summation
-
The “big three” were outliers. One Piece consistently outsold Naruto and Bleach in the 2000s.
-
Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen are the latest strong candidates for long-lasting hits in Shonen Jump.
-
Shonen Jump is moving toward diversification by focusing on creating many smaller hits rather than replicating long-term success.
Major in 2024 boy jumping The cartoon is over. Do a jujutsu and My Hero Academia Saying goodbye to the fans (there are plenty of spinoffs in the works, at least when it comes to the original story). from naruto and bleach Since it ended in the 2010s, fans have wondered which titles would be the “next big three.”
The “Big Three” are the three bestsellers. boy jumping A series that could have been a hit for a long time in the 2000s. one piece, naruto and bleach. However, it is important to note. naruto and bleach was in its prime, one piece It was at the top of the list and sold twice as many as the second place. narutogenerally).

relevant
How did Shonen Jump mess up their formula?
Shonen Jump has been a leader in the manga industry for decades. But along the way, what made it so great may have been ruined.
The “New” Big Three of the 2010s
when naruto and bleach As the series ended, we saw people pointing to several possible new candidates. My Hero Academia was one of the candidates Black Clover, The Promised Neverland and Haikyuu He was also a strong candidate in the 2010s. Especially after the 2020s The Promised Neverland and Haikyuu It's over, demon slayer and Do a jujutsu He became a strong candidate.
Of all the candidates, only black clover It's still in progress, but has changed to: jump giga. one piece Outlived every possible “next big three” candidate. It's a bit strange that many of the titles were presented as part of the “new” big three when the oldest of the “original” big three were not only still in serial form, but were also the top comics sellers almost every year of the 2010s. Another series only in 2019 (demon slayer) ranked first on the Oricon chart.
But now it's clear one piece It should be finished within the next few years. Many people are curious. What will the next three companies be? which current S.J. The title can last at least as long naruto and bleachDid it take about 10 years just to serialize it?
But that question is based on a false impression. boy jumping It's history, not rules (which doesn't mean magazines don't try to replicate them). So the question here is: boy jumping actually necessary Another Big 3? To answer this, we first need to think about a few things.
Before Shonen Jump “Big 3”
Before briefly analyzing boy jumping It is important to note that although this was before the so-called “Big Three Era”, there was no “Big Three” in the way international audiences understood it. while one piece and naruto It frequently ranked first and second on the annual Oricon charts in terms of sales volume. one piece They usually sell for more than twice as much. naruto), bleach It didn't always place in the top three, and sometimes sold less than other Jump titles, such as: reincarnation or Blue Exorcist.
if We think of the “big three” in terms of how long a series has lasted in a magazine and become a pillar of the magazine, and we actually have a big four.. GintamaDebuted in 2003 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< S.J.. In the last issue it was moved to: jump giga (2018), the series ended with volume 77 in 2019. Gintama It also entered the top 10 titles on the Oricon chart. But despite being a huge hit, Gintama It is generally ignored by overseas audiences because the humor relies too heavily on Japanese references.
This points out that the concept of the “Big Three” is actually a misinterpretation by international audiences, who only consider the three long-lived Big Three. jump It is a title that has consistently been able to reach an international audience. also, Hunter × Hunter (1998–) was nearly ten years into the series as it began to go on repeated hiatuses (the first long-term hiatus began in 2006). prince of tennis It also lasted for a long time, from 1999 to 2008, concluding with 42 volumes (but not as long as the supposed “big four”).
Let's analyze it boy jumping During the heyday of the 1980s and 1990s, there was almost no serialization for more than six years. The exception is: jojo's bizarre adventure (It has been in progress since 1987, but ultra jump (At the time of compilation of volume 80 in 2004) Rokudenashi Blues (1988-1997; 42 volumes) and dragon ball (1984-1995, 42 volumes), captain tsubasa If we consider it to be a sequel to the first series (which ran from 1981 to 1988). even slam dunk『』, which was considered one of the pillars of magazines in the 1990s, did not last more than 6 years with a total of 31 volumes from 1990 to 1996.
Instead of serializing huge, long-lasting hits, important writers created multiple short stories. Cartoon artists like Masami Kurumada (saint seiya), Buronson (Hokutonoken), Tetsuo Hara (Hokutonoken), Katsura Masazaku (wingman), Akira Toriyama (dragon ball), Yoshihiro Togashi (Yuyu Hakusho), Tsukasa Hojo (City Hunter) All created at least one hit for the magazine during their careers (Kurumada was one of the magazine's biggest names for a while). Ring Ni Kakero and Kojiro Fumano Before he created his most internationally known work, it was considered a huge hit. saint seiya). Back in the 1970s, the lifespan of a series would typically be much shorter than six years.
What this all shows is that the 2000s were an exception in terms of how long series lasted in magazines. Success was not measured by serials lasting more than 10 years. boy jumping Editors in the 1990s probably didn't anticipate that the series would become so long. It was even less unexpected that one series could last for more than a decade.
Shonen Jump reached its peak before the Big Three.
The “Big Three” actually emerged after what is considered the Golden Age. boy jumping. The magazine enjoyed its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s. 1994 was that kind of year. boy jumping showed the highest circulation Historical: The average circulation of a magazine has been calculated. Approximately 6.3 million copies. This is almost six times more than the magazine's average circulation in 2020 (about 1.6 million copies). demon slayer It has reached its peak.
I have a very personal opinion on this. Considering that this “outlier” occurred right after the magazine began to decline, I think the editorial team may have put more pressure than usual on writers not to finish their articles. jump They feared that losing their most prestigious title would lead to a further decline. But this is just a hypothesis. If that happened, I think they changed their strategy because they started to realize that it would be difficult to keep the title going that long.
But these days, it's harder to know whether Jump can still be said to be in decline, since so many of its readers are using online platforms such as: boy jump+ and cartoon plus. We don't have accurate information about how many people access these websites and what exactly they are reading. We know that some stories are wildly popular, but we don't know what the average comic is.
Diversifying your sales proposition was the answer
While 2021 and 2022 have seen higher-than-usual numbers as the world is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, Oricon charts for 2023 and beyond show numbers more consistent with numbers seen before the pandemic. It seems like the public is becoming more diverse, and that can also be confirmed. boy jumping They've managed to serialize new titles that aren't the typical fighting shonen we've seen for decades (good examples include: Akane Banashi). Shonen Jump+ is also about Shueisha trying new things and what they are.jump public” (spy x familyFor example, it is also different from the usual one. jump The series was a hit.)
We know that the female masses have always been there too, boy jumping I started taking it more seriously. Young Jump It already happened a few years ago. What we can now expect is not two or three big hits that everyone reads, but lots of 'small hits' that are read by a variety of people.
Oda is not over one piece Masashi Kishimoto and Taito Kubo have yet to create a new hit with a following. naruto and bleach After you finish. Replicating long-lasting success is no easy task.And what I personally think is boy jumping The writers that projects like the JUMP Next Generation Battle Manga Awards are looking for are not writers who can serialize for more than 10 years, but rather A writer who could once again create multiple hits that would each last for about 4-6 years.. If you can create a title that can be a hit for over 10 years, that would be a bonus, not a goal. I don't believe in new hits like: Sakamoto DaysIt will run for 10 years.
The so-called “Big Three” have been something of an outlier in magazine history, and today diversification seems more important than long-lasting hits.
boy jumping We don't need another Big 3Diversification and adaptation to the ever-changing comics market are necessary, S.J. We may find that what we see in the future will be very different from what we knew. As already mentioned, that doesn't mean Shueisha doesn't welcome the “new big three.”
