Kagurabachi loses another competitor after MamaYuyu as Weekly Shonen Jump axes a promising manga

It's only been a week since MamaYuyu's was canceled, and Weekly Shonen Jump has decided to axe another Kagurabachi manga competitor. This time, the victim is Two on Ice by Elck Itsumo. The "figure skating" manga will end its serialization in the magazine's #21 issue on April 21, 2024, with the 28th chapter.

Although the manga, with its unique figure skating theme, promised a lot, its run in the magazine was cut short due to poor volume sales. Unlike Kagurabachi, Two on Ice didn't establish a solid fanbase. As such, it couldn't generate enough buzz among manga enthusiasts.

This resulted in the manga's poor sales performance. With Elck Itsumo's manga axed, Takeru Hokazono's battle shonen series has become the only series to survive the Jump NEXTWAVE project.

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Kagurabachi's competitor, Two on Ice, bites the dust as Weekly Shonen Jump axes the manga after MamaYuyu

On Thursday, April 11, 2024, the ToC (Table of Contents) ranking list for Weekly Shonen Jump's #21 issue was leaked. According to the list, Elck Itsumo's figure skating manga, Two on Ice, will end serialization on April 21, 2024, with chapter 28.

This manga belonged to the same batch as Takeru Hokazono's Kagurabachi and Yoshihiko Hayashi's MamaYuyu. However, Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump tends to cancel underperforming manga series.

A week earlier, the magazine ended MamaYuyu's run. Although the series was one of the potential competitors of Hokazono's manga, it was axed due to its poor performance. It seems Elck Itsumo's manga has met a similar fate.

Lead color page of Elck Itsumo's manga (Image via Elck Itsumo/Shueisha)

Even though the series didn't showcase themes similar to Takeru Hokazono's manga, it belonged to the same line-up, thus making it a competitor. With Itsumo-san's manga being canceled, Takeru Hokazono's battle shonen series becomes the only Jump NEXTWAVE manga to survive the axe.

However, there were enough reasons why Itsumo's manga was bound to get canceled. Since its inception, the figure skating manga has been unable to attract fans. Although it had potential with a similar theme to Yuri on Ice, the manga couldn't resonate with readers.

As a result, it was always at the bottom of the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine's Table of Contents. Notably, if a series dwells at the bottom of the ToC rankings, there's a high chance that the series might get axed. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened with MamaYuyu and Two on Ice.

The manga's low rank in the magazine also affected the overall sales. Unlike Kagurabachi's first volume, which sold over 60k copies, Two on Ice didn't even rank on Shoseki's manga sales list. As a result, the magazine felt it was time for the series to end its serialization.

Chihiro Rokuhira, as seen in the manga (Image via Takeru Hokazono/Shueisha)

On the contrary, Takeru Hokazono's manga gradually built a fanbase and garnered tremendous response, even though it kickstarted as a meme. The battle shonen series also revolutionized Weekly Shonen Jump, becoming the first major shonen series to get VOMICS in English.

It's saddening that neither MamaYuyu nor Two on Ice could survive the dreaded axe. Undoubtedly, this news would sadden many fans who had been following these two series since their inception.

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