Weekly Shonen Jump is still the dominant brand in all things manga out of Japan, with a storied history of sagas, heroes, and anime that have exploded out of its pages. However, with its recent hits from the pandemic era starting to bow out including Blue Box and The Elusive Samurai, people might fear for the magazine’s future.
However, across multiple eras for the publication there have emerged iconic “big three” trios, most famously with One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. These are often disproportionately successful manga or, even in their earliest years, show remarkable staying power amid stiff competition. As 2026 approaches, it’s time to meet the New-Gen Big Three: Ichi the Witch, Shinobi Undercover, and Kagurabachi.
Shonen Jump Has a New Big Three, but Just How Big?
While the terminology behind Big Threes is somewhat repetitive and relatively drained of its meaning lately, there have been undeniable waves of hits following the most famous Big Threes. This includes the trio of My Hero Academia, Black Clover, and Demon Slayer, while darker tones overtook the turn of the decade with Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Hell’s Paradise.
In the case of the newest wave of manga, there’s been uncertainty about what’d truly take off. In some cases this year like Kaedegami, series were cancelled in record time for Shonen Jump, but for longtime readers, it’s par for the course. Even one creator duo of the New-Gen Big Three, behind Shinobi Undercover, got axed with Candy Flurry.
In some cases this year like Kaedegami, series were cancelled in record time for Shonen Jump, but for longtime readers, it’s par for the course.
While it’s too early to tell just how impactful this new wave truly will be in terms of sales, they bear impressive accolades. Ichi the Witch and Kagurabachi both bear My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi’s seal of approval, with the former touted as representing Shonen Jump’s future.
Shinobi Undercover, meanwhile, has maintained a strong position with the Japanese readership thanks in large part to a relatable blend of high school life with surprisingly pulse-pounding ninja battle focusing on close combat. It may be easy to compare to Naruto, but its dense environmental renditions overlaying expressive fighters, popping off the panels as they tackle rogue ninjas, is breathtaking.
How to Spot Shonen Jump’s Next Big Hits
Obviously, the ultimate signifier of any Shonen Jump manga’s true success is a long, uncancelled run, tens to hundreds of millions of print volumes sold, and anime adaptation with opportunities for additional merchandise. Calling out a New-Gen Big Three is thus rather hasty, but another strong indicator eagerly tracked usually hints what’ll take off: the table of contents.
Shonen Jump’s table of contents is a strong indicator of reader interest in the domestic Japanese market, alongside editorial support for a given series, and liklihood of avoiding cancellation. Limited series like Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo, long-running mainstays like One Piece, and one-shots are often evaluated differently.
Factoring out the usual suspects from Shonen Jump’s table of contents is thus often telling; Ichi the Witch rarely dips below fifth place, frequently only falling short of One Piece. Shinobi Undercover consistently ranks in the top 10 alongside longer runs like Witch Watch, Blue Box, and Sakamoto Days, averaging #7-8.
Kagurabachi, while ranking lower lately, has immense online readership and sales statistics. However, Kagurabachi, Ichi the Witch, and Shinobi Undercover also bear one more indicator of editorial support: leading color pages. Ichi the Witch and Kagurabachi get more lead color pages as #1 on the ToC, while Shinobi Undercover gets the most frequent center color pages of the pack.
When Will the New-Gen Big Three Get Their Anime?
Due to being under Shonen Jump’s umbrella, fans know at this point not to ask if, but when, a series will be adapted to an anime. This is increasingly evident when even long-dormant series like Psyren get announced for an adaptation, and generally speaking, shonen manga readers never have to worry that their series won’t at least get a shot.
While there were famous reports out of Toyo Keizai about CyGamesPictures adapting Kagurabachi, a full year has passed without much of a comment on the matter. Ichi the Witch is all but a certainty as well, given its mass appeal, and fans yearning for another anime based on Osamu Nishi’s works outside of Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun.
Ichi the Witch is all but a certainty as well, given its mass appeal, and fans yearning for another anime based on Osamu Nishi’s works outside of Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun.
Of the three, though, the wobbliest in terms of international impressions still seems to be Shinobi Undercover, even with how consistently enjoyable its balance of action and awkward high school romance is. Even then, considering its prominent placement within Shonen Jump, an anime would inevitably boost sales, with the former underperformers The Elusive Samurai as a good example.
This isn’t to say that the New-Gen Big Three won’t have its challengers within Shonen Jump. An impressive competitor quickly latched onto by the readership is Ei Yomano’s serial debut Someone Hertz, going so far as even to surge past Shinobi Undercover and below Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo. Regardless, each of these manga are certainly ones to watch for discerning fans.
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Shonen Jump is one of Japan’s most successful manga anthology franchises, published by Shueisha. Launched in 1968, it is the source of some of the most beloved and popular anime and manga series, such as One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Naruto. The franchise has extended into multiple adaptations across various media, including anime, films, video games, and merchandise.
