Summary
The beginning of August 2024 sawthe end of Kōhei Horikoshi’sMy Hero Academiamanga after ten years of serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Alongside Koyoharu Gotōge’sDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaibaand Yuki Tabata’sBlack Clover,My Hero Academiaformed part of a generation in Shōnen Jump largely characterized by the fact that they all gained prominence in the dying embers of the legendary Big Three era of the magazine. WithMy Hero AcademiaandDemon Slayernow over, andBlack Cloverhaving moved over to Shueisha’s seasonal magazine Jump Giga after 8 years in Jump, the “Post-Big Three” era of Shōnen Jump has drawn to a close.
Which titles are likely to grab the baton and usher in a new generation of the magazine, and what will the success of Kōdansha’s shōnen manga in the past few years mean for the landscape of the demographic-turned-genre?
The “Post-Big Three” Era and The Emergence of Shōnen Jump+
How My Hero Academia Fits Into Jump’s Legacy
Beyond the fact that they were serialized in Jump at around the same time,My Hero Academia,Black CloverandDemon Slayerare the leading titles of the magazine’s Post-Big Three era (2014-2024), which built on the kind of story longevity, characterization and feel of the Big Three, particularly in the reiteration offamiliar tropes with deuteragonists, mentors, plot lines and the characterization of the main character as someone who starts off as weak but ends up possessing the rarest and most important power which disrupts the order of their respective universes. By this understanding, the Post-Big Three main titles weren’t reinventing the wheel, but using it and adhering to aspects of the formula codified by the Big Three and their predecessors.
Shōnen Jump introduced its digital service in a way that coincides with the beginning of some of the Post-Big Three titles in September 2014, which enabled the publishing of far more explicit content due to laxer editorial restrictions and also saw the initial works of soon-to-be famous authors of Shōnen Jump serializations. By 2017, the Post-Big Three era was well underway with the end ofBLEACHthe previous August, and the flagship magazine serializing works by authors who initially published on Jump+. During the Post-Big Three era, a number ofvery notable works ran in either Jump+or Weekly Shōnen Jump itself, which had considerable readership, but one not as voracious as that enjoyed by “battle” shōnen, including Haruichi Furidate’sHaikyū!, Yūto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki’sFood Wars, Yūsei Matsui’sAssassination Classroom, Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu’sThe Promised Neverlandand more.
The Emergence of Shōnen Jump+ During The Post-Big Three Era
The Dark Trio and The Increased Pace of Shonen Manga
Tatsuki Fujimoto, who published the dark and grittyFire Punchon Jump+, eventually saw his magnum opus,Chainsaw Man, serialized in the physical Jump magazine, kicking off an interesting substage of the Post-Big Three era: the emergence of the Shōnen Jump dark trio; an epithet offered to the likes of Gege Akutami’sJujutsu Kaisen, Fujimoto’sChainsaw Manand Yuji Kaku’sHell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku,each of which had animeadaptations produced by the well-regarded studio MAPPA. With Jump+ and its roster of titles bringing new readership; especially female readership, to Jump, the Post-Big Three era is one characterized by more than just the emergence of the physical magazine’s three long-running hits, but also by its subsequent digital expansion and how said expansion has rapidly increased the turnover rate of following generations.
To illustrate,Hell’s Paradise, the most-read title on Jump+ in 2018, ran for 178 chapters compared toMy Hero Academia’s430. At a total of 271,Jujutsu Kaisen’send is confirmed, with the final chapter coming on September 30; while with just over 110 chapters, Naoya Matsumoto’sKaiju No. 8appears to be nearing its end as well. The originalChainsaw Man, while published in Jump, saw its follow-up serialized in Jump+ shortly after its incredibly brief 97-chapter run. In a sense, Tatsuki Fujimoto’s works, especiallyChainsaw Man, are an agent that binds Shōnen Jump even closer to its more explicit digital counterpart.
The Leaders of The Incoming Generation of Shōnen
Who’s Got Next? Finding a New Poster Child
Beyond battle shōnen, the emergence of Jump+ has made space for smash-hits like Tatsuya Endo’sSpy x Family; Hajime Kōmoto’sMashle: Magic and Muscles, Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi’sDr. Stone,the highly acclaimedDandadanby Yukinobu Tatsu, and also ushered in collaboration between Jump and Marvel in the form ofDeadpool: Samuraiand theMarvel × Shōnen Jump+ Super Collaboration.AlongsideSpy x Family, Hitsuji Gondaira’sMission: Yozakura Family, Yuto Suzuki’sSakamoto Daysas well as Joumyaku and Mizuki Yoda’sMARRIAGETOXINshow a growing trend of manga that marry comedy and espionage as a key thematic component.
2.67
1st
4.63
2nd
4.8
3rd, End of Serialization in Issue 36-37
6.38
4th
6.5
5th
7
6th
7.8
7th
Comparison of the average ranking of Weekly Shōnen Jump manga titles from 2024 Issues 30-38, * Data taken from jajanken.net
Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue’scoming-of-age comedy dramaAkane-Banashistands out as a unique example of the variety and depth of story that can be found in Jump; however, it is battle shōnen titles likeDandadan, the continuingChainsaw Manin Jump+, and Takeru Hokazono’s overnight phenomenon,Kagurabachi, that will be seen as the next in line to continue the long-standing legacy of Weekly Shōnen Jump as the most popular manga magazine. Battle shōnen is an important aspect of Jump’s popularity, and now that the Post-Big Three era has ended, the JUMP Next Generation Battle Manga Award has been announced, with an illustrious panel of judges including Tite Kubo, Kōhei Horikoshi, Gege Akutami and Yuki Tabata. The very purpose of this contest is to find and nurture upcoming talent and find a brand-new major serialization that will become a new poster child for Shōnen Jump. The emphasis of the award being on battle shōnen is a recognition of the significance of this particular kind of shōnen manga, as these have been overwhelmingly popular.
Jump’s Future Seems Bright Enough, But Is There Competition From Outside?
Could The Popularity of Titles in Other Magazines Cause A Shift?
It is indisputable that Jump has a monopoly over the manga scene, with the highest readership ofanymanga magazine in the industry; however, the emergence of various titles in other magazines produced by other publishers. Kōdansha has had a number of brilliant titles, like Hajime Isayama’sAttack on Titan, but it hasn’t quite enjoyed the level of constant hit serializations in shōnen as Shueisha has. Square Enix has seen its fair share of bangers, like Hiromu Arakawa’sFullmetal Alchemist, which ran in Gangan Joker.
Kōdansha’s main fighter in thenext era of shōnen is Kei Urana’sGachiakuta, which is a spiritual successor to Atsushi Okubō’sSoul Eater/Fire Force; with Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura’sBlue Lock,published in Kōdansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine, gaining overwhelming popularity as a sports manga and was the best-selling manga title of 2023, while Shōgakukan has seen success with Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe’s critically acclaimedFrieren: Beyond Journey’s End, published in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. As it stands, Jump’s next poster child may already be published in the magazine or come from new talent, and it is a fascinating time to be a fan of shōnen.
