Summary
Sequelsare often a mixed bag. For video games, they’re often an improvement on what came before. In movies, they usually fall short unless they really do something special. Withmanga, it can go either way.Handa-kun, the prequel to the seinen calligraphy mangaBarakamon,is a solid, well-liked series.Boruto, the shōnen successor toNaruto, fell from grace as its story went on.
Likewise,Burn the Witch, a more Wiccan/Hogwarts take onBleach’s Soul Society, didn’t set the world alight either. Whether they’re giving readers more of the same or a brand-new direction, a sequel’s success is not guaranteed (except maybe monetarily). Nonetheless,these shōnen sequel manga managed to keep their audiences hooked, matching or even surpassing their predecessors.
8Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon
MyAnimeList Score: 7.29
Ranking by quality means the early entries here are more contested.Yashahime: Princess Half-Demonis only a touch lower on MAL than its predecessor,InuYasha,with its 7.86 score. Its manga is certainly much better received than its anime adaptation. Even so, it’s more of a lucky free-throw than a slam dunk, asmany fans aren’t quite as excitedabout Inuyasha and Sesshomaru’s kids as they were their parents.
This time, Sesshomaru’s daughter, Towa, frustrated at having to hide her powers and unable to remember where she came from, gets attacked by a demon and sent back in time to feudal Japan. There she is reunited with her long-lost twin sister, Setsuma, and meets Inuyasha’s daughter, Moroha. To recover their missing memories and learn why they were separated, they must track down the Dream Butterfly, and find out what happened to their missing parents.
7New Prince Of Tennis
MyAnimeList Score: 7.37
The originalPrince of Tennissaw Ryōma Echizen aim to step out of his father’s shadow and become a tennis ace in his own right. He manages to earn the respect of his teammates at Seishun Academy, despite being a cocky little brat, because he’s got the skills to back up his attitude. Even so, his friends aren’t slouches on the court either, offering some of the most over-the-top serves in sports anime. It wouldn’t be a shōnen manga if it didn’t get fancy with its techniques.
New Prince of Tennis,orPrince of Tennis 2, is basically more of the same, only instead of the Kanto Regionals or National Tournament, Ryōma and co are invited to the Japan’s U-17 training camp. Not only do they have to deal with its strict rules, they’ll have a wider variety of opponents, including players from all over the planet in the U-17 World Cup. If the firstPrince of Tennismanaged to hit the spot for readers, then the sequel should keep them just as happy.
6Dragon Ball Super
MyAnimeList Score: 7.33
If this list was about anime sequels,Dragon Ball Zwould likely get the top spot, but both it andGTweren’t technically sequels as manga. Their arcs, or sagas, are as much a part of the originalDragon Ballas its Red Ribbon Army and Piccolo sagas are. They’ve since been released abroad as separateZandGTvolumes, but that’s only because much of the West didn’t get the series untilZ. However, it did get a sequel decades later inDragon Ball Super. Kind of.
It follows the events ofZ, but takes place beforeGT, and more or less follows the anime with the battles against Beerus, Zamasu, Jiren, etc. It just has someslightly different scenes and plot details(e.g. Kaioken isn’t mentioned in connection to the Super Saiyan God forms), and has kept going beyond theSuperanime’s end with new arcs awaiting adaptation. Older fans tend to preferZ, but newer fans have come around toSuper’s run and how it works in the newer characters.
5Ultimate Muscle
MyAnimeList Score: 7.44
Ultimate Musclehad less difficulty living up to its predecessor abroad, becauseKinnikumannever really caught on in the West. Older readers may recall the oldMUSCLEtoys that were based on the show. Though it’s more likely they’ll remember seeingUltimate Muscleturn up on the FoxBox withSonic XandShaman King. Both were basicallyDBZwith pro-wrestling instead of plasma beams, and featured foes with some very strange gimmicks.
