Drunk Bullet manga officially ends in January 2025

Modified Jan 06, 2025 20:42 GMT

Drunk Bullet manga officially ends in January 2025 (Image via Shueisha)

Monday, January 6, 2025 saw the 24th installment of mangaka Yanagi Takakuchi’s Drunk Bullet manga released, also confirming the series will end in its next chapter, the 25th overall. The news comes via Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ manga website and app service, as well as Shueisha’s MANGA Plus platform, all of which publish the series digitally in English.

The manga originally launched in Japan in June 2024, and was considered relatively successful for having made it relatively far into the 20s in terms of total chapter count. Sadly, the series’ cancellation reflects the contemporary cutthroat nature of Shueisha serializations, which need an early and strong foothold to stand upon and become successful with.

Drunk Bullet manga latest casualty in Shueisha’s search for the next generation’s superstars

Expand Tweet

As mentioned above, the Drunk Bullet manga is confirmed to be ending in its 25th chapter, set to be released on Monday, January 13, 2024 in Japan. Yanagi Takakuchi is the author and illustrator of the series, with Mamoru Tsuchiya being credited for supervision. Shueisha published the manga’s first two compilation volumes in Japan on September 4 and December 4, 2024, respectively. A third will likely come to close out the series at some point in the future.

Takakuchi previously launched the four-volume Harahara-sensei manga on Shonen Jump+ in August 2021, where it ran until its conclusion in October 2022. Shueisha’s MANGA Plus describes Takakuchi’s imminently ending Drunk Bullet manga as follows:

“After surviving World War I, Gary, a liquor-loving ex-serviceman, finally makes his way home. To his shock, Prohibition has post-war America in a chokehold! The curtains open on Gary's action-packed quest for a sweet, shining glass of booze!”

Expand Tweet

While reasons for cancellation typically aren’t explicitly outlined for the general public by Shueisha, most of them boil down to popularity and audience size. Regardless of the good will a creator has accrued with Shueisha via past works, the publishing company is as cutthroat as ever when it comes to cancellations. This is somewhat understandable, as many of the publisher’s biggest series either have ended or are imminently ending.

Moreover, with the exception of Takeru Hokazono’s Kagurabachi manga series, none of Shueisha’s current offerings seem poised to fill this hole. Undead Unluck’s audience grew with its recent anime adaptation, but the series is actively going through its ending as of this article’s writing. Dandadan is likely the closest Shueisha has to a genuine replacement for their flagship series of My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and the relatively-soon ending One Piece.

Likewise, the Drunk Bullet manga is just one of many series which Shueisha felt couldn’t live up to the roles it needs to fill. There have been many more before it, and it’s certain that Takakuchi’s series will not be the last to go out in such a manner.