1One PieceShonen Adventure - Eiichiro Oda - Shueisha - Weekly Shonen Jump - 03/07/2026 - 13+Created by Eiichiro Oda, the manga follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young captain with a rubber body, and his growing pirate crew as they sail the Grand Line. Facing fantastical islands, Devil Fruit powers and fearsome rivals, they search for the legendary treasure that crowns its finder Pirate King.Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 1997, One Piece is the work through which Eiichiro Oda redefined the shonen adventure genre, building over nearly thirty years a vast, internally consistent world of archipelagos, governments, revolutionaries and pirate empires. The series' strength lies in its rare balance of loose humor, choreographed action and genuinely affecting drama, often within the same story arc. Devil Fruits, Haki and the saga-based structure gave Oda near-limitless room to introduce new islands, cultures and antagonists without ever losing the throughline: Luffy's crew and their shared pursuit of freedom, each member driven by a distinct personal dream. Visually, Oda's linework has grown enormously since the early volumes, yet it has kept an unusual clarity of action that remains a genre benchmark, much like his ability to manage an enormous cast without flattening characterization. The manga has spawned Toei's television adaptation, running for over twenty-five years, as well as the recent Netflix live-action series, helping turn One Piece into a phenomenon that reaches well beyond Japanese comics. With the story now entering its final, long-anticipated stretch, Oda keeps resolving mysteries seeded decades earlier while keeping the plotting remarkably tight. The series also holds a Guinness World Record for the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author, with well over 500 million volumes in circulation worldwide, a figure unmatched by any other manga to date. It is little surprise, then, that even in a 2026 crowded with heavyweight releases like Hunter x Hunter and Kagurabachi, the newest volume reclaimed the top of Japan's sales charts, coming close to a million copies sold in its first week alone according to Oricon data, a sign of just how unmatched the series' following still is after all these decades.see full review ▶ amazon.com
10votesvote
2Frieren: Oltre la fine del viaggioShonen Fantasy - Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe - Shogakukan - Weekly Shonen Sunday - 18/03/2025 - 13+Written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe, the manga follows elf mage Frieren after her party's victory over the Demon King. Over the following decades she revisits memories of her now-departed human companions, slowly coming to understand time, loss and the meaning of connection.Frieren: Beyond Journey's End opens with an unusual question for shonen fantasy: what happens after the heroes have already defeated evil and saved the world. Writer Kanehito Yamada and artist Tsukasa Abe shift the story's center of gravity away from combat epics and toward the quiet, intimate passage of time, following elf mage Frieren as she reckons, decades after her party's victory, with the deaths of her human companions Himmel, Eisen and Heiter. Her near-immortal nature becomes the perfect narrative device for exploring memory, regret and the value of small daily gestures, handled with a hushed, contemplative tone rarely seen in the shonen space. The journey Frieren undertakes alongside her young apprentice Fern and the warrior Stark, searching for lost spells and a deeper understanding of the humans she once knew, alternates near-meditative stillness with lean but pointed combat sequences, never tipping into cheap sentimentality. Abe's delicate linework, equally suited to rendering sparse landscapes and clean, legible magical duels, has played no small part in the series' enthusiastic reception both in Japan and abroad. The series has also collected major industry honors, including the Manga Taisho Award and a Kodansha Manga Award, cementing its critical standing well before the anime turned it into a mainstream hit. The anime adaptation produced by Madhouse, whose first season aired in 2023-2024 followed by a second run between January and March 2026 and a third already announced for October 2027, has further amplified the series' popularity, funneling thousands of new readers toward the original manga. Fittingly, according to Oricon's rankings, Frieren was confirmed as the best-selling manga of the first half of 2026, with over 1.6 million copies sold, in what looks like a virtuous circle between the anime's success and that of the source comic.see full review ▶ amazon.com
9votesvote
3Kaiju No. 8Shonen Action - Naoya Matsumoto - Shueisha - Shonen Jump+ - 04/09/2025 - 16+Written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto, the manga follows Kafka Hibino, a cleanup crew worker dealing with kaiju attack aftermath, the giant monsters threatening Japan. Swallowed by one, he gains the power to become a kaiju himself, while staying human in mind.Kaiju No. 8, serialized for free on the Shonen Jump+ app since July 2020, owes much of its originality to an unusual choice of protagonist for the genre: Kafka Hibino is not a hopeful teenager but a thirty-two-year-old man who watched his dream of joining the Defense Force fade, while his childhood friend Mina Ashiro rose to captain and he ended up on the crew that clears kaiju remains after battles. When a small kaiju forces its way into him and grants him the power to become a kaiju himself, Naoya Matsumoto builds an effective identity conflict: Kafka must hide his new nature to avoid being hunted by the very military he once hoped to join. Supporting characters such as Reno Ichikawa and Kikoru Shinomiya broaden the cast beyond a simple hero-and-mentor dynamic, giving the Defense Force its own internal politics and rivalries. The theme of a delayed dream, a second chance arriving later than shonen conventions usually allow, gives real depth to an otherwise classic action framework of growing powers, training and increasingly spectacular battles against monstrous threats. Matsumoto's art favors a tactile, physical brand of violence, with memorably designed kaiju and combat sequences that stay legible despite the density of the linework. The anime adaptation considerably widened the series' international audience, helping make it one of the most talked-about titles of its generation, alongside works like Jujutsu Kaisen or Chainsaw Man, with which it shares a taste for controlled body horror. The manga concluded in July 2025 with chapter 129, wrapping up a relatively compact story that largely avoided the excessive padding common to many successful action series. Even after its conclusion, Kaiju No. 8 remains a reference point for Italian readers, as shown by its first-place finish in KeyNerd's ranking of the best manga of 2026, one of the country's most closely followed genre outlets.see full review ▶ amazon.com
