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Summary
Anime and mangahave become increasingly popular in North America and abroad outside of Japan in the past several decades.Still, one classic marker of ultimate success is being labeled a “Big Three” series.Traditionally seen as a label for Shueisha’s immensely popularWeekly Shonen Jump, the prevailing popularity ofOne Piece,Naruto, andBleachhave collectively sold over 900 million copies, yet the world of manga is different. The Big Three terminology may become outdated in an increasingly saturated market where these successes are becoming more common.
This is to say, none of the Big Three series themselves are irrelevant, but rather,the term is becoming more clearly an artificial standard to which new series are held. It becomes increasingly troublesome when other manga demographics are given a Big Three label, andcertain biases begin to show, overlooking massive sales and critical acclaim.
Manga is meant to be accessible to everyone, yet the collective desire for hype and determining the most popular series creates a troublesome trend that needs to go.
The Original Big Three Are Still Unmatched
While Other Series Match Sales, These Manga’s Legacies Continue to Resonate
Weekly Shonen Jumpcaptured lightning in a bottle between the late 1990s and early 2000s withOne Piece, Naruto, andBleach. DespiteNaruto’s sequel seriesandBleach’sphenomenal anime adaptation,One Piece’scontinuous runcreates a lopsided podium, withOne Piecemoving half a billion copies, more thanNarutoandBleachcombined. The fact that these three series ran concurrently created an incredible opportunity for the brand to expand,and that’s what Shueisha did, with momentous cases like a greater push in the West.
DespiteNaruto’ssequel seriesandBleach’sphenomenal final arc anime adaptation,One Piece’scontinuous runcreates a lopsided podium, withOne Piecemoving half a billion copies, more thanNarutoandBleachcombined.
This manifested in establishingShonen Jumpmagazine, a monthly periodical for manga fans in North America who could read the most popular series from Shueisha’s flagship. Anime adaptations continue to generate massive success,and the lasting popularity of series likeBorutodirectly reflects the carrying over of fans into new series due to the original Big Three’s legacy. New series continue to operate in the shadows of these stories despite, in some cases, having impressive or even groundbreaking successes.
Contemporary Big Three Shonen Series Show Several Biases
Given the Weekly Shonen Jump Origins, It’s Unsurprising
DespiteOne Piecebeing the only Big Three manga series still running, althoughBorutocan technically be lumped intoNaruto’ssales, other series have either met or exceeded the benchmarks of the Big Three’s success.Cases includeAttack on Titan’s 140 million copies, as Kodansha’sBessatsu ShōnenMagazinereports, ormore modest yet sustainable smash hits likeHajime no IppoandBaki the Grapper’s100 million copies sold.Yet, the most recent Big Three designations include the following:
The Dark Trio
The “New” Big Three
It’s undoubtedly good news forJujutsu Kaisenfans and an essential reminder of the massive success ofDemon Slayerwhile indicating a tonal shift towards darker niches, superheroes, and sorcerers.While there’s a decent variety of options here, there’s an undeniable bias, typically by fans, toward the hype of the Shueisha series, despite cases likeBlue Lockbeing the best-selling manga of 2023andFrierenoutselling all butJujutsu Kaisenso far this year. What’s especially puzzling about this, however, is how quickly that bias is turned on its head when other demographics show their Big Threes.
The Seinen “Big Three” Shows Glaring Biases
Massively Successful Manga Are Often Overlooked
Naturally, the propensity for hype in the manga world favors action series for the shonen demographic, but the Big Three designation gets more interesting outside this bubble. Take, for instance, the Seinen Big Three, a designation for three revolutionary series that are literary classics in their own right:Berserk, Vagabond,andVinland Saga.None of the three are finished, and even sales numbers aren’t the ultimate determining factor, asAnime News NetworkshowsVinland Sagahaving sold only 7 million copies.Vagabond’screator is potentially happy with never finishing his series, too.
One can argue that Big Three manga series are a combination of culturally relevant, frequently-discussed series with massive sales achievements, yet this frequently leaves outone vital player:Kingdom. Interestingly,Kingdomis the only Shueisha manga of this group, published in Weekly Young Jump alongsideOshi no Ko, and more interestingly, it’s outsold all three series since its 2006 debut with 100 million copies, with a far more consistent schedule. Yet, it’s not a Big Three manga, and perhaps it’s becauseKingdom’smangais not distributed in North America, despite its enormous success.
The thread continues to unravel when other seinen series also perform strongly, withOshi no KoandThe Apothecary Diarieseach selling well over the current calendar year. WhileVinland Sagadeserves every bit of recognition it has, it’s hard to deny its strange seeing it among the Seinen Big Three alongsideVagabond’s82 million copies andBerserk’s80 million copies whenThe Apothecary Diariesoutsells it nearly five times over.However, the heavily philosophical, cerebral aspects connecting these three are likely the common element, along with their tortured male protagonists and undeniably excellent stories.
To Assign Big Three Labels Overlooks Other Great Series
Hype Can Blind the Reader to New Experiences
It’s important to note that even thoughDemon Slayeris mentioned in the discussion of Big Threes, it’s not nearly as widely recognized despite its incredible 150 million copies sold, andDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Traingenerating half a billion at the box office.Yet, fans don’t need a “Big Three” label to recognize the series' greatness.In many cases, they might see its current cultural relevance override the original Big Three’s success. It can be fun, however, to decide what other demographics have similarly monumental franchises.
After all, if sales were the sole metric for Big Three consideration, fans could miss out onVinland Saga, which is an upsetting premise.
For instance, before the shonen Big Three, similar contenders from previous eras includeDragon Ball,Slam Dunk, Yu Yu Hakusho,andHunter x Hunter. Shojo fans can likely agree with a hierarchy ofSailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, andFruits Basket/Ouran High School Host Club, but this depends onwhether readers countNanaas shojo or josei. This exercise, while entertaining, inevitably overlooks a great or potentially better series.After all, if sales were the sole metric for Big Three consideration, fans could miss out onVinland Saga, which is an upsetting premise.
Assigning Big Three labels puts the blinders up to series that fall out of that umbrella. While shonen action manga is everywhere, massive critical and sales successes exist, likeBlue Boxin Shonen Jump, for readers not interested in the series guaranteed to build that hype.At the same timeKagurabachiseems destined for the next Big Three. Yet, with so many series outselling these and the fandom growing and diversifying beyondShonen Jump, it’s critical to remember:manga isn’t niche anymore; it’s for everyone, and Big Three collectives limit its incredible scope, whereas they should function more as a gateway.
