Shueisha’s Shonen Jump is at the core of the manga and anime industry, responsible for producing masterpieces that have gone on to dominate the industry. One of the modern series published by the magazine that has emerged as one of the best is Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami. Breaking many of the norms that shonen series had accumulated over the decades, Jujutsu Kaisen emerged as a refreshing dark shonen series. From its unique protagonists to its villains, there is a distinct element in every corner of the series. With a total of 271 chapters, it was serialized for a little over six years and emerged as one of Shonen Jump’s biggest new series.
However, there is a manga that has surpassed Jujutsu Kaisen in the sheer number of chapters despite debuting two years after it. The manga in question is Sakamoto Days, which first premiered on November 21, 2020, and is nearing six years of serialization. As of this writing, the series has accumulated a total of 276 chapters. Sakamoto Days has been one of the most consistent manga series ever produced in Shonen Jump, with author Yuto Suzuki barely taking breaks, which is why it has emerged as one of the magazine’s biggest series. However, it isn’t just the numbers, as the series has also achieved other milestones that put it ahead of another major series, Black Clover, as well.
As of this writing, Sakamoto Days has a total of 28 volumes, with its total sales surpassing 18 million copies and counting. Meanwhile, Black Clover has a total of 38 volumes, with only 25 million copies in circulation following the release of its final volume in August. Comparing the data, Sakamoto Days has sold more copies per volume than Black Clover, something that has been reported since last year. This clearly shows that Sakamoto Days has always been more beneficial for Shonen Jump than Black Clover. However, Sakamoto Days cannot compare to Jujutsu Kaisen in terms of numbers, as the latter has sold over 150 million copies.
That said, Sakamoto Days‘ achievement isn’t something that should be dismissed, especially at a time when the magazine has come to embrace more and more shorter series. This is largely due to many series failing to live up to the magazine’s standards, and it might also be the reason why Black Clover was shifted to Jump Giga. More importantly, it proves that Sakamoto Days has emerged as a leading series alongside One Piece after Jujutsu Kaisen and other major series left, proving that Shonen Jump understands the series’ importance to the magazine.
But Sakamoto Days is also going to be leaving the magazine, as it is now in its final phases, and its ending could be announced at any time, especially given that even Sakamoto is back in the action now. Perhaps fans could see only a few more chapters before the end of the year, around the beginning of December, giving the series another 5–10 chapters before it comes to an end. Sakamoto Days‘ ending in Shonen Jump will be a major loss for the magazine, especially given that it has produced more chapters than even Jujutsu Kaisen‘s original run, and its end will leave a void that the magazine will have a hard time filling.
