Rank
|
Series
|
Chapters
|
Score
|
| 1 |
One Piece |
569-589 |
86.55% |
|
Aside from overall excellent quality, chapter 574 stands out as the most important shonen manga chapter in the next 10 years. |
| 2 |
Bakuman |
68-91 |
81.92% |
|
Great character development across the entire cast, most notably Mashiro and Iwase. Highlight: Mashiro breaking down and calling Azuki (ch. 74). |
| 3 |
Cross Game |
156-160 |
81.50% |
|
Brilliant ending to a magnificent series. In particular, the last page of chapter 158 is still breathtaking. |
| 4 |
Beelzebub |
43-66 |
78.58% |
|
Expertly funny. Highlights: OHKO (ch. 56), Demon World / huge Baby Beel. Furuichi still among best comedic straight men. |
| 5 |
Toriko |
78-101 |
76.50% |
|
Toriko vs. Tommyrod: Best fight so far this year. |
| 6 |
Bloody Monday: Season 2 |
10-33 |
76.08% |
|
Consistently thrilling and packed with interesting twists. Highlights include a powerful death and a wonderful kiss. |
| 7 |
Gintama |
291-314 |
74.83% |
|
Four Heavenly Kings arc again proving Sorachi’s talent for poignant seriousness amid absurd comedy. |
| 8 |
Psyren |
101-124 |
72.75% |
|
Great trip to Psyren. Excellent Shao/Vigo fight. Kyle, Frederica, and Kabuto also noteworthy. |
| 9 |
AR∀GO |
2-26 |
72.30% |
|
Fascinating narrative and a perfect cast of characters combine for a strong showing from a young series. |
| 10 |
Kekkaishi |
289-312 |
71.92% |
|
Few series make training arcs as interesting, and the huge steps forward in the story have left nothing to be desired. |
| 11 |
Hayate no Gotoku! |
254-277 |
70.67% |
|
An extremely impressive serious arc (Athena) set this series apart from ordinary comedy fare. |
| 12 |
GE ~ Good Ending |
18-41 |
70.67% |
|
Great relationship buildup that has only recently begun to disappoint. |
| 13 |
Defense Devil |
34-55 |
70.27% |
|
Fantastic art, clear action, and solid (if not overwhelmingly engaging) plot. |
| 14 |
The World God Only Knows |
81-104 |
70.25% |
|
Uncharacteristic half-year for this series, with neither major arc following the series’ tried-and-true formula. |
| 15 |
Nurarihyon no Mago |
89-112 |
69.00% |
|
Finally experiencing a return to form after focusing on everyone except Nura for far too long. |
| 16 |
Ane Doki! |
25-26 |
68.00% |
|
Suitable, enjoyable conclusion to a short series. |
| 17 |
Hajimete no Aku |
47-71 |
67.50% |
|
Fun but unremarkable episodic comedy. |
| 18 |
Gamaran |
31-54 |
66.08% |
|
Excellent fights interspersed with fights featuring comparatively less interesting characters. |
| 19 |
Mahou Sensei Negima! |
275-294 |
65.50% |
|
Straightforward, enjoyable fantasy action with just enough humor (and a little fanservice) to keep things lively. |
| 20 |
Hunter x Hunter |
291-310 |
65.00% |
|
Biggest “what the hell” moment of the year to date (ch. 299). Great to finally see Gon relevant in this arc. |
| 21 |
Kimi no Iru Machi |
74-95 |
60.27% |
|
Strong start to the year marred by a largely disappointing trip to Tokyo. |
| 22 |
History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi |
366-389 |
59.83% |
|
Some fantastic fights, some fantastic new enemies, a heartwarming moment, and entirely too much fanservice. |
| 23 |
Air Gear |
265-283 |
53.34% |
|
Excellent art, unintelligible plot, “fanservice” bordering on hentai, and President Obama body-swapped with a high school girl. |
| 24 |
Zettai Karen Children |
200-222 |
53.28% |
|
Notable positives (Kugutsu, Kaoru’s maturity) counterbalanced by questionable moments (“Lost Guys” arc, Feather’s tremendous power). |
| 25 |
Hajime no Ippo |
879-899 |
52.74% |
|
A horrible half-year for an otherwise fantastic series. |
| 26 |
Katekyo Hitman Reborn! |
272-295 |
48.17% |
|
Thankfully, the end of the pitiful Future arc. The Shimon arc started well, but is beginning to regress into Future arc territory. |
| 27 |
Naruto |
477-499 |
48.07% |
|
Sasuke ruined any plot involving him. Madara’s “Moon’s Eye” plan is laughable. Series very recently began to improve drastically. |
| 28 |
Fairy Tail |
165-190 |
46.90% |
|
Cats. |
| 29 |
Metallica Metalluca |
1-7 |
44.79% |
|
Acceptable but completely generic shonen, most notably borrowing liberally from Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Hunter x Hunter. |
| 30 |
Lock On! |
1-18 |
43.22% |
|
Horrible art, formulaic plot, generic characters. One exceptional highlight: Sanada’s flashback in chapter 16. |
| 31 |
MiXiM☆11 |
78-102 |
37.90% |
|
Over-dramatization of ridiculous elements (the death of a finger puppet), predictable fights, and dime-a-dozen characters. |
| 32 |
Bleach |
387-409 |
22.41% |
|
Invisible story, uninteresting characters, terrible pacing, awful art, incomprehensible fights, most insulting moment of the year (ch. 396 – ‘everything according to plan’). |
Shonen Beam 