Shonen is the most popular genre in manga, with its target audience being mostly adolescent boys and young men. Over the decades, this genre has produced some of the most successful manga in history, including Dragon Ball, Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, and more recent hits like My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen. When the latter two both ended in 2024, there was much discussion around the fact that Weekly Shonen Jump, the flagship magazine of publisher Shueisha, would have a hard time finding worthy successors that could support the unshakable pillar that is One Piece.
However, fans of Shonen Jump, and of manga in general, can rest easy, because the captain of a new generation of great shonen is here. Anointed by its victory in the Next Manga Award 2025, Ichi the Witch is a great new series that mixes dark fantasy, action, comedy, and a delicate yet detailed artistic style. If that wasn’t enough to persuade you to check out Ichi the Witch, then know that this manga would suit the tastes of any fan of the legendary late Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump.
The Next Manga Award is an annual prize for manga series presented by Kadokawa Corporation’s Da Vinci magazine and Niconico website. Series eligible must be currently serialized and with no more than five volumes in print, meaning the award is usually a good spotlight for new series that are making waves. Notable winners over the past 10 years include My Hero Academia (2015), Kaguya-sama: Love Is War (2017), The Apothecary Diaries and Spy x Family (2019), Oshi no Ko (2021) and Kagurabachi (2024).
This year, Ichi the Witch grabbed the first prize in the Print category, followed by COSMOS at number two and Super Psychic Policeman Chojo at number three. Ichi the Witch comes from an all-women team of mangaka: Osamu Nishi (Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun) is the writer and Shiro Usazaki (Act-Age) the artist. It’s clear this is the work of two mature creators rather than a debut to long-term serialization, as it often happens with new Shonen Jump series. Ichi knows where it’s going and how to capture readers week by week, crafting a compelling story that hits some basic shonen tropes while staying fresh and original.
The titular character, Ichi, is a feral boy who lives alone in the mountains in a fantastic world populated by magical beings called Majiks. It’s possible to capture and tame Majiks to obtain their powers, but only women have the capacity to do that — or, at least, that’s the common belief. When Ichi manages to subdue the extremely powerful and unruly Majik Uroro, the witch Desscaras is forced to recruit him in her association, making Ichi the first male witch.
Ichi stands out immediately as the “odd protagonist”. In a world imbued with magic, he hunts relying on his instincts alone. He’s the classic feral child, which creates endless comedic moments when he is introduced into the sophisticated world of witches as part of team Desscaras. As he keeps acquiring Majik powers, he integrates them into his hunting technique. His killing instinct is such that even scary magical creatures are compelled to fear and obey him. Meanwhile, a world-ending threat appears in the form of the World-Hater Majik, a being of unfathomable power who is bent to do exactly what his name spells out: hate and destroy the world.
On top of the classic action shonen elements, Ichi the Witch incorporates a lot of levity. The characters are naturally funny by virtue of their extreme personalities: they goof around in the middle of the action, and the manga gives space to gags and comedy relief, something that is not very common in shonen nowadays. Levity also comes in the form of exploring the feelings of the characters and the bonds that are forming between them. Ichi and his team showcase the classic “found family” trope, with Desscaras as the mother. It’s nothing new, but it’s executed really well.
In fact, Ichi the Witch‘s biggest merit could be that it’s not trying to reinvent the shonen wheel. This is a series that looks at the classics (both modern and from previous generations), adding enough to make the story original and interesting. The world is whimsical and light-hearted, far removed from the darkness that permeates Jujutsu Kaisen and the majority of My Hero Academia, but with danger still looming right beyond the horizon. The relationships and backstories are not too complex, but they are developed meaningfully and effectively: I challenge anyone not to feel moved at the climax of Gokuraku’s arc.
I can’t help but think that Akira Toriyama would love Ichi the Witch and its classic fantasy setting. He worked on classic JRPGs like Chrono Trigger, the Dragon Quest series, and Blue Dragon. Many of his post-Dragon Ball works, such as Sand Land and Kajika, had a distinctive fantasy feeling too. Moreover, one of Toriyama’s trademarks was the use of comedy. Dr. Slump is as hilarious as it can get, and even Dragon Ball has a lot of levity, especially in its first half. While it’s not a comedy manga, Ichi the Witch strikes a great balance between action and humor.
Dragon Ball is not a particularly complex or refined work, but it resonated with generations of fans thanks to its author’s ability as a storyteller. It’s simple enough that anyone can enjoy it, but it also reaches deep to tap some of our most genuine and powerful emotions. It may be soon to say, but it feels like Nishi has that same ability, and the skills he refined during Iruma-kun will be in full display with Ichi the Witch, with some added nuances, compared to Toriyama, that come from the evolution of the genre.
Another thing that Toriyama is remembered for is revolutionizing manga art with his realistic style. While I don’t want to make excessive comparisons, Usazaki is a great artist who was rightfully praised for her work on Act-Age, a promising series cut short due to a scandal involving the writer. Her stroke here is delicate but, at the same time, not sparing in the details. The uniforms worn by Ichi and the other witches are particularly dazzling, and the world comes to life vividly through the artist’s style.
Dragon Ball is perhaps the most important shonen series in history. Toriyama’s torch was carried by a new generation of artists who crafted successes like One Piece, Bleach, and Naruto. When two of those series (known as “the big three”) ended, a new generation stepped up, giving us Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and Jujutsu Kaisen. Now that these have all also ended, that void must be filled in Shonen Jump, and I think Ichi the Witch has everything it takes to do that. After all, Eiichiro Oda will have to rest at some point. Right?