What Manga Arcs Were Forgotten About By Fans?

I've been lurking on forums and rereading old volumes lately, and there's something bittersweet about how entire stretches of really interesting storytelling can slip out of collective memory. Some arcs simply get swallowed by bigger events, others by controversial reception, and a few are victims of pacing and publication gaps. For example, the 'Fullbring' arc in 'Bleach' often feels like an awkward footnote to people who only remember Soul Society and the later big fights; it did important things for Ichigo's character and set up the series' endgame, but online conversations tend to skip straight past it as if it never happened. That always makes me want to reread it with fresh eyes, because there are neat character beats that get missed when fans only quote the flashier parts.

Another pattern I notice is that arc complexity can bury itself. In 'Hunter x Hunter', the 'Greed Island' arc gets overshadowed by the emotional punch of the 'Chimera Ant' saga — people either love Greed Island for its game mechanics or mostly forget it because it feels like a detour if you're only chasing dramatic highs. Similarly, in 'Berserk', the post-'Golden Age' arcs about pilgrimage and political upheaval sometimes get talked over by fans obsessed with the earlier tragedy, even though those later arcs expand the lore and the darker tone in compelling ways.

Then there are arcs that split opinion so sharply they become footnotes: 'Fairy Tail' has early-town missions (like the 'Galuna Island' material) that are eclipsed by its later guild-wide epics; some people started the series later and never experienced that goofy, rough-around-the-edges phase. I also think stories that ran through hiatuses or had messy endings — long-term serials where readers dropped off — leave chunks unremembered. If you’re into revisiting guilty-pleasure reads, try intentionally revisiting one of these low-traffic arcs; I did it on a rainy afternoon once and found more character warmth and structural cleverness than I expected, which is always a fun surprise to bring back into conversation.

I like to bring up forgotten arcs in quick bursts because they’re fun to recommend when someone asks what to reread. Off the top of my head: the 'Fullbring' arc in 'Bleach' — gets skipped in chats but has neat character work; the 'Greed Island' arc in 'Hunter x Hunter' — overshadowed by 'Chimera Ant' yet creative and game-like; the 'Yotsuba' (Yotsuba Group) arc in 'Death Note' — a tonal shift that some fans gloss over after the first Kira phase; and 'Edolas' or early side arcs in 'Fairy Tail' — people who started later may never feel the franchise’s sillier roots.

I’ve found revisiting these arcs is like finding a mixtape of forgotten songs: they don’t always land for everyone, but they enrich the parts of the series we all keep talking about. If you’ve only read the highlights, pick one and skim those middle chapters — you might be surprised by a character line or a throwaway panel that suddenly makes more sense.