With the number of popular manga by Shueisha Jump Shonen created every month, it’s easy to forget that it’s just one of many publishers creating content for the growing and ever-growing manga market. Indeed, there are two other major publishers – Kodansha And Shogakukan – consistently creates excellent manga stories that, while less popular, are just as good as Jump’s best.
Of all the publishers in the manga industry, Kodansha and Shogakukan have the resources, tradition, and influence to challenge Shueisha’s global manga presence. Like Shueisha, both started out as book publishers before later finding a rich source of revenue from manga and anime. Interestingly, Shueisaha was originally founded by Shogakukan as an entertainment company, and both are co-owners of American manga distributor Viz Media. The following is a list of manga titles from Kodansha and Shogakukan that manga fans should read right now.
10 Famous Detective Conan (Shogakukan)
Gosho Aoyama’s Detective Conan, known in the US as Case Closed, tells the story of Shinichi Kudo, a high school student with a gift for crime solving. However, after a secret organization he was investigating poisoned him with a mysterious drug, his body transformed back into that of a toddler. Determined to continue pursuing his passion and find a way to neutralize the effects of drugs, Shinichi Kudo assumes another identity and continues to solve crimes. Detective Conan is one of the longest-running manga series, and not without reason: solid storytelling, interesting characters, and a mysterious ongoing yet surprisingly lively plot. It’s the best detective manga.
9 Go! Go! Loser (Kodansha)
Negi Haruba’s Go! Go! Loser Ranger flips the script on the popular Sentai genre popularized in America by Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Instead of detailing the heroic exploits of a group of superpowered teenagers, the story follows a group of villains who have been repeatedly defeated by a team of heroes known as the Dragon Guardians. . The villains decide to infiltrate the Dragon Keepers organization to eventually achieve world domination. It’s a brilliant bottom-up approach to the genre that perfectly represents decades’ worth of famous Sentai stories.
8 Don’t joke with me, Miss Nagatoro (Kodansha)
Nanashi’s Don’t Mess With Me, Miss Nagatoro tells the story of shy but serious student Naoto Hachioji, who is constantly bullied by his classmates. When a freshman named Hayase Nagatoro participates in the abuse, Naoto sees it as the same thing. However, something strange happens as Nagatoro’s attention grows; she seems to be on a mission to help Naoto become the best he can be. It’s a unique “boy meets girl” story that creatively combines slice-of-life manga elements with a romantic manga style to create a thoroughly enjoyable coming-of-age story.
7 Ultraman (Shogakukan)
Even though Eiichiro Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi’s Ultraman is part of a popular film and television series, it doesn’t resemble the TV version at all. This Ultraman is a grittier, more serious, and far more engaging story than those that appeared in the larger Ultraman universe after the first TV series ended. This story ties directly to the first Ultraman in the original 1966 television series and his alter ego Shin Hayata. After sharing the same body for so long, Hayata absorbed some of Ultraman’s abilities and passed them on to his son Shinjiro. Years later, armed with superhuman abilities and a special power suit, Shinjiro is called upon to fill the void left by Ultraman when he returns to his home world.
6 Gachiakuta (Kodansha)
Kei Urana’s Gachiakuta tells the story of Rudo – an orphan living in the slums outside of Paradise. After being accused of murdering his adoptive father, Rudo was thrown into the Abyss; the area below the Slums, where all the trash from Heaven is dumped and where criminals are exiled. In the Abyss, Rudo became the Gatekeepers, a group of humans organized to protect the inhabitants from monsters that had evolved over the countless eons that Heaven had trashed the area. Rudo vows to learn skills and abilities so that one day he can take revenge on those who trapped him. Manga fans should check it out not only for Rudo’s story, which is full of interesting details, but also for Urana’s immense world-building power.
5 Pluto (Shogakukan)
Naoki Urasawa, Osamu Tezuka and Takashi Nagasaki’s Pluto reimagines the groundbreaking fan-favorite anime Astro Boy as a gritty ‘reconnaissance unit’ involving an advanced robotic police detective assigned to The mission is to find the individual responsible for destroying the world’s greatest robots. His investigation is further complicated by the fact that, like Astro Boy, he is also a target of the killer. Aside from the obvious connection to one of the most popular and popular heroes in anime, this manga is solid in terms of story, characters, and artwork as well as an even more thrilling crime story. when there are no sci-fi elements.
4 Shangri-La Border (Kodansha)
Shangri-La Frontier by Katarina and Ryosuke Fuji tells the story of Rakuro Hizutome, a high school gamer who loves the challenge of playing and winning at “trash” games – poorly made games, or arcade games. The VR element is still in beta and is full of glitches that are rarely present in finished games. After rising through the ranks to become one of the best “junk gamers” online, he tries a new trash game at the suggestion of a friend only to realize it’s the hardest game he’s ever played. and his results have real-life consequences. Shangri-La Frontier isn’t for everyone, but for the growing group of ‘gamega manga’ readers, there’s no better series.
3 Mobile Suit: Thunderbolt (Shogakukan)
As a manga, Yasuo Ohtagaki’s Mobile Suit Sword: Thunderbolt is a bit of an anomaly in a franchise known for its animated film and television content. However, it may also be the best the franchise has to offer. The story takes place concurrently with the first Gunma television series, but until now it was unclear whether it was part of the Gunma canon. It focuses on the battle between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation in a region of space known as “Thunderbolt”. The conflict centers on Zeon soldier Daryl Lorenz and Earth soldier Io Fleming as they face off against each other to ensure victory for their respective sides. This is a must read for anyone into the GTA franchise.
2 Akabane’s bodyguard (Kodansha)
Masamitsu Nigatsu’s Bodyguard Akabane tells the story of high school student Ibuki Arakuni, who learns that her friend Akabane Koneko is the target of assassins due to her father being a robber. Tasked with ensuring that she graduates safely, Ibuki embarks on a year-long job as Akabane’s secret bodyguard. It’s a difficult life for Ibuki but there’s also a lot of romance and humor. This title is notable for Nigatsu’s solid integration of many manga genres, including gangster, romance, comedy, school, and action in an engaging story with consistently interesting characters .
1 Blue Buckle (Kodansha)
No list of Kodansha titles would be complete without Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura’s Blue Lock, a story based on Japan’s real-life journey to becoming a world soccer power. Specifically, the story focuses on high school soccer player Isagi Yoichi and his plan to become the nation’s top soccer player through Blue Lock – a program that mercilessly trains participants to become good players. as possible or give up football altogether. Besides the dramatic tension between the Blue Lock participants as well as the program organizers, Blue Lock is also interesting because of the “superhero fiction” of this extreme sports story.
Although the above suggestions are the best source for fans to introduce themselves to what Kodansha And Shogakukan have to offer, they represent only a small portion of the quality manga content both publishers create each month. Much of that content can really deliver Jump Shonen a run for its money and shows how much great content there is for manga fans willing to dig a little deeper.