Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, My Hero Academia, and Demon Slayer are some of the most popular anime of their generation, and are all considered landmarks of anime and manga in their own right. As it happens, all of these anime share a common home in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, the biggest manga publication in Japan. Weekly Shonen Jump has gained a renowned reputation for producing massive mainstream anime hits, and that reputation continues even today with Jujutsu Kaisen, the newest big hit from 2020.
Recently, another Jump series rocketed to stardom with the release of its anime adaptation: Spy x Family. Spy x Family charmed anime viewers everywhere with its charming cast of characters and mix of spy action with slice-of-life humor. However, Spy x Family doesn't come from Weekly Shonen Jump, but Shonen Jump+, an online magazine recently established by Shueisha. Shonen Jump+ only started a few years ago, but it has quickly grown to become a large platform on its own. Spy x Family, among other series, proves that Shonen Jump+ to become a hitmaker on Weekly Shonen Jump's level.
What Is Shonen Jump+?
Shonen Jump+ is an online magazine that started serialization in 2014. Unlike Weekly Shonen Jump, Shonen Jump+ features many different stories which update either weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. In addition, there are no space limits since it's not a physical magazine, so the website can have a larger amount of titles. The magazine started with thirty titles, and had as many as sixty titles in 2019. Shonen Jump+ also does not have as many editorial restrictions as Weekly Shonen Jump does, which allows the mangaka more freedom to implement explicit and mature content in their works. As a result, the website draws in manga readers who may not particularly be looking for the kind of stories that are featured in the main magazine.
Shonen Jump+ is available in both website and app form. While the growth for the website was initially very slow, by 2019 Shonen Jump+ began to rise in popularity thanks to the debut of Spy x Family, which boosted its viewers tremendously. An international version of Shonen Jump+ called Manga Plus was also launched in 2019, which brought several Shonen Jump+ titles to non-Japanese audiences. Manga Plus, as well as VIZ Media's Shonen Jump website, have done a lot to increase the profile of Shonen Jump+ in the west.
Shonen Jump+'s Rising Stars
Spy x Family is Shonen Jump+'s biggest success, but it is not the only title that Shonen Jump+ has to offer. Shonen Jump+ has a variety of manga series that feature diverse genres and stories that appeal to people of multiple demographics. Other series, like Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, Astra Lost in Space, and My Hero Academia: Vigilantes have also received popular attention. Many of the successful series on Shonen Jump+ have been brought over to the states by English publisher VIZ Media, who also features these series on their own Shonen Jump app. Other series that have been featured on Shonen Jump+ are Fire Punch, which was created by Chainsaw Man's mangaka, Tatsuki Fujimoto, World End Harem, and Ghost Reaper Girl.
Shonen Jump+ continues to feature and publish popular and fast-growing series on their website. Kaiju No. 8 debuted in 2020 and is one of the website's fasting growing series. Another series, Dandadan, debuted in 2021 and is also gaining popularity quickly. Both series are proof that Shonen Jump+'s relevance in the manga market isn't ending any time soon. Between the two magazines, Weekly Shonen Jump remains in the lead, but in a few more years, that may not necessarily be the case.
The Future Of Shonen Jump+
Spring 2022 was a big year for Shonen Jump+ titles, thanks to Spy x Family's massive success. However, Spy x Family was not the only title from the online magazine to get an anime series this season. Summer Time Rendering and Aharen-san Is Indecipherable are both Shonen Jump+ titles that received anime adaptations this season, and both shows have received acclaim, though certainly not on the level of Spy x Family. While Shonen Jump+ titles have received anime adaptations before (like Astra Lost in Space and World End Harem), three series receiving adaptations at one is evidence that the magazine is capable of producing titles that have mainstream appeal.
More Shonen Jump+ titles are sure to receive anime adaptations as well. An anime for Hells' Paradise: Jigokuraku has already been announced, and Kaiju No. 8 is so popular that an anime adaptation is all but certain. In addition, the second part of Chainsaw Man is set to publish on Shonen Jump+, meaning the platform will continue to keep housing big titles for the foreseeable future. It's possible that Shonen Jump+ will soon become a big source of hit anime titles over the next few years.