Most anime, as with stories of any medium, usually take a while to find their footing. When a story is first getting off the ground, it will take a while for the writer to have a good idea of what they want to do, and because of that, the early stories will typically be far rougher in quality compared to what comes after them.

It’s natural for an anime to take a while to find its footing, and sometimes, that’s a bigger blessing than people might think. There are many times when the early parts of an anime will be so rough that they run the risk of completely turning a person away, and some anime start so rough that a single good arc was necessary to save their entire stories. A few anime, in particular, stand out for having arcs like that, and overall, it’s easy to see how they each would have failed if not for said arcs.

7 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba’s Mount Natagumo Arc

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episodes 15-21

The Mount Natagumo arc is the penultimate arc of season 1 of Ufotable’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Tanjiro, now informally in a team with the cowardly Zenitsu and the boisterous Inosuke, is given his latest assignment to assist fellow Demon Slayers in an operation on Mount Natagumo. Naturally, the mission isn’t easy in the slightest, as Tanjiro and his friends are forced into a battle with a group of demons stronger than anything Tanjiro had encountered up to that point, including his first true encounter with one of Muzan’s elite Kizuki.

Not only was the Mount Natagumo arc the arc that finally let Tanjiro shine by giving him Zenitsu and Inosuke as foils, both of whom were greatly developed, as well, but the debut of the Hinokami Kagura stands out as the greatest scene in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba not just for its animation, but for how the music and overall direction work to emphasize every emotional beat. The Mount Natagumo arc turned Demon Slayer from a run-of-the-mill anime into a modern legend, and it’s never looked back since.

6 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 2: Battle Tendency

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Episodes 10-26

Battle Tendency is the second part of David Production’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. 50 years after Phantom Blood and the death of Jonathan Joestar, Jonathan’s grandson, the brash and eccentric Joseph Joestar, is forced into his own vampire-related conflict, one that goes back to the origins of the evil Stone Mask and puts the world at risk to a degree Dio could never have even dreamed of. To combat the new threat, Joseph must make new allies and take his Hamon powers to even greater heights, but even then, it will take more than power for Joseph to save the day.

Phantom Blood is often seen as a poor introduction to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, but not only did Battle Tendency’s longer length allow for better pacing than Phantom Blood, but it was with Battle Tendency that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure penchant for creative battles truly came out through the further expansion of Hamon and the bizarre abilities of the Pillar Men. Add in the surprising amount of depth given to Joseph Joestar’s character both on his own and as a foil to Jonathan, and it’s easy to see Battle Tendency as when JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure finally began to come into its own.

5 One Piece’s Arlong Park Arc

One Piece Episodes 31-45

The Arlong Park arc is the fifth arc in Toei Animation’s One Piece. After Nami’s sudden betrayal, Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates, now ed by Sanji, travel to Nami’s hometown where they discover that she’s secretly been working for Arlong, the toughest pirate in the East Blue. Everyone except Luffy is ready to write Nami off as a traitor, but as it turns out, the truth behind it all is far more tragic than anyone could have imagined, and at the end of it all, Luffy finally makes his first true step toward becoming the Pirate King.

Even so early into its run, One Piece never shied away from emotional storytelling, but the Arlong Park was when it became clear how great One Piece’s writing was with how well it sold Nami’s backstory and the Straw Hat Pirates coming together as a family. The emotional beats of the Arlong Park arc laid the groundwork for what would become some of One Piece’s biggest staples, with the arc still regarded as one of the best arcs in all of One Piece, and overall, that paved the way for it to become the biggest anime franchise of all time.

4 Yu Yu Hakusho’s Dark Tournament Arc

Yu Yu Hakusho Episodes 26-66

The Dark Tournament arc is the second arc in Studio Pierrot’s Yu Yu Hakusho. Following an encounter with the powerful Toguro brothers, Yusuke and his friends are forced to compete in the Dark Tournament, a deadly fighting tournament for demons where they run the risk of death in every fight, and with the stakes as high as they are, Yusuke and his friends will need to find ways to sur their limits at every turn if they want to survive to the end, even if doing so ends up costing Yusuke one of his closest friends.

Not only did the Dark Tournament arc introduce a large number of entertaining allies and enemies for Yusuke and his friends to fight, whether they were one-off characters or eventual parts of the ing cast, but Yu Yu Hakusho’s Dark Tournament arc took the series to incredible new heights not only with amazing fight scenes, but with a surprising amount of emotional depth to its fights, as well, especially when it came time for the final fight against Toguro. It’s the anime’s most iconic arc, and it’s what helped it go from a standard shonen anime to an all-time classic.

3 Bleach’s Soul Society Arc

Bleach Episodes 21-63

The Soul Society arc is the second major story arc of Studio Pierrot’s Bleach. Following Rukia’s arrest for turning Ichigo into a substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo and his friends, with Orihime and Chad recently gaining spiritual powers of their own, must travel to Soul Society and save Rukia before she’s executed. Their quest to do so forced them into one battle against powerful Soul Reapers after another, including Rukia’s brother, Byakuya Kuchiki, and at the end of it all, both sides are permanently changed by the reveal of the true perpetrator behind Rukia’s incarceration.

While Bleach was always entertaining, the episodic nature of the Substitute Soul Reaper arc did make it feel a bit directionless, but fortunately, ’s Soul Society arc helped refine the series by providing a central narrative to get attached to, all with great fights with constant escalation accompanying everything. The Soul Society arc was when Bleach finally showed off the kind of story it wanted to be, and the series was all the better for it.

2 Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann’s Second Arc

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Episodes 9-15

Episode #8 of Studio Trigger’s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann introduced a major shift in the status quo when Kamina, the anime’s ostensible lead, was suddenly killed. Everyone tried to move on and continue the fight against the Spiral Army, but the loss of Kamina was impossible to ignore, and Simon, filled with guilt over the situation, took things the hardest to the point of self-destruction, only being saved after meeting a mysterious girl named Nia. Eventually, Simon regained his resolve and then some, and from there, he could lead Team Dai Gurren to the final battle against the Spiral King.

As tragic as Kamina’s death was, it allowed for Simon’s arc of coming into his own to truly take off, and once that got going, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, with Simon firmly established as its hero, had the means to greatly advance its story in of both writing and action that paved the way for some of the greatest moments in the anime. Kamina’s survival would have only limited the story, and with his death and how everyone had to grow from it, Gurren Lagann had the means to evolve in the phenomenal anime it’s known as decades later.

1 Dragon Ball’s Tournament Saga

Dragon Ball Episodes 14-28

The Tournament saga is the second major story arc in Toei Animation’s Dragon Ball. With the Dragon Balls going into hibernation for a year, Goku decides to return to Master Roshi and formally become his martial arts disciple. Goku is soon ed by Krillin, a former monk who goes from a scheming rival to Goku’s best friend, and the two are soon tasked with testing their strength in the World Martial Arts Tournament, a tournament where the best fighters in the world gather to compete for the title of the strongest martial artist under the heavens.

After the Emperor Pilaf saga, it was unclear what Dragon Ball had to offer now that it had already shown what happens when someone gathers the Dragon Balls, but fortunately, Dragon Ball’s Tournament saga firmly established its identity as one of the best anime at balancing great comedy with martial arts action, and that’s been the franchise’s go-to strategy for success for 40 years and counting. Dragon Ball’s manga might have even been canceled if it weren’t for the Tournament saga, and as such, there’s no clearer example of an anime arc so good that it saved the entire show.