After almost 60 years of circulation, Shōnen Jump has long since established itself as the biggest manga magazine in the world. Not only does it have the highest circulation of any other publication, but the manga published under its brand are consistently the most popular in the world, as are the anime adaptations they inevitably receive, even when they happen decades after the fact.

The Shōnen Jump brand has become synonymous with manga, and it’s easy to see why. The popularity of Shōnen Jump manga has never come from nowhere; Shōnen Jump manga typically have some of the best action, writing, and worldbuilding of any manga that a person can read, and as the years have gone by, that idea has only gotten stronger. A few manga, in particular, stand out in that regard, and each one does a great job of embodying everything that’s made the Shōnen Jump brand so strong.

10 My Hero Academia

Created By Kohei Horikoshi; Serialized In Weekly Shōnen Jump 2014-2024

My Hero Academia takes place in a world where superheroes have long since become a part of everyday life thanks to the emergence of superpowers called Quirks. Izuku Midoriya is one of the rare people to be born Quirkless, but he still wants to be a hero, and after a chance meeting with his idol, All Might, Izuku is put on the path toward becoming the world’s greatest hero.

Countless stories from the 2010s were designed to ride the surge of popularity in superhero stories, and while many of those stories fell flat, My Hero Academia’s great writing, artwork, and character work make for a perfect melding of superhero and shōnen manga with all the same highs as both from start to finish. My Hero Academia has been at the center of modern anime, and with how great the manga is, it’s easy to see why.

9 Toriko

Created By Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro; Serialized In Weekly Shōnen Jump 2008-2016

Mitsutoshi Shimabukoro’s Toriko takes place in a world filled with fantastical and dangerous monsters and locales that can be made into the most delicious food in the world. The ones in charge of doing so are the legendary Gourmet Hunters, and one of the most famous of them is the titular Toriko, who searches the world for the most delicious ingredients for his full-course menu, all while dealing with the various evildoers who would want to take them for themselves.

Toriko’s muscular character designs, intense action, and vibrant and creative monster and location designs make it a perfect love letter to classic Shōnen Jump stories, and with how detailed the power system and worldbuilding get, it ends up with plenty of original flair to balance things out, as well. Toriko might not have the same prestige as some of Shōnen Jump’s bigger hits, but it’s still plenty worth reading, nonetheless.

8 Kinnikuman

Created By Yudetamago; Serialized In Weekly Shōnen Jump 1979-1987, Shu Play News 2011-Present

Yudetamago’s Kinnikuman stars Kinnikuman, the bumbling superhero of Japan who rarely ever saves the day without embarrassing himself. Kinnikuman does gradually become more heroic, however, and much of his growth is sparked by the constant wrestling matches he and his friends have to protect the universe from the forces of evil.

While starting as a simple gag manga parodying Ultraman and other superhero stories, Kinnikuman slowly builds into a more serious plot and character-driven narrative, and as it does, Kinnikuman ends up with one of the most engaging and developed stories and casts of any shōnen manga. The series has been serialized on and off for over 40 years, the most recent run being serialized in Shu Play News since 2011, and overall, it just keeps getting better and better with every new installment.

7 Dragon Quest: The Adventure Of Dai

Created By Riku Sanjo & Koji Inada; Serialized In Weekly Shōnen Jump 1989-1996

Riku Sanjo and Koji Inada’s Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai begins 10 years after the hero Avan defeated the Demon King Hadlar when the peace of the world is disrupted by the appearance of an even greater evil, the Dark King Vearn. With Avan dying in a rematch with Hadlar, the latter now subservient to Vearn, it now falls onto Avan’s apprentice, Dai, to become the new hero and save the world from evil.

While the manga hits all the typical story beats of Japanese fantasy stories and shōnen manga, the sincerity and overall great quality with which Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai executes its tropes and themes makes its writing feel timeless and strong, even when other stories might be doing something more unique. The franchise might not have much recognition outside Japan, but it’s still a series any Shōnen Jump fan would be remiss to ignore.

6 Bleach

Created By Tite Kubo; Serialized In Weekly Shōnen Jump 2001-2016

Tite Kubo’s Bleach stars Ichigo Kurosaki, a boy whose strange ability to see ghosts leads to him learning about Soul Reapers, the guardians of the afterlife, and the bloodthirsty monsters they protect people from called Hollows. When a Hollow puts his family in danger, Ichigo is forced to become a substitute Soul Reaper to protect them, and that begins a constant series of battles to protect Ichigo’s loved ones old and new, in addition to the entire world.

