Oh, TV Asahi. You and your intensely popular pop-culture polls!
Back in September, the J-List blog reported on a special which aired on Japanese television network TV Asahi to determine which anime theme song was the best of all time. In that poll, over 130,000 people voted on their favorite. Well, it’s a new year which means it’s already time for a new poll. This time TV Asahi asked residents of Japan an even harder question… what is the greatest manga of all time? Over 150,000 people voted in this poll and TV Asahi published the top 100 results over this past weekend!
What’s unfortunate about this poll is that everyone has different criteria for what makes a manga great. Is it the story? The artwork? The characters? All of the above? None of the above? The possibilities are endless!
Immediately below is TV Asahi’s top ten, with my commentary followed by the rest of the greatest manga list:
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (17,100)
Unsurprisingly, a large number of Shonen Jump titles made it into the top ten, starting with this title which ran in the magazine from 1987 to 2004. Thanks to the ongoing anime adaptation, this title has regained quite a lot of its former glory and is currently enjoying a brand new golden age.
Fullmetal Alchemist (18,500)
Running in Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine between July 2001 and June 2010, this series was adapted into one of the most popular anime franchises of its time, so its inclusion this high on the list really shouldn’t come as a huge shock to anyone.
Haikyuu! (18,700)
One of the more recent titles to rank this high on the list, Haikyuu ran in Shonen Jump from February 2012 to July 2020 and was collected into 45 volumes. By the end of 2020, the series had 50 million copies in print, which is not too shabby of a number in the least.
Naruto (19,800)
When I was first getting into anime, Naruto ruled the shonen community and you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting someone yelling “Believe it!” Debuting in 1999, the original incarnation of the manga ran for fifteen years, ending in 2014. It makes me wonder if the people who voted for this series were voting for the franchise as a whole, or just this one specific incarnation of it.
Attack on Titan (21,900)
Running in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine since September 2009, this is the first entry on the top ten that is still running (the 32nd volume was released in Japan back in September 2020, with volume 33 hitting store shelves later this week).
Dragon Ball (22,400)
Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995, Akira Toriyama hit it huge with this multimedia franchise which just keeps on giving. Even Funimation in the United States has said that their company is “the house that Goku built”!
Detective Conan (25,400)
A manga so famous that it got a town named after it, Detective Conan cracks the top five! Starting its run in 1994, the series is still running to this day and has been compiled into 98 volumes as of April 2020.
Slam Dunk (26,700)
The second sports series to make it onto the top ten, Slam Dunk is another classic sports series from a former era. Running in Shonen Jump from 1990 to 1996, it seems that the basketball series hasn’t been forgotten by fans over the last couple of decades!
Demon Slayer (29,100)
Easily the most recent title, with the final volume going on sale just a couple of months ago, this series might end up getting dropped back down as the years continue on. Regardless, Demon Slayer fans came out in full force and made their opinions heard with this poll.
One Piece (33,600)
Having just celebrated reaching the 1,000th chapter mark this past weekend, is it really any major shock to see this title taking the number one spot with fans in Japan? Yeah, I didn’t think so either.
What other titles made the list? You can check out the rest along with our thoughts below:
Hunter X Hunter (16,200)
Gintama (16,100)
Kingdom (15,200)
World Trigger (11,700)
Doraemon (11,300)
My Hero Academia (10,900)
Yu Yu Hakusho (8,600)
Black Jack (8,200)
Jujutsu Kaisen (8,000)
Natsume’s Book of Friends (7,400)
Glass Mask (7,100)
Fist of the North Star (7,000)
Bleach (6,950)
Touch (6,900)
Phoenix (6,700)
Banana Fish (5,800)
The Rose of Versailles (5,600)
Inuyasha (5,300)
Ashita no Joe (5,100)
Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (4,950)
Rurouni Kenshin (4,900)
Maison Ikkoku (4,600)
Zatch Bell! (4,400)
The Poe Clan (4,100)
KochiKame (4,080)
Golgo 13 (4,060)
Sazae-san (4,040)
Star of the Giants (4,020)
Astro Boy (4,000)
Golden Kamuy (3,950)
Tokyo Ghoul (3,900)
Dokaben (3,850)
The Quintessential Quintuplets (3,800)
Aim for the Ace! (3,600)
Dobutsu no Oisha-san (3,450)
The Promised Neverland (3,400)
Hajime no Ippo (3,100)
Ushio and Tora (3,000)
Master Keaton (2,900)
Kaguya-Sama: Love is War (2,850)
Assassination Classroom (2,800)
Kuroko’s Basketball (2,750)
Black Butler (2,700)
The Prince of Tennis (2,650)
Haikara-san: Here Comes Miss Modern (2,600)
Candy Candy (2,300)
City Hunter (2,290)
Chainsaw Man (2,260)
Nodame Cantabile (2,230)
Parasyte (2,200)
Urusei Yatsura (2,000)
Card Captor Sakura (1,900)
Kinniku Man (1,850)
Bungo Stray Dogs (1,800)
Fairy Tail (1,790)
Tokimeki Tonight (1,760)
Reborn! (1,730)
Hoshin Engi (1,700)
Cyborg 009 (1,550)
Boys Over Flowers (1,500)
Tetsujin 28-Go (1,300)
H2 (1,250)
Galaxy Express 999 (1,200)
Devilman (1,160)
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (1,130)
Oishinbo (1,100)
Abu-san (1,050)
Space Battleship Yamato (1,000)
Basara (990)
Captain (980)
Barbaric Legend (960)
Hikaru no Go (950)
Major (930)
Fire Force (920)
Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun (900)
Karakuri Circus (890)
Fruits Basket (860)
Kaze no Daichi (830)
Yukan Club (800)
Aria (780)
Berserk (760)
Macaroni Spinach (740)
Princess Knight (720)
Rent-A-Girlfriend (700)
D.Gray-Man (690)
Sket Dance (660)
Captain Tsubasa (630)
Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai (600)
March Comes in Like a Lion (580)
Dr. Stone (560)
Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic titles on this list. I’d go so far as to say you should bookmark this list of the greatest manga of all time and come back to it whenever you’re looking for a recommendation on something to read. I’m also pleased and quite proud to see one of the best series of all time, Assassination Classroom, rank in the 50s. There are some omissions though that need to be addressed such as, did you notice a theme with the top ten series listed above? I wasn’t asking for a lot of shojo to take the top spots, but maybe one or two would’ve been nice?
Regardless, what series got left off the list that you think should absolutely be listed among the all-time greatest manga?
Source: SoraNews24
