The world of Japanese manga and anime is bigger and better than ever, and fans have endless options for finding new series to read or watch. Some fans will start with the classics such as Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon, or recently-completed titles such as Demon Slayer’s manga or perhaps Tokyo Ghoul. That way, the reader gets the satisfaction of being able to finish the entire story at their own pace.
Meanwhile, manga enthusiasts new and experienced alike can also dive into the many ongoing shonen manga series to keep pace with current manga trends. At some point, the reader will get all caught up, then eagerly await new chapters every week with the rest of the crowd, which is fun in its own way. A handful of shonen manga series stands out as the best for new fans to lose themselves in.
Update on May 30th, 2023 by Louis Kemner: the world of shonen manga is massive, and it ony gets bigger each year with countless new titles for genres like action/adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and drama. There’s a shonen manga out there for every reader, whether they want to see superheroes, monsters, or tender love stories, and the best ongoing shonen manga series are ready to welcome new fans who want to see what manga is really like.
20 My Hero Academia
37 Volumes
Author Kohei Horikoshi paid loving tribute to both American superhero comics and 20th-century shonen classics with his new manga series My Hero Academia in the mid-2010s. His series was a hit, and by now, it is a staple of the shonen manga world.
This is the tale of protagonist Izuku Midoriya and his quest to become the new symbol of peace, or the greatest Pro Hero, and his battle against villainy. By now, the manga has reached its breathtaking climax, and longtime fans are eager to see how this heroic manga tale ends.
19 Jujutsu Kaisen
22 Volumes
Author Gege Akutami’s smash-hit fantasy shonen series Jujutsu Kaisen is another staple of 21st-century shonen, and it can be lumped together with My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer to form an unofficial new “big three” of manga. All three series have much to offer.
Jujutsu Kaisen stars protagonist Yuji Itadori on his quest to destroy monstrous curses while trying to tame the Curse King, Ryomen Sukuna, within himself. Yuji is fighting hard, but he might be living on borrowed time, and the curses show him no mercy. His high school life will never be the same again.
18 Komi Can’t Communicate
29 Volumes
Komi Can’t Communicate, by Tomohito Oda, is a lovely slice-of-life romantic comedy shonen series featuring the silent protagonist Shoko Komi. She is a beautiful dandere who is determined to break out of her shell and make some friends for the first time. In fact, she wants 100 of them.
Shoko Komi’s life will be forever changed when she expands her social circle at school, and she has all kinds of fun going to the pool, having snowball fights, and taking part in school festival activities. This shonen series is largely episodic in nature, meaning it can keep going well into the future.
17 Kaiju No. 8
9 Volumes
Author Naoya Matsumoto delighted the shonen manga community with the hit series Kaiju No. 8, and true to its title, this manga series is all about giant monsters and the carnage they wreak on society. Kafka Hibino is the hero, and to defeat the kaiju monsters, he must become one himself.
Fortunately, Kafka retains his personality when fighting as a titanic monster, but even so, it’s pretty scary to see him in action, fighting fire with fire like that. He has certainly come a long way since he did work cleaning up bodies after kaiju attacks, that’s for sure.
16 Chainsaw Man
14 Volumes
By now, author Tatsuki Fujimoto’s hit series Chainsaw Man is all over the place, and it’s easy to see why. This bloody, brutal, and funny shonen series both adheres to and viciously deconstructs everything that makes shonen what it is. It has to be read to be believed.
The hero is Denji, a punkish boy who can turn into Chainsaw Man to destroy devils, though his own allies like Power and Makima are nearly as monstrous as the creatures they’re supposed to destroy. By now, the first major arc of Chainsaw Man is over, and the second part has recently begun with chapter 99.
15 Noragami
26 Volumes
Author Adachitoka’s hit fantasy series Noragami is a great pick for anyone who enjoyed series such as Demon Slayer, Fire Force, Bleach, and D.Gray-Man. All of them are shonen action manga series where the heroes fight supernatural monsters with swords or magic, after all.
