Everything evolves over time, though not necessarily as slowly as it seems. Sometimes it is a series of gradual changes, like how rock music got heavier until it became the thrashing excess of hair metal. But then something new can come along and instantly make everything that came before it feel old-hat, like what grunge did to hair metal in the early 1990s.
The same is true in manga across its different genres. 1960s Shōnen manga were a completely different beast to the ones fans have today, and their changes came in a mix of gradual shifts and status-shattering explosions each introduced by different strips over the subsequent decades. These are just some of the shōnen manga that made the genre what it is today.
10Astro Boy
Manga’s First True Hero
The story ofAstro Boy, a robot made to replace his creator’s late son, finding a new life with Professor Ochanomizu and fighting off villains and criminals for peace is practically the genesis of the shōnen genre. Sci-fi tech and robots were all the rage in the 1950s, but Osamu Tezuka styled Astro with a cuter, more Disney/Fleischer-esque look to appeal to young readers over the more foreboding machines in movies at the time.
It worked out all too well, as they picked up the strip in droves to see Astro pummel one robot or another. This success led Tezuka to adapt it into an anime himself, where it became the first anime to reach US airwaves. Its storytelling also held up beyond its action, as its darker themes about morality and humanity inspired a multitude of other media, like theMega Mangames, andPluto, a retelling of one ofAstro Boy’s story arcsby Naoki ‘Monster’ Urasawa.
9Speed Racer
A Demon on Wheels, A Success in Print
Astro Boyopened the doorways for more Japanese animation to reach global audiences, likeTetsujin 28(akaGigantor) and8-Man. They just tended to be in black and white, like most TV shows were at the time. But it couldn’t stay that way for long. Color was becoming less of a gimmick and more a necessity, and it needed shows to make the most of it.
EnterSpeed Racer, orMachGoGoGo. Though it’s more famous for its all-color anime series, and infamous for its wacky US localization, the original manga was popular too for its hi-octane racing action. It was the biggest hit forShōnen Book, the predecessor toShōnen Jump, and led its creator, Yoshida, to found Tatsunoko Production and create more classic anime, likeGatchamanandTekkaman.
8Ashita no Joe
The Birth of Boxing Drama in Manga
Racing wasn’t the only sport to inspire strips, as there are plenty of pivotal sports manga that pioneered storytelling elements in the medium.Hajime no IppoandMegalo Boxreally helped capture the drama that the sweet science can produce, though they all tip their hat to their predecessor,Ashita no Joe(“Tomorrow’s Joe”), where Joe Yabuki’s struggle to box out of juvenile detention into a boxing career offered a more grounded tale thanSpeed Racer. Its characters suffered and died from the rigors their devotion to the sport would put them through.
This struck a chord with readers, inspiring anime director Goro Taniguchi and animator Atsushi Wakabayashi to consider the way it used combat for its storytelling during the production ofCode GeassandNarutorespectively. It even caught on politically, as Joe’s fight against the rich and corrupt appealed to working class readers, and even communist rebels, as the Japanese Red Army declared “We are Tomorrow’s Joe!” when they took part in the Yodogo Plane Hijacking in 1970.
7Otoko Ippiki Gaki Daisho
How a Delinquent’s Big Dreams Inspired Future Shōnen Stories
Unlike some of the other strips on this list,Otoko Ippiki Gaki Daisho(‘The Ideal Boy’s Gang Leader’) is still obscure outside Japan. Mankichi’s quest to become the ultimate gang leader in Japan is essentially the precursor to other strips about one kid wanting to be the best (X) around. He believed it was his destiny, just asOne Piece’s Luffy believes he’ll be king of the pirates,Jojo’s Giorno Giovanna dreamed of being a ‘Gang Star’, andPokémon’s Ashwanted to be the very best, like no one ever was.
But it did more than that. Its delinquent drama proved popular with both boys and girls, as Mankichi did more than punch out his foes. He had to win hearts and minds to become a leader, to go beyond just being strong. Which led him to get a strong supporting cast like his frenemy Ginji and love interest Tomoko. It was something that stuck with other mangaka who checked it out, like Masami ‘Saint Seiya’ Kurumada and Yoichi ‘Captain Tsubasa’Takahashi.
6Ring ni Kakero
The Original Textbook For Battle Shōnen
Speaking of Kurumada, fans may know his seminal work,Saint Seiya, as a cult hit in English-speaking countries anda legendary series in Spanish-speaking ones. What might be less known is that his earlier boxing manga,Ring ni Kakero(‘Put It All in the Ring’), was Shōnen Jump’s first true mega-hit. It was so successful in Japan that Shueisha was able to fund building renovations from its sales alone.
