Shonen Jump's Most Underrated Manga Has A 10/10 Anime
Shonen Jump might be the biggest name in manga, but that doesn’t mean everything under their label is guaranteed to become a hit; naturally, canceled manga are always the first to fall into obscurity, with 2025 being the worst year for Shonen Jump in ages, but even when a manga sticks around for a few years, something about it just won’t resonate with fans and critics, and it will spend its entire run doing little more than existing. Shonen Jump has had far more underrated manga than a person can count, and one of their most recent examples has finally gotten an anime adaptation for the spring 2026 anime season, about half a year after it was unceremoniously canceled. With how little attention the manga in question got during its run, there wasn’t much excitement for the anime’s premiere, but now that it’s finally out, it’s clear just how much of an underrated gem this series was.
Kill Blue's Anime Is Way Better Than We Thought It Would Be
If there’s any modern Shonen Jump manga that’s the epitome of being underrated, it would have to be Kill Blue by Tadatoshi Fujimaki. While Kuroko’s Basketball was a major hit during its run and Robot X Laserbeam was something of a cult classic, Kill Blue never found much success as either its own story or as the latest work from an established author, so it ended unceremoniously after two years, and not even an anime adaptation being announced brought much excitement. Kill Blue was never a Shonen Jump manga that fans got particularly excited about, and that makes it all the more surprising that the anime is surprisingly good. Not only is the artwork and animation very consistent and overall great, but whenever there’s an action scene, the series goes above and beyond to make it as creative and fluid as possible. Kill Blue’s animation studio, CUE, is fairly new to the business, but suffice to say, they’re doing an amazing job with the series. Everything great about Kill Blue’s adaptation is perfectly captured in its stellar opening theme, as well. In addition to “Attitude” by aespa being an incredible theme song, the opening theme, itself is filled with imagery that’s equal parts surreal and gorgeously animated, and it was even made by Ryu Nakayama of Chainsaw Man season 1 fame, as well. It’s a perfect indicator of what to expect from Kill Blue’s anime, and overall, it’s so much better than what anyone could have expected.
Why Kill Blue Is Shonen Jump's Most Underrated Story
Kill-Blue-Key-Visual
Kill Blue’s anime adaptation looks far better than anyone could have expected, and that, of course, is perfectly on brand for the series. Despite having an interesting premise as an action-comedy spy series and some truly standout art and action, the manga’s poor pacing and often confused tone made it hard for many people to get invested. None of that is to say Kill Blue was one of the best manga running in Shonen Jump, of course, but it had far more going for it than most people think, and the stellar quality of the anime perfectly encapsulates that idea.
Kill Blue was a manga that had plenty of potential to become a major hit, but it was never given room to grow until it was canceled, even though the poor state of modern Shonen Jump necessitates a story like Kill Blue more than ever. It’s too late to wonder what could have happened to Kill Blue if it had stuck around in Shonen Jump a little longer, but at the very least, the incredible quality of the anime can give it some much-needed attention, and for anyone who grew attached to it, that will be great to see.
Kill Blue releases new episodes Saturdays on Crunchyroll.
Cast
Yuko Sanpei
Juzo Ogami (voice)
