Publications like Weekly Shonen Jump and Weekly Shonen Magazine are known for publishing famed shonen mangas such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Fairy Tail. These manga magazines and anthologies are all over Japan, and they're constantly looking for the next big hit for their publication.Of course, this means that there is a lot of new shonen manga debuting in various magazines every year. While every new series has hopes of becoming the next big thing, it doesn't always work out in the end. Here are some of the most interesting and exciting newcomers that have debuted this year.Updated March 26, 2022, by Danny Guan: New manga series start in Japan every year, and it's not always clear which ones will be winners. Sometimes the series just haven't had enough time to develop, or show up late in the year. Now that 2021 is further into the past, it's a little easier to see which series have stood out, especially now that they have more chapters to check out. Here are some more great series that came out in 2021.
15 Ayashimon
Maruo Kaido is an absurdly strong boy who is a big fan of shonen manga. One day, he encounters the yokai underworld when he saves Urara from a gang of ayashimon yakuza. Impressed by his strength, Urara recruits Maruo as the first member of her new yakuza group.
Ayashimon is the second work of Yuji Kaku, the mangaka of Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku. While that work was a more mature seinen series, Ayashimon is clearly a more goofy shonen series. Fans of the previous work should definitely check this one out.
14 Doron Dororon
Dora Sasaki desperately wants to be a samurai so that he can fight the dangerous Mononoke, but is unable to due to the fact that he has no supernatural energy. However, a chance meeting with a compassionate Mononoke with Kusanagi will give him what he needs to achieve his dream.
Doron Dororon is a very standard shonen premise with a unique twist. It also has a lot of heart, as shown in the relationship between Dora and Kusanagi. While it's pretty short now, it has a lot of promise to grow into a great series.
13 Go, Go, Loser Ranger!
The Dragon Keepers have been fighting off the Villainous Army for thirteen years. However, the truth is that the Villainous Army have already lost twelve years ago, and now the remaining footsoldiers act out defeat to the Dragon Keepers every Sunday. One footsoldier, tired of being beaten, decides to infiltrate the organization in order to defeat the Dragon Keepers.
Go, Go, Loser Ranger! is a series by Negi Haruba, the mangaka of The Quintessential Quintuplets, and it is a wildly different story. Fans of tokusatsu shows and Power Rangers will get a kick out of this unique hero series.
12 Tying The Knot With An Amagami Sister
Uryu Kamihate wants to go to Kyoto University and become a doctor. In order to ease the troubles of the orphanage he lived at, he decides to live at Amagami Shrine, where he encounters three beautiful sister shrine maidens. He soon learns that part of the deal for his staying at the shrine is that he must pick one of these sisters to marry and inherit the shrine.
Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister is written by Naito Marcey, who was a former assistant of The Quintessential Quintuplets' mangaka Negi Haruba. The influence of working on that series is quite visible here, as a very nice romantic comedy with quirky characters.
11 Show-ha Shoten!
Azemichi Shijima is a shy, studious young man with a penchant for coming up with hilarious quips. One day, he meets Taiyo Higashikata, a strange young man with aims to become a master of comedy. Together, they decide to reach the top of the comedy world.
Show-ha Shoten! is a great slice of life series about the world of Japanese comedy. In addition, it's illustrated by Takeshi Obata of Death Note and Bakuman fame. This manga is fairly new, but it's certain to be a great series as it continues on.
10 Goddess Cafe Terrace
Hayato Kasukabe returns to his hometown after passing his college entrance exams in order to close down his late grandmother's struggling cafe. However, a chance meeting with the girls who worked and lived at the cafe with his grandmother causes him to change his mind and re-open it instead.
Koji Seo is a romance manga veteran, and Goddess Cafe Terrace is yet another work in this vein. There are a lot of light-hearted moments in this series, as well as a lot of great interactions between the characters, although it does fall into a lot of the usual cliches.
9 Tesla Note
Botan Negoro seems like an average high school girl, but she is actually a ninja trained since birth to conduct missions in espionage and intelligence. She joins an elite team centered around capturing the Tesla fragments, mysterious crystals left behind by the legendary Nikola Tesla.
Tesla Note is an action-heavy sci-fi thriller that combines quirky comedy with over-the-top action. The characters have strong personalities and the art is expressive. It is a bit scattered with its plot, but it has a lot of potential for improvement.
