Running Japan Anime News, I’ve just reached a milestone with this article: our 5,000th post. There’s still a long way to go before hitting 10,000, but to mark this moment, I wanted to write about something I love deeply—manga. Specifically, I chose a topic close to my heart: Can Weekly Shonen Jump successfully pass the baton to a new generation?

What inspired this article was the strong performance of Ichi The Witch, a series that began serialization in September 2024. It recently sold 48,486 copies in the latest Oricon Weekly Manga Ranking, placing third overall. That level of momentum made me think—this deserves a deeper dive. (Source: Article 4964)

Summary of This Article

- Weekly Shonen Jump must break free from its “Weekly One Piece” dependency
- Kagurabachi has evolved beyond its meme origins into a genuine hit
- Ichi The Witch is steadily gaining traction with readers
- A thriving Jump means a thriving Japanese content industry

Current State of Weekly Shonen Jump

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Weekly Shonen Jump is facing a pivotal moment. Once known for hits like Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball, and Slam Dunk, its so-called "Golden Era" peaked in 1995 with a record-breaking 6.53 million copies in circulation. But after these flagship titles ended, the magazine's readership steadily declined.

Even so, Jump remained a titan in the manga industry, continuing to produce global sensations such as NARUTO and BLEACH. In more recent years, the success of Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and My Hero Academia helped anchor the Reiwa era. However, as these titles conclude, a sense of uncertainty looms—fans and industry insiders alike wonder if a “dark age” is approaching. Jokes about “Weekly One Piece” reflect Jump’s heavy reliance on a single flagship series.

To remain the driving force behind Japan’s anime and manga ecosystem, Jump must cultivate new pillars of success. In this context, two titles stand out: Kagurabachi and Ichi The Witch. Despite differing origins and trajectories, both are showing signs of becoming the twin engines powering Jump’s next era.

Kagurabachi: From Meme to Mainstream Sensation

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Kagurabachi (JP:カグラバチ, 神楽鉢), a dark fantasy action series by Takeru Hokazono, debuted in September 2023. It follows Chihiro, a young swordsman on a revenge mission wielding a mystical blade left behind by his father.

The series' launch was unprecedented—before Chapter 1 even dropped, English-speaking fans on TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Reddit exploded with memes declaring it the “greatest manga of all time.” Parody images showed iconic characters like Luffy bowing to Chihiro, and the term “Kagurabachi Glazing” became a viral trend. Thanks to this buzz, the first chapter topped Manga Plus’s weekly global view count and exceeded 99 million views by April 2024. (Source: Article 360)

Initially, however, Japanese readers were less receptive. The series struggled in Jump’s table-of-contents rankings, hovering near the bottom in its early months.(Source: Jajanken.net) Despite that, Hokazono’s bold artwork and compelling sword fights drew acclaim, and top creators like Kohei Horikoshi (My Hero Academia) and Masashi Kishimoto (NARUTO) endorsed it on volume covers.

Sales have followed suit. By May 2025, Kagurabachi had sold over 2.2 million copies, with Volume 3 reaching #6 on the Oricon weekly manga rankings. Its English edition also made waves, with Volume 1 landing at #9 on The New York Times’ monthly graphic book bestseller list. The manga won first place in the 2024 “Next Manga Awards” and ranked #6 in “Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2025.” (Source: Article 1566)

Fan demand for an anime adaptation is soaring. Kagurabachi placed 7th in AnimeJapan’s 2024 “Manga We Want to See Animated” ranking. (Source: anime-japan.jp) Although no official announcement has been made, and no reports have come from major outlets such as ORICON NEWS, Toyo Keizai, a Japanese economic publication, has already reported the anime adaptation as a done deal. With over 2 million copies sold—a common threshold for adaptation consideration—it’s becoming increasingly plausible.