Come check out a one-year review of Young Jump, what has changed from 2023 until now, the works that survived, and the stories that failed, getting locked away in the drawer to be forgotten.
TOC Weekly Young Jump #45 of 2024 (10/10/2024)
Cover: Rika Izumi
Dogsred c34 (Lead Color Page)
Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray c167
Kingdom c813
4Gun-Kun (Kari) c92
Gas-tou Norainu Tanteidan c53
Noa-Senpai wa Tomodachi c59
Enma Tama c01 (Color Page – New Series)
Gyaru Amidabutsu c02
Illios c89
Misao no Keiyaku c03
Owaranai Yosuga c20
Aiseki Ii desu ka? c41 (Color Page)
Nasakenai Ze Mori c24
Joyu Meshi c98
Junket Bank c164
Havila Senki: Tales of the Butterfly c22
Batsu Hare c122
Shin no Yasuragi wa Kono Yo ni Naku: Shocker Side c65
Josei Senyou. c54
Kimi no Koto ga Dai Dai Dai Dai Daisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo c192
Maru-kun: Hataraku Maltese c57
Iron Familiar c43
Ouritsu Mahou Gakuen no Saikasei c156
Snack Basue c348
Absent: Terra Formars c68 / Cap 241, Oshi no Ko c163, BUNGO c402, Slow Life Ieyasu c08, Shadow’s House c205, Kowloon Generic Romance c91, Diamond no Kouzai c66, Real c99 (Returning soon), Catenaccio c58 (Hiatus), Normal Girl c16 (Hiatus)
DogsredWith this analysis today, it’s been a year since I, FelRib, started writing for Analyse It. It was a tough year, I tried to bring an analysis every week, sometimes on Sundays, others on Saturdays, even on Wednesdays I’ve done, and some weeks I couldn’t do it at all. But now, I’m strong and steady here every Monday with the best Seinen magazine in the world! To celebrate, I will comment on everything that has changed this year, following the order of the first analysis I did. Here’s the first analysis!
Moving on to the manga, Diamond no Kouzai opened the page, and it couldn’t have been a better year for the work. First place in Kono Manga Sugoi, seventh in the Next Manga Awards 2023, 1.2 million copies in circulation with only 7 volumes. The manga is the future of Young, and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s an unusual way of telling stories about teenagers and baseball. Please, give this manga a chance—it might just impress you!
Second on the list was Uma Musume CinGray, and the manga remains strong with 6.5 million copies, an anime for 2025, and the mobile game still highly rated and loved. It’s the third, and soon to be second, most important pillar of the magazine. Next up was Kingdom—perfect timing for me to have started. Kingdom needs no introduction. Those who read it, love it; those who don’t, know they should one day. What holds people back is likely the same as One Piece—there’s a lot to read. 813 chapters is a time investment, but it’s worth it. The author knows that readers’ time must be valued with quality content.
CoverThen we had Dogsred early on, and today it’s 34 chapters, which is not much for a manga that’s been running for over a year, but it’s bi-weekly. When you make a beloved manga like Satoru Noda did with Golden Kamuy, you get privileges not everyone gets, and the author decided to use his right not to publish every week. Well-deserved, as the manga is receiving great reception, and this schedule would never have been approved if it weren’t so adored.
After that, we had our first failure, Renai Daikou, which absolutely deserves to be remembered forever so that everyone knows that Akasaka Aka writes bad series too. Honestly, I feel sad for the artist 5mm. I hope she finds a better author and makes a comeback, doesn’t even need to be in Young—I liked her art. My issue, and I think most people’s, was with the story and the characters.
Next is 100 Girlfriends, a completely different case, with a second season coming next year, high views, and 2.1 million copies sold. The manga is very secure. What changed this year for the series was the anime debut, which was well-received, changing the rhythm of the manga’s jokes and getting positive reviews from those who noticed. Now we just wait for the next season in 2025.
Kono Heya is still in the TOC and was a great mini-series. I’d love to read it one day with translations, as it has a different and new theme, the Tawaman Bungaku “tower man literature” that became popular during the pandemic. Noa-Senpai comes right after, and the manga is secure. Safe Sex was another praised mini-series that has already ended.
BUNGO is huge. All it lacks is an anime, which I don’t think will happen—the perfect time would have been on the series’ 10th anniversary. Since there was no adaptation announcement, I don’t think it’s being planned.
The next trio is tricky—Gas-tou, Ilios, and Maru-kun are three series that are hard to monitor. They don’t sell well, don’t have impressive online view numbers, and don’t get as many color pages as the other manga in the magazine. It’s been a weak year for the trio. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them end before next year, but I also wouldn’t be shocked if they keep publishing. Their future is completely uncertain.
Snack Basue had color pages back then, and the biggest change this year was its anime, which had zero impact on the Western audience. The Japanese audience that watched it loved it, and the series will only end when the author decides.
Aiseki Ii desu ka?Let’s get back to the current issue: Aiseki Ii desu ka? gets another color page, and if you read my weekly analyses, you’re probably tired of hearing me say that this work is the editors’ bet. A year ago, the manga hadn’t even been released yet—I remember covering its beginning, along with Iron Familiar, and the latter isn’t doing so well and has a good chance of ending before next year. The batch that followed was Havila Senki, also known by the acronym TOTB, which had a spectacular reception with great praise everywhere I looked. Nowadays, though, it seems the hype has significantly faded, and I’m not sure how well the manga is doing.
