We review the ten most influential and successful manganime in the history of the magazine and we tell you how to see them online today or their purchase options.
The world of manganime is experiencing a sweet moment. With the irruption of VOD platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Crunchyroll, fans of Japanese comics in motion have found a legal alternative to access all these series at a fair price, with professional localization and great care about the original product in the most cases.
The Weekly Shonen Jump and other magazines of the Jump label are the emblems of the Shueisha publishing house, which with more than fifty years of history has been and continues to be the most successful publication in Japan. That’s where Dragon Ball, Naruto, Hunter x Hunter or Bleach come from; among many other hits from the nineties or even today. With emerging phenomena that nobody saw coming, like Kimetsu no Yaiba.
In this report, we are going to review the 5 most important and popular anime series of Jump in all its history. In addition, we have relied on the accumulated worldwide sales of his manga, a rational reference that adjusts not so much too subjective values as to preference on the part of the readers of this noble leisure. We also explain what the current options are to watch them online streaming.
Dragon ball
If we continue talking today, three decades later, about Dragon Ball, it is for something. Either the original or Dragon Ball Z, Akira Toriyama established a full stop in the way of understanding Shonen. The vignettes moved and, once different generations of young people grew up with Goku and company on the small screen, we realized that that was also a feeling: we became fond of it.
Thanks to Dragon Ball, many authors then children wanted to become mangakas, they expressed their creative will on paper and gave rise to new heroes, new stories that have also swept the audiovisual medium. Dragon Ball established a language that now, in 2021, continues to mobilize the masses. There are currently no licensed streaming platforms, except Super.
One piece
The most successful manga of all time and one of the longest manganime ever in this genre. From 1997 until now, the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and company have accompanied us in dozens of sagas and through all kinds of seas; a series more adult than it seems with a deep, complex plot and wrapped in unforgettable stories.
Surely one of the keys to the success of One Piece is how well its universe marries with the story that is told; for their characters and how the evolution in the scales of power in each of them has been perceived. Luffy dazzles; the mysteries behind the world of the series even more.
Eiichiro Oda is considered a master at this manga and has managed to make history both in Japan and outside of it. Currently, it has no rival, except for Kimetsu no Yaiba. With more and more followers willing to enter the search for the One Piece. If it serves you, currently the anime has an animation far superior to years ago; not to mention how spectacular his current saga is. All the pieces start to fit together.
Naruto
The generation of One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach was the answer to the great series of the nineties: Slam Dunk, Dragon Quest, Dragon Ball … School was created. Masashi Kishimoto bet everything on the path of the hero in the form of ninjas, reminiscent of other contemporary successes. But giving his work an undeniable personality. Regardless of tastes, the influence of Naruto is enormous, a very balanced anime that, except in specific moments, knew how to balance the growth of its protagonists very well with moments of tension, action, and narrative.
Be it the original or Shippuden, it is highly recommended to see Naruto understand the reason for this success, which began with the manga and continued exceptionally in the West.
You can watch Naruto on Netflix; Naruto Shippuden on Crunchyroll. We recommend skipping practically all the filler sagas of Naruto because they are not worth much. If you want to see only the canonical content, here we explain everything.
Hunter x hunter
Yoshihiro Togashi is a genius, both for Yu Yu Hakusho and, above all, having signed Hunter x Hunter, which no matter how much it hurts, has been inactive for more weeks than in circulation. The health problems of its author have interrupted the manga countless times, which inevitably means that the anime has not been able to advance everything desired.
As in Fullmetal Alchemist (Gekkan Shonen Gangan), you have to see the Brotherhood series, in Hunter x Hunter the good anime is the 2011 one, which in fact has that last name in an extended way to differentiate it from the original.
This second adaptation is provided by Madhouse and is a true delight, elevating the success and influence of Gon Freecss’s adventures to the point of being one of the most successful manganime of all time. Gon’s quest to find his father and his intention to become a beast hunter. Just like him, is just the prelude to a show that perfectly embraces the definition of shonen. With the merit of being one of the most acclaimed of always being still far from finished. Essential.
Slam dunk
A spokon (sportsmanship) could not be missing from this list. Takehiko Inoue is a sensational cartoonist, participating even in video games like Lost Odyssey, but mostly known for works like Vagabond and Slam Dunk. Inoue’s work is culture, a very particular vision of basketball and the values of sport with characters with very marked personalities. Its protagonist, Hanamichi Sakuragi, is one of those that you cannot compare due to his idiosyncrasy; but luckily Slam Dunk is far above the mere sum of its characters. The story, its situations, its frantic matches, and its drawing make it difficult not to become fond of it.
It’s a shame that the anime doesn’t cover the entire history of the manga; the games of the National Tournament were left out. Despite the reissues, we have had no luck in that regard. In fact, the last game of the anime does not exist in the manga. A fictional closure was devised that, while consistent, does not correspond to the comic.
