Hey everyone. Justin here and welcome to the Otaku Mind. Well seeing as how we just ended the Shonen Jump arc it only seems fair that we look at the state of Shonen Jump. At the time of writing this blog My Hero Academia has ended and Jujutsu Kaisen is set to end next month. Two of Shonen Jump’s biggest and most popular mangas are ending and so close to each other. Between these two I think Jujutsu Kaisen’s will hit the hardest. Just last year this manga managed to dethrone One Piece and claim the seat as the new king of Shonen and just like Demon Slayer before it, as soon as it claimed that title the series was coming to an end. Starting to think the crown might be cursed. So with two of Shonen Jump’s biggest mangas coming to end we have to ask, what is exactly is the state of Shonen Jump? Where they go from here?
Well to answer that first question it is a big blow to Shonen Jump but it’s not a death blow. This isn’t the first time the magazine has had to deal with a situation like this. I remember when Naruto ended everyone was being dramatic and saying this is the end of Jump, but we all know it wasn’t. MHA and Black Clover would manage to fill in the empty hole Naruto left with MHA becoming the more popular of the two and of course Naruto would return in its unnecessary sequel, Boruto. So I think the state of Shonen Jump is calm. I’m sure they had plenty of time to prepare for MHA’s ending as the author told the world the series was coming to an end soon. Same with Jujutsu Kaisen, we could all sense the ending was coming. So with these two mangas ending that just leaves a hole for another series to fill. It’s very similar to when Demon Slayer ended. When that series ended most of its readers gravitated to Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man because of their similar subject matters. How do I know this? Because I was one of them. I started reading Demon Slayer after the anime and once I finished reading it I started reading Jujutsu Kaisen because both series dealt with demons but at the same time told different stories that were both great to read. They presented different characters and a power system that I found interesting. Focused on different morals and lessons, but told them in a way that everyone could relate to and understand. Bottom line, the readers of these two mangas will gravitate to a different series and elevate it to fill in the holes.
Now with that said, the question is, where does Shonen Jumo go from here? Well they start promoting their other mangas to the audience and seeing where they land while investing in their newer stories which over the years have generated some great hits for them. As of right now Shonen Jump has a lot of mangas to fill in the holes. There’s Chainsaw Man which already has a big fanbase so I can see readers of Jujutsu Kaisen picking that up if they haven’t already. One of the series in particular I’ve been enjoying is The Elusive Samurai. I can’t believe this was written by the same guy who gave us Assassination Classroom. This is a series that started off with a small fanbase but it’s been steadily growing thanks to the anime and the way the author handles the main character. Toriyuki isn’t your typical MC who is strong. He’s weak and relies on others to make up for his weaknesses and clear a path for him to achieve victory. SpyxFamily and Kaiju No.8 are other popular mangas that are awesome and I highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t already. We’ve also got Sakamoto Days a great comedy/action series. If you like SpyxFamily definitely give this a read, I think you’ll enjoy it and I can’t wait for the anime next year. I didn’t really get into Undead Unluck and Mission: Yozakura Family but I’ve heard they’re good and have growing fanbases thanks once again to the animes. Finally, there’s Kagurabachi which is rising in popularity and Jump seems to be very high on this series as they’re positioning it to take Jujutsu Kaisen’s spot and with the anime quickly being approved I think this might be a winner. Along with these mangas and many more I know I missed, Shonen Jump still has it’s sleeping giants, HunterxHunter and One Piece. Despite the long hiatuses HunterxHunter still has a loyal fanbase and whenever a new chapter drops everyone gets excited. One Piece may struggle to get new readers hooked but the story still remains to be the greatest story ever told in shonen to this day and it has one of the strongest fanbases in the world as well.
So yeah, while I’m sad to see MHA and Jujutsu Kaisen come to an end, I am glad I got to read them and happy that both mangas would go on to gain worldwide recognition and popularity. It was well deserved and I look forward to seeing what new series Jump will invest in and what readers will gravitate to next. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.