The Next Big Three

[Divinenega]

What is the point on comparing their rankings if we all know that Jump is more competitive? My point is Weekly mangaka had more pressure on creating a weekly manga than making a monthly manga.... I am not 100% sure but as what I see from Bakuman this is the case.

My point was that montly mangaka can be pressured when it comes to writing as well. It;s not just exclusive to weekly series.

[tobeulp]

My point was that montly mangaka can be pressured when it comes to writing as well. It;s not just exclusive to weekly series.

What is the point if we all know there is more pressure in making a weekly one lol

Well already had my take on the weekly, monthly comparison and it is quite a bit OT.

[Newkerzy]

And how many people in how many country have you asked newkerzy? And have you researched sales of manga in other countries? Considering you're so confident in you're post I would like to see it.

I could ask you the same thing, have you asked any regular joes out there about manga and anime and what their answer was??

I'm not just looking at it in sales numbers, I'm also looking at it in a cultural sense. Hell, here in my country, Detective Conan is actually the most popular manga, if not the second most popular.

What I meant by cultural sense was how does the manga affect us?? has it become a well known manga to the point it's become a pop culture/household name?? that's the question we should pose to the next generation of mangas because the most popular mangas in history has had at least a certain amount of influence in modernpop culture for the world.

Having a monthly series is much more convenient than having a weekly series... Why? Because in a weekly series they need to rank higher on rankings because specially in Jump there are a lot of series there battling to survive... (Read Bakuman for Info about rankings etc ) so I think some weekly manga declines because of rankings and specially deadlines while in a monthly manga they didn't need to go thru this process and can draw and think of a story much much better in whatever they want.

If I were to add monthly manga ex. SnK,AnE,Claymore,D-grayman,Soul Eater etc and make it a weekly I think its pacing and story will decline.. While if you add One Piece,Naruto,Bleach,Toriko,Fairy Tail,HSDK etc into a monthly manga the pace and story of it will surely be better... But if I will add FMA on a weekly I think it will be a great battle with One Piece ^^ but most monthly manga now I don't think they can do good in a weekly...

As for sales I think 70% of manga readers didn't even have a manga mainly because in their country they didn't have a Manga for sale or very limited... So I will not base the popularity on sales specially if you will add the whole world as an example.... I rather visit Manga forums to know how popular a Manga is rather than base it on sales just my opinion..

I might agree with you on that, but I think the reason why weekly mangas tend to be more popular is because they have a much tighter standard. It's also the reason why Jump mangas are extremely popular because Jump has such a strict standard that borders on corporate greed but in reality it works.

[suicune123]

I don't think we can speak for Japan in terms of what's popular and what's not popular unless you live there. You can only talk from the country and culture you are from. In Japan, I always thought that One Piece was the most popular, especially in the shounen category of manga.

Also, note that in Japan, one would think Naruto or Bleach topped the anime rankings week by week. It's much the opposite, popular staples like Doraemon and Sazae-san (which has been going on for years) top the rankings. Maybe that's a signal to whats really popular in the land of the rising sun.

What frustrates me is the whole notion that manga and anime are declining industries. How is that possible? It's like saying comics and cartoons are a declining indurty over in the west, they may be declining but they will always be around. The manga and anime industry have cyclical demand, simple as lol.

[Jammin]

I don't foresee any of the current series stepping into the void of the current Big 3, especially from Weekly Shounen Jump.

I just don't think any of the series I see have the kind of broad appeal to jump across the cultural divides. You have to have a good bit of manga/anime exposure before you can really fully appreciate stuff like Gintama, Beelzebub, and Medeka box. Lots of stuff has strong appeal for niche audiences but I just don't see many weekly series besides the big 3 that have "something for everyone" and works well as a person's 1st manga series.

IMO the closest would probably be Fairy Tail, I guess.

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I suspect, if Bleach and Naruto do end up getting successors, they will come from new series rather than the established ones.

