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New Booklet/DVD Series Focusing on Shonen Jump Manga Creators Launches in January

This year's 49th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is announcing on Monday that Shueisha will launch its Jump Ryū booklet/DVD series across Japan starting in January. The series was previously only available in Shizuoka Prefecture as a "mook" series (magazine-style book) that also bundled DVDs. The Shizuoka edition of the series launched in September, and has so far published three issues (see gallery below).

Each issue will focus exclusively on a single Weekly Shonen Jump manga creator, and will include both a booklet and a DVD. The booklets will include: interviews with creators that reveal the secret story behind their debut, reproductions of artwork exclusive to the magazine, and paper that helps readers trace and draw famous scenes from the creators' manga. The accompanying DVDs will go behind-the-scenes with manga creators at their workspace, feature interviews, and offer insight into manga creators' creative process and their lives.

The series' first Shizuoka issue featured Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, while the second issue featured Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto, and the third featured One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda.

The first new nationwide issue will cost 702 yen (about US$5.80), while the second issue onward will cost 1,393 yen (about US$11.50). Shueisha will release the first issue on January 7, and each new issue will ship on the first and third Thursdays of the month. Weekly Shonen Jump notes that release dates will differ by region.

The first three nationwide issues will feature Toriyama, Kishimoto, and Oda, respectively. Weekly Shonen Jump also reveals that the series will feature the following manga creators in the future:

• Osamu Akimoto (Kochikame)
• Hirohiko Araki (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
• Tite Kubo (Bleach)
• Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro (Toriko)
• Kazuki Takahashi (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
• Yūto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki (Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma)
• Tadatoshi Fujimaki (Kuroko's Basketball)
• Haruichi Furudate (Haikyu!!)
• Kōhei Horikoshi (My Hero Academia)
• Yūsei Matsui (Assassination Classroom)

Shueisha plans to announce more authors in the future on the series' official website.