During the 2000s, Bleach, Naruto and One Piece stood at the center of the manga and anime market. Published in Weekly Shonen Jump, the three series built enormous fan bases and became fixtures at community events, earning the collective nickname “Big Three.”
Their rise followed the end of Dragon Ball Z’s manga in 1995, which left the magazine searching for a new flagship hit. One Piece, created by Eiichiro Oda, began publication in 1997 and quickly became a major success in Japan. Its anime adaptation followed in 1999.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto arrived in 1999 and brought a strong international appeal through its ninja setting, rivalries and action. Together, One Piece and Naruto helped restore Weekly Shonen Jump’s momentum, although the magazine still faced competition from the growing seinen and shojo markets.
Tite Kubo’s Bleach, launched in 2001, completed the trio. The series combined a stylish visual identity, more mature characters and an approach to supernatural battles that retained a youthful foundation. Its success was substantial enough to place it alongside Naruto and One Piece, even if its popularity did not reach exactly the same level.
Each series represented a different side of the shonen formula. One Piece centered on adventure, Naruto on ninjas and rivalries, and Bleach on modernized samurai imagery and philosophical elements. Their stories also shared familiar features of the genre, including major battles, diverse groups of characters and enemies who could eventually become allies.
The trio’s influence grew as the internet and globalization made Japanese entertainment easier to access outside Japan. Television broadcasts, manga publications and the emergence of anime conventions helped expand the audience. In Brazil, programs such as TV Globinho and Bom Dia & Cia contributed to this growth, while Anime Friends held its first edition in São Paulo in 2003.
Publishers also helped bring the series to more readers. Conrad began publishing the manga officially, followed by JBC and Panini in subsequent years. Many fans entered the anime and manga community through one or more of the three titles, alongside other successful works such as Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist and Yu-Gi-Oh!.
Bleach, Naruto and One Piece continued to dominate into the late 2000s and early 2010s. However, their long publication histories also created a challenge: readers who had started them as children or teenagers were becoming adults, with different interests and responsibilities. At the same time, Attack on Titan emerged as a major hit during the 2010s, offering a darker tone and a harsher setting.
Naruto concluded its manga in 2014 after following its protagonist from childhood into adulthood and his achievement of becoming Hokage. Bleach struggled after Naruto’s departure and ended following an arc that divided fans. One Piece remained the most stable of the three, supported by strong sales and global popularity.
The characters and creators later returned to prominence in different ways. Kubo released Burn the Witch and saw Bleach return to anime with an adaptation of the story’s final arc. Kishimoto became involved with Boruto, the official continuation of Naruto, although both its manga and anime faced criticism from fans.
The original material also continued to generate new projects. A Hollywood live-action Naruto adaptation is planned under Kishimoto’s supervision, and a new anime continuation is expected in 2027. Bleach also has potential for further development following the extra chapter “No Breaths from Hell,” although no return date has been established.
The lasting strength of the “Big Three” comes from both their cultural impact and the nostalgia surrounding them. Their original audience is now largely adult, and renewed adaptations could introduce the franchises to younger viewers. While newer series such as Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man and My Hero Academia have shaped the following generation, Bleach, Naruto and One Piece remain central references for the global anime and manga community.
Sources: Canaltech.