Manga Influence: Rankings - Most Anticipated Manga in 2025
Hello everyone,
Welcome to Manga Influence, similar to Gaming Influence, but mainly giving my thoughts on certain manga and manga series with some fun mix of manga-related content here.
For this edition of Manga Influence, I'll be ranking my most anticipated manga in 2025.
Before I start, my rankings will only be based on manga that will be released in 2025 or manga that are still ongoing heading into 2025. Also, my rankings will not include light novels, manhwa, and manhua. In addition, if there isn't any manga in 2025 that doesn't make it on my rankings, that means that I have no interest in them, or forgot about them so keep that in mind.
Anyway, let's get started!
Before I start my actual rankings if you want to see my most anticipated manga of last year, check out the link here: Manga Influence: Most Anticipated Manga in 2024
Honorable Mentions: Blue Period, The Summer Hikaru Died, Don't Call It Mystery, Magus of the Library, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, Heavenly Delusion, A Brief Moment of Ichika, Gokurakugai, Astro Royale, Undead Unluck, The Elusive Samurai, Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate, My Dress Up-Darling, Delicious in Dungeon, One-Punch Man, Call of the Night, Hirayasumi, Gachiakuta, Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You, Detective Conan, World Trigger, Blue Box, Four Knights of the Apocalypse, The Ancient Magus' Bride, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Berserk, To Your Eternity
Now, let's start with my #20 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Yōchien Wars, or Kindergarten Wars, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by You Chiba. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ in September 2022 and is still ongoing.
I've been a fan of this manga series for a while now and it started to pick up a bit last year in 2024 with its chapters. For those who don't know what this manga is about, its story revolves around a former assassin who works as a bodyguard for a kindergarten. This kindergarten involves children of celebrities, politicians, and other VIPs that the protagonist must protect at all costs. This series is a great combination of action and comedy so if you're into this type of genre, would recommend checking out the manga, it'll be worth it.
Here's my #19 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Akane-banashi is a Japanese manga series written by Yuki Suenaga and illustrated by Takamasa Moue. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in February 2022 and it's still ongoing.
The current arc within the manga, Arakawa School Past Arc, is dealing with the backstory of the characters which is getting quite interesting. Akane continues to grow as a character as she tries to avenge her father by becoming the highest-ranking rakugo. Looking forward to seeing what's next within the story and hope that it's good heading into 2025.
Here's my #18 most anticipated manga in 2025:
A Sign of Affection is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by suu Morishita. It was serialized by Kodansha's Dessert in July 2019 and it is still ongoing.
I continue to love the romantic relationship between the protagonists as it currently going in an interesting direction. The character development among the protagonists has been done quite well and I'm very interested to see where the relationship will go and how it will evolve from here. Looking forward to seeing how the relationship evolves heading into this year.
Here's my #17 most anticipated manga in 2025:
RuriDragon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masaoki Shindo. It was serialized in Shueisha's Jump Giga from December 2020 to June 2022 before being serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from June 2022 and it's still ongoing.
This is another manga that I had an interest in for quite a while now and it started to become more interesting with the chapters that came out last year. The manga is about a young girl who discovers she is half-dragon and must adjust to her new life. The way the protagonist has to overcome and deal with her new life is somewhat relatable where people can associate and connect with the protagonist as they want them to succeed. Very curious to see how it will continue to do heading into 2025.
Here's my #16 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Medalist is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsurumaikada. It was serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon in May 2020 and it's still ongoing.
As I mentioned in my Favorite Manga of 2024, it has a great and inspiring story that can resonate with a lot of people who want to fulfill and chase their dreams. Inori is currently doing well in achieving her dream, but very curious to see how she will continue to evolve as a character as the story goes along. Looking forward to seeing how Inori will continue achieving her dream in the Medalist in 2025.
Here's my #15 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Blue Lock is a Japanese manga series written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura as it was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine in August 2018 and is still ongoing.
Even though I haven't been feeling Blue Lock recently with its current arc, that doesn't mean it can turn itself around and get me hyped and excited again. Granted, I still think the Neo-Egoist League Arc is good, but I just don't think it's as great compared to the past arcs in my opinion. Either way, we'll see Blue Lock can turn it around in 2025.
Here's my #14 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Kagurabachi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takeru Hokazano. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in September 2023 and it's still ongoing.
Yep, this might be a meme online, but that doesn't mean that this manga isn't great because it is. This manga is about a young boy named Chihiro who trains under his father to become a swordsmith. Everything was going well for the family until tragedy struck as sorcerers killed Chihiro's father as Chihiro planned to avenge his death. Everything that is going on with the manga right now is quite great and hope that it continues to expand heading into 2025.
Here's my #13 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Kingdom is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yaushisa Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump in January 2006 and is ongoing.
There's not much to say about Kingdom as it's Kingdom and it's still great. The manga is currently in the Conquest of Han arc, which has been intense in terms of action. Looking forward to seeing how Kingdom will do in 2025 and where they go from here.
Here's my #12 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Hunter x Hunter is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi as it was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in March 1998 and is still ongoing.