8votesvote
4Hunter x HunterShonen Action Adventure - Yoshihiro Togashi - Shueisha - Weekly Shonen Jump - 03/07/2026 - 16+Created by Yoshihiro Togashi, the manga follows young Gon Freecss as he tries to become a Hunter to track down his absent father Ging. During the Hunter Exam he meets Kurapika, Leorio and Killua, launching adventures that weave together power, revenge and personal growth in a perilous world.Hunter x Hunter is the most ambitious work by Yoshihiro Togashi, already well known for Yu Yu Hakusho, and it starts from a simple premise, a boy sitting an exam to become a Hunter so he can find his father, before gradually turning into something far more layered. The Nen power system, introduced with near-scientific logic and tightly consistent internal rules, raised the bar for the entire shonen genre and went on to inspire many later authors building similarly elaborate power systems of their own. But the series' real distinguishing trait is its willingness to venture into dark, morally ambiguous territory, culminating in the Chimera Ant arc, where Togashi interrogates the very concepts of heroism and empathy with a bluntness rarely seen in a magazine aimed at young readers. The four leads, Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio, remain sharply distinct in motivation and moral trajectory, avoiding the flatness that affects many ensemble casts in the same genre. The Yorknew City arc, built around Kurapika's methodical hunt for the Phantom Troupe, remains a fan favorite for showing how Togashi's rule-bound power system can generate genuine tactical suspense rather than simple strength escalation. Visually, Togashi's linework has always been distinctive and experimental, but his health issues have forced extremely long hiatuses, often lasting years, making serialization as irregular as its quality has remained high. The two anime adaptations, the 1999 version and especially the one produced by Madhouse in 2011, cemented the manga's status as a classic even among people who never read it on the page. Despite an ending that still feels distant and uncertain, its audience has never stopped following it, as shown by the title's return in early July 2026, when the new volume sold over 538,000 copies, landing at number two on Japan's weekly chart right behind One Piece.see full review ▶ amazon.com
7votesvote
5Blue LockPsychological Sports Shonen - Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Yusuke Nomura - Kodansha - Weekly Shonen Magazine - 17/06/2026 - 13+Written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura, the manga imagines a radical program to create Japan's greatest egotistical striker. Three hundred young forwards, including Isagi Yoichi, are isolated in the Blue Lock facility for a ruthless elimination selection.Born in the wake of Japan's elimination from the 2018 World Cup, Blue Lock flips the usual grammar of soccer sports manga on its head, setting aside the team spirit that typically dominates the genre to build a story around pure individualism. Coach Ego Jinpachi locks three hundred young forwards inside the Blue Lock facility with a declared goal: to forge the most egotistical striker in the country, the one player able to single-handedly decide the most important matches. Writer Muneyuki Kaneshiro turns every training drill into a near survival-game psychological test, where the stakes are not just sporting but existential, while protagonist Isagi Yoichi slowly learns to trust his own selfish instincts after a childhood spent sacrificing himself for the team. Rivals such as Meguru Bachira and Rin Itoshi function as philosophical foils to Isagi, each embodying a different, sometimes unsettling idea of what it means to be a genius striker. Yusuke Nomura's art, full of extreme angles, expressive distortions and an almost horror-inflected use of visual metaphor to render the characters' mental strain, is arguably the series' most distinctive element, one that makes even simple training scrimmages gripping to read. Compared to genre classics going back to Captain Tsubasa, Blue Lock stands out for its tight pacing and for writing that owes more to psychological thrillers than to traditional coming-of-age sports stories, even if the later chapters do return to themes of growth and teamwork. The success of the anime adaptation produced by Eightbit, along with spin-offs focused on secondary characters such as the one centered on Nagi, has further expanded the series' narrative universe and audience. Commercially, the title keeps making headlines: in the closing weeks of June 2026 it topped Japan's weekly best-selling manga chart, with over 121,000 copies sold.see full review ▶ amazon.com
6votesvote
6KagurabachiShonen Action - Takeru Hokazono - Shueisha - Weekly Shonen Jump - 01/05/2026 - 16+Created by Takeru Hokazono and set in an alternate Japan, the manga follows Chihiro Rokuhira's quest for revenge after the murder of his father, legendary swordsmith Kunishige. Wielding the enchanted blade Enten, he hunts down the sorcerers who stole his family's other magical swords.Debuting in Weekly Shonen Jump in September 2023, Kagurabachi is the most talked-about publishing story in recent shonen history, going viral right after its very first chapter. Hokazono has spoken about the pressure of following up such an explosive debut, a challenge shared by several artists of the post-Demon Slayer generation of Jump creators thrust into stardom before completing even a handful of volumes. Takeru Hokazono, born in 2000 and therefore remarkably young by the magazine's standards, builds a lean, no-frills revenge story around Chihiro Rokuhira: a boy raised in his father's forge who must recover seven enchanted swords crafted by his father Kunishige after the master swordsmith is assassinated by a group of sorcerers. The worldbuilding, set in an alternate Japan where magic is tied to an almost sacred craftsmanship, stays deliberately tight in the early volumes, favoring brisk pacing built on short but dense clashes over the long systems-heavy exposition common to other contemporary action manga. Hokazono's art, fluid and dynamic especially in its sword-fighting choreography, has played a large part in the enthusiastic critical reception, with the series frequently compared to the debuts of Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer for how quickly it seized readers' imaginations. The numbers back that reading up: Kagurabachi has outsold both Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer's pre-anime figures, crossing four million copies in circulation before any animated adaptation, which was finally announced for April 2027 after a long wait from fans. The series keeps making its mark on Japan's weekly charts too: in early July 2026 it landed in third place with over 140,000 copies sold, trailing only established giants like One Piece and Hunter x Hunter, confirming its place among the strongest offerings of the new shonen generation.see full review ▶ amazon.com