8 Choujin X
Tokio Kurohara and Azuma Higashi are high schoolers who live in a world filled with Choujins: humans who can transform and use supernatural abilities. When their lives are threatened by a rampaging Choujin, the two of them decide to become Choujin themselves. This desperate decision sends ripples through their lives, changing them forever.
Written by Sui Ishida of Tokyo Ghoul fame, Choujin X is a dark take on the supernatural hero genre and shows Tokio struggling with his new powers and transformation. While the beginning is somewhat slow, its concept shows a lot of promise.
7 Witch Watch
Teenage witch Nico Wakatsuki completes her magical training and moves to the city, where she makes a familiar out of her childhood friend and crush Morihito Otogi: an ogre. As the two of them attempt to live a normal life, they find themselves having to deal with supernatural threats and the consequences of Nico's various spells.
Witch Watch is written by Kenta Shinohara of Sket Dance fame, and it's just as funny as his previous work. While it may not be as action-packed or suspenseful as other works, it's filled with hijinks that will make any comedy fan laugh out loud.
6 PPPPPP
Lucky Sonoda was born into a piano genius's family, but he has no skill for the piano. This causes a rift in his family and his parents divorce, his father taking his six siblings. Lucky gives up on playing piano, but when he learns that his mother has only one year left to live, he decides to join a music school and become a professional pianist for his mother's sake.
PPPPPP might not seem especially outstanding outside of its bizarre name, but it is actually a very emotionally resonant series that's also very touching. While the art is not amazing, the story is strong enough to carry it regardless.
5 Blue Box
Taiki Inomata has two problems: he wants to get better at badminton, and he wants to get closer to his crush Chinatsu Kano, a player for the girls' basketball team. One day, his fortunes change when Chinatsu Kano begins living with Taiki and his family since her parents have left Japan to work abroad.
Blue Box is a very cozy romance anime, something that's very rare in shonen. Nevertheless, it's a very compelling read, and the characters are very likable. It also focuses on the sports side of things, making it more than just a simple romance manga.
4 Four Knights Of The Apocalypse
Percival is a young boy who lives with his grandfather at the top of God's Finger. His life is initially peaceful, but after a tragic event, he sets off in search of adventure. As he travels, he learns of a prophecy that names him as one of the four knights of the Apocalypse, meant to end the world.
Fans of Seven Deadly Sins will be excited to learn that Four Knights of the Apocalypse is a sequel to the popular shonen series. While the series does not immediately return to the previous cast members, the new characters and their dynamic should be of interest to anyone who enjoys shonen manga.
3 Nine Dragons' Baseball Parade
Tamao Azukida loves baseball, enough that despite his small stature, he manages to train hard enough to make the baseball team at Hakuo, one of the biggest high schools for the sport. However, he is not accepted into the team despite his analytical talents, crushing him. His dreams are rescued by fellow baseball hopeful Tao Ryudo, who declares unequivocally that he wants to make a legendary baseball team with him.
Nine Dragons' Baseball Parade was cut short, unfortunately, but it was an enjoyable ride with many likable characters who made appearances along the way. Fans of sports and gut-busting comedy are sure to enjoy this budding baseball manga.
2 Dandadan
High schooler Momo Ayase believes in ghosts, while her awkward classmate Ken Takakura believes in aliens. The two get into a fight over which supernatural phenomenon is real and they both visit different occultic locations in order to prove each other wrong. They end up proving each other right, starting a chain reaction of events that they can't escape.
Dandadan is a wild ride, with the two main characters encountering bizarre monsters and strange curses at every turn. It's funny, scary, and even a little bit dirty, so it's a good read for people who prefer a more mature comedy.
1 The Elusive Samurai
Hojo Tokiyuki is a son of the esteemed Hojo clan, but his future is destroyed when his clan is betrayed and overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji. Tokiyuki wants revenge, but since he is only nine years of age, he will have to fight back using his only skills: running and hiding.
Written by Yusei Matsui of Assassination Classroom and Neuro fame, The Elusive Samurai is another work that incorporates his usual mix of absurd comedy and exciting action. The artwork is both grotesque and amazing, while the historical aspect of the story is also very enticing.