Bleach is known as one of the “Big 3” of shōnen manga, and thanks to Bleach’s incredible artwork, character designs, fight scenes, and surprisingly poignant dramatic writing for a shōnen manga, it more than earns such a stellar reputation. Bleach is one of the manga that helped define shōnen in the 2000s, and with the Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War anime still going strong, there’s never been a better time to read it.

5 Naruto

Created By Masashi Kishimoto; Serialized In Weekly Shōnen Jump 1999-2014

Naruto stars Naruto Uzumaki, a young aspiring ninja who’s spent his entire life ostracized by his peers for being the vessel to the ferocious Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Naruto seeks to become the next Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, and earn everyone’s respect, and his quest to do so puts him at the center of one major conflict after another until it falls on him to save the entire world.

Another member of the “Big 3” of shōnen manga, Naruto has always stood out thanks to its well-rounded cast of heroes and villains, dynamic artwork and fight choreography, and a stellar narrative that rarely disappoints, even if it does run longer than some people might have wanted it to. The Naruto franchise has been a household name in Shōnen Jump for 25 years, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

4 Slam Dunk

Created By Takehiko Inoue; Serialized In Weekly Shōnen Jump 1990-1996

Takehiko Inoue’s Slam Dunk stars Hanamichi Sakuragi, a kindhearted delinquent who pretends to be a genius basketball player to impress a girl he likes. Sakuragi’s lies naturally lead to him ing his school’s basketball team, and not only does everyone soon discover that there might be some truth to Sakuragi’s boasting, but Sakuragi slowly finds seeing basketball as not just a means of getting a girlfriend, but an irreplaceable part of his life.

While Takehiko Inoue is probably best known for the historical samurai epic Vagabond, Slam Dunk is one of the best manga a person can read thanks to its gorgeous artwork, energetic sports choreography, and incredibly engaging cast, especially the core five that make up Shohoku’s basketball team. Slam Dunk is one of the most popular and iconic sports manga of all time, and it continues to earn that reputation over 30 years after the fact.

3 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Created By Hirohiko Araki; Serialized In Weekly Shōnen Jump 1987-2004, Ultra Jump 2005-Present

Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a generational epic chronicling the adventures of the of the Joestar family, all of whom have names that can create the nickname “JoJo.” As the title would imply, the Joestars repeatedly deal with increasingly bizarre threats to the world, many of which involve supernatural powers called Stands, and their repeated battles span not only centuries, but multiple timelines, as well.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has always stood out thanks to its detailed artwork and fight scenes that are creative for both choreography and the powers of the characters involved, and even after over 30 years and switching demographics, the series has only ever gotten better at all of that. The manga has only recently become mainstream thanks to the popularity of its anime adaptation, but thanks to that, people worldwide have finally started giving it the recognition it deserves.

2 Dragon Ball

Created By Akira Toriyama; Serialized 1984-1995

Dragon Ball chronicles the adventures of Son Goku, a young boy with a monkey tail and inhuman strength who loves a good fight and often finds himself searching for the mystical wish-granting Dragon Balls. While initially a parody of Journey to the West, by the time Goku ages into an adult, the story changes into a sci-fi epic that sees Goku and his friends reaching increasingly massive levels of power as they continually work to protect the entire universe from danger.

Dragon Ball is easily one of the most iconic anime franchises of all time, and thanks to Dragon Ball’s great character writing and stellar, yet simplistic, artwork and fight scenes that still hold up after 40 years, it’s easy to see why. The landscape of shōnen anime and manga would be unrecognizable without Dragon Ball, and it’s more than earned that reputation.

1 One Piece

Created By Eiichiro Oda; Serialized In Weekly Shōnen Jump 1997-Present

In Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, the world has entered a Great Age of Piracy as pirates search for the mythical One Piece in the hopes of becoming the next Pirate King. Among those pirates is Monkey D. Luffy, a young rookie who can stretch his body like rubber, but despite his inexperience, it isn’t long before Luffy and his crew show the entire world that they can’t be underestimated.

With its fun cast of characters and artwork, fights, and worldbuilding that only become more expressive and engaging as the years go by, One Piece’s writing and visual aesthetic are consistently at a level that few manga can ever come close to, no matter the era. No series has left an impact on anime and manga the past 20 years like One Piece has, and that helps make it an easy contender for the best Shōnen Jump manga of all time.