5votesvote
7Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kunComedy, romance, parody - Izumi Tsubaki - Square Enix - 10/08/2026Chiyo Sakura's confession to classmate Umetaro Nozaki is mistaken for a fan greeting, leading her to become his assistant as he secretly works as a popular shojo manga artist, a misunderstanding that fuels fifteen years of comedic and romantic mishaps.Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, the celebrated four-panel manga by Izumi Tsubaki serialized since 2011 and adapted into a popular anime by Doga Kobo in 2014, reaches its eighteenth volume. The series, a school comedy that affectionately parodies shoujo genre clichés, revolves around the initial misunderstanding between student Chiyo Sakura and her classmate Umetarō Nozaki, who, unaware of her feelings, hires her as an assistant after mistaking her love confession for fan enthusiasm. Volume 18, true to tradition, delivers a whirlwind of daily gags centered on the quirky cast of characters, highlighted by episodes like an absurd "bentō contest" inspired by three-year-olds. The special edition celebrates the series' fifteen-year anniversary with extra content dedicated to the hugely popular theater club pair, Masayuki Hori and Yū Kashima, confirming the longevity and success of a work beloved for its clever humor and memorable characters.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7Blue BoxManga romance sports - Kouji Miura - VIZ Media - 04/08/2026 - TeenA badminton guy falls for a basketball girl, and as their high school sports story continues, Chinatsu faces her childhood friend Yumeka in a decisive quarter-final of the basketball qualifier finals.The manga Blue Box, created by Kouji Miura, reached its conclusion in July 2026 with chapter 250, ending a serialization that lasted over five years in Weekly Shonen Jump. This means new readers can now dive into the entire story, from where the first season of the anime leaves off all the way to the ending, without having to wait for new chapters. Precisely in October 2026, as the Italian market prepares for the release of new volumes such as number 17, the English edition by Viz Media will publish Volume 21. This volume falls within the vast narrative arc that fans can explore starting from chapter 81, the recommended restarting point after the first anime season. The series' popularity is further fueled by the arrival of the second anime season, scheduled from October 4, 2026, which promises to adapt exactly the material following that turning point, accompanied by the new opening and ending themes by aiko and Elsewhere Kiko.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7Black CloverFantasy shonen - Yûki Tabata - Planet Manga - 12/02/2026In tutto il paese, i Cavalieri Magici tentano di contrastare il nemico dando fondo a ogni risorsa, mentre Asta e Yuno, sfruttando il supporto del Toro Nero, puntano verso il cielo per affrontare faccia a faccia Lucius.Volume 37 of Black Clover, published by Planet Manga in February 2026, continues the final battle against Lucius Zogratis with the author Yûki Tabata’s signature dynamic artwork. The volume is a relentless sequence of epic clashes, such as the Silva brothers aiding Noelle against her mother, or Yami and Nacht facing off against Morgen—all marked by the heavy emotional weight of fighting resurrected loved ones. Lucius reveals his full power, having acquired all the magic stored in the grimoire towers, while Asta and Liebe fall into a psychological trap before the protagonist, on the verge of collapse, transfers part of his anti-magic to Yuno. Packed with action and twists, this volume sets the stage for the concluding Volume 38, which will bring an end to one of the longest-running shonen sagas in recent years.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7Colette Decides to DieManga - Shojo Beat Romance - Alto Yukimura - VIZ Media LLC - 04/08/2026 - TeenIn this volume, Colette juggles caring for the whimsical Lady Aphrodite while the underworld faces its greatest crisis, leading Lord Hades to make a fateful decision.The long-awaited eighth volume of "Colette Decides to Die," the fantasy-romance series by Alto Yukimura published by Viz Media, is set to arrive in August 2026. The series, already completed in Japan, follows the story of Colette, an overworked pharmacist who finds a new life and love with Hades in the afterlife. This new installment, announced in the Next Phase catalog, promises to further develop the relationship between the two protagonists, now an established couple, as the underworld faces what is described as its greatest crisis ever, with the arrival of the capricious Aphrodite and a fateful decision by Hades.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7KingdomTopped the Oricon weekly chart for best-selling manga in Japan for the week of August 31, 2026.As we look ahead to the best manga of 2026, Yasuhisa Hara's epic historical series "Kingdom" stands as a monumental work, its legacy powerfully affirmed by its 20th-anniversary celebrations. The manga, published by Shueisha in Weekly Young Jump, has received a staggering tribute from the industry's most legendary creators, including Eiichiro Oda ("One Piece"), Masashi Kishimoto ("Naruto"), Yoshihiro Togashi ("Hunter x Hunter"), and Takehiko Inoue ("Vagabond"), who all contributed special illustrations of protagonist Xin. This widespread homage from peers underscores the series' profound impact, blending grand-scale military strategy and political drama set in China's Warring States period as it follows Xin's dream to become the greatest general. With its anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot reaching a sixth season and a successful live-action film franchise, "Kingdom" has solidified its status as a cornerstone of modern manga, with Hara projecting a conclusion within the next few years after nearly 80 volumes.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7Itoko no KoRomance comedy - Inuchiku - 09/09/2026Sixth volume of the country love comedy: After resolving past issues, Nozomi and Kaori return to Kumamoto, but Nozomi must decide how to respond to Sō's feelings and whether to stay in Tokyo or go back, all while navigating their complicated relationship.Among the new manga releases of 2026 stands out "The Demon Bride of the Kyogane Clan" by Anju Hino, published by J-POP Manga, a fantasy shonen that promises to blend Japanese folklore, romance, and supernatural action starting with its first volume arriving in July. Also from J-POP Manga is "Toge Oni – Chronicles of Primordial Entities" by Kenji Tsurubuchi, a work deeply rooted in Japanese mythology that explores a boundary era between the human and divine worlds. In the editorial landscape, Star Comics offers instead issue 6 of the anthology magazine "Manga Issho," which includes, among others, chapter 2 of "Lady Unicorn" by Marco Albiero.