Kagurabachi: The Viral Meme Sensation Taking the Manga World by Storm
is a new
shonen
about Chihiro Rokuhira, a young swordsmith's apprentice on a quest for bloody vengeance against a Yakuza family. Its debut chapter (Sept 2023) delivered crisp artwork and over‑the‑top swordplay, earning positive reviews as a strong start to a battle‑shonen story.
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But what really shot Kagurabachi into the spotlight was not just the story itself – it was the internet.
Long before most people even read chapter one, fans on social media began joking that Kagurabachi was 'the greatest manga of all time'. This started on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and
, in a tongue‑in‑cheek trend now known as 'Kagura Bachi Glazing'.
typically show Chihiro holding his magical katana (from a color preview released mid‑September), with overlaid text wildly exaggerating the manga's greatness. For example, one early tweet proclaimed
'Kagura Bachi is greater than Boruto,'
using the '>' symbol as if Kagurabachi literally outranked other big titles. As the KnowYourMeme site explains, these jokes 'overhyp[e] the manga as one of the greatest of all time, worthy of being included in 'The Big Three' (One Piece, Naruto and Bleach)'. Another meme depicts heroes from
One Piece
,
Jujutsu Kaisen
(JJK),
Berserk
and
Hunter x Hunter
'bowing' to Kagurabachi, joking 'Yes, Kagura Bachi' as if welcoming a new king.
By mid‑September, the trend was exploding. Hundreds of TikTok videos with #KaguraBachi racked up views: one user got ~289,000 views in two days for a comedic Kagurabachi clip. TikTokers joked about
'peak writing lessons'
or a supposed anime by studio Ufotable (jokes since debunked). Even Reddit caught on: meme posts like 'Kagurabachi > [Your Favorite Series]' hit the front pages of anime and humor subreddits (r/Okbuddybaka and r/Kagurabachi) with thousands of upvotes.
And the wave reached outside fan circles: the Singapore government's environmental agency cheekily used a Kagurabachi sword‑fight panel on Facebook to urge citizens to 'join the fight' against waste, noting 'Our battle against waste will be hard‑fought…' (with a hidden #Kagurabachi tag).
These jokes often follow a simple formula: start with '>' (meaning 'better than') and compare Kagurabachi to big hits. For example:
'Kagurabachi > One Piece? Sakuraba— (okay, maybe not Dragon Ball Super)'
became a popular meme format. Fans also made mock covers of Kagurabachi video games or anime adaptations, complete with fake screenshots and episode titles. In short, Kagurabachi became less just a manga and more a communal running gag – a 'shared fiction' meme so elaborate it drew comparisons to last year's
Goncharov
phenomenon.
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What did this meme storm actually do for Kagurabachi as a manga? Quite a lot. The buzz drove curious readers to try it out. Kagurabachi's first chapter quickly shot up the charts: on Shueisha's Manga Plus app it
outread
even
One Piece
and
Spy x Family
, landing in the top 10 within days. In fact, AnimeCorner reports Kagurabachi 'became one of the most‑read manga' on Manga Plus right after release. Reviewers agreed the content wasn't a complete joke – it earned praise for its flashy action. One review called chapter one 'the best I've read in any new generation of manga since
Sakamoto Days
,' noting its brutal fight scenes and dark humor.
So far, the actual story has lived up reasonably well: Gizmodo calls it a 'strong start' with 'crisp artwork' and promise. But Gizmodo also cautions we've seen only a few pages, so the long‑term quality remains to be proven. In other words, the memes set sky‑high (and silly) expectations, but Kagurabachi isn't
literally
the best manga ever – it's just a solid new title riding a tidal wave of internet hype. Even so, the frenzy has made this
Kagurabachi manga
widely known.
By early 2024 it hit over 2.2 million copies in print, putting it on track with big names (for comparison Jujutsu Kaisen had similar numbers early on).
In summary: Kagurabachi's rise is a case study in modern fandom. A perfectly competent new series became mainstream not only by its own merits but thanks to memes. Platforms like Twitter/X, TikTok, and Reddit turned the release into a running gag – fans joked 'Kagurabachi is already better than One Piece and JJK,' made dozens of parody posts, and even convinced themselves it had an anime or games ready.
The memes dragged new readers in, turning Kagurabachi into one of the most viral manga of 2023.
In a world where internet humor spreads instantly, this sword‑and‑sorcery tale shows that even a remorseless revenge saga can become a playful viral sensation – all because fans decided to glaze it into greatness.
Key Kagurabachi Meme Tropes:
Credits: Reddit
'Kagura Bachi > Boruto/One Piece' – Posts comparing Kagurabachi favorably to established hits, often using a '>' sign.
Posts comparing Kagurabachi favorably to established hits, often using a '>' sign. 'Big Three, redefined' – Jokes placing Kagurabachi alongside One Piece, Naruto, Bleach as the new elite of manga.
Jokes placing Kagurabachi alongside One Piece, Naruto, Bleach as the new elite of manga. Bow to Kagurabachi – Imagery of heroes from One Piece, JJK, Berserk, etc. bowing or stepping aside in awe of Chihiro.
Imagery of heroes from One Piece, JJK, Berserk, etc. bowing or stepping aside in awe of Chihiro. Faux adaptations – Fake anime posters, video game covers or news snippets (often joking Ufotable or other studios are involved) created to seem real.
These memes may have started as a joke, but they proved powerful. Thanks to them, Kagurabachi isn't just a new title in Jump anymore – it's
a phenomenon
. The memes made fans ask 'What's the fuss?' and many discovered a surprisingly solid manga under the internet's playful madness. As 2023's example of a truly viral manga, Kagurabachi shows how social media culture can launch even a dark revenge series into pop-culture chatter overnight.
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