[Jaymie]

Ao no Exorcist had huge sales mainly because it is monthly and there aren't that many competitors in monthly magazine that is why they could advertise it greater than weekly shounen that had a huge list of competitors...

Are you kidding? Jump SQ has a circulation of 500,000. Blue Exorcist sells 700,000 in its first week. Blue Exorcist sells well because it's Blue Exoricst, not because of Jump SQ's advertisements (besides, TLRD is advertised more anyway).

[Newkerzy]

I don't foresee any of the current series stepping into the void of the current Big 3, especially from Weekly Shounen Jump.

I just don't think any of the series I see have the kind of broad appeal to jump across the cultural divides. You have to have a good bit of manga/anime exposure before you can really fully appreciate stuff like Gintama, Beelzebub, and Medeka box. Lots of stuff has strong appeal for niche audiences but I just don't see many weekly series besides the big 3 that have "something for everyone" and works well as a person's 1st manga series.

IMO the closest would probably be Fairy Tail, I guess.

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I suspect, if Bleach and Naruto do end up getting successors, they will come from new series rather than the established ones.

Thank you, that is exactly what I was getting at. The reason why SnK or other current mangas as of now won't become the next Big 3 is that currently running mangas don't have that cultural barrier-breaking appeal. This is something that the next generation of mangakas need to pay attention to if they truly want to be on top of the world.

FT might probably have the potential, but I'm not so sure if FT can break through those cultural barriers and the fanservice doesn't really help to break through either.

I agree with your last statement, Kishi's Will of Fire will be passed on in the future.

[Jammin]

FT might probably have the potential, but I'm not so sure if FT can break through those cultural barriers and the fanservice doesn't really help to break through either.

That's the same issue I see with Fairy Tail.

There are a few features of manga that may appeal to the Japanese fandom. and even established fans like you or I, but kinda get in the way for people from different cultures with less exposure to manga and anime.

The biggest troublemakers I think are...

• Ecchi
• Magical Girl
• Mecha
• Yakuza Honor themes
• Manga about the Manga industry

I think, more often than not, when a series with those elements makes the jump it's in spite of that stuff and not because of it. They just don't translate to other cultures well.

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It also wouldn't surprise me if some Manhwa series rise enough in popularity to be at least comparable to the Big 3. Korean authors are doing a lot of different things, a lot of which are very impressive.

[Negative Syndicate]

It also wouldn't surprise me if some Manhwa series rise enough in popularity to be at least comparable to the Big 3. Korean authors are doing a lot of different things, a lot of which are very impressive.

However, Manhwa is not as influential as Manga in worldwide. Unlike Japan, Korean readers don't buy magazines and volumes; they usually borrow them from the book rental store. Thus the Korean mangakas cannot make lots of money by just making manga, so therefore many Korean authors just quit or stop drawing manga or trying to redebut in Japan. Plus, there are still many prejudice about Manhwa in Korea; many adults still think manga is for kids and they are very bad influential for adolescents (recently, Korean government also proclaimed to censortize Korean online Manhwa because they think it'll encourage adolscents to become physically aggressive). Manhwa will never going to reach Big 3 status.

Also, it looks like people are saying that it'll be next "Big 3," but I don't see it'll become one. It already been serialized for almost six years and I think it currently in peak of popularity and I don't think it'll grow in future. People seem to consider Fairy Tail to be next "Big 3" because it is next because it's popularity is just behind Bleach, but I don't agree on it. I think "Big 3" is considered to be very huge success in global-wide and Fairy Tail doesn't not even come close to Bleach. I consider Fairy Tail to be next "Big 3" when it actually reaches to Naruto-level and I don't think Fairy Tail will ever going to reach Naruto-level.