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7A Star Brighter than the SunRomance - Kazune Kawahara - Shueisha - 25/10/2023 - TeenChildhood friends Sae and Koki navigate high school romance as Koki's popularity and soccer team commitments create tension, while Christmas plans and Valentine's Day confessions test their growing feelings.Among the most anticipated releases of 2026 in the Italian shōjo scene is the seventh volume of *A Star Brighter than the Sun*, a sentimental manga by Kazune Kawahara serialized in Shueisha's *Bessatsu Margaret* magazine. The story follows Sae Iwata and her childhood friend Kōki Kamishiro as they navigate insecurities and the complicated transition from friendship to love during their high school years, in a narrative intensely focused on their relationship. The success of the work, which won the 14th An Manga Award in 2023, was further amplified by the anime adaptation produced by Studio Kai and distributed in Italy on Amazon Prime Video, with its renewal for a second season confirming its popularity. The Italian edition, entrusted to Dynit and announced during Lucca Comics & Games 2025, promises to bring this coming-of-age tale, which has won over audiences, to local readers as well.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7Toaru Majutsu no IndexAction, science fantasy, supernatural - Kazuma Kamachi (story), Chûya Kogino (art) - Square Enix - 11/09/2026 - 12+Touma Kamijou, Accelerator, and Hamazawa Shiage head to Russia on separate missions to save their loved ones, diving deeper into the conflict between science and magic in Academy City.Despite the original publication of Kazuma Kamachi's light novels dating back to 2004-2010, the manga adaptation of "Toaru Majutsu no Index" continues its serialization, reaching as many as 34 volumes and maintaining solid popularity. The story, set in the technologically advanced Academy City, follows the adventures of the unlucky student Touma Kamijou and the nun Index, weaving together the conflicts between esper science and magic into a single universe. Although the work stands out for its complex world and intricate plot exploring deep themes, the anime adaptation, especially in the third season, has often been criticized for overly rushed pacing and significant narrative cuts. Despite this, the franchise, enriched by successful spin-offs like "A Certain Scientific Railgun," remains a pillar of the genre, appreciated for its vast cast of characters and evocative settings.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7JAGAANSupernatural horror seinen - Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Kensuke Nishida - Kana/ABRAMS - 29/09/2026 - AdultA bored police officer with homicidal fantasies gains a grotesque power to shoot from his hand when parasitic frogs turn people into monsters driven by repressed desires, turning him into an unstable antihero in a world of primal violence.Jaadugar - A Witch in Mongolia, an opera written and illustrated by Tomato Soup and published in Italy by J-Pop, stands out in the 2026 landscape for its historical and graphic originality. Set in the 13th century between Persia and the Mongolian steppes, it follows the young slave Sitara/Fatima, who turns knowledge into her weapon to survive and plan revenge against Genghis Khan's empire. The drawing style, which intentionally echoes medieval art and Persian miniatures, creates a powerful contrast with the dramatic narrative, emphasizing universal themes such as female emancipation and the power of culture. Its critical success, crowned by an award at Kono Manga ga Sugoi! and an upcoming anime adaptation by studio Science SARU, confirms its value as a layered and intriguing work.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7The JOJOLandsSeinen crime suspense action adventure supernatural - Hirohiko Araki - Shueisha - 13/08/2026Ninth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Jodio Joestar, a teen living in Hawaii who dreams of becoming rich, infiltrates a tourist's villa with his team to steal a diamond, but they encounter the supernatural Lava Rocks and a mystery that will change their destinies.The ninth volume of "The JOJOLands," Hirohiko Araki's new saga in the "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" universe, continues the bizarre journey of young Jodio Joestar in contemporary Hawaii, where the pursuit of wealth intertwines with crime and the mysterious powers of Stands. Serialized in Ultra Jump, the series follows Jodio and his accomplices on their mission, involving iconic characters like Rohan Kishibe and introducing increasingly original and body horror-infused battles. While some longtime readers find it challenging to engage with the narrative as they did with previous sagas, others consider it one of the most explosive and acclaimed beginnings in the entire JoJo epic, praising Araki's inexhaustible creativity in renewing style and characters.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7KagurabachiDark fantasy action shōnen - Takeru Hokazono - Shūeisha - 04/09/2026Chihiro Rokuhira continues his vengeful quest alongside Seichi Samura against the criminal organization Hishaku, wielding the enchanted katana Enten to reclaim his father's stolen blades and avenge his death.The twelfth volume of Kagurabachi, Takeru Hokazono's dark fantasy published in Italy by Star Comics, celebrates its release with new promotional trailers and the conclusion of the saga's first part. The manga, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump and having become a global phenomenon after originating from a viral meme, has solidified its success by surpassing 4 million copies and winning the Next Manga Award. This volume marks a narrative turning point, concluding the battle between protagonist Chihiro Rokuhira and the powerful antagonist "Kensei" with a defeat that paves the way for the second part, the highly anticipated "Seitei War Arc." The series, which blends enchanted katanas, revenge, and a noir urban atmosphere, now prepares for its next major leap with the anime adaptation announced for April 2027, produced by Cypic for Crunchyroll.see full review ▶ amazon.com
0votesvote
7
📖 +Kagurabachi Vol. 12Volume 12 of the successful shonen series, released on 11/09/2026 and #1 on Oricon chart. Source: fandomwire.com+ write a review
0votesvote
7
📖 +Kaiju No. 8 Vol. 16Volume 16 of the popular manga, among VIZ releases on 16/09/2026.+ write a review
0votesvote
7
📖 +The JOJOLands, Vol. 9New volume of the JoJo series, leading Kindle sales in Japan, charting on 19/09/2026.+ write a review
One Piece
Created by Eiichiro Oda, the manga follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young captain with a rubber body, and his growing pirate crew as they sail the Grand Line. Facing fantastical islands, Devil Fruit powers and fearsome rivals, they search for the legendary treasure that crowns its finder Pirate King.
Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 1997, One Piece is the work through which Eiichiro Oda redefined the shonen adventure genre, building over nearly thirty years a vast, internally consistent world of archipelagos, governments, revolutionaries and pirate empires. The series' strength lies in its rare balance of loose humor, choreographed action and genuinely affecting drama, often within the same story arc. Devil Fruits, Haki and the saga-based structure gave Oda near-limitless room to introduce new islands, cultures and antagonists without ever losing the throughline: Luffy's crew and their shared pursuit of freedom, each member driven by a distinct personal dream. Visually, Oda's linework has grown enormously since the early volumes, yet it has kept an unusual clarity of action that remains a genre benchmark, much like his ability to manage an enormous cast without flattening characterization. The manga has spawned Toei's television adaptation, running for over twenty-five years, as well as the recent Netflix live-action series, helping turn One Piece into a phenomenon that reaches well beyond Japanese comics. With the story now entering its final, long-anticipated stretch, Oda keeps resolving mysteries seeded decades earlier while keeping the plotting remarkably tight. The series also holds a Guinness World Record for the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author, with well over 500 million volumes in circulation worldwide, a figure unmatched by any other manga to date. It is little surprise, then, that even in a 2026 crowded with heavyweight releases like Hunter x Hunter and Kagurabachi, the newest volume reclaimed the top of Japan's sales charts, coming close to a million copies sold in its first week alone according to Oricon data, a sign of just how unmatched the series' following still is after all these decades.
see full review
Frieren: Oltre la fine del viaggio
Written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe, the manga follows elf mage Frieren after her party's victory over the Demon King. Over the following decades she revisits memories of her now-departed human companions, slowly coming to understand time, loss and the meaning of connection.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End opens with an unusual question for shonen fantasy: what happens after the heroes have already defeated evil and saved the world. Writer Kanehito Yamada and artist Tsukasa Abe shift the story's center of gravity away from combat epics and toward the quiet, intimate passage of time, following elf mage Frieren as she reckons, decades after her party's victory, with the deaths of her human companions Himmel, Eisen and Heiter. Her near-immortal nature becomes the perfect narrative device for exploring memory, regret and the value of small daily gestures, handled with a hushed, contemplative tone rarely seen in the shonen space. The journey Frieren undertakes alongside her young apprentice Fern and the warrior Stark, searching for lost spells and a deeper understanding of the humans she once knew, alternates near-meditative stillness with lean but pointed combat sequences, never tipping into cheap sentimentality. Abe's delicate linework, equally suited to rendering sparse landscapes and clean, legible magical duels, has played no small part in the series' enthusiastic reception both in Japan and abroad. The series has also collected major industry honors, including the Manga Taisho Award and a Kodansha Manga Award, cementing its critical standing well before the anime turned it into a mainstream hit. The anime adaptation produced by Madhouse, whose first season aired in 2023-2024 followed by a second run between January and March 2026 and a third already announced for October 2027, has further amplified the series' popularity, funneling thousands of new readers toward the original manga. Fittingly, according to Oricon's rankings, Frieren was confirmed as the best-selling manga of the first half of 2026, with over 1.6 million copies sold, in what looks like a virtuous circle between the anime's success and that of the source comic.
see full review
Kaiju No. 8
Written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto, the manga follows Kafka Hibino, a cleanup crew worker dealing with kaiju attack aftermath, the giant monsters threatening Japan. Swallowed by one, he gains the power to become a kaiju himself, while staying human in mind.