4Gun-Kun (Kari) is a baseball manga that Shueisha should really translate on MangaPlus. Honestly, I think the series would be accepted and adored by a considerable audience. Happy Marionette is next, and it was a mistake to publish it—they tried something different, and it didn’t work out, so I won’t comment further. Unlike Batsu Hare, which is an ecchi that starts with several interesting and rarely explored themes but then just turns into a naughty fest. Still, its audience is loyal, and it’s an important manga for the magazine, coming from a renowned author who’s been with Young for over 10 years. Next, we have Junket Bank, which hit the 1 million copies mark in circulation in 2024—a small victory. A major one would be an adaptation, maybe in the future.
Coincidentally, Oshi no Ko was absent from that issue, just like this one. The difference is that the series won’t make it to 2025, with only four chapters left until its conclusion. I expected more—not because there was much left to cover, but because Oshi no Ko usually takes a lot of breaks between chapters, and they decided to publish them all at once. It will be the end of the second biggest pillar of the magazine, but it’s not something to panic over, as the magazine has several new series with almost guaranteed success. I also need to mention Catenaccio, which is on hiatus. Its situation doesn’t seem critical, after all, it even got an official translation. Ouritsu Mahou Gakuen is in the same position as in 2023—stable. The series usually closes out the magazine alongside Snack Basue, and I think 2025 will be the same.
Let me now talk about Josei Senyou and Joyu Meshi, which had an okay year—sales didn’t increase, but they didn’t decrease either. Both are selling around 2,500 units per volume, which isn’t great but not bad enough to be axed. I like both a lot, and I loved that Joyu Meshi started getting translated into English. I heard rumors of a group wanting to translate Josei Senyou, but nothing has been confirmed so far. Normal Girl started publishing a year ago, and sadly went on hiatus after chapter 15. The series’ Twitter page says the author is unwell, which is totally understandable. For you, dear reader, not to wonder why the manga hasn’t been transferred or axed, Normal Girl had one of the best debuts of 2023, possibly only losing to Dogsred and Diamond. With just 15 chapters, the audience loved them all. For those who don’t know, the manga is about a girl who’s been locked up in her house for years, and one day she decides to go to university because she can’t stand being home anymore. It’s a great comedy—protagonist Iori reminds me a lot of Komi-san.
Speaking of manga on hiatus, Terra Formars is back! I doubted it, I always doubted it. I used to say the manga would never return, and then I got hit in the face with its comeback. I almost cried with joy when it returned—it’s always been one of my favorite manga, being simple, contained, and having exceptional fight scenes. With Normal Girl, I won’t doubt; I’ll believe in its return—I’ve learned from my mistakes. Terra Formars sold 67,000 copies of its last volume in 11 days, which is clearly below the 200,000 it used to sell in 2018, but the drop was supposed to be bigger, and the manga’s fans are happy. So am I.
Enma TamaEnma Tama is a very different kind of manga from what we expect from Young. This much more contained ecchi is something I’d expect from a Magazine or the WSJ from 10 years ago, and I honestly don’t think it fits the magazine right now. It’s a very restrained series for a magazine that features nipples even in its battle-focused works. For example, in this same issue, Iron Familiar has a villain who shoots breasts—yes, shoots breasts at the protagonists. Unfortunately, Enma Tama refuses to show anything and sticks to cleavage and butt slaps. My initial impression is that it might not be well-loved, but if it is, it’ll be for the comedy—I did laugh at a few moments. I’ll keep an eye on the reception since it’s only just beginning.
To wrap things up, we have a trio that enjoys taking breaks: Shadow’s House, a visionary work published in color digitally, and thus has two versions. The author had many problems publishing weekly this year and needed a fairly long hiatus. The series is safe, though, and I’m still expecting a new season announcement before the end of the year. It would be strange if they didn’t adapt this series all the way to its proper conclusion. The second in the trio is Kowloon Generic Romance, which publishes one week and takes three off—the same schedule as Terra Formars now. The manga is currently waiting for its anime, which was finally announced—it took only 9 months from the leak to the official announcement. By the way, Kowloon will have a color opening page in the next issue!
Last but not least, we have the sensational Real. Old readers say that a certain basketball manga called Slam Dunk in WSJ was supposed to continue, but it simply ended, and we never got the rest. But for me, Real is the sequel we’ll get to Slam Dunk, and this is the best reality we could have. In my honest opinion, Real should be required reading for everyone—it’s an experience, a necessary lesson. Real is an emotional story.
As a final note, for anyone still reading, I’d love to recommend the analyses of the other writers on the site. This year I got to know and talk to them, and each of us writes completely differently. Lucca writes about Magazine, and it’s easy to notice the passion he has for the magazine. If he had the time, each analysis would practically be a book. The writer for both Sunday and Afternoon is DNSS, a guy I really respect who writes possibly the most hilarious articles out there. Finally, there’s Leo Nicolin, who brought me the opportunity to come here every week. Nicolin is the manga market expert! If there’s something you want to know about WSJ or even other magazines, he’s the guy to ask. He’s been doing this since 2014, when I used to follow the site, publishing his articles almost every week—total dedication. The three of them are great partners, so I ask that you check out their articles too. Next week we’ll have more Young Jump—see you then.
