Been minute, things are happening. My takes are:
It's been 12 issues now since Nue's Exorcist last had a single digit TOC ranking, placing in the bottom 5 most of the time. And now second last? Ouch. I think the main thing to keep an eye on - other than it continuing to rank poorly or not - is whether the colour pages dry up. PPPPPP didn't receive as much as Nue's Exorcist has at this point but it also had a similar point where the drop in rankings and less colour pages coalesced to signal its end. That's all I'll say... except thank god
As for Super Psychic Policeman Chojo, I've checked back until 2016 and no other series has a stronger debut. Without having the exact record at hand my estimate as it's probably at or around Assassination Classroom beginning numbers. The closest from what I have checked is The Elusive Samurai in 2021 which had an average of 3.0 for the same amount of issues, with Chojo currently at 2.8, just below One Piece now for 2024. That's an incredible start. I wasn't liking it in the beginning but I've really warmed to it since Yuki got introduced, he's the best character so far. I think it still has to flesh out a good supporting cast but if it's going to fall in popularity anytime soon to the point of cancellation it's going to have to be one of the steepest drops offs in recent memory.
Looks like Green Green Greens and Dear Amenome are the next on the chopping block - personally I hope My Hero Academia manages to wrap up in time for a shorter round and GGG is saved but it's one of the two true flops in the magazine right now, which is a shame since it's easily the best sports manga the magazine has had since the drought began with Haikyuu!!'s conclusion (excluding Blue Box).
I had my prediction of Mission: Yozakura Family wrapping up in 2025 but if it's in the final battle maybe it'll come sooner depending on the pacing. If it joins MHA and Jujutsu Kaisen this year I'm more curious as to how the top of the roster is going to shake out in the end since the gaps left to be taken (presumably Sakamoto Days and Blue Box for the time being). If I had a magic wand that could force the editorial staffs' hand it would also to push Undead Unluck to an end this year as well. It's one of the stagnant middle floaters in the magazine that isn't generating new fans, had an adaptation that flopped, and IMHO this arc has throughly overstayed its welcome. This current fight is my least favourite in the entire series. I so desperately just want it to get to a climactic endgame soon, please. And then let's see where Kagurabachi and Nue's Exorcist fall amongst all of this since they're the lowest ranking of the 'safe' series right now and could either suffer a loss or benefit from how the rest of the year shakes out depending on how early or late the veterans start ending.
Astro Royale had a great first chapter, proper battle shonen goodness delivered confidently with good initial establishing of the cast and the world going forward. Unless something goes horribly wrong it feels like it's come at the perfect time to take up one of those spots from the veterans ending. Kyokuto Necromance I agree with most wasn't that good, very middling in quality. I still am not confident in Fusai Naba's ability to deliver a serialisation. I've never been convinced by his one shots and this first chapter made some of the same mistakes (too many similarities) to Aliens Area which had the whiff of an immediate flop as well. I don't think he was ready to return yet frankly, especially with something so derivative. Let's see.
And for the record, I was one of the few who voted for Cycle Biyori as my most anticipated of this batch (anyone else who did is a true one, you know who you are)! You see it a lot on this thread that people project their own ideas of what a series will be before it's even released and refuse to budge on their take of it. I try to give everything a chance to wow or disappoint me regardless of initial impressions but this is one that feels like it could be a sleeper, potentially fitting that cute low-fantasy slice of life comedy niche that RuriDragon created and has now left in the physical magazine. I'm basing this purely off vibes and how much I enjoy Omusuke Kobayashi's character designs and panelling from his one shots but I'm looking forward to it.