Despite Yoshihiro Togashi not being in the best condition he is, the fact that he's still doing chapters for Hunter x Hunter is insane. However, I hope he does take it easy as we don't want another Kentaro Miura situation. The Succession Contest arc continues to get interesting as we get more backstory on certain characters and the fight scenes have been incredible. Looking forward to seeing what Yoshihiro Togashi has planned for Hunter x Hunter in 2025.
Here's my #11 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Tongari Bōshi no Atorie or Witch Hat Atelier in the West is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kamone Shirahama. It has currently serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Morning Two magazine since July 2016 and is still ongoing.
The manga continues to improve from last year as the current story arc with the Silver Eve arc is quite interesting. Coco continues to develop as a character and the story continues to progress in an interesting way. Very curious to see how the manga will do heading into 2025.
Now, we're in the top ten. Here's my #10 most anticipated manga in 2025:
One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in July 1997 and it is still ongoing.
Even though I don't think the One Piece manga will end this year, they're currently in the final saga as the Elbaf arc is still progressing at this time. The Elbaf arc has been pretty good, but I'm very curious to see how they'll end the arc. Hope it does well heading into 2025.
Here's my #9 most anticipated manga in 2025:
JoJo no Kimyou an Bouken Part 9: The JOJOLands or JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 9: The JOJOLands in the West is based on the ninth story arc of the Japanese manga series, JoJo no Kimyou an Bouken, or JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in the West, written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki as it was serialized in Shueisha's Ultra Jump in February 2023 and it is still ongoing.
I'm really enjoying JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 9: The JOJOLands as I love the characters, the fight scenes, the big moments, etc. It's what you expect from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure as they mixed a great combination of comedy and epicness into one. Very curious to see how it will continue to do heading into 2025.
Here's my #8 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Vinland Saga is a Japanese historical manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Yukimura, it was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from April 2005 to October 2005 before switching to Monthly Afternoon in December 2005 and it is still ongoing.
As I mentioned in the my Favorite Manga in 2024, the current arc that the manga is going with the Vinland Arc is getting quite interesting as Thorfinn continues to fight his way through tough challenges and overcome the odds against him. The character development for Thorfinn continues to grow and the story is also getting quite interesting as well. Very curious to see how they will continue with the story heading into 2025.
Here's my #7 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Sakamoto Days is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuto Suzuki. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in November 2020 and it's still ongoing.
The current arc in the manga with the JAA Jail arc has been great as the protagonists are getting their hands full on the enemies that they're encountering and it's getting intense. I'm very curious to see how the story will continue from here and how the characters will evolve over time. Hope the series does well heading into 2025.
Here's my #6 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto or The Apothecary Diaries in the West is a Japanese manga series written by Natsu Hyūga and illustrated by Touko Shino. It was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Big Gangan in May 2017 and Shogakukan's Monthly Sunday Gene-X in August 2017 as both are still ongoing.
As I mentioned in my Favorite Manga in 2024, I love my mystery manga and this series continues to get better with each chapter in terms of intrigue and suspense as I want to see what happens. I feel like it's only to get better from here, but only time will tell. Either way, I think Apothecary Diaries will do well heading into 2025.
Now, we're in the top five. Here's my #5 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Kaijuu 8-gou or Kaiju No. 8 in the West is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ in July 2020 and it is still ongoing.
Kaiju No. 8 continues to pick up in its current arc with the Last Wave Arc as the action continues to be great within the manga itself. I have a feeling that Kajiu No. 8 might continue to skyrocket within its current arc, but only time will tell. Looking forward to seeing how this manga will do heading into 2025.
Here's my #4 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Spy x Family is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ in March 2019 and is still ongoing.
I'm currently enjoying the current arc in the manga that is happening with the Term Break Arc as it has been very wholesome and entertaining to read. I'm very curious to see how the protagonists continue to grow as a family and what they have to overcome. We'll see the direction that they go heading into 2025.
Here's my #3 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Chainsaw Man is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2018 to December 2020 before switching to Shōnen Jump+ for the second part starting in July 2022 and it is still ongoing.
Even though I do like what is happening with the Current Arc in the manga so far, compared to other arcs, it isn't the best. However, with the current direction that the manga is going, it seems like the manga might be coming to an end and the series might end this year due to that direction. We'll see how Chainsaw Man will turn out and if it will end in 2025.
Here's my #2 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Sousou no Frieren or Frieren: Beyond Journey's End in the West is a Japanese manga series written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukaba Abe. It's been serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday since April 2020 and is still ongoing.
The current arc that the manga is on with the Foundation Festival Arc is really good as I continue to love the character development among the characters within the story. With the amount of momentum that Frieren: Beyond Journey's End has within Japan and throughout the rest of the world, it's great. I also expect them to deliver in 2025 and I can't wait to see it.
Now, here's my #1 most anticipated manga in 2025:
Dandadan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yukinobu Tatsu. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump+ in April 2021 and it's still ongoing.
As I mentioned in my Favorite Manga in 2024, this manga has a great mixture of comedy while also having some fun intense moments with action and romance which just makes the series fun as a whole with very lovable characters. What's happening currently in the Pygmy Princess arc is a lot of fun and I hope it continues with the great combination of comedy and action. Looking forward to seeing the rise of Dandadan which I can see in 2025.
Those are my most anticipated manga in 2025.
What is your most anticipated manga in 2025?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thank you for reading.