Felt like the direction of WSJ really started to change this year. Quite a few battle series ended or seem to be heading towards end game and the successful newer series seem to be trending more slice of life-ish.

General comments on each series that didn’t get axed:

• I’m enjoying the flashback arc in One Piece. I think One Piece is like Game of Thrones to me, the stuff that lead to the current events is more interesting than the current events themselves…
• Borderline hate-reading Roboco now
• Sakamoto Days is honestly a bit of a drag now. And I think I’m realising that I’m actually not that fond of it.
• The Elusive Samurai has been killing it, such a good series.
• Witch Watch got much better once Nico grew up a bit.
• Akane-Banashi took a bit to get going after the time skip.
• Blue Box was fine. It was never my kind of series to begin with.
• Ruri Dragon is very solid
• Hunter x Hunter had a single chapter 🙁
• Last time I complained that Nue’s Exorcist was taking itself too seriously and then it went and proved me totally wrong. It has no absolutely shame anymore lol.
• This was the year that I started looking forward to Kagurabachi chapters.
• I fully acknowledge that Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi is only surviving because the magazine line-up doesn’t have any hard hitters at the moment. I consider myself lucky that I am enjoying the current WSJ B-tiers haha.
• Most definitely hate reading Hima-Ten
• Ichi the Witch has gotten into a groove. It definitely has a distinct style to it.
• Also think Shinobi Undercover is only surviving because of the lack of hard hitters. I love it though
• I feel like Otr should focus on it’s side characters a bit more. I really like Eturpiko and Hugin. And the merchant guy seems decent too.
• I was super excited for Harukaze Mound but I don’t think it’s selling it’s characters well enough. So I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends next year unfortunately.
• I love Someone Hertz, it’s in the same vein as Ruri Dragon but with a hint of romance.
• Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo is super high quality but we know it’s a short run series so I’ll just enjoy it while it’s around.
• Gonron Egg is rather terrible tbh.
• The Mage Next Door is ok, but I think it needs better supporting characters.
• Hero Girl and Demon Lord Call it Quits is really fun.

And in memorial:

Farewell, you are missed 😢

None of these were particularly high quality, but I thought Kaedegami had potential and Astro Royal was a fun battle manga in a magazine that doesn’t feel like it has that much straight battle manga anymore (UEK and Shinobi Undercover feel like battle comedies imo). Syd Craft I liked way more than HimaTen and Chojo I also like way more than Roboco. So I miss them by comparison I guess haha.

Bye, I enjoyed our time together

I guess I didn’t mind Hakutaku?

Wait, you existed?

I actually forgot to do a WSJ Graveyard post for Ekiden Bros lol. I’m kinda surprised I completely forgot about Kill Blue after it ended haha. I guess it didn’t have enough impact in it’s ending and also I was keen to forget how creepy it felt. The rest weren’t necessarily bad (except maybe Nice Prison), just very forgettable.

Sorry, but good riddance

Sorry but I really didn’t care for Undead Unluck or Mission Yozakura.

First Place – Witch Watch (41 Points)

Once again wasn’t expecting this to take first place since I wasn’t keen on kid Nico arc, but that actually ended fairly early during the year and middle school Nico arc was much more interesting. I feel like I might not like final battle arc though…this series feels pretty jarring when it’s serious mode with comedy.

Second Place – Shinobi Undercover
(35 Points)

To be honest I was expecting Kiyoshi to place higher than this one. But I have really liked this series this year. Yodaka is hilarious and all the other ninja are really interesting too. Plus the art is probably the best in the magazine at the moment? I looove how stylish the ninja are.

Third Place – The Elusive Samurai
(32 Points)

Kept the same ranking as last year too. This series is so solid in terms of action, humour and historical trivia. I imagine it will probably end next year. I’m not too sad, the plot progression has gone at a good pace so it makes sense.

Useless Stats

Akane-Banashi only lost to The Elusive Samurai by 1 point.

In terms of number of times a series placed, Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi actually took the top spot with 17 times. Followed by Shinobi Undercover (16), Witch Watch (15) and The Elusive Samurai (14). Akane-Banashi and Kagurabachi tied for 5th place (12).

Conclusion

There was a big dump of sports series this year, of which only Harukaze Mound has made it to the finish line. If that falters I can see them throwing more sports series at the wall to see what sticks… I have no idea how well Hima-Ten is doing, but personally I want a different harem manga LOL. Although Nue exists…so I probably won’t get my wish.

I see 2026 being a big year for Kagurabachi and Ichi the Witch which both seem to be hitting their stride. Sakamoto Days and the Elusive Samurai will probably end. I foresee Witch Watch final arc dragging out all year into 2027. I think Akane-Banashi has a lot more ground to cover so will steadily keep going (it’s definitely safe at this point) and for now I think Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi and Shinobi Undercover are also safe just due to lack of competition 😅 I hope Someone Hertz and Hero Girl/Demon Lord continue, they are both very enjoyable series.

Categories: Weekly Shonen Jump Impressions

Tagged as: Yearly Manga Summary

hikaru