Mag Talk Weekly Shonen Jump [2020] - Discussion and ToC Talk

[Shinuki no Reborn]

MANGAHELPERS "TOC" POLL ISSUE #51 - VOTING!​

The poll for issue #51 is now open, vote for your favorite chapters of the week clicking HERE!

Alongside the release of Sakamoto Days, the extra series this week are:

-Dragon Ball Super 66
-Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 52
-Ghost Reaper Girl 10

Good Votes!

 

[Halloween]

Moderator Notice:
Henceforth, I will be deleting posts that complain about Weekly Shonen Jump having too many/not enough gag/battle/exorcism/sports/etc series.

These posts are not insightful, and do not meaningfully contribute to this thread. Also, this decision is not up for discussion, so posts discussing this decision will also be deleted.~ Halloween

 

[Ryuusei]

Spoiler: 52 TOC & 01 Preview

呪 僕 O マ ブ S C D 破 C B 夜 C 僕 あ 灼 ぼ チ 高 ア 森 A 仄 ぼ 次号カラー ヒロアカ アンデラ 夜桜 約ネバ 道産子 GIGA 岸本先生が描くコラボポスター 爆豪クリアファイル

Spoiler: Issue #52 ToC & Preview

Jujutsu Kaisen (Cover & LCP)
My Hero Academia
One Piece
Mashle
Black Clover
Sakamoto Days (CP)
Dr. Stone
Magu-chan: God of Destruction (CP)
Build King
Mission: Yozakura Family
Me & Roboco
Ayakashi Triangle (CP)
Shakunetsu no Niraikanai
We Never Learn
Chainsaw Man
Koukousei Kazoku
Undead Unluck
Moriking
Agravity Boys
Honomieru Shounen
Bokura no Ketsumei

Issue #1
Cover & LCP: My Hero Academia
CP: Undead Unluck, Mission: Yozakura Family, The Promised Neverland, Dosanko Gyaru wa Namaramenkoi

GIGA Preview
Collab poster by Kishimoto
Bakugou clear file

 

[Drake98]

I ended up finding this thread in the last few weeks and really enjoying It, but I realized that most of the conversations are about Sales and rankings, and while I really like those topics, I wanted to know the general perspective that you guys have in the quality of WSJ current line up.

I started following WSJ somewhere in the mid to late 2000's but through the years I stopped following the magazine, while still reading some of my favorite manga. However with this hole Covid thing and being stuck in home I started to pick up a lot of manga, and I mean a LOT.

And my opinion is that there is a huge drop in terms of quality and diversity compared to that time. I remember that we had the Big Three killing it, Gintama, Toriko, Eyeshield, D. Gray- Man, Hunter x Hunter, Bakuman, Kuroko no Basket, early Beelzub and some great mid tier series like Mx0 and Nura.

I understand that quality is a matter of perspective and opinion, but looking to this line-up, I Just think It was better back then.

Mostly the line up today looks bland, with average series like Black Clover, a lot of newbies who can't stablish themselves and a lack of diversity.

While KnY is truly a juggernaut in Sales and popularity, the series itself doesn't really have anything special. TPN has gone downhill. BC is average at best.

I know it's a weird subject to talk about, since quality is subjective, but do yous guys have any thoughts on that?

 

[Rain Spectre]

I ended up finding this thread in the last few weeks and really enjoying It, but I realized that most of the conversations are about Sales and rankings, and while I really like those topics, I wanted to know the general perspective that you guys have in the quality of WSJ current line up.

I started following WSJ somewhere in the mid to late 2000's but through the years I stopped following the magazine, while still reading some of my favorite manga. However with this hole Covid thing and being stuck in home I started to pick up a lot of manga, and I mean a LOT.

And my opinion is that there is a huge drop in terms of quality and diversity compared to that time. I remember that we had the Big Three killing it, Gintama, Toriko, Eyeshield, D. Gray- Man, Hunter x Hunter, Bakuman, Kuroko no Basket, early Beelzub and some great mid tier series like Mx0 and Nura.

I understand that quality is a matter of perspective and opinion, but looking to this line-up, I Just think It was better back then.

Mostly the line up today looks bland, with average series like Black Clover, a lot of newbies who can't stablish themselves and a lack of diversity.

While KnY is truly a juggernaut in Sales and popularity, the series itself doesn't really have anything special. TPN has gone downhill. BC is average at best.

I know it's a weird subject to talk about, since quality is subjective, but do yous guys have any thoughts on that?

You are seriously clouded by nostalgia.

 

[Aeneas]

You are seriously clouded by nostalgia.

Great first impression there, Rain. :P

And it works both ways (hello, recency bias).

