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NEWS: Daijiro Nonoue's The Last Saiyuki Manga Ends

Ever since I started subbing to Shonen Jump, I've already seen 3 series end abruptly. This was the biggest surprise, since they JUST established a plot objective and then... "The End". I don't follow the surveys too much, but it's been something else following a story like that and start getting interesting, just to see it end. Was hoping to see more Higuma, but that ended already, too. Looks like around 20 chapters/3 collected volumes is the telling sign of cancellation if popularity is waning :/

I recommend keeping up with the table of contents, you can usually tell what series is popular or about to end based on that. Last Saiyuki has been in the bottom 4 with Beast Children, Double Taisei, and Tokyo Shinobi Squad. Good chance all three are going to end soon.

Sheleigha wrote:

Ever since I started subbing to Shonen Jump, I've already seen 3 series end abruptly. This was the biggest surprise, since they JUST established a plot objective and then... "The End". I don't follow the surveys too much, but it's been something else following a story like that and start getting interesting, just to see it end. Was hoping to see more Higuma, but that ended already, too. Looks like around 20 chapters/3 collected volumes is the telling sign of cancellation if popularity is waning :/

I recommend keeping up with the table of contents, you can usually tell what series is popular or about to end based on that. Last Saiyuki has been in the bottom 4 with Beast Children, Double Taisei, and Tokyo Shinobi Squad. Good chance all three are going to end soon.

Wow, save for Chainsaw Man, Samurai 8, and Kamio Yuki, that's pretty much every new series lately, just not sticking.

Wow, save for Chainsaw Man, Samurai 8, and Kamio Yuki, that's pretty much every new series lately, just not sticking.

Sheleigha wrote:

Wow, save for Chainsaw Man, Samurai 8, and Kamio Yuki, that's pretty much every new series lately, just not sticking.

Chainsaw Man released in 2018 not this year. The Last Saiyuki now has less chapters than Teenage Reinassance David, who had 35 chapters. I hope it's enough to make TRD as an anime.

Where can we keep track of what order the series' are in via the Japanese magazine?

Gyt Kaliba wrote:

Where can we keep track of what order the series' are in via the Japanese magazine?

So for this week, first place is Kimetsu no Yaiba, and last place is Double Taisei.

Ever since I started subbing to Shonen Jump, I've already seen 3 series end abruptly. This was the biggest surprise, since they JUST established a plot objective and then... "The End".

Where can we keep track of what order the series' are in via the Japanese magazine?

Yeah, that's unfortunately the norm for most new JUMP titles. At most usually 1 or 2 new entries will stuck around past about half a year.

To begin the explanation on a somewhat low note, Japanese computer literacy is quite low (about a quarter of students have never even touched a computer), but mobile usage is incredibly high. That sounds a bit random, but it's important to consider because it shows that the internet is a relatively recent thing when it comes to discussing manga. This is relevant because it's one of the major reasons why Jump manga is much faster nowadays; retention time.

You may have read studies which state that the attention span of young people has been going down over time. There's varying validity to these studies, but it's directly relevant to the way new series are consumed because the discussion is far, far more connected in the present than in the past. Back in the 2000s, "word of mouth" was literal, most discussion was built on what one person said to their IRL friends about series they read in the latest issue, conversation is now shared almost instantly among hundreds of people in mere hours after the issue drops. The conversation is faster, hence, to gain interest, thou must be faster.

If I had to give the exact cutoff when a manga's fate is determined, that would simply be when the chapters making up Volume 1 are done, as that is when Jump starts properly judging them. Vol 1 will be, in the long term, the first impression, after all.

So, with that in mind, what happens in Vol 1 of The Last Saiyuki?

...Not all that much, honestly. There's some establishing for the emotions of the characters, a few encounters with monster, a whole lot of exposition, and then, in the last 25 pages, a confrontation with an actual villain which isn't even finished. There isn't really much in the way of things which can warrant discussion or attention, not even many fights. This is made even more glaring by the little detail that not ONCE does the action leave Ryunosuke's house, the static location makes it feel like the manga is spinning its wheels.

By comparison, let's look at what I consider the perfect Vol 1 for the Modern Era, Jujutsu Kaisen. In the first volume of that series, we establish the main trio of characters, have the main conceit established, set-up for multiple plot threads, and then a major plot turn in the main cast being utterly annihilated on a mission, Itadori being forced to bring out Sukuna, and the knowledge that one of them isn't going to make it.

This works. It works, because, along with being good, it answers the feedback loop. The information level is high, but it's coherent and promotes discussion. It creates a fandom through pure interaction.

Saiyuki doesn't have that. It doesn't have that, and it fails because of that, even though it accomplishes the purpose of being a high-quality manga.