Akira Toriyama is one of the most notable household names in manga history. He rose to fame with Dr. Slump and established the blueprint for modern battle shonen with Dragon Ball. His worldwide influence is undeniable, and while his massive success would be difficult to reproduce, there are a few emerging mangaka with the potential to replicate his impact.

These successors also boast works that have garnered significant acclaim in the shonen landscape. Though they have been heavily inspired by Toriyama himself, their titles boast their own unique appeal. Most importantly, their series have already amassed massive fan support, and several are growing into enormous franchises destined to carry the medium forward.

10

Kei Urana

Kei Urana made her serialized debut in 2022 with the standout manga Gachiakuta. Despite this fairly recent introduction, even among new-gen mangaka, the series has already received widespread recognition. It is one of the most high-profile shonen titles in recent years, winning the 50th Kodansha Manga Award in 2026 and receiving an equally brilliant anime adaptation by Studio Bones.

Urana herself has already earned high praise from the legendary Atsushi Ohkubo, under whom she worked as an assistant. In recognition of her talents, he publicly named her as his successor, and she has lived up to the title ever since. It is also worth mentioning her one-shots, Nokase and the award-winning Shikido, which helped put her on the map.

9

Yuuto Suzuki

Yuuto Suzuki is a mangaka most famous for his work on Sakamoto Days, which also serves as his first serialization and debuted in November 2020. Much like Toriyama, he is highly proficient at blending lighthearted comedy with high-octane action, which stands as one of the core appeals of the manga.

The series is highly revered by fans and creators alike, with at least fifteen million copies in circulation and a recommendation from Fullmetal Alchemist author Hiromu Arakawa. Surprisingly, Sakamoto Days was Suzuki’s first foray into lighthearted storytelling, mostly drawing darker-themed one-shots prior to its debut. This, no doubt, showcases his flexible talents and potential to create even more standout works.

8

Osamu Nishi

Osamu Nishi is the talented mangaka responsible for Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun and Ichi the Witch, which are both being serialized simultaneously. She is one of the few creators in the space capable of such a feat, with both titles also being hugely successful. It must be said, however, that Ichi the Witch is separately illustrated by Shiro Usazaki.

Across both series, she has displayed an evolution from the more comedic themes of Iruma-kun to the action-heavy story of Ichi the Witch. Dragon Ball notably went through a similar progression, largely leaving behind its adventure roots for battle-centered developments. With both her serialized works receiving such widespread acclaim, it is only natural to expect greater things from here on.

7

Naoya Matsumoto

Naoya Matsumoto is most celebrated for his hit work Kaiju No. 8, which was serialized from 2020 to 2025. The series is set in a world plagued by Kaiju and features an unassuming human protagonist who gains the power to transform into one himself. It has an exciting yet simple plot and is characterized by destructive, large-scale battles.

The story highlights Matsumoto’s deep understanding of battle shonen dynamics, delivering a product that kept readers thoroughly engaged throughout. The manga is undoubtedly one of the heavyweights of new-gen battle shonen, with over nineteen million copies in circulation, cementing its immense success. It has also received an anime adaptation, spawned multiple spin-offs, a light novel, and a video game.

6

Takeru Hokazono

Takeru Hokazono has rapidly established himself as one of the most promising talents in the manga industry, known for his stellar work on Kagurabachi. It debuted in 2023 and is a dark-fantasy revenge story about a quiet young man armed with a supernatural sword and aiming to avenge his father.

It currently has over four million copies in circulation and, in 2024, won the 10th Next Manga award. Prior to its serialization, Hokazono also authored the one-shot Enten with considerable success, winning the 100th Tezuka Award. With an anime adaptation scheduled for April 2027, both Kagurabachi and Hokazono are set to become even bigger global names.

5

Yuki Tabata

Yuki Tabata is a prominent mangaka renowned for his work on Black Clover. The series is set in a world of magic where its magicless protagonist tries against all odds to become the Wizard King while wielding multiple anti-magic swords. It is widely considered one of the Big Three of its generation and impressively has over twenty-four million copies in circulation.

Tabata has explicitly listed Dragon Ball as one of his core inspirations. The series encouraged him to become a manga artist as a child, and it has also influenced his work directly. Black Clover has grown to be a massive franchise of its own, with several spin-offs, games, and an anime adaptation returning in 2026.

4

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Custom Image by Zach Zamora

In terms of influence, not many new-gen mangaka can boast a higher level than Tatsuki Fujimoto. He made his serialized debut in 2016 with Fire Punch and received global acclaim for Chainsaw Man, released in 2018, with over thirty-five million copies in circulation. He has also authored several successful one-shots, the most notable of which is Look Back.

Unlike Toriyama, he favors a graphic style featuring gore and other sensitive elements. He still, however, holds a lofty status, as his titles feature poignant messages that resonate with various demographics. His fame is probably best highlighted by the sheer number of adaptations his works have inspired in such a short time, with even Look Back getting two movie adaptations.

3

Gege Akutami

Gege Akutami has already established himself as one of shonen’s greatest minds thanks to his work on Jujutsu Kaisen, released in 2018. The story takes place in a world where negative human emotions take the form of cursed energy, giving rise to Cursed Spirits and empowering special humans known as jujutsu sorcerers.

With the introduction of cursed energy, Akutami effectively set the standard for comprehensive power systems in modern shonen. The series itself has already become one of shonen’s biggest franchises, with over a hundred and fifty million copies in circulation. As a result, despite his relatively recent debut, he is already one of the most famous mangaka ever.

2

Koyoharu Gotouge

Koyoharu Gotouge is the pen name of Demon Slayer‘s mysterious author, with their illustrious work serialized from 2016 to 2020. Its profound impact on the industry cannot be understated, as it has over two hundred and twenty million copies in circulation and boasts peerless commercial success among new-gen titles.

The series’ influence has continued to spread long after its conclusion, with multiple record-breaking movie adaptations released post 2020. Though it remains significantly behind, it is one of the closest modern titles to rivaling Dragon Ball in terms of popularity. It is a worldwide phenomenon, with Gotouge at the center, and fans highly anticipating what comes next.

1

Kohei Horikoshi

Custom Image by Casandra Ronning

Kohei Horikoshi is the talented figure behind the outstanding My Hero Academia manga. It is one of the longest-running modern shonen titles, running for ten years with over four hundred chapters and receiving an anime adaptation spanning eight seasons. With the series, Horikoshi established the benchmark for new-gen superhero stories in manga and cemented his place among the greats.

He has also cited Dragon Ball as a huge inspiration, and after helming such an expansive and influential franchise, there are not many better fit to carry Toriyama’s mantle. As evidence of that influence, the series has over a hundred million copies in circulation and, like many others on this list, features multiple spin-offs, movies, and games.

Release Date

2016 – 2026-00-00

Network

TBS, MBS, Nippon TV

Directors

Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano

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  Daiki Yamashita

  Izuku Midoriya (voice)

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  Kaito Ishikawa

  Manga Fukidashi (voice)