Long beforeMy Hero Academia,Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, andJujutsu Kaisenwere on the horizon, there was another mangaShōnen Jumppushed as the next big thing: Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro’sToriko. Thanks to its great action, artwork, and comedy,Torikodominated the late 2000s and early 2010s, and withNarutonearing its finale andBleachgradually losing popularity,Shonen Jumpwas quick to push it as their new frontrunner.
Unfortunately, as anyone can tell,Torikodid not end up being the successShonen Jumpexpected. Between various factors like the period it debuted in, the amount of overlap it had with more established manga, and, ironically, the lengthsShonen Jumpwent to push it on people,Torikofailed to be anywhere close to being as successful as many of theShonen Jumptitles to follow its release. None of that was through any fault of its own, of course, and there’s plenty of merit in detailing why it stumbled as hard as it did.
Why Toriko Is Still Worth Reading After Over A Decade
Everything Toriko Did Right As A Manga
Before discussing whyTorikofailed, it’s important to lay out why it’s worth reading, in the first place. From the very beginning,Torikoestablished itself as a quirky, action-packed series with great fight choreography andcreative designs for its monsters and settings, all of which played well into its central gimmick of traveling the world to find exotic food the likes of which no one had ever seen.Toriko’s overall aesthetic captured the best elements of classicShōnen JumpmangalikeDragon Ball,One Piece, andHunter X Hunter, and there was always plenty to love because of that.
Tying all of that together was the surprising amount of thoughtfulness with whichTorikowas written. Not only did it have extensive worldbuilding and a fun power system, both of which only grew better over time, but the progression of everyone’s power tended to center around philosophical elements as opposed to physical ones, with Food Honor even drawing direct parallels to enlightenment. In many ways,Torikoput much more weight into developing a strong and thorough narrative than the average action series, and that helped it stand out from its contemporaries, even now.
Toriko Was Too Similar To Big Name Shōnen Jump Titles For Its Own Good
Toriko’s Problems With Standing Out On Its Own
While there are plenty of reasons whyTorikofound as much success as it did, there are just as many reasons why it didn’t reach the heightsShōnen Jumpexpected it to. For starters, whileToriko’s overlap with othershōnenmanga was part of its charm,it often felt less like homages and more like copyingtheir aesthetics wholesale, especially withDragon Ball. The series had plenty of unique ideas, but overall,Toriko’s writing often made it come across as unoriginal compared to othershōnenmanga, and that made it harder for it to take off outside Japan.
Toriko’s perceived unoriginality was only further heightened by its anime. Not only wasToriko’s anime made by Toei Animation, the same studio behindDragon BallandOne Piece, but it had three different crossovers withOne Piece, the last of which also randomly threwDragon Ballinto the mix. While those were all likely attempts to boostToriko’s popularity,Toriko’s constant crossovers withOne PieceandDragon Ballonly reminded people that they could be watching those instead ofToriko, so they probably did more to turn people away fromTorikothan they did to turn people on to it.
Shōnen Jump Tried Far Too Hard To Make Toriko The Next Big Thing
Shōnen Jump Was Too Excited About Toriko For Their Own Good
As soon asTorikostarted taking off,Shōnen Jumpbegan aggressively pushing it at every turn; the manga received a ton of merchandise andShōnen Jumpcovers, the anime had four films, three of which premiered before the actual anime, and of the aforementionedOne Piececrossovers, the first one was, surprisingly, its series premiere. Combined with the various other issues plaguing the series,the aggressiveness with whichShōnen JumppushedTorikoonly made it less invitingas it gave the impression that people were being told it was the only thing they should be reading or watching.
That isn’t to sayShōnen Jumpnever tries to push popular stories, of course.My Hero Academia,Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, andJujutsu Kaisenall received heavy marketing well before their anime started, andTakeru Hokazono’sKagurabachihas been openly stated to be the series Shueisha hopes to beShōnen Jump’s next big thing. The difference is that, unlikeToriko,Shonen Jumpwas less aggressive in pushing other manga they believed to be the next big thing, rarely ever pushing them at the expense of other stories, and that’s part of why they could flourish whileTorikoultimately stumbled.
Toriko Came Out At One Of The Worst Times For Anime & Manga
Toriko Started In The Wrong Era For Anime
The biggest problem that keptTorikofrom taking off was likely the time in which it was running.Torikowas around from 2008 to 2016, and that was one of the worst periods for anime and manga; anime culture had yet to return to being mainstream, and with streaming and simulcasting having yet to take off, only the most popular stories could maintain relevancy amidst the height of piracy. Because of that,a lot ofToriko’s failings can be attributed to it coming out when anime and manga were hard to sell worldwide, at least legally.
This idea is especially likely whenTorikois compared toMy Hero Academia,Demon Slayer, andJujutsu Kaisen. They all came out when anime and manga started becoming more mainstream and when streaming and simulcasting had become more prominent, and sure enough, theywere all quick to eclipseTorikoin popularity, both critically and financially. None of that was onToriko, of course, but it still highlights how shortTorikofell compared to the manga that did becomeShōnen Jump’s next big things.
This isn’t to say that the reasons whyTorikodid not enter the Mount Rushmore ofshonenmanga were all external, however. The anime series was rushed and ended up being canceled long before the finale of the story, being forced to give viewers an alternative and largely unsatisfying ending. Considering how important an anime is for a manga’s success, this was a key factor. On the other hand, theTorikomanga also saw a sharp decline in popularity, which led tothe author being forced to rush the ending, leaving a bad taste in fans' mouths.
The whole second half of the story takes place in the Gourmet World, where the stakes are much higher and the enemies incredibly more powerful. This sudden rush in power levels caused the story to lose part of its initial charm as a food-based adventure, which was also what made it stand out from the competition. Once the characters started stopping the movement of the planet with a punch,Torikobecame (in)famous for its crazy power levelsrather than for the unique appeal it had shown at the beginning.
Was Toriko Truly A Failure For Shōnen Jump?
How Should Toriko Be Remembered?
Torikofailed to become the next big thing inShōnen Jump, but that doesn’t mean it was a failure, overall. WhileMy Hero AcademiaandDemon Slayerboth sold far more thanTorikowith about 100-150 million books each,Torikohas sold over 30 million books worldwide as of 2023, which still leaves it as one of the best-selling manga of all time. Not only that, but the anime ran for three seasons, so overall,Toriko, from an objective standpoint, was undoubtedlyone of the biggest manga ever published inShōnen Jump.
WithTorikohaving ended almost a decade ago and there being very little to keep it relevant compared to other anime and manga of its era,Torikowill likely never get its due, whether it be through a reevaluation of the manga or a reboot of the anime that better represents the strengths of the story. In that regard, it would be easy to write offTorikoas a failure, but that’s largely just when comparing it toShōnen Jump’s bigger hits, and overall, the issue is far more complicated than one might think.
Toriko
Cast
Toriko follows the titular gourmet hunter and his quest to discover the most exquisite ingredients in a world where the pursuit of flavor is paramount. Accompanied by his partner, Chef Komatsu, Toriko faces numerous challenges and formidable creatures to create the ultimate Full Course Menu. The series blends action, adventure, and the art of gastronomy in a vividly imaginative setting.
