The one thing amangafan never wants to see is the cancellation of their favorite manga. Whether it’s a new manga that was only just starting to get its footing or something that ran for a year or two and seemed safe, a cancellation is almost always the definitive end of someone’s favorite manga, and that’s always hard to live with.
Cancellation is almost always the end of someone’s favorite manga, but that’s not necessarily the case. It was recently announced thatTsuyoshi Takaki’sBlack Torchis getting an animedespite the manga not being that popular and getting unceremoniously canceled almost seven years ago, and as surprising as that is,Black Torch, of all manga, getting an anime shows that it’s never too late for a manga to get an anime, even if it was canceled years ago. A few manga like that are especially worth highlighting, and hopefully, an anime isn’t completely off the table for any of them.
8Cage Of Eden
Manga By Yoshinobu Yamada; Serialized In Weekly Shonen Magazine 2008-2013
In Yoshinobu Yamada’sCage of Eden, Akira Sengoku and his class were flying back home from their field trip to Guam when their plane crashed on an island in the Pacific. Not only is there no record of the island, though, but the island is inhabited by creatures and plants from prehistoric times, all of which will try to kill people any chance they get, and now Akira and his friends must survive their deadly new environment while looking for a way home and uncovering the truth behind one new mystery after another.
Capturing similar appeals to stories likeLostandLord of the Flies,Cage of Edengained a cult following for its engaging mystery plot and the detail and variety in the prehistoric creatures it used to torment the cast. Sadly, the sheer length at which the mysteries were dragged out, combined with its excessive and gratuitous fanservice, ultimately led toCage of Eden’s cancellation, but it was still a largely good read from start to finish, and a good anime would do a lot to show off its strengths.
7Enigma
Manga By Kenji Sakaki; Serialized In Weekly Shonen Jump 2010-2011
Kenji Sakaki’sEnigmastars Sumio Haiba, a boy with a mysterious power to record the future in his journal whenever he falls asleep. One night, Sumio and six other people with their own supernatural abilities are trapped inside a shadowy world by a mysterious figure named Enigma, and they all must come together to escape and uncover the truth behind their captor’s identity.
Enigma’s focus on horror elements, mind games, and the use of superpowers in unconventional ways made it come off as a breath of fresh air among the usual slew ofshonenmanga, but its unsatisfying answer to the central mystery and poor follow-up to the first arc resulted in its ultimate decline. In recent years, unconventionalshonenmanga likeDr. Stone,The Promised Neverland, andAkane-banashihave found success, soEnigma’s failure might stem from it, unfortunately, coming out far too early, and as such, now would be the perfect time for it to get an anime.
6Buyuden
Manga By Takuya Mitsuda; Serialized In Weekly Shonen Sunday 2011-2014
Takuya Mitsuda’sBuyudenstars Isamu Take, a young boy who’s developed an elitist attitude about how much better he is than his peers at everything. All of that changes when a new girl, Moka Kaname, humiliates him with her boxing skills and exposes him as a cowardly person, as while Isamu tries to avoid Moka, he finds himself paradoxically drawn to the same assertiveness that’s been annoying him and, ultimately, to the world of boxing.
Buyudenwas created by Takuya Mitsuda ofMajorfame, and just likeMajor,Buyudenhit all the typical high points of a good sports manga with its great art and fight scenes and its excellent character writing from start to finish. Unfortunately,Buyudenadhered to the typical tropes of its genre too much, which ultimately led to its cancellation, but with the enduring success ofMajor, it would be great to see that success lend itself to aBuyudenanime, as well.
5Magico
Manga By Naoki Iwamoto; Serialized In Weekly Shonen Jump 2011-2012
InNaoki Iwamoto’sMagico, the seemingly ordinary Emma learns from the powerful mage Shion Elphias Levi that she’s possessed Echidna, a deadly magical force that awakens once every 500 years and is highly sought after by mages around the world. To protect Emma and the world as a whole, Shion, who feels indebted to Emma for an interaction in their past only he remembers, has them undergo Magico, an ancient ritual to seal away Echidna, and it’s all centered around Shion and Emma getting married.