Ryuji’s attempts to follow in his famous boxing father’s footsteps practically changed battle shōnen with its pages. Its flashy characters had special techniques, like ‘Boomerang Telios’ and ‘Galactica Phantom’, making older, more realistic strips feel outdated in the process. Without it,Bleachwouldn’t have its Bankais,Narutoits Jutsus, orDragon Ballits Kamehamehas.
5Urusei Yatsura
Proved Shōnen Wasn’t Just About Boys
Shōnen is largely aimed at young boys, but that didn’t mean they were its only audience. Many of its strips earned plenty of keen female readers too, likeGaki DaishoandAstro Boy. Still, many of the genre’s big strips at the time were heavy, high-drama masculine efforts about battles and ambitions. Surely there was room for something softer and sillier.
Urusei Yatsuraproved that to be true. As its hapless and hopeless protagonist, Ataru ends up betrothed to Lum, an alien space babe as clingy as she was beautiful. It showed romance and slice-of-life drama wasn’t just girls’ stuff, as its feminine touch and slapstick comedy made it a big hit. The strip led to more stories, likeTenchi Muyo,Love Hina, and Takahashi’s ownRanma ½, that would makethe harem subgenrea manga mainstay.
4Kinnikuman
From Satirizing Superheroes to Promoting the Power of Friendship
WhenKinnikumanbegan, it was a gag comic spoofingUltramanas its titular hero bumbled his way against the different Chojin that threatened Japan. By the end, he was a multi-time wrestling champ who re-earned his place as Prince of Planet Kinniku by beating Kinnikuman Super Phoenix. Inspired byRing Ni Kakero, Yudetamago turned the strip into a wrestling-themed battle shōnen. Only they went further by having their strange characters being capable of moves that went beyond German Suplexes.
It didn’t give up its comedy roots either, as Kinnikuman was still an idiot no matter how strong and capable he got, popularizing dim bulb protagonists with hearts of gold like Goku and Luffy. It also popularized the power of friendship, as even its most dastardly villains would be bound by camaraderie. Some of them would even become Kinnikuman’s valued allies, saving him from the brink of death or literal non-existence.
3Fist of the North Star
Offering Ultra Violence And Its Emotional Consequences
WithUrusei Yatsura’s success inWeekly Shōnen Sunday,Shōnen Jumpconsidered taking up a more feminine direction to compete with them. Instead,Gaki Daishocreator Hiroshi Motomiya argued they should stick to their trademark action stories to provide a contrast to the rising romcoms. This proved essential for two of his former assistants, as Buronson and Tetsuo Hara went in this hypermasculine direction forFist of the North Star.
It combinedKakero’s flashy techniques withKinnikuman’s tight friendships, and the gore ofViolence JackwithTiger Mask’s sympathy for the struggling. The strip’s subsequent adaptations would popularize edgy, blood-soaked stories likeM.D Geist, but its gentler sidewould make it more endearingto readers and viewers alike. It would lead to Kentaro Miura makingBerserk, inspire Hirohiko Araki to beef upJojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and getVinland Saga’s Makoto Yukimura into making manga altogether.
2Dragon Ball
The Strip That Needs No Introduction
Fist of the North Star’s beef led to further testosterone-fueled stories, likeSakigake! Otokojuku, though it arguably had more impact on seinen strips than shōnen, as its big, bulky leads gradually faded out after the 1980s ended. By contrast,Dragon Ballhad more laughs and quirks than blood, which led to many more strips following its template, be itOne Piece,Naruto,My Hero Academia,YuYu Hakusho, and more.
Toriyama’s legendary strip didn’t invent silly protagonists, trademark moves, the power of friendship, or slice-of-life slapstick yuks. Yet it took all those elements from prior works and made an endearing adventure story that clicked with fans of battle drama, goofy comedy, comic fantasy worlds, and sci-fi. With its broad appeal, it’s little wonder it’s arguably become the most influential shōnen manga of the bunch.
1Slam Dunk
The Be-All and End-All of B-Ball
Aside fromSpeed Racer, most of the sports manga on this list have involved fisticuffs. That isn’t to say there weren’t popular or influential sports strips outside of boxing or wrestling, asAstro KyudanandTouchare must-reads for baseball fans. Likewise,Captain Tsubasadid wonders for Japanese soccer fans. But they weren’tSlam Dunk, the strip that became the measuring stick for subsequent sports manga likeHaikyuu,Eyeshield 21, andKuroko’s Basketball.
Its story, which followed a delinquent who grows to love basketball, combined romcom character interactions with realistic sports drama, where Inoue’s outstanding artwork made real techniques feel as earth-shattering as anyDragon Balltechnique. Though it didn’t catch on in the US,Slam Dunkhelped popularize basketball throughout Japan in the 1990s, leading many readers to become professional players, like the L.A. Lakers’ forward Rui Hachimura.