Kaiju No. 8, serialized for free on the Shonen Jump+ app since July 2020, owes much of its originality to an unusual choice of protagonist for the genre: Kafka Hibino is not a hopeful teenager but a thirty-two-year-old man who watched his dream of joining the Defense Force fade, while his childhood friend Mina Ashiro rose to captain and he ended up on the crew that clears kaiju remains after battles. When a small kaiju forces its way into him and grants him the power to become a kaiju himself, Naoya Matsumoto builds an effective identity conflict: Kafka must hide his new nature to avoid being hunted by the very military he once hoped to join. Supporting characters such as Reno Ichikawa and Kikoru Shinomiya broaden the cast beyond a simple hero-and-mentor dynamic, giving the Defense Force its own internal politics and rivalries. The theme of a delayed dream, a second chance arriving later than shonen conventions usually allow, gives real depth to an otherwise classic action framework of growing powers, training and increasingly spectacular battles against monstrous threats. Matsumoto's art favors a tactile, physical brand of violence, with memorably designed kaiju and combat sequences that stay legible despite the density of the linework. The anime adaptation considerably widened the series' international audience, helping make it one of the most talked-about titles of its generation, alongside works like Jujutsu Kaisen or Chainsaw Man, with which it shares a taste for controlled body horror. The manga concluded in July 2025 with chapter 129, wrapping up a relatively compact story that largely avoided the excessive padding common to many successful action series. Even after its conclusion, Kaiju No. 8 remains a reference point for Italian readers, as shown by its first-place finish in KeyNerd's ranking of the best manga of 2026, one of the country's most closely followed genre outlets.
see full review
Hunter x Hunter
Created by Yoshihiro Togashi, the manga follows young Gon Freecss as he tries to become a Hunter to track down his absent father Ging. During the Hunter Exam he meets Kurapika, Leorio and Killua, launching adventures that weave together power, revenge and personal growth in a perilous world.
Hunter x Hunter is the most ambitious work by Yoshihiro Togashi, already well known for Yu Yu Hakusho, and it starts from a simple premise, a boy sitting an exam to become a Hunter so he can find his father, before gradually turning into something far more layered. The Nen power system, introduced with near-scientific logic and tightly consistent internal rules, raised the bar for the entire shonen genre and went on to inspire many later authors building similarly elaborate power systems of their own. But the series' real distinguishing trait is its willingness to venture into dark, morally ambiguous territory, culminating in the Chimera Ant arc, where Togashi interrogates the very concepts of heroism and empathy with a bluntness rarely seen in a magazine aimed at young readers. The four leads, Gon, Killua, Kurapika and Leorio, remain sharply distinct in motivation and moral trajectory, avoiding the flatness that affects many ensemble casts in the same genre. The Yorknew City arc, built around Kurapika's methodical hunt for the Phantom Troupe, remains a fan favorite for showing how Togashi's rule-bound power system can generate genuine tactical suspense rather than simple strength escalation. Visually, Togashi's linework has always been distinctive and experimental, but his health issues have forced extremely long hiatuses, often lasting years, making serialization as irregular as its quality has remained high. The two anime adaptations, the 1999 version and especially the one produced by Madhouse in 2011, cemented the manga's status as a classic even among people who never read it on the page. Despite an ending that still feels distant and uncertain, its audience has never stopped following it, as shown by the title's return in early July 2026, when the new volume sold over 538,000 copies, landing at number two on Japan's weekly chart right behind One Piece.
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Blue Lock
Written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura, the manga imagines a radical program to create Japan's greatest egotistical striker. Three hundred young forwards, including Isagi Yoichi, are isolated in the Blue Lock facility for a ruthless elimination selection.
Born in the wake of Japan's elimination from the 2018 World Cup, Blue Lock flips the usual grammar of soccer sports manga on its head, setting aside the team spirit that typically dominates the genre to build a story around pure individualism. Coach Ego Jinpachi locks three hundred young forwards inside the Blue Lock facility with a declared goal: to forge the most egotistical striker in the country, the one player able to single-handedly decide the most important matches. Writer Muneyuki Kaneshiro turns every training drill into a near survival-game psychological test, where the stakes are not just sporting but existential, while protagonist Isagi Yoichi slowly learns to trust his own selfish instincts after a childhood spent sacrificing himself for the team. Rivals such as Meguru Bachira and Rin Itoshi function as philosophical foils to Isagi, each embodying a different, sometimes unsettling idea of what it means to be a genius striker. Yusuke Nomura's art, full of extreme angles, expressive distortions and an almost horror-inflected use of visual metaphor to render the characters' mental strain, is arguably the series' most distinctive element, one that makes even simple training scrimmages gripping to read. Compared to genre classics going back to Captain Tsubasa, Blue Lock stands out for its tight pacing and for writing that owes more to psychological thrillers than to traditional coming-of-age sports stories, even if the later chapters do return to themes of growth and teamwork. The success of the anime adaptation produced by Eightbit, along with spin-offs focused on secondary characters such as the one centered on Nagi, has further expanded the series' narrative universe and audience. Commercially, the title keeps making headlines: in the closing weeks of June 2026 it topped Japan's weekly best-selling manga chart, with over 121,000 copies sold.
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Kagurabachi
Created by Takeru Hokazono and set in an alternate Japan, the manga follows Chihiro Rokuhira's quest for revenge after the murder of his father, legendary swordsmith Kunishige. Wielding the enchanted blade Enten, he hunts down the sorcerers who stole his family's other magical swords.
