The 2000s had some amazing manga series. While shonen titles like Naruto and One Piece really made a name for themselves throughout the decade, they began serialization in the late ’90s. Other amazing shonen manga debuted during the decade and went on to gain large followings, with some still being highly regarded by fans two decades later.
Some years were better than others, but every year of the 2000s had at least a few notable shonen manga debuts. With so much out there, it was hard to narrow things down to just one series for a given year. Here’s a look back at one of the best decades for shonen manga, and the series that stood out from each year.
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2000: Black Cat
Before he became known for To Love Ru, Kentaro Yabuki got his start with another series that was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, Black Cat. While To Love Ru is somewhat infamous for its comedically excessive fan service, Black Cat is a more straightforward action-adventure series.
The series follows Train Heartnet, a bounty hunter with a mysterious past. Black Cat didn’t last as long as To Love Ru or its sequel series did, with the manga’s last chapter coming out in June 2004. Despite being overshadowed by Yabuki’s other works, Black Cat still holds up as a fun read.
Hiromu Arakawa is one of the most celebrated mangaka of the 2000s, with her 2001 series, Fullmetal Alchemist, having established her as one of the best of her generation. The story follows the Elric Brothers, who, having lost their original bodies in an ill-fated Human Transmutation ritual, set out to learn how to get them back while uncovering dark truths about their homeland, Amestris.
Fullmetal Alchemist received two amazing anime adaptations, the 2003 series, which deviated from the source material at Arakawa’s request, and the 2009 series, Brotherhood, which was much more faithful to the manga. Both anime have their strong points, but fans really need to read the manga to get the full Fullmetal Alchemist experience.
2002: Eyeshield 21
When it comes to sports manga, Baseball has come out as the most popular sport for mangaka to write around, with a myriad of popular sports series focusing on it. But tons of unique sports series focusing on different sports have come out over the years. One of the biggest sports series of the 2000s, Eyeshield 21, focuses on American Football.
The series is a pretty standard underdog story, following Sena Kobayakawa, who is coerced by his high school football team’s Quarterback to join up as a running back due to his surprising speed. Now a key part of the team, Sena gradually builds bonds with his teammates, becoming more comfortable with himself as a person and a football player as the manga goes on.
2003: Soul Eater
With the anime adaptation of Atsushi Ohkubo’s Fire Force currently airing, it’s easy to overlook the mangaka’s other notable series, Soul Eater. Soul Eater takes place in Death City, where students at Death Weapon Meister Academy work to defend humanity from evil creatures and forces. The student body is split into two categories: Demon Weapons, which are people who can shapeshift into various weapons, and meisters, who are trained to use those weapons in battle.
Soul Eater is one of the best shonen manga of its era, with the series’ run concluding in 2013. An anime adaptation by Bones aired from 2008 to 2009, but due to it having caught up to the manga, deviated from the source material at the end. It’s still a great series, and with any luck, the Fire Force anime will be successful enough that Bones or another studio will look into giving Soul Eater the complete adaptation it deserves.
2004: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run
Hirohiko Araki’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is still going strong, with Part 9, The JoJoLands, currently being serialized in Shueisha’s Ultra Jump magazine. While each part has its ardent fans, Steel Ball Run is regarded as the best JoJo has to offer by many.
Taking place in a separate continuity from the previous six parts, Steel Ball Run follows Johnny Joestar, a disabled former jockey who decides to participate in the Steel Ball Run race after encountering a mysterious racer named Gyro Zeppeli. An anime adaptation was announced in April 2025 and will stream on Netflix starting March 19, 2026.
2005: Higurashi WHEN THEY CRY
It might be strange to see Ryukishi07’s breakthrough sound novel, Higurashi When They Cry, mentioned among the best shonen manga series of the 2000s, but the manga adaptation was serialized in various shonen magazines throughout its six-year run, from Monthly Shonen Gangan, to Monthly GFantasy, and more. Though the series is notable for its horror psychological elements, the overarching themes of friendship and overcoming hardship through the connections you make with others are classic shonen tropes.
Higurashi is set in the remote village of Hinamizawa. The series follows Keiichi Maebara, who recently moved to the village with his family. Though Keiichi seems to make friends fast and adjust to his new life fast, his idyllic village life starts to take a sinister turn when he learns about a series of murders and disappearances connected to Hinamizawa’s yearly Cotton Drifting Festival and their mysterious deity, Oyashiro.
2006: Pandora Hearts
Though it’s no longer as popular as it was during its run, Pandora Hearts still stands out as one of the best shonen series of its era. The series follows Oz Vessalius, who is banished to a place called the Abyss by the mysterious Baskerville Clan during his coming-of-age ceremony. Now trapped in the Abyss, Oz teams up with Alice, who, herself, is a monster who inhabits the Abyss called a ‘Chain’, in order to escape the Abyss and get back home.
Pandora Hearts ran in Square Enix’s Monthly GFantasy from 2006 to 2015, and got an anime adaptation from Xebec in 2009. The anime is a good enough adaptation of the beginning of the manga, but at only 25 episodes, it just doesn’t compare to the source material.
2007: SKET Dance
SKET Dance is a great series, but as far as 2000s Jump manga go, it’s often overshadowed by the iconic ‘Big 3’ and other contemporaries. But that doesn’t change that it was one of the better shonen manga of the 2000s.
The series follows the daily activities of the Sket-dan high school club, who spend their time helping out fellow students and even the odd teacher or two. The club is made up of three members: the leader Yuusuke, Hime, and Kazuyoshi, and while the group is committed to helping those around them, they end up spending a lot of their time goofing off in hilarious ways. SKET Dance still holds up as a great comedy and is a fun read all these years later.
2008: The World God Only Knows
Harem manga were pretty much a dime a dozen back in the 2000s, so a series would have to do something unique to stand out from the seemingly never-ending wave of competitors out there. Tamiki Wakaki’s The World God Only Knows definitely adds an interesting spin to the formula.
The series follows Keima Katsuragi, a high school student who is incredibly skilled at dating games. Though he’s well known for his gaming skills online, Keima is an outcast at school. But Keima’s gaming knowledge comes in handy when he accidentally forms a contract with a demon named Elsie, who is tasked with capturing runaway spirits who’ve hidden away in various girls’ hearts. Forced into helping Elsie wrangle all the escaped spirits, Keima puts his dating sim skills to the test in the real world.
2009: Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan debuted right at the tail end of the 2000s, so the series is more heavily associated with the 2010s thanks to the anime adaptation and manga’s dominance throughout that decade. Even so, if you’re talking about the best anime of 2009, you have to mention AoT.
The manga ran in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine from 2009 to 2021, with the anime adaptation going from 2013 to 2023. The manga and anime quickly became international hits, with fans all over the world falling in love with Hajime Isayama’s characters and world-building. Its ending was one of the most talked-about in recent memory, and it remains a favorite of anime and manga fans.
