It has definitely been an interesting year for Shonen Jump, but also a fun one. To end this year, I'm just going to leave my general and completely random thoughts on each series that I read and how I thought they performed. Before that though, hats off to everyone that contributes to the discussion on this thread. I don't post a whole lot, but I lurk and enjoy reading everyone's thoughts on these great (and sometimes not-so-great) stories lol. Thank you!
One Piece - Oda is a beast. I don't know how else to say it. At the start of 2022, we were deep into the Wano arc, and everyone always gets fatigued when we're in the midst of the longer arcs. Despite the ending that most felt was a little anticlimactic at the time, I think the arc concluded in good shape. Since moving on from Wano though, we've got to witness a re-invigorated story with some of the best world-building payoffs and reveals we've seen thus far. It truly feels like we're entering the final saga, and Oda's doing an incredible job tying everything together. I love seeing the payoff of the world truly treating the Straw Hats like the yonko crew that they are now. Egghead Island and the reveal of Vegapunk and his research have been a blast to read, and I can't wait for the next chapter every week. So we end out the year with One Piece being my most anticipated series moving into 2023 for what I can only assume will be a crazy year for the story.
MHA - My beloved problem child. MHA has a special place in my heart because it's essentially the series that got me into reading manga back in 2014. Although I still am excited for every new chapter that comes out and am still invested in the world and characters, I can't help but feel that 2022 made the series feel like one of untapped potential. I've posted about how I felt like the series was rushed and corners were cut after the end of the Liberation War arc, and I still think that has continued into this final arc. I don't dislike the series, but it seems like there's always one bad plot decision to complement every good one and it still feels like Horikoshi wants it to be over sooner rather than later even if the story could use more time to breathe. Now that we're in the middle of the final confrontations though, I think things have been moving along well. Seeing the matured Izuku going up against Shigaraki has been fun (despite me still being upset that Izuku learned most of his other quirks off-screen). I also think the characters that Horikoshi has given the chance to shine have had good moments. I'm curious how this will all wrap up next year and am hoping for a satisfying conclusion to what I still believe is a good story overall.
Black Clover - Black Clover is and always will be a fun example of a good old-fashioned shonen battle manga and it still hits that mark. The final fight with Lucifero in the Spade Kingdom arc was lackluster, but all the other fights were really fun to read. I'm still hoping that the final arc lasts a little longer than it probably is, but the series has always been fast past. I was hoping there would be more room for world-building in the Land of the Sun and beyond, but it seems like it's just being used as a different training spot for Asta to receive another power-up like the Heart Kingdom was. We'll see if it finishes next year, but I could see it lasting until early 2024 if it wants every character to have their big moments.
Jujutsu Kaisen - Fights, fights, and more fights. The Culling Game has been a tournament of great ones and I'm here for it. There was a moment after the Hakari vs Kashimo battle and we moved on to what Maki was doing where I got a little tired of the constant fights with not a whole lot of progress made to the story itself, but everything was still very entertaining. As far as battle manga go, Akutami knows how to build hype for characters, and seeing Yuta, Hakari, and now Yuki step foot on the battlefield has been extremely satisfying. It seems like we're moving onto the final phase of the arc though, so I'm excited to see how it all ends and what the next arc will be as we head toward the conclusion of the story. Hopefully, we still have another full year of JJK being in the magazine at least.
Akane Banashi - The surprise hit of 2022, Akane Banashi does everything right in my book. For me, it's been like the spiritual successor of Act Age that the magazine really needed, especially since it's acting as the spokon of Jump right now too. The art is amazing, all the characters are well-written, and all the obstacles that Akane has to overcome are handled well from a writing perspective. The fact that most of us in the west weren't familiar with Rakugo at all before reading the story, and are now so invested in the series is proof of its quality.
Undead Unluck - Fuuko's all "grown up" and I couldn't be happier with how Tozuka is writing this final arc so far. I was worried that the events of the loop would be relegated to a montage-esque couple of chapters before the ending, but now that we're getting a full arc, I couldn't be happier. This is definitely the most underrated series right now in terms of sales and I really want to see that change after the anime airs. The story, characters, and power system/fights, are way too good for fans of the genre to turn a blind eye to. Hopefully, Tozuka can keep up the consistency and bring us home to an epic conclusion.
Sakamoto Days - Over the course of 2022, Sakamoto has turned into one of my favorites in the magazine, and I don't really know why. Its obvious appeal is the insanely good choreography and art for the fight scenes, but the series has an undeniable charm overall. With most of the battle manga coming to an end within the next year or so, I can definitely see this being a big pillar of jump moving forward after MHA, JJK, and BC (and maybe One Piece?) are gone.
Mashle - I've always had a good time with this series. Its humor has always been amusing and the art has improved drastically since chapter 1, but my overall excitement has died down. I don't have too much to say about it. But at this point in time, I am ready for Mash to come back into the story.
