Shonen Jump Legend Drops New Art Honoring New-Gen Hit's Massive Success

In the year 2026, Shueisha's flagship magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump, has unsurprisingly grown significantly different from its 1980s to late-2000s period of dominance. The publication has seen the majority of its best-selling hits emerge out of that period, but that hasn't stopped its new generation from bringing the heat with titles quickly drawing reader attention and rocketing up the sales charts. While it's certainly easy enough to point to the biggest new-gen manga of the era so far, Kagurabachi, for its runaway success and new anime. But this doesn't speak enough to the impressive success of non-action series that have also managed to break out.

With the August 4, 2026 release of its fourth volume, Shonen Jump's Someone Hertz is continuing to enjoy its moment in the sun, confirming it has surpassed 500,000 copies in circulation, averaging roughly 167k copies per volume. Considering most individual manga releases struggle to reach 100k, a coveted "bestseller" benchmark, it's an astonishing achievement, yet certainly earned with every new chapter of this charming, endlessly quirky rom-com. To celebrate the manga's success and ongoing serialization, Someone Hertz volume 4 will release in Japan with a special promotional obi featuring the creator of the magazine's longest-running manga ever.

Creator Of Shonen Jump's Longest Series Celebrates New-Gen Hit

At face value it might be difficult to realize how impressive Someone Hertz's 500k copies is when stood against the greats. But putting aside decades-long runs, one big component setting the series apart from others is that Someone Hertz has yet to be localized in most other major markets outside of Japan, with likely months still ahead before its first volume hits North American shelves. It's especially impressive given Someone Hertz's inherently niche premise of two high school students, Mimei "Owl in the Woods" Fukumori, and Kurage "Eel Potato" Mizuo, who bond over their mutual love for the "Monday Midnight Talking" (Mon-Mid) late-night radio show, submitting jokes to be read on air.

But even with a quirky premise that'd fit right in with late-2000s and early 2010s American indie rom-coms, Someone Hertz speaks to its readership due to a central friendship/rivalry/romance motivated by a competition over who can bring the most joy to others. Getting jokes read on the air is a point of pride and real competition, with listeners opting to use radio apps, and others going old school, submitting their jokes either by email or even by postcard. It speaks to a bygone era while remaining distinctly modern, with KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops' creator, Osamu Akimoto, contributing a commemorative illustration of his manga's protagonist, Kankichi Ryotsu, holding a portable radio and a handful of postcards.

In addition to featuring on the promo art, Someone Hertz volume 4's obi will feature the full quote by Akimoto, shown below:

"I feel soothed every week. There's no way a 'postcard writer' and a 'romantic comedy' can speak the same language (laughs). I've drawn radio-related stories several times in Kochikame, but I never imagined two postcard writers falling in love (laughs). Also, everything Kurage does and says is just too cute. As someone who was a postcard writer in my student days, I wish I had had a youth like this..."

As reported by MANTANWEB, it's a perfectly fitting compliment and a huge honor to be recognized by the creator of Shonen Jump's longest-running manga. Akimoto's series ran from 1976 to 2016, across 1,960 main chapters and 157.2 million copies circulated worldwide. Akimoto fittingly recognizes the story's breakout character, Kurage, whose dry wit is just as iconic as her jellyfish haircut. The vicarious joy experienced by an absolute Shonen Jump legend is a far more perfect stamp of approval than virtually any current ongoing Shueisha creator's words are. But this also speaks to the new-gen wave of Shonen Jump series, and the optimism surrounding them.

Someone Hertz's Success Proves New-Gen Shonen Jump Is Going To Be Okay

While there's plenty of time for doom saying about titanic legends fading one after another from the publication, Shonen Jump needs to be able to healthily proceed without depending on legacy hits. With largely just One Piece and Hunter x Hunter to fall back on beyond going to other Shueisha publications, the primary magazine's current series has multiple buzz-worthy hits driving public interest and social media engagement aplenty. This includes the absolute virality of Kagurabachi's debut, leading to 4 million copies sold over just 11 volumes released, but it also includes recent and highly dependable hits like Ichi the Witch.

In fact, the latest new wave of Shonen Jump manga has gotten a fairly enthusiastic response out the gates, which isn't always guaranteed for three series capturing various tried-and-true genre vibes. Whether one seeks sports thrills and gorgeous art in Hal Formula, or grandiose shonen battle spectacles like in Cannon Master, there's a good chance readers can find what they're looking for. Some series even actively defy expectations in the case of Under Doctor, becoming quickly successful after their first volume's debut. So having a ringing endorsement from a Shonen Jump legend will certainly allow Someone Hertz to thrive in Japan, although it'll be interesting to see how it fares once it hits shelves stateside, as well.