InKinnikuman, the titular hero managed to prove himself worthy of Planet Kinniku’s throne and left Earth to govern it (untilKinnikuman: Perfect Origin).Ultimate Muscle, orKinnikuman: 2nd Generations, sees his son Kid Muscle become part of a new generation of Chōjin (supermen), ready to take out the evil dMp (Demon Manufacturing Plant). He’s reluctant at first, but as he faces newer, stronger threats, he grows to meet the challenge. Still, there’s always a bigger baddie waiting just around the corner.
4Angel Heart
MyAnimeList Score: 7.45
Angel Heartisasequel toCity Hunter, but isn’tthesequel toCity Hunter.It’s an alternate continuity, likeThe Legend of Zelda’s branching timelines. Fans were put off by it essentially being a ‘what if’, but that might’ve been for the best, as its plot required the death of a fan favorite character. It saw ‘City Hunter’ Ryo Saeba’s partner, Kaori, killed in a traffic accident while trying to save a young girl. Her organs were donated, with her heart being picked up by a group known only as the Organization.
They used Kaori’s heart to save Glass Heart, a Taiwanese assassin who was driven to suicide by her guilt. While in a coma recovering from the transplant surgery, she was plagued by visions of Kaori and Ryo. Upon waking up, she tracks the grieving Ryo down to Shinjuku, where she learned where her new heart came from, and he learned of the Organization. He formally adopts Glass Heart, but she takes on new names. By day, she’s Xiang Ying Li. At night, she’s Angel Heart, and with Ryo, she seeks to find out who her old bosses really are.
3Zatch Bell 2
MyAnimeList Score: 8.02
LikeUltimate Muscle, Zatch Bellmay be a blast from the past for some. Kiyo Takamine’s adventures with the titular Mamodo (an imp-like humanoid) to win the once-a-millennium tournament for the throne of the Mamodo Kingdom was a popular show on Toonami. It had an intriguing premise, as Kiyo had to read passages in a book of magic to unlock powers Zatch could use against his opponents. Kind of like ifThe Legend of Zeldahad its ownPokémon-esque spin-off with its fairies.
It had a happy ending back in 2007, but in 2022, Makoto Raiku brought the series back withZatch Bell 2. The Mamodo Kingdom’s peace was short-lived, as beings from another dimension began to invade. Their magic depleted, the Mamodo Kingdom were left defenseless. With no options left, three kids escape into the human world and try to find Takamine to get him to save the kingdom once more. This sequel has done quite well critically so far, offering nostalgia for older fans while doing something new with the story and characters.
2Baki Hanma
MyAnimeList Score: 8.13
Grappler Bakihas been going on since 1991, though unlikeDragon Ball, its plot has always been separated into chunks.Grappler Bakiled toBaki, which precededBaki Hanma,Baki-dō,Bakidō, andBaki Rahen. They all follow Baki’s quest to grow stronger than his ridiculously powerful father, Yujiro, and beat him to avenge his abusive upbringing.
The most acclaimed part of his saga isBaki Hanma, where Baki has just about reached his father’s level, but needs to test himself more. It’s the part where he tracks down the bounty hunter, ‘Biscuit’ Olivia, by kidnapping US President ‘George Bosch’, and fights a thawed-outMesozoic caveman named Pickle. That’s not to mention the actual father-son battle, which left viewers of the ONA adaptation just as perplexed by its conclusion.
1Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond Is Unbreakable
MyAnimeList Score: 8.57
It’s amazing what some creators can do without really even trying. That’s not to make light ofJojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable. It’s just that, compared to other parts, it doesn’t have a set story arc. The main villain, Yoshikage Kira, wasn’t thought up until halfway through the manga. Up to that point, Josuke and co were chasing the Stand Arrow and getting into scrapes with other Stand Users. Yet that’s part of its charm, as it gives the characters unique things to do.
Instead of just shōnen battles, they handle family drama, face off against scammers and stalkers, try to win the lottery, eat Italian food, and much more. Araki basically gave the cast intriguing sidequests to do while he was thinking up the next story beat. It has since become the 2nd most acclaimedJojopart on MAL (afterthe seinen storyPart 7:Steel Ball Run), and one of the more influential ones as well, offering the most spin-offs fromThus Spoke Kishibe RohantoCrazy Diamond’s Demonic Heartbreak.