 

[Halloween]

I could understand not liking current Jump, but I absolutely disagree that Jump was more diverse previously.

This is the most experimental Jump has been in a long time, if not ever.

 

[haijihusbando]

I ended up finding this thread in the last few weeks and really enjoying It, but I realized that most of the conversations are about Sales and rankings, and while I really like those topics, I wanted to know the general perspective that you guys have in the quality of WSJ current line up.

I started following WSJ somewhere in the mid to late 2000's but through the years I stopped following the magazine, while still reading some of my favorite manga. However with this hole Covid thing and being stuck in home I started to pick up a lot of manga, and I mean a LOT.

And my opinion is that there is a huge drop in terms of quality and diversity compared to that time. I remember that we had the Big Three killing it, Gintama, Toriko, Eyeshield, D. Gray- Man, Hunter x Hunter, Bakuman, Kuroko no Basket, early Beelzub and some great mid tier series like Mx0 and Nura.

I understand that quality is a matter of perspective and opinion, but looking to this line-up, I Just think It was better back then.

Mostly the line up today looks bland, with average series like Black Clover, a lot of newbies who can't stablish themselves and a lack of diversity.

While KnY is truly a juggernaut in Sales and popularity, the series itself doesn't really have anything special. TPN has gone downhill. BC is average at best.

I know it's a weird subject to talk about, since quality is subjective, but do yous guys have any thoughts on that?

And there were people saying exactly the same things about those series whilst they were running too (to varying degrees, of course). We often look back on these series through rose-tinted glasses, remembering the parts we enjoyed and forgetting issues here and there which we might have had while it was running. Another factor could be that those series were the first time we encountered certain shonen tropes, which consequently became easier to identify and pinpoint for criticism in newer series today, which adds to the perception of 'blandness' - when those same, old series also were riddled with the same tropes.

Just like Rain said, nostalgia is quite the beast, and while you might genuinely just prefer those older series (which is fair enough), saying "I just think it was better back then" makes me a bit sceptical.

 

[OniluapL]

I don't particularly like the current line-up, but it's not an old Jump/new Jump dichotomy for me, the quality goes up and down pretty constantly. Besides, Jump was never my favourite magazine either way. And, well, it's not like it needs much, two or three newbies finding success and being good is enough to make the overall quality (subjective, I know, for me specifically) higher.

 

[Rain Spectre]

"Jump doesn't innovate enough!" says the person whose entire argument is built off of Black Clover existing and nothing else.

It's not like how One Piece was modeled heavily on Dragon Ball. Or how Bleach was similar to YuYu Hakusho to such a degree that editors were hesitant to have it published. Or how virtually every spokon owes its existence to Captain Tsubasa and/or Slam Dunk. Or how, as a whole, art is built heavily off prior inspirations to the point that true "originality" is a myth.

Clearly, it's Black Clover's fault.

Yeah, as you can tell, I really dislike this argument.

 

[Tamil]

While KnY is truly a juggernaut in Sales and popularity, the series itself doesn't really have anything special

In all honesty, I agree to an extent. Not to say its bad or not special but peak KnY doesn't really compare other shonens peak imo. (especially if you at other magazines)

Jump has been more diverse than ever though so I disagree.

 

[tirakai]

Is there a website that archives all the past WSJ table of contents?

I feel the current lineup of established series is pretty diverse even though half the magazine is new at-risk stuff, but I'd like to see 90s or 00s Jump ToCs to compare series directly.

 

[BX-02BLODIA]

I could understand not liking current Jump, but I absolutely disagree that Jump was more diverse previously.

This is the most experimental Jump has been in a long time, if not ever.

I think that the mid to late 90's was the most expiremental. With stuff like Kenshin brining more female audiences to Jump, along with stuff like Level E, Sexy Commando Gaiden, Mind Assassin, and even Yugioh, as that was a battle manga in a very different way

--- Double Post Merged, May 9, 2020, Original Post Date: May 9, 2020 ---

Is there a website that archives all the past WSJ table of contents?

I feel the current lineup of established series is pretty diverse even though half the magazine is new at-risk stuff, but I'd like to see 90s or 00s Jump ToCs to compare.

There is, to an extent. It goes from 1968 to 2001/2 ish

思い出の週刊少年ジャンプ

週刊少年ジャンプ総合情報サイト。創刊号から最新号までの全表紙と目次を掲載。

www.biwa.ne.jp

This one has them from 1999 to 2016

PharaoDopazo+

pharaodopazoplus.blogspot.com

 

[lazybones1717]

Is there a website that archives all the past WSJ table of contents?

