The most popular and best-selling manga - those with the most interesting and exciting story, the most die-hard fans, and most of them are shounen manga.
But many of them are already finished and getting old. current era shonen manga also very exciting. We live in an experimental and varied world of manga in general. And in order for this genre to remain relevant, it also needs to be experimented with.
This list contains popular modern shounen manga and some of them were animated and some were not (maybe in the future they will be).
Shounen (jap. 少年sho:nen, lit. "boy, young man") - anime, manga and light novel, designed for a special target audience - boys and young men aged 12 to 18 years.
My Hero Academy | My Hero Academy |僕のヒーローアカデミア (2014)
"My Hero Academy" is one of the largest manga and anime in the world. Kouhei Horikoshi, the author of the manga, was inspired by American superhero comics created by the guys from Marvel and DC in the 80s and created a Japanese version of this story that contributes to the world populated by superheroes.
Let's start by saying that this manga is filled from head to toe with thoughtful themes, irresistible villains, and diverse characters.
In the world of this manga, 80% of people have some kind of unique ability, known as a "quirk". Most people with the strongest quirks use them for personal gain and become supervillains, while others train to become professional heroes and help others.
The young protagonist, Deku (Izuku Midoriya), admires Japan's most powerful hero, All Might, and dreams of becoming as strong and brave as him. His dreams are shattered when he finds out he doesn't have a quirk at all, until a strange incident leads him to All Might and the greatest hero transfers the power of his quirk to him.
One of the show's biggest strengths is its huge and colorful cast of characters, each given a backstory, unique quirk, motivation, and more.
Spy family | SPY x FAMILY |スパイファミリー (2019)
"Spy Family" one of the most fun and exciting new shounen manga. She is still going to be adapted into an anime, but it's only a matter of time.
The spy, codenamed “Dusk,” is given perhaps his toughest mission, Operation Strix. As part of this mission, he needs to get married and have a baby in order to get closer to his goal - Donovan Desmond. He eventually adopts Anya, a telepathic girl, and marries Yora, a murderer, however, they all hide their identities from each other.
To complete his mission, Dusk must enroll Anya into the prestigious Eden Academy so she can approach his victim's son, Damian Desmond. To do this, Anya will need to earn 8 Stella Stars, medals awarded to people who demonstrate excellent academic grades, and use them to join the Imperial Scholars. However, the real problem may be that she can get 8 Tonitrus bolts, and thus Anya will be eliminated!
The Spy Family is an exquisitely drawn manga, flawlessly executed in both comedy and action genres, with great characters and environmental detail.
One Punch Man | One Punch Man |ワンパンマン (2009)
This is another very popular and lauded contemporary superhero-inspired manga, and it certainly has a compelling story behind it. The creator of One Punch Man, known as ONE (who also wrote Mob Psycho 100), is not the most talented artist. The original incarnation was a crude webcomic. The manga as it exists today is a reworking of the original, and artwork is handled by Yusuke Murata, who is one of the most talented artists in the manga industry.
The manga has also been adapted into a short anime series with the highest production value and smooth animation. The first season of the anime was just great. However, the second season of the anime, handled by a different studio, was decidedly less impressive, which only gives anime fans more reason to switch to the manga. I would even say that avoiding the second season of the anime entirely is a smart move.
In terms of plot, it's a comedy and action movie that tackles some pretty smart philosophical questions about things like: life's purpose, personal motivation and drive, which gives us true satisfaction, the importance of goals. One-Punch Man is a 20-something former employee named Saitama. After training too long and hard, Saitama becomes incredibly strong, so much so that he can take down any enemy with one blow. Thus, Saitama faces more absurd and formidable enemies.
The way the manga takes on this concept and how it manages to stay fresh is consistently interesting. Not to mention, each fight is drawn with amazing detail and flare.
Doctor Stone | Dr. Stone |ドクターストーン (2017)
While much of the classic manga followed many of the genres we've already mentioned, the modern one is evolving in more exciting and varied directions. Specifically, "Doctor Stone" brought the educational-entertainment genre.
Dr. Stone is a post-apocalyptic manga about an arrogant, cocky scientific genius (imagine Rick from Rick and Morty in the body of a Japanese high school student). When a sudden "apocalypse" turns everyone in the world into statues, Senku becomes one of the first humans to come back to life after nature has taken the earth back for 3,700 years. Using his mind in chemistry, engineering, physics, etc., Senku goes on a mission to find a cure for petrification as well as its cause.
"Doctor Stone" is a series of educational and entertainment programs. It offers readers real-life lessons in physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering as the action unfolds and the story develops.