[Jammin]

However, Manhwa is not as influential as Manga in worldwide. Unlike Japan, Korean readers don't buy magazines and volumes; they usually borrow them from the book rental store. Thus the Korean mangakas cannot make lots of money by just making manga, so therefore many Korean authors just quit or stop drawing manga or trying to redebut in Japan. Plus, there are still many prejudice about Manhwa in Korea; many adults still think manga is for kids and they are very bad influential for adolescents (recently, Korean government also proclaimed to censortize Korean online Manhwa because they think it'll encourage adolscents to become physically aggressive). Manhwa will never going to reach Big 3 status.

Also, it looks like people are saying that it'll be next "Big 3," but I don't see it'll become one. It already been serialized for almost six years and I think it currently in peak of popularity and I don't think it'll grow in future. People seem to consider Fairy Tail to be next "Big 3" because it is next because it's popularity is just behind Bleach, but I don't agree on it. I think "Big 3" is considered to be very huge success in global-wide and Fairy Tail doesn't not even come close to Bleach. I consider Fairy Tail to be next "Big 3" when it actually reaches to Naruto-level and I don't think Fairy Tail will ever going to reach Naruto-level.

I don't think anybody is arguing that Fairy Tail is on par with Bleach but if you force yourself to pick a current series that could step into Bleach's wake Fairly Tail is the only one that comes to my mind with much of a chance. It's far from perfectly suited, but I think it's closer than most everything else in terms of broad appeal.

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As for Manhwa I think you underestimate the reach of Korean web-comics. The Korean comics industry is much more web based than the Japanese one, in large part thanks to Naver, which makes it very accessible even outside of Korea; many of them for free. Noblesse, The Breaker, and Tower of God have all quickly become very well known in among the manga reading community. I would say any of those 3 are pretty much an animation deal away from becoming a mainstream force.

The arena of Korean webcomics is very interesting place right now.

[Negative Syndicate]

I don't think anybody is arguing that Fairy Tail is on par with Bleach but if you force yourself to pick a current series that could step into Bleach's wake Fairly Tail is the only one that comes to my mind with much of a chance. It's far from perfectly suited, but I think it's closer than most everything else in terms of broad appeal.

If you say that, then I think Conan is actually more closer to next Big 3 than Fairy Tail; it has very big franchise than Fairy Tail.

As for Manhwa I think you underestimate the reach of Korean web-comics. The Korean comics industry is much more web based than the Japanese one, in large part thanks to Naver, which makes it very accessible even outside of Korea; many of them for free. Noblesse, The Breaker, and Tower of God have all quickly become very well known in among the manga reading community. I would say any of those 3 are pretty much an animation deal away from becoming a mainstream force.

The arena of Korean webcomics is very interesting place right now.

Yeah, I know. Korean manhwa industry is focused on web-based. But, it doesn't mean they are suitable for Big 3. Many Korean people still think Japanese manga is far better than Korean manhwa, so Japanese manga are still dominates in Korea. Furthermore, the censortization on Korean manhwa is target on manhwa magazine; it targets on online manhwa, so it'll impact on them on near future.

In addition, series like Noblesse and The Breaker are unable to get animation because Korean doesn't really have good anime studio like Japan. Almost 90 percent of animation industry in a world is dominated by US and Japan; other countries are very difficult to take their place. Korea has no match on shonen/seinen category against US and Japan; so they focuse on making animation that targets little kid, like Pororo. Korea makes kid animation because it doesn't have high competition like other age group. Noblesse and The Breaker are shonen category and current Korean anime industry cannot make these into an anime. Moreover, I don't even think Japanese anime industry willing to take these series into anime because they actually did not animate series from other countries unless they are globally famouse like Transformers and Marvel Heroes. Those manhwa series currently do not have any anime industry to make them animated.

[Jammin]

If you say that, then I think Conan is actually more closer to next Big 3 than Fairy Tail; it has very big franchise than Fairy Tail.

Conan? You can't mean Detective Conan can you? There is nothing broad appeal about that.

