Kara Dennison
July 5, 2025 
The latest addition to the Weekly Shonen Jump catalogue is Ekiden Bros: a fresh new sports manga from Daiki Nono. This time, the sport in question is running—with the series taking its title from long-distance relay races known as ekiden. As with many sports series, it stars a hopeful young amateur trying out the sport for the first time. And, also as with many other sports manga, this amateur has a special ability: locking in.
How will things go for Nobunaga? And does this new series have the legs to get across the finish line? Let’s check out the first chapter together and find out!
The Story
Nobunaga, the star of Ekiden Bros, is not a runner initially. Rather, he lives in a dormitory occupied by 48 runners. He loves the sport and dreams of being one of them. But getting started… that’s the problem.
Everything changes on the day he gets pulled into a race at school. Suddenly, everything about running clicks: the difficulty, yes, but also the appeal. Nobunaga pushes himself to his limits, unlocking strength he never knew he had. Now, he’s ready to be one of the athletes he so admires. But this sort of racing takes a lot of training and a lot of endurance… which we will hopefully witness as the manga continues.
Why It Works
It’s a common trope in sports manga and anime: the protagonist may be a newbie, but something unique about them lets them achieve greatness. Sometimes, it’s simply their unwillingness to back down. In the case of magazine-mate Harukaze Mound, it’s a young southpaw pitcher learning to play to his unique physical build. Ekiden Bros has a similar hook for cheerful protagonist Nobunaga.
Early in the manga, one of the runners catches him studying in his room. Suddenly, the cheerfulness is gone: Nobunaga is locked in, fully fixated on the task at hand. And when he takes up running, that same extreme focus kicks in. Could that tendency toward raw focus and dedication be the key for this amateur? It’s an interesting hook.
The Landscape
Ekiden Bros has a lot going for it, from a likable lead to art that’s both dynamic and easy on the eyes. However, sports manga is currently having a rough time in Weekly Shonen Jump. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen Two on Ice, Embers, Green Green Greens, and Martial Master Asumi all fall down. The only other sports manga currently in the mag are the recently-started Harukaze Mound and the highly-popular Blue Box. But even the latter of those, 200 episodes strong and with an anime to its name, is more about relationships surrounding multiple sports than the sports themselves.
Could it be that Weekly Shonen Jump readers just aren’t feeling the hype for sports series in recent years? Or are readers looking for something that new sports series just aren’t offering? Either way, we definitely hope Ekiden Bros has an opportunity to show us what it’s got. Maybe this will be the one to go all the way!
Ekiden Bros is now available to read from Viz.