Elusive Samurai - I don't have too much to say about this one either. I haven't read up on the actual history of the story, so I don't know where we fall in that timeline, but we're making the long push to take down the Ashikaga. So far, it has handled all of the battles and tactics well. Originally, I thought this would be a longer-running series even though Matsui has a track record of writing more concise stories, but it seems like this one will stick to that. I'm guessing a 2024 end.
Witch Watch - I don't read any other comedy at the moment (unless you count Mashle), but Witch Watch has been thoroughly enjoyable this year. Like Gintama, I like the humor of it, but it also does well when it gets serious as we've seen with this most recent arc. All the characters are fun and there aren't any running jokes that I think have gotten stale just yet. I think it has more than found its stride in the lineup of the magazine and I like that we're now setting up for a long-term goal and antagonistic force that feel more tangible.
Blue Box - In its second year of running, we've hit the inevitable slowness that a romantic slice-of-life will have. I still really like the characters and how the writing is handled, but this year has been a lot of plot threads that just go in circles. It looks like we'll be moving forward on a few relationships after this week as we head into the new year though, so I'm looking forward to it.
P6 - This series has been such an enigma. Sometimes you can't tell if it's a well-liked success or a struggling potential cancellation. However, through this year, it manifested its right to stay in the magazine. I'm always so intrigued by Mapollo's art and character writing in this series. The characters feel so alien at times, more like they're figments of human emotion as opposed to actual people. But my lord, when this series gets an anime, it will be amazing. Hearing the musical accompaniment and the colors and animations of the visions will be incredible. I know an anime isn't announced, but I still can look forward to it because at this point it's inevitable. Also, the most recent chapter this week hit so hard. That was amazing.
Mission Yozakura - I don't actually read this series week to week, but I do check in on it every now and then. It still blows my mind that it could be considered one of the veterans of the magazine. Just the same as Undead Unluck, it's often overlooked, so I'm curious to see if the anime will help its sales at all. It seems to be doing well besides that though. Gondaira is just trucking along with no sign of stopping and the art always looks great. Kudos to them.
Tokyo Demon Bride - I actually like this series a good bit, but I'm not a fan of the endless harem we're getting now. The heart and soul of the series is nice though and the world is interesting. I just wished we focused more on the slice-of-life with a touch of action as opposed to centering on a new girl every week. Unfortunately, that's probably one of the issues that are causing Japanese audiences to not gravitate toward it too, so it's starting to look like this won't be long for this world once 2023 rolls around.
Ginka & Gluna - I still don't know how I feel about this one. On one hand, I really want another adventure battle series to potentially take One Piece's place when it ends in the next few years, but on the other hand, the opening piece of this story has been pretty sloppy. Sure, I can see the potential, but I could also see the potential in Build King, Red Hood, Red Sprite, etc. I'm glad the author is being given a chance and I hope they can continue and improve, but at chapter 12, things are ringing hollow for me. There are too many inconsistencies with the world-building and having characters that seem so flippant about everything is offputting. Also, it's weird to have a duo of overpowered characters in a battle series. Recently we had our main heroine clashing with one of the top-tier mages in the world. Obviously, we have no idea how Watanabe wants to pace the series or what their long-term plan is, but at the moment, it feels like we just saw the equivalent of if Luffy clashed with Kaido back in the east blue. Not sure how we're going to move on from that with any real challenge. I suppose series like Nanatsu no Taizai showed how it could be done, but Ginka and Gluna doesn't feel the same as that. Time will only tell.
The new kids on the block - I haven't really gotten a true sense of Ichinose, Cipher, or Ichigoki just yet. They all seem like they could be good, but it's too early to tell. My prediction is that Ichinose will stick around, Cipher will be axed, and Ichigoki may stick around if one of the current comedy series end up leaving (namely High School Family). No idea about the series that's coming in next week.
The ones we lost along the way - Pour one out for the homies. Dr. Stone had a fantastic run with a great end while Ayakashi Triangle and Ruri Dragon moved on to another place. I'm assuming Ruri Dragon will do good once it returns no matter what though with how those sales looked. I didn't read Magu-Chan, but it also sounds like that had a good ending too. In terms of the axed series, I'll miss seeing what Aliens Area could have become. I didn't like its first chapter, but I grew to like it when it started taking its world more seriously and showed that it had depth. Unfortunately, we won't get to see that though. Dorondororon was fun while it lasted, but I see why it ended. Ayashimon was cool, and honestly could have continued, but I wasn't too big a fan of that either. At that point, I was tired of main characters that were just super strong and punched hard with no other depth to their powerset, but that's always going to be a thing in shonen manga. The only other noteworthy one for me was Super Smartphone. I honestly liked the direction the story was going and thought it had some interesting plot threads. Was it perfect? No. But it was entertaining even when it was being rushed.
Overall, I think it was a good year. Everyone likes to say that the current year (whatever that year may be) is the worst year for jump and that it's going to crash and burn, but looking back, things have been pretty smooth. The future is always a question mark, and I look forward to seeing what series rise up and become the new face of the magazine as we enter another transitionary phase like we had back in 2017. 2023 is bound to be a fun year for sure!
