Shueisha allegedly believes Kagurabachi can "carry the next generation of Jump"

Modified Jun 04, 2024 19:37 GMT

Shueisha allegedly believes Kagurabachi can "carry the next generation of Jump" (Image via Shueisha)

Tuesday, June 4, 2024 saw an intriguing rumor begin circulating regarding how manga publishing giant Shueisha views the Kagurabachi manga’s long-term future internally. The rumor stems from comments made by Kenji Yamauchi and Akira Kawashima on the “Manganuma” television program presented by the pair in Japan.

Here, the two claim they happened to have lunch with someone from Shueisha who commented that Shueisha “said they wanted Kagurabachi to carry the next generation of Jump.” While far from an official statement made by Shueisha, it’s an exciting allegation which seemingly confirms that the sole survivor from the company’s JUMP NEXTWAVE initiative is here to stay.

The manga first debuted in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in September 2023, alongside Two On Ice and MamaYuyu in Shueisha’s aforementioned initiative. While the latter two series have since been axed, author and illustrator Takeru Hokazono’s manga has continued on very strongly, and allegedly has a long and bright future ahead.

Kagurabachi manga being set up to inherit One Piece, My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen’s shared throne

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While the comment from the alleged Shueisha affiliate only goes as far as what’s quoted above, Yamauchi and Kawashima did conclude their broadcast with additional commentary on Kagurabachi. They conclude by highlighting the series as the next ace in Weekly Shonen Jump, which falls in line with the alleged comment they received from the Shueisha affiliate.

Regarding what the comment could mean, it is clear that Weekly Shonen Jump likely views Hokazono’s manga as a successful and long-term-viable replacement for its biggest series. This would include Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, and One Piece, with the former two likely and confirmed to end this year respectively while the lattermost is confirmed to be in its Final Saga.

This is further supported by the manga’s introduction via the JUMP NEXTWAVE initiative, which was essentially Shueisha taking a swing at their potential next multiple flagship manga series. However, there are more exciting near-future possibilities which the above alleged comment seemingly makes possible for Hokazono's series specifically.

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For one, dreams of a television anime adaptation for the series are not only more likely than ever, but seemingly cemented in Shueisha’s mind based on the comment in question. To take this a step further, mangaka Naoya Matsumoto’s Kaiju No. 8 series was recently given a television anime adaptation which was announced at just 68 chapters in. This was considered extremely fast, and the anime has proved to be as successful as the manga.

With this and the aforementioned Shueisha affiliate statement in mind, it’s likely that Hokazono’s series will also receive an early anime adaptation if Shueisha truly is that supportive of it. However, this is all speculative as of this article’s writing, with no anime adaptation having been teased, let alone announced, thus far.