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Shonen Jumphas canceled many titles over the past few years. In fact, readers have been claiming that the magazine has struggled to attract new readership sinceNarutoandBleachconcluded. While series such asMy Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, andJujutsu Kaisenwere massive hits, they were also short-lived compared to the “Big Three” (One Piece, Naruto, andBleach).
AsOne Piecedraws closer to its end, even though it will still take a while before it is finally concluded, many fans wonder what will happen to the magazine onceOne Pieceis over. Either way, is it really a bad sign that so many titles were recently axed?
How Many Jump Titles Were Recently Axed?
ManyShonen Jumpreaders have been under the impression that the magazine is axing titles more quickly than it used to. They might not be wrong, as Shonen Jump has recently canceled many new titles, includingGreen Green Green,Syd Craft: Love Is a Mystery,Super Psychic Policeman Chojo,Embers, andAstro Royale. The latter was considered a potential hit since it was written byTokyo Revengerscreator Ken Wakui, but it lasted only a year in the magazine.
While some readers may have been surprised whenAstro Royalewas canceled, the manga wasn’t really performing well, so those familiar withJumpsales were not shocked. From the listed titles, the most shocking cancellation was actually Embers, since it ran for less than six months in the magazine. The second and final volume will be out in August.Shonen Jumptypically lets new series run for at least three volumes to check if they are able to gain momentum, butEmberswas cut before reaching the third volume, suggesting a new approach.
Is Shonen Jump Struggling to Find New Hits?
There area few signs suggesting thatShonen Jumphas been struggling to find new, long-lasting hits. The first one, which many readers have already commented on, is that even successful titles have hardly run for over 6 years, especially when we consider manga that started serialization after the mid-2010s.Jujutsu Kaisen, which was once regarded as the next-generation flagship title of the magazine, concluded last year, during its sixth year of serialization.Black Cloveris still in serialization, but it went on hiatus many times and shifted toJump Giga, so Yuki Tabata could follow a quarterly schedule as he writes the final arc of the story. Currently,Me & RobocoandSakamoto Daysare the oldest new-generation titles in the magazine, and they both began in 2020.
In any case, while this may sound alarming to many readers, it could only mean that the magazine is following a different approach, not forcing authors to keep writing a series when they are no longer able to continue it. In fact, such long-lasting titles were the exception in the history ofShonen Jump. However, there are other clues suggesting that Shueisha is worried about the magazine not being able to produce series that can run for years and years. For example,Shonen Jumphas been investing heavily in contests to find new talents. Contests are a cheap way to have access to a massive number of fresh writers trying to find a chance in the manga industry, and the winners are evaluated not only by editors but also by prominent authors. Still, for now, it doesn’t seem this approach is getting where they might want.
It’s also noticeable that the magazine is investing in the production of reboots and remakes. While there are still anime based on new titles, this approach suggests that old titles might still be a safer investment than trying to adapt mild hits into anime. Additionally, according to reports, sales have droppedafterMy Hero AcademiaandJujutsu Kaisenconcluded, which is an important indicator that the magazine is struggling to attract new readers.
Is This Shonen Jump’s New Normal?
As mentioned,Shonen Jumpseems to be entering an era where flagship titles won’t last for many years. However, unlike what happened in the 1970s and 1980s, successful authors don’t seem to be able to produce more than one hit for a magazine, either because their new series aren’t successful or because they simply don’t start to write new series. This is a bit strange since manga and anime are gaining more and more popularity worldwide.
Therefore, it seems that we are entering a pattern of massive hits that lasts for about 6 years, but there is a good chance thatShonen Jumpis looking for a way to deliver massive hits in the future. So we might still see some changes in the magazine in the next few years. The magazine seems to be following a path of diversification of titles instead of focusing mostly on battle shonen. But it also seems that the biggestJumptitles will come fromShonen Jump+, and not the print magazine.
Insights from Kazuhiko Torishima
Kazuhiko Torishima, alegendaryDragon Balleditorwho also served asShonen Jump’s editor-in-chief from 1996 to 2015, recently attended Paris Japan Expo 2025, wherehe shared some insights on the manga industry. Torishima believes that digital platforms are likely to change the way we consume manga because, after reading a series, algorithms suggest similar stories. This is very different from reading a manga magazine, where the reader has access to a “curation” of many different series. Thus, while there are many more options today, readers will likely stay reading similar things instead of discovering different stories. Those who want to try new things will have to actively look for them.
There are many manga out there with complex and difficult themes. They don’t make you want to read them.
— Kazuhiko Torishima
Torishima also suggested that there is something lacking in recent titles, at least when it comes to major magazines. He mentionedAttack on Titanas an exampleof a series that made a lot of noise but didn’t sell that well; he also stated that there are many complex and difficult manga out there. It seems that he believes that manga should deliver a simple narrative, or at least a narrative told in a simple structure. While Torishima was not talking specifically aboutShonen Jump, his answers might be valuable to understand how Shueisha is trying to reshapeShonen Jumpin order to keep leading the manga business.