Debuting in Weekly Shonen Jump in September 2023, Kagurabachi is the most talked-about publishing story in recent shonen history, going viral right after its very first chapter. Hokazono has spoken about the pressure of following up such an explosive debut, a challenge shared by several artists of the post-Demon Slayer generation of Jump creators thrust into stardom before completing even a handful of volumes. Takeru Hokazono, born in 2000 and therefore remarkably young by the magazine's standards, builds a lean, no-frills revenge story around Chihiro Rokuhira: a boy raised in his father's forge who must recover seven enchanted swords crafted by his father Kunishige after the master swordsmith is assassinated by a group of sorcerers. The worldbuilding, set in an alternate Japan where magic is tied to an almost sacred craftsmanship, stays deliberately tight in the early volumes, favoring brisk pacing built on short but dense clashes over the long systems-heavy exposition common to other contemporary action manga. Hokazono's art, fluid and dynamic especially in its sword-fighting choreography, has played a large part in the enthusiastic critical reception, with the series frequently compared to the debuts of Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer for how quickly it seized readers' imaginations. The numbers back that reading up: Kagurabachi has outsold both Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer's pre-anime figures, crossing four million copies in circulation before any animated adaptation, which was finally announced for April 2027 after a long wait from fans. The series keeps making its mark on Japan's weekly charts too: in early July 2026 it landed in third place with over 140,000 copies sold, trailing only established giants like One Piece and Hunter x Hunter, confirming its place among the strongest offerings of the new shonen generation.
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Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
Chiyo Sakura's confession to classmate Umetaro Nozaki is mistaken for a fan greeting, leading her to become his assistant as he secretly works as a popular shojo manga artist, a misunderstanding that fuels fifteen years of comedic and romantic mishaps.
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, the celebrated four-panel manga by Izumi Tsubaki serialized since 2011 and adapted into a popular anime by Doga Kobo in 2014, reaches its eighteenth volume. The series, a school comedy that affectionately parodies shoujo genre clichés, revolves around the initial misunderstanding between student Chiyo Sakura and her classmate Umetarō Nozaki, who, unaware of her feelings, hires her as an assistant after mistaking her love confession for fan enthusiasm. Volume 18, true to tradition, delivers a whirlwind of daily gags centered on the quirky cast of characters, highlighted by episodes like an absurd "bentō contest" inspired by three-year-olds. The special edition celebrates the series' fifteen-year anniversary with extra content dedicated to the hugely popular theater club pair, Masayuki Hori and Yū Kashima, confirming the longevity and success of a work beloved for its clever humor and memorable characters.
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Blue Box
A badminton guy falls for a basketball girl, and as their high school sports story continues, Chinatsu faces her childhood friend Yumeka in a decisive quarter-final of the basketball qualifier finals.
The manga Blue Box, created by Kouji Miura, reached its conclusion in July 2026 with chapter 250, ending a serialization that lasted over five years in Weekly Shonen Jump. This means new readers can now dive into the entire story, from where the first season of the anime leaves off all the way to the ending, without having to wait for new chapters. Precisely in October 2026, as the Italian market prepares for the release of new volumes such as number 17, the English edition by Viz Media will publish Volume 21. This volume falls within the vast narrative arc that fans can explore starting from chapter 81, the recommended restarting point after the first anime season. The series' popularity is further fueled by the arrival of the second anime season, scheduled from October 4, 2026, which promises to adapt exactly the material following that turning point, accompanied by the new opening and ending themes by aiko and Elsewhere Kiko.
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Black Clover
In tutto il paese, i Cavalieri Magici tentano di contrastare il nemico dando fondo a ogni risorsa, mentre Asta e Yuno, sfruttando il supporto del Toro Nero, puntano verso il cielo per affrontare faccia a faccia Lucius.
Volume 37 of Black Clover, published by Planet Manga in February 2026, continues the final battle against Lucius Zogratis with the author Yûki Tabata’s signature dynamic artwork. The volume is a relentless sequence of epic clashes, such as the Silva brothers aiding Noelle against her mother, or Yami and Nacht facing off against Morgen—all marked by the heavy emotional weight of fighting resurrected loved ones. Lucius reveals his full power, having acquired all the magic stored in the grimoire towers, while Asta and Liebe fall into a psychological trap before the protagonist, on the verge of collapse, transfers part of his anti-magic to Yuno. Packed with action and twists, this volume sets the stage for the concluding Volume 38, which will bring an end to one of the longest-running shonen sagas in recent years.
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Colette Decides to Die
In this volume, Colette juggles caring for the whimsical Lady Aphrodite while the underworld faces its greatest crisis, leading Lord Hades to make a fateful decision.
The long-awaited eighth volume of "Colette Decides to Die," the fantasy-romance series by Alto Yukimura published by Viz Media, is set to arrive in August 2026. The series, already completed in Japan, follows the story of Colette, an overworked pharmacist who finds a new life and love with Hades in the afterlife. This new installment, announced in the Next Phase catalog, promises to further develop the relationship between the two protagonists, now an established couple, as the underworld faces what is described as its greatest crisis ever, with the arrival of the capricious Aphrodite and a fateful decision by Hades.
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Kingdom
Topped the Oricon weekly chart for best-selling manga in Japan for the week of August 31, 2026.
As we look ahead to the best manga of 2026, Yasuhisa Hara's epic historical series "Kingdom" stands as a monumental work, its legacy powerfully affirmed by its 20th-anniversary celebrations. The manga, published by Shueisha in Weekly Young Jump, has received a staggering tribute from the industry's most legendary creators, including Eiichiro Oda ("One Piece"), Masashi Kishimoto ("Naruto"), Yoshihiro Togashi ("Hunter x Hunter"), and Takehiko Inoue ("Vagabond"), who all contributed special illustrations of protagonist Xin. This widespread homage from peers underscores the series' profound impact, blending grand-scale military strategy and political drama set in China's Warring States period as it follows Xin's dream to become the greatest general. With its anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot reaching a sixth season and a successful live-action film franchise, "Kingdom" has solidified its status as a cornerstone of modern manga, with Hara projecting a conclusion within the next few years after nearly 80 volumes.