Noragami is nearing its climax, and new fans are welcome to join the adventure as it reaches its peak. The hero, the rogue god Yato, is a noble fighter who will risk his life for his friends, whether they’re humans, gods, or anything between. The art style is excellent, too, with lush details and clear action.
14 Undead Unluck
16 Volumes
Undead Unluck feels a tad obscure compared to household names like Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia, but Yoshifumi Tozuka’s charming shonen manga series is still worth a read. This is the tale of Fuuko Izumo, a Japanese girl who drains away everyone’s good luck with her Negator ability.
This often has fatal results, so Fuuko tends to stay away from people. But then she meets Andy, an immortal man who is determined to end his life somehow. The two of them make for an odd but fun pair, and their clashing Negator abilities play off each other well.
13 Spy X Family
11 Volumes
Author Tatsuya Endo’s shonen series Spy x Family has quickly become one of the biggest names in the manga world, and the adventure is still going strong. The series takes place in a Cold War setting where the nations of Westalis and Ostania are on the brink of war, and spies are everywhere.
The hero is the Westalis spy Twilight, now going by Loid Forger, who is determined to discover Ostania’s deepest secrets. But first, he must pose as a family man, and his telepath foster daughter Anya is now a part of the mission, too. Meanwhile, Loid’s new wife, Yor, is secretly Ostania’s #1 assassin.
12 Mashle: Magic & Muscles
16 Volumes
Author Hajime Komoto’s action comedy shonen series Mashle: Magic and Muscles has the visual flair of the Harry Potter movies while having thematic ties to both Harry Potter and My Hero Academia. The protagonist, Mash Burndead, was born powerless in a world where magic means everything.
Soi, Mash makes up for it with his astonishing physical feats, which makes him the new Saitama. He is a student at a wizard school, and his superhuman athletic feats more than make up for his inability to cast a single spell. Being born without talent isn’t such a bad thing after all.
11 Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!
10 Volumes
The delightful rom-com Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!, written by Kai Ikada, has only a limited release in the West, currently only available for free on the Manga Plus website and app. That makes it a hidden gem of a shonen manga, and anyone who finds it is in for a treat.
Hokkaido Gals is a high school romance set in the chilly Hokkaido prefecture, where the everyman protagonist Tsubasa Shiki just moved. He meets a gorgeous and friendly gyarunamed Minami Fuyuki, who welcomes him to her hometown, her school, and most of all, her everyday life.
10 Dandadan
10 Volumes
Dandadan is a popular but also semi-obscure shonen manga series written by Yukinobu Tatsu. It hasn’t made huge waves like Jujutsu Kaisen or My Hero Academia, but many fans who read it had many good things to say, so shonen fans looking for something fresh are encouraged to try Dandadan.
This ongoing shonen manga stars a boy named Ken and a girl named Momo, who have clashing views on whether aliens or ghosts exist. To their shock, they realize firsthand that both aliens and ghosts are indeed real, and their adventures will only get weirder from there.
9 Sakamoto Days
11 Volumes
Sakamoto Days is a comedy action series that may appeal to fans of Spy x Family and The Way of the Househusband. This relatively new shonen manga series, written by Yuto Suzuki, stars Taro Sakamoto, an elite hitman who gave up his violent career to work at a convenience store instead.
Sakamoto hoped to get away from the underworld of criminals and violence, but to his dismay, hitmen are still following him and making attempts on his life. So, it’s up to Sakamoto to use wacky methods to fight these people off, preferably without shedding too much blood along the way.
8 Witch Watch
10 Volumes
Witch Watch is a charming fantasy shonen anime that may appeal to fans of Flying Witch and Little Witch Academia. This ongoing shonen manga, written by Kenta Shinohara, stars the teenage witch Nico Wakatsuki, who just finished magical training and moved into a house with her ogre friend Moihito.
Mirohito is destined to become Nico’s familiar, and Nico can’t wait, since Morihito is her longtime crush. That adds some rom-com elements to this charming shonen title, and then there’s all the magic and monsters that keep popping up in their daily lives to keep them on their toes.