Yeah, I know. Korean manhwa industry is focused on web-based. But, it doesn't mean they are suitable for Big 3. Many Korean people still think Japanese manga is far better than Korean manhwa, so Japanese manga are still dominates in Korea. Furthermore, the censortization on Korean manhwa is target on manhwa magazine; it targets on online manhwa, so it'll impact on them on near future.

In addition, series like Noblesse and The Breaker are unable to get animation because Korean doesn't really have good anime studio like Japan. Almost 90 percent of animation industry in a world is dominated by US and Japan; other countries are very difficult to take their place. Korea has no match on shonen/seinen category against US and Japan; so they focuse on making animation that targets little kid, like Pororo. Korea makes kid animation because it doesn't have high competition like other age group. Noblesse and The Breaker are shonen category and current Korean anime industry cannot make these into an anime. Moreover, I don't even think Japanese anime industry willing to take these series into anime because they actually did not animate series from other countries unless they are globally famouse like Transformers and Marvel Heroes. Those manhwa series currently do not have any anime industry to make them animated.

There are actually more animation studios in Korea than you might think. Simpsons, Family Guy, and Justice League Unlimited are all drawn and animated there along with many other things(like multiple anime). They mainly do subcontracted work. The main barrier is the lack of production infrastructure to bankroll it. But if demand builds somebody will supply it (Samsung and Naver both have more than enough money).

As for the perception that manhwa is somehow worse than manga, I think, that's not entirely accurate at least not outside of Japan.

In fact I suspect if I tried to convince one of my non-manga reading friends to pick up a series I would have a lot easier time convincing them to read manhwa than manga. Simply because Manhwa doesn't carry with it the same associations (Mecha, Magical Girl, etc). Plus, many are in color which matters a lot to western comic fans.

[Kisame Hoshigaki]

i agree with fairytail being one of the next big ones, and beezlebub

but i think HSD Kenechi is coming close to an end

[Negative Syndicate]

I don't think anybody is arguing that Fairy Tail is on par with Bleach but if you force yourself to pick a current series that could step into Bleach's wake Fairly Tail is the only one that comes to my mind with much of a chance. It's far from perfectly suited, but I think it's closer than most everything else in terms of broad appeal.

If you guys to force to pick next Big 3, then Fairy Tail would be nominated; but, I don't think Fairy Tail still doesn't suited for next Big 3.

Everyone here seems to consider Big 3 as the current three highest tank sale, but I think different. I think Big 3 is a series that actually have made a national hit and a series that must be included in a history of manga. To become Big 3, the series must have very, very high tank sale, very, very high franchise, very, very high media attention, and very, very high popularity from a national audience. Fairy Tail do have high attention, but I don't think it isn't close enough to consider one.

Furthermore, after actual first Big 3 (Dragonball, Slam Dunk, and Yu-Yu-Hakusho) are ended, no one actually put their successor until One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach showed up. Jump, Magazine, and Sunday already have hit series, but they couldn't become next Big 3 because they don't have enough popularity as DB/SB/YYH.

I, personally, don't think Big 3 as current top 3 highest selling series; I consider Big 3 as a series that has become sensation in manga industry.

[naruto-niichan]

To clarify the intent of this thread, my question is in regards to the next three most popular Manga in Japan, not Jump... this is the first thread I've ever made, so I am inexperienced.

This is what I thought we would be talking about. The word big 3 actually refers to the three most popular manga outside Japan, not the popularity inside Japan (as this name was given by westerners, not japanese). With the exception of One Piece it's questionable if those big three really are the most popular ones in Japan, I would go as far as saying that Bleach definitely isn't one of the three most popular ones.

OME is asking about Japan if I didn't misunderstand him, that's why my choice definitely goes to Shingeki (which might be the next Death Note in terms of discussion etc.), AnE might be a good guess too. Definitely hard to claim they will be one of the next big three in Japan (if there even are any) but I'm relatively sure that at least Shingeki will leave an impression on the country as a whole, even after it ends. That's what I would define as something popular.