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Itoko no Ko
Sixth volume of the country love comedy: After resolving past issues, Nozomi and Kaori return to Kumamoto, but Nozomi must decide how to respond to Sō's feelings and whether to stay in Tokyo or go back, all while navigating their complicated relationship.
Among the new manga releases of 2026 stands out "The Demon Bride of the Kyogane Clan" by Anju Hino, published by J-POP Manga, a fantasy shonen that promises to blend Japanese folklore, romance, and supernatural action starting with its first volume arriving in July. Also from J-POP Manga is "Toge Oni – Chronicles of Primordial Entities" by Kenji Tsurubuchi, a work deeply rooted in Japanese mythology that explores a boundary era between the human and divine worlds. In the editorial landscape, Star Comics offers instead issue 6 of the anthology magazine "Manga Issho," which includes, among others, chapter 2 of "Lady Unicorn" by Marco Albiero.
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A Star Brighter than the Sun
Childhood friends Sae and Koki navigate high school romance as Koki's popularity and soccer team commitments create tension, while Christmas plans and Valentine's Day confessions test their growing feelings.
Among the most anticipated releases of 2026 in the Italian shōjo scene is the seventh volume of *A Star Brighter than the Sun*, a sentimental manga by Kazune Kawahara serialized in Shueisha's *Bessatsu Margaret* magazine. The story follows Sae Iwata and her childhood friend Kōki Kamishiro as they navigate insecurities and the complicated transition from friendship to love during their high school years, in a narrative intensely focused on their relationship. The success of the work, which won the 14th An Manga Award in 2023, was further amplified by the anime adaptation produced by Studio Kai and distributed in Italy on Amazon Prime Video, with its renewal for a second season confirming its popularity. The Italian edition, entrusted to Dynit and announced during Lucca Comics & Games 2025, promises to bring this coming-of-age tale, which has won over audiences, to local readers as well.
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Toaru Majutsu no Index
Touma Kamijou, Accelerator, and Hamazawa Shiage head to Russia on separate missions to save their loved ones, diving deeper into the conflict between science and magic in Academy City.
Despite the original publication of Kazuma Kamachi's light novels dating back to 2004-2010, the manga adaptation of "Toaru Majutsu no Index" continues its serialization, reaching as many as 34 volumes and maintaining solid popularity. The story, set in the technologically advanced Academy City, follows the adventures of the unlucky student Touma Kamijou and the nun Index, weaving together the conflicts between esper science and magic into a single universe. Although the work stands out for its complex world and intricate plot exploring deep themes, the anime adaptation, especially in the third season, has often been criticized for overly rushed pacing and significant narrative cuts. Despite this, the franchise, enriched by successful spin-offs like "A Certain Scientific Railgun," remains a pillar of the genre, appreciated for its vast cast of characters and evocative settings.
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JAGAAN
A bored police officer with homicidal fantasies gains a grotesque power to shoot from his hand when parasitic frogs turn people into monsters driven by repressed desires, turning him into an unstable antihero in a world of primal violence.
Jaadugar - A Witch in Mongolia, an opera written and illustrated by Tomato Soup and published in Italy by J-Pop, stands out in the 2026 landscape for its historical and graphic originality. Set in the 13th century between Persia and the Mongolian steppes, it follows the young slave Sitara/Fatima, who turns knowledge into her weapon to survive and plan revenge against Genghis Khan's empire. The drawing style, which intentionally echoes medieval art and Persian miniatures, creates a powerful contrast with the dramatic narrative, emphasizing universal themes such as female emancipation and the power of culture. Its critical success, crowned by an award at Kono Manga ga Sugoi! and an upcoming anime adaptation by studio Science SARU, confirms its value as a layered and intriguing work.
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The JOJOLands
Ninth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Jodio Joestar, a teen living in Hawaii who dreams of becoming rich, infiltrates a tourist's villa with his team to steal a diamond, but they encounter the supernatural Lava Rocks and a mystery that will change their destinies.
The ninth volume of "The JOJOLands," Hirohiko Araki's new saga in the "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" universe, continues the bizarre journey of young Jodio Joestar in contemporary Hawaii, where the pursuit of wealth intertwines with crime and the mysterious powers of Stands. Serialized in Ultra Jump, the series follows Jodio and his accomplices on their mission, involving iconic characters like Rohan Kishibe and introducing increasingly original and body horror-infused battles. While some longtime readers find it challenging to engage with the narrative as they did with previous sagas, others consider it one of the most explosive and acclaimed beginnings in the entire JoJo epic, praising Araki's inexhaustible creativity in renewing style and characters.
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Kagurabachi
Chihiro Rokuhira continues his vengeful quest alongside Seichi Samura against the criminal organization Hishaku, wielding the enchanted katana Enten to reclaim his father's stolen blades and avenge his death.
The twelfth volume of Kagurabachi, Takeru Hokazono's dark fantasy published in Italy by Star Comics, celebrates its release with new promotional trailers and the conclusion of the saga's first part. The manga, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump and having become a global phenomenon after originating from a viral meme, has solidified its success by surpassing 4 million copies and winning the Next Manga Award. This volume marks a narrative turning point, concluding the battle between protagonist Chihiro Rokuhira and the powerful antagonist "Kensei" with a defeat that paves the way for the second part, the highly anticipated "Seitei War Arc." The series, which blends enchanted katanas, revenge, and a noir urban atmosphere, now prepares for its next major leap with the anime adaptation announced for April 2027, produced by Cypic for Crunchyroll.
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