The foundation of many excellent series is anime training arcs. They give the characters time to become stronger, pick up new skills, and prepare for what lies ahead. The best anime training arcs show more than just the characters gaining power. They also make deeper statements about their motivations and identities.
Some training arcs are short. Some are very long. But no matter what, the characters always come out changed.
List of the best anime training arcs
10. Training Camp in Haikyuu!!

The training camp episodes in Haikyuu!! show that anime training arcs don’t always need superpowers or high-stakes danger. Karasuno High’s volleyball team goes to Tokyo for a tough summer camp with other schools.
The players face stronger opponents, run penalty laps, and push themselves to the limit. Tsukishima, who’s usually the most detached, gets special coaching from Bokuto and Kuroo, two of the best players in the country.
This training arc is special because the team doesn’t just get stronger. They also learn to think more clearly and stay calm under pressure. By the end, they’re not only better at volleyball, but they also understand what it really takes to compete with the best teams.
9. Izuku Before One For All in My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia opens with one of the most inspirational anime training arcs. Though his body isn't ready yet, Izuku Midoriya has the opportunity to inherit All Might's amazing quirk. All Might takes Izuku to Takoba Municipal Beach Park, a landfill with enormous pieces of trash and rusty trucks.
Izuku moves all of the rubbish on that beach for ten months. It is one of the training arcs in anime that emphasizes preparation above quick outcomes. At exactly six o'clock in the morning of the U.A. entrance exam, Izuku slides the last piece of trash. This is where he finally earns the label hero.
8. Class 3-E in Assassination Classroom

The whole idea behind Assassination Classroom is one big training arc with comedy and heart thrown in. Class 3-E has one year to assassinate their teacher, Korosensei, a superpowered octopus who blew up most of the moon.
Every day, the students train in assassination skills while also learning math, science, and life lessons. This arc combines action with deep character development. The students learn marksmanship, combat, and planning, but the focus is not on becoming the strongest. It’s about teamwork and believing in themselves. It was a very important one among the anime training arcs in the series
7. Kenichi in Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is built entirely around the concept of training. The whole anime is essentially one elaborate training arc after another. From his first step into the Ryozanpaku dojo, it has been one training after another. The dojo is filled with many martial arts experts. All the experts take turns in training the up-and-coming fighter, Kenichi.
Of all the masters, Apachai is the one who almost sends Kenichi to the hospital the most. Unfortunately for Kenichi, Apachai is not able to hold himself back in terms of going all out. As a result, the other masters don't think he should train Kenichi. But Apachai is really invested in Kenichi, and Kenichi really wants to learn. Apa is proof that some anime training arcs involve getting close to death. Multiple times.
6. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber in Dragon Ball Z

The Hyperbolic Time Chamber from Dragon Ball Z is one of the most famous training places in anime. But one day inside is like a whole year for those outside, so it’s a fast way to train. The gravity is 10 times what it is on Earth, and the temperature can be very cold or extremely hot.
Vegeta and Future Trunks use it to get ready for their fight with Cell. Goku and Gohan then later use it again for them to train while being Super Saiyans. What these anime training arcs demonstrate is that power is not just about being strong; it’s also about how you are using your time and energy, and what you can do with them.
5. Boulder Splitting in Demon Slayer

The boulder-splitting scene in Demon Slayer is a very emotional training moment. After a year of learning from Sakonji Urokodaki, Tanjiro’s final test is to slice a huge boulder in half with his sword. He tries for six months without success.
Just when Tanjiro is about to give up, two mysterious figures appear. Sabito and Makomo were students of Sakonji who died during the Final Selection. They're ghosts now, but they've returned to help Tanjiro succeed where they failed. After six more months, Tanjiro finally defeats Sabito in combat and slices the boulder in half.
4. Bankai Training in Bleach

The Bankai training in Bleach is three days of pure chaos. Ichigo Kurosaki needs to master Bankai to save Rukia from execution, but normally it takes at least ten years. He has just three days.
Yoruichi takes him to a secret chamber and uses a forbidden tool called the Tenshintai to bring Zangetsu, Ichigo’s sword spirit, into the real world. Zangetsu creates many identical swords, and Ichigo must figure out which one is real.
This is one of the most brutal anime training arcs. Ichigo fights nonstop, breaking sword after sword and getting injured over and over. On the final day, Rukia’s execution is moved up unexpectedly. In a desperate moment, Ichigo finally achieves Bankai and arrives just in time to save her.
3. Mount Myoboku in Naruto

Mount Myoboku gives us one of the most important training arcs in Naruto. After Jiraiya’s death, Naruto needs to get stronger quickly. Fukasaku takes him to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Mode, which involves absorbing natural energy from the world. But if you absorb too much, you turn into a stone frog statue forever.
The training ground is surrounded by statues of past students who failed. Naruto faces a unique challenge; he has to sit perfectly still to draw in natural energy. For someone as hyperactive as Naruto, this was hard. He learns faster than Jiraiya by using shadow clones. In the end, he becomes much stronger when he masters Sage Mode.
2. The Dark Tournament in Yu Yu Hakusho

The Dark Tournament arc in Yu Yu Hakusho flips the usual structure of anime training arcs on its head. Instead of training before a big fight, Team Urameshi trains during the tournament itself. Toguro threatens to kill everyone he loves, hence forcing Yusuke into the deadly tournament. The brilliance of these anime training arcs is that every fight also serves as training for the next one.
The team practices for two months before the tournament. In order to unleash Yusuke's potential, Genkai trains him and nearly kills him multiple times. There's more to the Dark Tournament than just strength training. This is a tale about living when you shouldn't. This demonstrates that friendship is even more powerful than the roar of roaring waters. Or the Toguro brothers, at least.
1. Greed Island in Hunter x Hunter

Greed Island stands as the pinnacle of anime training arcs. This entire arc is essentially a video game designed to make Hunters stronger. Gon and Killua go into the game to look for Ging. But they soon figure out they’re not strong enough to handle the dangers inside. Then they meet Biscuit Krueger, a super-powerful Hunter. Luckily for them, she agrees to help them start getting way stronger.
Biscuit agrees to train them, but her methods are absolutely merciless. She traps a serial killer named Binolt in a crater and forces him to fight Gon and Killua for two weeks straight. The boys have to fight him every single day, learning to dodge his attacks and coordinate their movements. After ten days, Binolt finally gives up. But the training doesn't stop there.
These anime training arcs layer challenge after challenge. Biscuit makes them dig through 70 kilometers of solid rock using only shovels and their Nen. They have to sleep sitting up with a rock suspended above their heads by a rope. During this brutal training, Gon and Killua discover Shu, a new application of their Nen. By the end, both boys are completely transformed.
Conclusion
The greatest anime training arcs do more than just level up characters for their next big fight. They show who these people truly are when everything is taken away except for the desire to get better. Anime training arcs are a reminder that strength is not something you can dole out. It is won through sweat and pain and will not back down even when everything else seems impossible. And it’s what makes them so memorable.