead
Yuyu Hakusho wasn't as big as Rurouni Kenshin or NGE or Gundam W imo.
Pokemon over yu yu hakusho
Hold on. People actually watched Sailor Moon?
I'd say Gen As big three fits Gen Z the most tbh.
I wouldn't say those middle 3 are even Gen Z. The top 6 are Millennials, the bottom three are Gen Z.
No, the big three are the big three period. There can definitely be other trios for different time periods tho
What?! “ Gen Alpha ”
Jjk would replace demon slayer, although maybe even black clover because no one rlly talks about it anymore compared to others
I'm Gen z but I started with DBZ
All 9 are for whoever the fuck feels like watching them.
What about GEN X?
I'm a fan of Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, but I'm not sure if they would hit the time frame or numbers.
Gen Alpha is lacking 😒
Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Dragon Ball Z were wildly popular in the USA when I was a kid. Naruto got stigmatized from the “weird kids” Naruto running everywhere. Now I’m almost 30 and I love One Piece and enjoy Bleach. But really, staying up at my cousins and watching random adult swim anime’s after midnight is a core memory. And I don’t even remember what half of them were.
top 3 should be gen X, middle 3 should be millenial, bottom 3 should be black clover, jjk, and demon slayer for gen z
Sailor moon wasn't even in Shounen Jump so it technically can't be considered
I'm Gen z and my big 3 is Naruto, One piece, and Blaech LMAO
Also gen alphinan here, fuck you I want something better
Me being part of the older generations but only getting into animals recently:
Despite being a millennial myself, I hate all three animes you selected as my generation' big three.
No. There is only one Big 3 and there will only be one Big 3. That being Bleach, Naruto, One Piece.
I feel like one piece has been going on long enough to be millennial, oda was a teenager when he first started making it after all
Black Clover is a no
Much of Gen Z was born when bleach, naruto, and one piece came out. Bottom 3 are more fpr Gen Z. And that's if we ignore what the big 3 were in the first place.
I’m sad that Death Note ain’t big 3 material, but oh well.
4 kids didn't butcher one piece so you can throw it in gen z my guy come on.
Black clover should be swapped with JJK
its way too early to make a big 3 for gen alpha, most of them are like 8 year olds