Weekly Shonen Jump is one of the most iconic and well-known manga magazines in all of Japan. Over the years, this magazine has seen the serialization of many of manga's most iconic series, such as Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen, among many other big hits.
Last year, however, Weekly Shonen Jump took a major hit when Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia ended back-to-back. The magazine has yet to fully recover from this, but it is already creating the next big three of manga. The Big Three, originally referring to the trio of One Piece, Bleach and Narutohas changed since then. The future Big Three of Weekly Shonen Jump will be One Piece, Kagurabachi and Ichi the Witch. These three series will be the magazine's new mainstay and will fill the gap left by JJK and MHA.
Shonen Jump's new Big Three Are One Piece, Ichi the Witch and Kagurabachi
The Big Three is not an official term used by Weekly Shonen Jump, but among fans in the West, it is often used to designate the top 4 shonen manga in Jump magazine. Originally, the term Big Three was used to refer to the three most popular series of Weekly Shonen Jump in the 2000s and early 2010s. These three series were One Piece, Naruto and Bleach. Since then though, both Naruto and Bleach have ended, so in that sense the big three broke up a long time ago.
After the end of Naruto and Bleach, it could be said that My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen rose to carry the weight of Weekly Shonen Jump, along with One Piece. In a way, these three were the new Big 3 of Weekly Shonen Jump in the late 2010s and early 2020s. But now, once again, One Piece stands alone. In 2024, both Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia came to an end, which was a huge blow to the magazine.
Now, Weekly Shonen Jump seems to have found the perfect replacements for JJK and MHA to continue with One Piece. These new series are Ichi the Witch and Kagurabachi. Both of these new shonen series are still in their early stages and haven't blown up yet, but they have the potential to be the new big three of Shonen Jumpalong with One Piece.
Kagurabachi and Ichi the Witch have established themselves as the new big hits
Kagurabachi, by Takeru Hokazono, started in 2023. This manga has over 100 chapters at the moment and delivers great quality as a great battle-centric story with wizards and incredible sword fights. This manga is very similar to Jujutsu Kaisen. Meanwhile, Ichi the Witch is newer, having started just last year in 2025. The manga currently has over 60 chapters. The story of the witch Ichi is about magic and fantasy. It's more light-hearted, but still contains some serious moments when needed. This series is easy to compare with My Hero Academia in terms of tone and even the power system.
These two series stand as two of the biggest new stories for Weekly Shonen Jump, and the magazine knows it. Weekly Shonen Jump has purposefully advertised both series together, so much so that they were given an official nickname for the combination – Ichikabachika.
Shonen Jump has entered a new era with a new big three
Weekly Shonen Jump marked the end of an era with the end of My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen. When One Piece was running with Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia, sales were incredible. Weekly Shonen Jump has now entered a new era, and while there's no guarantee that Kagurabachi and Ichi the Witch will rise to the levels of their predecessors, they have huge potential.
Fans will have to see how the two new series are received when they finally get an anime adaptation. For Kagurabachi, a new anime could come as early as 2026. However, Ichi the Witch will definitely take longer, at least until 2027.
- Release date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Author
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
