The world of anime is a broader and more diverse place than ever before, and the world of shonen anime in particular is in good shape. Manga sales are strong around the world and anime has become more mainstream than ever before, making this the right context for a new "big three" for shonen manga/anime in particular.
In the 2000s, three titles made up the so-called big three: Tite Kubo's Bleach, Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto and Eiichiro Oda's One Piece -- the three staples of action shonen. Now, a new generation has arrived, and based on these series' well-honed content, popularity and broad appeal, it's safe to say that Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia have become the big three of today.
What are the Sales for MHA, Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen?
A few factors can go into determining the unofficial "big three" of modern shonen, and one of them is manga volume sales. The original big three all enjoyed strong sales during their heyday, and One Piece, which is still ongoing, continues to rank first among all manga series' sales of all time. However, One Piece was grandfathered in from a previous generation -- newer, younger series are the focus now, and pound for pound, they can rival One Piece.
Jujutsu Kaisen's manga series, which launched on March 5th, 2018, recently surpassed the 55 million volume mark, which already puts it in the upper echelon of best-selling manga, speaking volumes (no pun intended) to the story's quality and broad appeal. In fact, volume 17 alone sold 2.5 million copies in its first print run.
Demon Slayer recently finished with volume 23, and its final volume alone sold just under 5 million copies in the first half of 2021. Overall, Demon Slayer's manga enjoyed massive sales during its run, partially due to the mega-popular anime adaptation, which helped draw in many new fans. The series has sold over 150 million copies since its debut, which easily makes it classifiable as "big three" material.
My Hero Academia currently has 32 volumes out, and in April 2021, the series had 50 million copies total in circulation, with the bulk of them selling in Japan. It was also the eighth best-selling manga of any genre in 2020. Such strong sales, along with winning the Harvey Award for Best Manga in 2019, make My Hero Academia a clear shoo-in for "big three" status.
Are Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia & Demon Slayer the Big Three?
The original big three created a template for what the big three for shonen are "supposed" to be like, and the original three series set a simple but lofty standard for all future titles. Those three were all classic action stories with fantasy elements, from rubbery pirates to Soul Reapers with magic swords, and these series were clearly designed to become lengthy but ever-evolving adventures with a massive cast of characters and flexible combat systems.
This allowed all three titles to continuously innovate on their formulas and remain fresh, while also staying true to themselves. These series, as classic shonen, also had broad appeal well beyond the targeted young male readers/viewers. These stories appeal to fans of all ages and sexes, and that's a quick way to become a "big" anything, especially with strong, exciting and slightly vulnerable male and female characters in those stories.
Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer have a lot of competition out there, from the recently-concluded Attack on Titan to the time-traveling delinquent drama of Tokyo Revengers. However, the former titles are closest to the original big three in spirit and can be considered direct spiritual successors. Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen are both clearly evolutions of Bleach, with Jujutsu Kaisen's author confirming that the series is modeled after Tite Kubo's storytelling and art style. In terms of character design, setting, storytelling and combat systems, these three are more akin to Naruto, Bleach and One Piece than series such as Attack on Titan, and that makes them more obvious candidates to become the next big three.
By no means does this diminish the excellent content of Attack on Titan or Tokyo Revengers, but when it comes to broader appeal and living up to the original big three's standards and style, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia are a cut above the rest, and they all took clear inspiration from those original three while refining and honing the formula for a new generation. They learned vital lessons from their forebears and continued their legacy, all while having fresh and unique voices of their own. Only a true "big three" shonen series could pull that off.