Magico’s poor pacing in its later arcs was a major reason behind its cancellation, but even so,Magico’s worldbuilding and action, combined with its fun cast and the great romance arc between its two leads, made it a truly underratedShonen Jumpmanga that was canceled too soon after only a year. The world ofMagicowould truly shine in animation, and hopefully, an anime isn’t completely off the table, even with it ending over a decade ago.
4Jagaaan
Manga By Muneyuki Kaneshiro & Kensuke Nishida; Serialized In Big Comic Spirits 2017-2021
Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Kensuke Nishida’sJagaaanstars Shintaro Jagasaki, a small-time police officer who hates the mundanity of his life and just wants to shoot all his problems away. One day, Jagasaki unexpectedly gets his wish when mysterious frogs start turning people into monsters when their emotions get out of control, with Jagasaki gaining a controllable version of that transformation, and while he’s initially happy with just having an outlet for his frustrations, it isn’t long before he ends up on the path of becoming a true hero.
Muneyuki Kaneshiro is best known for writingBlue Lock, and sure enough,Jagaaanhas all the same over-the-top writing that’s madeBlue Locksuch a hit, all with great action scenes and character designs to further accentuate things, as well. The series peters out in quality in its second half with some rushed arcs and for how its sex scenes and nudity become even more gratuitous and over-the-top, but overall,Jagaaanvery much works as a fun and cheesy dark action story from start to finish, and an anime adaptation would be great to see.
3Psyren
Manga By Toshiaki Iwashiro; Serialized In Weekly Shonen Jump 2007-2010
In Toshiaki Iwashiro’sPsyren, after finding a mysterious phone card, Ageha Yoshina finds himself transported to the world of Psyren, an apocalyptic wasteland inhabited by violent monsters called Taboo. Ageha and his friends can move between Psyren and their world after completing certain tasks, and it’s through their adventures that Ageha and everyone else awaken to psychic abilities and slowly uncover the truth about Psyren.
WhilePsyrenwas unceremoniously canceled after three years due to some bad pacing,Psyren’s unique power system and engaging sci-fi mystery helped make it one ofthe biggest cult hits inShonen Jumphistory, and almost 15 years following its ending, it’s popular enough for people to want an anime according to AnimeJapan 2024. Even now, few manga have ever worked as well asPsyren, and with how popular it’s remained after all these years, few canceled manga are more deserving of an anime.
2Animal Land
Manga By Makoto Raiku; Serialized In Bessatsu Shonen Magazine 2009-2014
Makoto Raiku’sAnimal Landtakes place in a world populated solely by animals, all of whom are forced to live through the unforgiving reality of survival of the fittest. Amidst all that, a young tanuki named Monoko adopts a mysterious human baby named Taroza, and as Taroza searches for the truth behind his existence, he just might become the key everyone needs to change their cruel reality.
WhileAnimal Landwas never as big a success asMakoto Raiku’s signature manga,Zatch Bell!, resulting in a rather unceremonious ending, not only is the artwork just as great asZatch Bell!’s, butAnimal Land’s incredibly strong character writing and dark storytelling make it one of the most underrated manga of the 2010s.Animal Land’s lack of financial success undoubtedly kept it from getting an anime, but with the increased relevancy of Raiku’s brand thanks toZatch Bell! 2, it would be great ifAnimal Landcould finally get its due.
1Act-Age
Manga By Tatsuya Matsuki & Shiro Usazaki; Serialized In Weekly Shonen Jump 2018-2020
Tatsuya Matsuki and Shiro Usazaki’sAct-Agestars Kei Yonaga, a young girl struggling to support her younger siblings following the death of their mother. While Kei has been getting by on retail work, her true desire is to become an actress, and while Kei’s incredible method acting captures the attention of big names in the entertainment industry, the depths to which she gets lost in her roles pose a genuine threat of destroying her physically and mentally, and overcoming that will be the biggest hurdle she has to contend with.
Unlike other canceled manga,Act-Agewas a major hit with over three million books sold worldwide thanks to its strong writing, unique premise, and incredible artwork, and it was only canceled because of some terrible actions on the part of the author.Act-Agegetting an anime would be the ultimate payoff to how unfairly it was treated for reasons entirely out of series artist Shiro Usazaki’s control; add in the breakout success ofShiro Usazaki’s latest work,Ichi the Witch, andAct-Ageis the best example of acanceled manga that deserves an anime as soon as possible.
