Hey guys, Justin here and welcome to the Otaku Mind. Let’s talk about Shonen Jump, they’re the biggest manga magazine in Japan as of right now having some of the biggest and best mangas under their name such as One Piece, Naruto and Bleach. But over the years as some of their longer series have come to end or have fallen in popularity like Gintama and Toriko, Jump has been taking chances and trying out new series. Some of them have failed while others have succeeded such as My Hero Academia and Black Clover. See, I told you guys this series was going to succeed. With all these new series Jump is taking chances on it got me thinking about some manga ideas I had in the past and still have today. I remember back when I was a kid I used to love creating my own stories using my own characters or using already established characters and creating stories around them and ever since I started reading manga my ideas for creating original stories has only grown and creativity deserves to be shared with the world. So for this Otaku Mind I’m going to share with you a few of my own shonen manga ideas. I’ll give you the title, the premise, the story, and the inspiration behind them. Let’s get started.
Title: The Swordslinger
Inspiration: The inspiration for this idea came from a number of sources. The first one is western movies followed by Trigun, Samurai Champloo, and Afro Samurai.
Premise: This was one of the first manga ideas I came up with and dropped because I couldn’t come up with a good story but these last few months I dug it back up and finally came up with a good story. The premise for this is the wild west only in Japan. The cowboys are instead ronin, the Native Americans are ninjas, and the main weapon is the sword instead of guns. Although they do exist in this world but everyone still prefers the sword.
Story: The story focuses on an outlaw named Masamune Atlas aka The Swordslinger who is a master of the quick draw technique. He was the leader of a group of outlaws known as The Swords of Anarchy which included him and 7 other skilled warriors. Together, they performed daring heists and amassed a fortune becoming the most dangerous outlaws in Japan. But one day The Swords of Anarchy betrayed Masamune. They took the fortune, split it among themselves evenly, and left Masamune for dead in their mountain hideout by blowing it up and trapping him inside. Barely surviving, Masamune managed to dig himself out and was rescued by a group of ninjas who nursed him back to health. After spending one year recovering from his injuries, Masamune takes up his sword once again and heads out to find his 7 comrades and make them pay by taking their lives. On his journey he’ll come across other outlaws and bounty hunters who want to kill him to claim his bounty as well as fame and lawman sent to catch him in the name of justice. Along his journey he’ll also befriend two ninjas named Miki and her twin brother Mako who join him on his quest for revenge in order to avenge their parents and help their village.
Title: The Demon Lord’s Trial
Inspiration: Pretty much school comedies and animes that focus on the demon lord.
Premise: I’ve always been a fan of demon lord mangas. Exploring the demon lord and adding a whole new spin on them is fun so I thought I take my shot at it by putting him in school setting to give it that comedy but also adding in the element of action.
Story: Akira Winfield has just been named the new demon lord of the Underworld following the death of the previous demon lord. Or so he would like it to be. While Akira is next in line for the title, due to the laws of the Underworld he must wait one year to inherit the title and should he die whoever kills him will be named the new demon lord. Hoping to keep himself safe, Akira and his loyal guardian Elsyian leave the Underworld and go to Earth where Akira disguises himself as a normal human to blend into society and throw off his pursuers by going to school as a normal high school boy but demons and angels come after him. Will Akira survive his pursuers and school life. Or will one of these factors be his death?
Title: Phantom Detective Okada
Inspiration: Yeah this one is still in the works. I came up with this idea after playing Persona 5 which was the big inspiration for this title. That and D-Grey Man. The series can also be seen as a spinoff from the SMT universe.
Premise: The world is full of mysteries. Unbeknownst to most people there’s another world living beside them filled with spirits and demons we only thought existed in fairy tales. Much like our world this world has problems of its own and needs help solving. Enter Phantom Inc., a secret division of the government assigned to investigate and oversee this other world (codenamed the Phantom World) and handle any problems that arise from it. How do they solve these problems, by using abilities known as dark arts which grants them supernatural powers.
Story: We focus on a phantom detective named Okada aka The Reaper who has just been assigned a new partner named Yuu. Their job is to investigate and solve any cases associated with the Phantom World and keep our world safe.
Title: Freedom Hack
Inspiration: Watchdogs, Code Geass, Ghost in the Shell, and Akame ga Kill.