7 Blue Box
10 Volumes
The ongoing shonen manga series Blue Box, written by Kouji Miura, has a fairly large fanbase since it blends elements of sports manga and romantic comedy into a single, cohesive package. The protagonist is the teenage Taiki Inomata, who practices his chosen sport every morning: badminton.
Taiki isn’t alone; he’s got his slightly older classmate and crush Chinatsu Kano, who practices basketball in the morning as well. Then Chinatsu moves into Taiki’s household, and while they keep practicing their respective sports, Taiki hopes to build a real relationship with Chinatsu and find true happiness.
6 Call Of The Night
15 Volumes
Call of the Night is a fantasy shonen manga by author Kotoyama that stars the dandere male lead Ko Yamori, an 8th grader who feels lost in mainstream society. He wandered the night alone to figure himself out, until he met an outgoing vampire girl named Nazuna Nanakusa.
Nazuna begins a wacky but fun friendship with Ko, encouraging him to enjoy his nightly life but also warning him against becoming a vampire like her. And under her playful exterior, Nazuna is much lonelier than she’d admit, and Nazuna gets hilariously bashful about romance, too.
5 Akane-Banashi
5 Volumes
Akane-Banashi is an ongoing shonen manga that’s all about traditional Japanese comedy, or rakugo. Written by Yuki Suenaga and illustrated by Takamasa Moue, Akane-Banashi stars the female lead, Akane Osaki, always admired her rakugo performer father. Then her father failed an exam to become a higher-ranked performer.
Akane felt terrible for her father, then decided to secretly learn the ways of rakugo for herself and succeed against all odds. She will also prove to the world that rakugo is a respectable form of entertainment, and she’ll work her hardest to keep her audiences laughing with her rakugo tales.
4 The Elusive Samurai
10 Volumes
The Elusive Samurai, written by Yusei Matsui, is currently being published in Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since 2021. This is a historical shonen manga taking place in Japan’s colorful past, starring the real-life historical figure Hojo Tokiyuki as a fleet-footed samurai.
Hojo’s family was overthrown, so it’s up to him to avenge them and regain his glory somehow. It won’t be easy, though, since he has few allies and his main strategy is not to fight, but to flee his enemies and cleverly hide from them like a wily rogue.
3 RuriDragon
1 Volume
RuriDragon is one of Weekly Shonen Jump’s most recent manga series, launching in 2022 and having one manga volume to its name so far. Written by author Masaoki Shindo, RuriDragon stars a schoolgirl named Ruri Aoki who wakes up one day with horns on her forehead.
Ruri’s mother wasn’t shocked – in fact, she expected this to happen, because Ruri is half-dragon. Now Ruri must go to school like usual, and there, she’ll get more than a little attention as a horned girl with a draconic bloodline in her veins.
2 Me & Roboco
12 Volumes
Me & Roboco is a fantasy comedy manga series written by author Shuhei Miyazaki. It’s a colorful, goofy slice-of-life manga that follows the young protagonist Bondo Taira, an elementary school student who longs to have a robot maid of his own because everyone else has one.
Roboco is a clumsy but powerful OrderMaid who causes a lot of trouble, but Bondo still likes her as a friend and feels lonely anytime she’s not around. With such a wacky robot maid under his roof, Bondo’s life is about to get seriously strange – and sheer hilarity will ensue.
1 Ayakashi Triangle
13 Volumes
Ayakashi Triangle, written by author Kentaro Yabuki, is set in Omiko City, a fictional metropolis in the Japanese countryside. But it’s not just people who live there – Omiko City is also home to invisible ayakashi spirits, and only people with strong life energy or spirit energy can sense them.
The two main leads are Matsuri Kamikaze, an exorcist ninja, and Suzu Kanade, an ayakashi medium. Matsuri took it upon himself to protect Suzu from evil ayakashi who might get too close, but then he lost to the ayakashi king, Shirogane, and had most of his powers sealed away. Then he was turned into a girl, and Shirogane hopes to finish the job and devour Suzu someday.
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