There is, to an extent. It goes from 1968 to 2001/2 ish

思い出の週刊少年ジャンプ

週刊少年ジャンプ総合情報サイト。創刊号から最新号までの全表紙と目次を掲載。

www.biwa.ne.jp

This one has them from 1999 to 2016

PharaoDopazo+

pharaodopazoplus.blogspot.com

This one's in English and has every issue of Jump: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/weekly-shonen-jump/4050-43519/?page=58

 

[BX-02BLODIA]

This one's in English and has every issue of Jump: https://comicvine.gamespot.com/weekly-shonen-jump/4050-43519/?page=58

Right....forgot about that one

 

[Drake98]

Do you guys really think today Jump is more diverse?

We have like 4 Exorcists manga, half of the magazine are gags and there is only One sports manga.

 

[Rain Spectre]

Do you guys really think today Jump is more diverse?

We have like 4 Exorcists manga, half of the magazine are gags and there is only One sports manga.

....There were exactly as many gag manga running at the time you were talking about.

The only difference is those were successful.

Exorcists? You're talking about, what, Jujutsu and the one other new one (Bone Collection)? In a sub-genre which has been intrinsic to Jump since the 90s?

Hey now, it's not like it's Jump fault only Haikyu and Hinomaru took off in the last decade. Most spokon get cancelled. And, if you want to include it, Act-Age fits under the "cultural" spokon sub-label.

 

[Drake98]

I get the nostalgia argument. It might actually be this. It was just a personal opinion that came to me in the last few months coming back to Reading Jump and I wanted to know how most of you thought about it. And it's pretty clear that you guys don't agree.

--- Double Post Merged, May 9, 2020, Original Post Date: May 9, 2020 ---

....There were exactly as many gag manga running at the time you were talking about.

The only difference is those were successful.

Exorcists? You're talking about, what, Jujutsu and the one other new one (Bone Collection)? In a sub-genre which has been intrinsic to Jump since the 90s?

Hey now, it's not like it's Jump fault only Haikyu and Hinomaru took off in the last decade. Most spokon get cancelled. And, if you want to include it, Act-Age fits under the "cultural" spokon sub-label.

I only remember Gintama and Kochikame. Maybe Katekyo but It was more Battle Shounen than Gag.

 

[Rain Spectre]

I get the nostalgia argument. It might actually be this. It was just a personal opinion that came to me in the last few months domingo back and I wanted to know how most of you thought about it.

A lot of the arguments seem to be less that Jump's lineup was "more diverse" or "better" (because, frankly, it really wasn't) around the end of 2000s and more that it's "different". And it's different not because Jump itself but because of which series readers found interesting. It's not their fault that sports manga keep failing, or that they haven't gotten a hit comedy since 2012.

You seriously need to just re-frame your perspective and look at things evenly. Beyond just surface level arguments, you simply aren't providing a case in strong enough faith.

--- Double Post Merged, May 9, 2020, Original Post Date: May 9, 2020 ---

I only remember Gintama and Kochikame. Maybe Katekyo but It was more Battle Shounen than Gag.

Kochikame, Gintama, SKET Dance, Jaguar-Kun, Beelzebub and a bunch of failed series, all from the period you're talking about.

This is called proving my point.

 

[xAsum0x]

Jujutsu Kaisens not really a traditional exorcist manga though, At least in my opinion. Seems alot different than series like Kekkaishi, Twin Star Excorcist, Blue Exorcist etc.

 

[Drake98]

A lot of the arguments seem to be less that Jump's lineup was "more diverse" or "better" (because, frankly, it really wasn't) around the end of 2000s and more that it's "different". And it's different not because Jump itself but because of which series readers found interesting. It's not their fault that sports manga keep failing, or that they haven't gotten a hit comedy since 2012.

You seriously need to just re-frame your perspective and look at things evenly. Beyond just surface level arguments, you simply aren't providing a case in strong enough faith.

I'm not trying to prove a point or make a case LOL It was just a thought that I have and I wanted to know your opinions since most of you are probably following more closely than me.

 

[101nemesis]

All eras are generic for their time because they are usually built on inspirations from the eras before them. People who love the current generation will definitely whine about the next generation of manga being generic, in the future.

In this age, being innovative is almost impossible because almost everything you can think of has been done before.

Execution is the key ingredient.

 

[Rain Spectre]

All eras are generic for their time because they are usually built on inspirations from the eras before them. People who love the current generation will definitely whine about the next generation of manga being generic, in the future.

In this age, being innovative is almost impossible because almost everything you can think of has been done before.

Yep, and that holds for fiction as a whole now. Even a cinematic masterwork like Parasite was made by an open film-buff, and doesn't really "innovate" as much just being a good movie.

Innovation is overrated anyway, unless you seriously want to argue Birth of a Nation is the greatest movie ever made.