Premise: Here’s another story I recently came up with but one that I think has a lot of potential to be great. Taking place in the 22nd century of Japan the old government has been abolished and a new government has been formed. A new government that oppresses the weak, rewards the corrupt, and takes out anyone that speaks out against them.
Story: We focus on Kaito Kurokami a young hacker in Kyoto who is the leader of a group of hacktivists known as Freedom. Their goal is to use their hacking skills to fight against their government and bring them down to free Japan from the grips of tyranny and injustice. We also focus on a girl named Ai the stepdaughter of the prime minister who is ignorant of the suffering of her country. When it gets revealed by her stepbrother that she’s the daughter of a notorious hacker she gets arrested only to get saved by members of Freedom. Can our two MCs get along with each other or will they be each other’s downfall?
Title: Shadow Eye
Inspiration: The title was greatly inspired by RWBY, Kekkai Sensen, various JRPG titles, and various fantasy worlds.
Premise: Now these last two are the ones that I’m very excited and passionate about. I’ve been working on these two for quite some time now. Long ago in a world different from ours scientist uncovered a rare and powerful crystal within the earth that contained the powers of the elements: fire, earth, water, wind, lightning, wood, steel, light and darkness. The three races of the world (humans, elves, and demihumans) came together in the hopes of using this power to better the world but the crystal cracked and soon burst unleashing the power of the elements into the world. Because of this people soon gained the power to create and control the elements but it also unleashed a great threat on mankind. As the power of the elements swept the land it gave rise to monsters known as the Dark Ones (still working on the name). Born from humanity’s sins, hatred, and despair these creatures went on a rampage destroying lands and killing people all to bring the world into an era of darkness. Because of this threat humanity was on the brink of extinction but by developing their own martial arts with the elements humanity fought back and push the Dark Ones back to reclaim the world and established new kingdoms and settlements to call home all while fighting the Dark Ones and fighting those who would use their new found powers for evil.
Story: We focus on a group known as Shadow Eye a group of misfit knights who serve their kingdom by taking on jobs to help citizens, fight the Dark Ones, and any criminal organizations that would threaten the safety of the kingdom and its people. The poster child for this group is a dark elf named Dust Balor a master of the Shadow Beast fighting style and his teammates Amarti the elf merchant, Mira the celestial elf, Rinzo the hero of radiance, Sanada the wind samurai, Raika the lightning super soldier, Jude the scholar of light, and Fujino the earth brawler. Despite being considered the worst knighthood in the kingdom and having the fewest members, these guys are strong and can get the job done. Recently, the group has just recruited two new knights from the academy and with a new threat on the horizon these new recruits will need to adapt quickly if they wish to stand a chance fighting alongside these misfit knights.
Title: The Book of Phoenix
Inspiration: One Piece and Fairy Tail.
Premise: In the beginning the world was created by a divine being. The divine being soon created the 4 Saint Beasts who would watch over the world and the various races within it. For a while all was peaceful until a great evil threatened to destroy the world. The Saint Beasts fought and managed to defeat the great evil but at the cost of their lives. They vowed to return being reborn into the bloodline of the ones they considered noble. Years went by and soon people forgot about the Saint Beasts and went on with their lives. Enter a man named Duke Philosopher the man who claimed the title of Pirate King. After being captured and sentenced to death at the gallows he told the world that if you seek to take my title then head towards the Golden Ocean. Only those who have claimed my treasure have the right to call themselves the Pirate King. Since that day pirates from around the world now seek to find Philosopher’s Treasure the treasure that would allow them to sit atop the mountain and be called the Pirate King. 22 years after Philosopher’s death no one has found his treasure and pirates still search for it.
Story: Enter Trey Morgease a young pirate from the South Ocean (Vermillion Ocean) who seeks to find the treasure and claim the title of Pirate King. He is a half-human half-harpia and comes from the noble bloodline of Suzaku something most people don’t know about. Because of this he has the powers to control and create fire, absorb fire related magic to replenish his own magic, heal from any injury, and communicate with birds. After amassing a strong crew Trey heads towards the Golden Ocean vowing to beat anyone who gets in his way and claiming the title of Pirate King for himself. The story is similar to One Piece except with the addition of magic, different arcs, and more crew members.
And these are some of my ideas for shonen mangas. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments below or if you have an idea for a shonen manga don’t be afraid to share it. If you would like to learn more about any of these ideas let know I be more than happy to go more in depth with them. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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