Blade that cuts demons | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba |鬼滅の刃 (2016)
In 2019, the anime adaptation of the manga “The Blade that Slays Demons” immediately became a trend. It's hard to overstate how big anime is in terms of sales and profits, viewership and readership. This, of course, begs the immediate question: if the anime is so popular, is it worth reading the manga at all? In short, yes, absolutely.
For those who don't know, Demon Slayer Blade is a modern shounen manga set in Japan during the Taisho era. This is the story of Tanjiro, a boy who lives on a quiet snowy mountainside.
When Tanjiro spends the night in the city, his family is killed by demons. Everyone except his sister Nezuko, who was infected with demon blood but retained her humanity. Nezuko may be wild, with great demonic strength and ferocity, but still she remains the kind and gentle girl she was. After, Tanjiro goes on a grand adventure to become a demon slayer, cure his sister, find all the demons and defeat them.
“The Blade That Slays Demons” is in many ways a traditional shounen manga that has images such as good versus evil, the hero’s journey, intense battles, etc. But what sets it apart from other such stories is the element some horror.
The Promised Land of Dreams | The Promised Neverland |約束のネバーランド (2016)
“Magic Battle” captures the slightly darker side of shounen, infusing the genre with a monstrous, frightening energy.
At the time of writing, the anime adaptation is turning into a massively popular anime, and is garnering everyone's attention. The manga follows Yuuji Itadori, a handsome high school student with great physical talent.When it comes to anything like that, he is a born runner and fighter.
One magician told him that his school was cursed due to the presence of an occult talisman (finger). Itadori then swallows this finger and becomes the owner of a powerful demon named Sukuna, as it was the only way to disable him. Somehow Itadori is able to contain Sukuna, but now he has been tasked with joining the Tokyo magic school and finding Sukuna's remaining fingers, of which he has twenty.
“Magic Battle” is a bit like the classic shonen manga that came before it, especially Bleach and Naruto. But, thanks to its willingness to lean on the dark, gritty, and gory side, the series stands out and becomes something rather unique and fresh.
Chainsaw Man | Chainsaw Man |チェンソーマン (2018)
At the time of writing, it has been announced that Chainsaw Man is getting an anime adaptation. This is big news because this one became the most popular manga of the last year. This trend of infusing horror into modern shounen manga continues here. Although this story is much more fun. In terms of zombies and all.
Chainsaw Man is the story of Denji, a short-tempered and not entirely smart young man who owes a debt to the Yakuza (and this is not even his debt, but his father's). Fortunately, the world is inhabited by devils, born of human fear and often hunted by people like Denji, who seeks to reduce his debt by working as a devil hunter. As the story begins, Denji is accompanied by his beloved devil dog named Pochita. Pochita is a friendly devil who looks and works like a chainsaw.
Denji from an early age worked for the same Yakuza, but at one point he betrayed him, wanting to take Honor for himself, after which Denji was chopped, but his body merges with the body of Honor, and he is reborn as a hybrid of a man and a devil with the power of a chainsaw.
The initial plot is absurd, and many people understand this very well. This is a story with dark and violent elements that also has something funny in it.
Tokyo ghoul | Tokyo Ghoul |東京喰種 (2011)
“Tokyo Ghoul” is technically intended for adult readers, the events and visuals are somewhat similar to “Magic Battle” and “The Promised Neverland”.
The action takes place in a world where Japan is inhabited by ordinary people and another form of man known as ghouls. Vampire-like creatures with impressive physical features and a hunger for human flesh.
Our protagonist is a college book student named Ken Kaneki who manages to get a date with a girl, but she was going to eat him. When she suddenly dies before she can eat him, her organs are used to save Kaneki's life and he now has ghoul powers.
The series explores the relationship between humans, ghouls, ghoul hunters, and Kaneki lives in both worlds. The series is called horror because of the graphics, art and emphasis on monstrous cannibals. However, any shonen manga fan will enjoy this story thanks to its supernatural tendencies and lovable protagonist.
Volleyball!! | Haikyuu!! |ハイキュー!! (2012)
This entire list so far has consisted of horror, action, and superhero manga. However, there are a huge number of sports manga, and the most popular of them is “Volleyball!!”.
"Volleyball!!" is an uplifting and inspiring sports manga with an anime adaptation about a high school volleyball team. Manga's popularity skyrocketed so much that half of Japan's youth became fans of the sport, and all of a sudden there were volleyball teams in every school in the country.
The series relies entirely on the willpower of the characters and their relationships. They grow both in personal skills and in teamwork. They learn to love and take care of each other. They also face increasingly difficult challenges and refuse to give up.
