Currently Running Manga Discussion

[Mustang]

So did anyone else hear about what happened in the recent chapter of Hajime no Ippo?  I am far from being caught up on the manga, but it seems like Ippo's character is going to be heading in a similar direction to Joe Yabuki's from Ashita no Joe.  I guess Morikawa is finally planning an endgame for the series.

Believe it or not, I had already typed something about it here, but chose to delete it. I don't care much for Ippo as a character, but even I can't take something like this. That hit me pretty hard because I lost all motivation to care what happens next.

[VLordGTZ]

I mean this is basically what I expected to happen to Ippo ever since the series hinted at his punch drunk syndrome.  Maybe it's because most people haven't read AnJ or forget that it's one of Morikawa's biggest inspirations, but were people really expecting Ippo to come out of this ok?  Honestly, I'm surprised how negative some of the reactions from "hardcore" HnI fans are.  They complained constantly about the series being at a status quo, and when Morikawa breaks from that to do something different, they say that they want to go back to the same status quo.  People are just never satisfied.   

EDIT: Also why do people think that Ippo is dead? There's nothing in the chapter to indicate that he's dead.  He just collapsed from the combination of getting hit, exhaustion, and his illness. 

[Spark Of Spirit]

I think the bigger reaction about this would be that it took Morikawa almost three decades to come to the same conclusion it took Kajiwara and Chiba five years to reach. Personally, I would have preferred not doing the same thing.

But I also think he should be given the benefit of the doubt. We don't really know where he's going with it yet.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

To be fair, Ashita no Joe and Hajime no Ippo are very different manga, tonally speaking, despite both being about boxing. Seeing a plot point like that happen to Joe is not all that shocking since his story was no stranger to hardships and tragedy right from the start.

Comparatively, Ippo's story has tended to be mostly light-hearted in contrast, so it doesn't surprise me that so many fans have been taken aback by this drastic shift in tone.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's a good point. That said, I'm not worried. He's been writing this for so long that I'm sure he knows what he's doing at this point.

In other news, Kentaro Yabuki's new not-To-Love-Ru series will be debuting in Jump+ in January. Here's hoping it's closer to Black Cat.

Also, lol @ the first comment.

[VLordGTZ]

To be fair, Ashita no Joe and Hajime no Ippo are very different manga, tonally speaking, despite both being about boxing. Seeing a plot point like that happen to Joe is not all that shocking since his story was no stranger to hardships and tragedy right from the start.

Comparatively, Ippo's story has tended to be mostly light-hearted in comparison, so it doesn't surprise me that so many fans have been taken aback by this drastic shift in tone.

The big thing I'm wondering is how Morikawa is going have Ippo return to boxing after this.  Based on what happens in chapter 1203, it seems like Ippo can still walk away from boxing and live relatively good life, so would he really risk returning to the ring?  That's the big issue I have with this direction, because just like how AnJ and HnI are different series tonally, Joe and Ippo drastically different characters with different motivations.  It's hard for me to imagine Ippo being willing to give up his own life for boxing like Joe did.

[VLordGTZ]

That's a good point. That said, I'm not worried. He's been writing this for so long that I'm sure he knows what he's doing at this point.

In other news, Kentaro Yabuki's new not-To-Love-Ru series will be debuting in Jump+ in January. Here's hoping it's closer to Black Cat.

Also, lol @ the first comment.

As long as Hasemi isn't attached to this new work, I'm down for it.  I want to see Yabuki write his own series again, because he has a really underrated talent for it.  We'll be hearing more about his new series at Jump Festa, so hopefully it's something interesting.

In other Jump+ related news, Astra Lost In Space is ending on December 30th.

The series has been heading towards its natural conclusion, so it's not too much of a surprise, but it's good to have an official confirmation.  I'm about 20 chapters behind, so I'm going to try to catch up before the conclusion. 

[Mustang]

I mean this is basically what I expected to happen to Ippo ever since the series hinted at his punch drunk syndrome.  Maybe it's because most people haven't read AnJ or forget that it's one of Morikawa's biggest inspirations, but were people really expecting Ippo to come out of this ok?  Honestly, I'm surprised how negative some of the reactions from "hardcore" HnI fans are.  They complained constantly about the series being at a status quo, and when Morikawa breaks from that to do something different, they say that they want to go back to the same status quo.  People are just never satisfied.   

EDIT: Also why do people think that Ippo is dead? There's nothing in the chapter to indicate that he's dead.  He just collapsed from the combination of getting hit, exhaustion, and his illness.

I don't know where the implications of him being dead in the ring came from, and I'm assuming "punch drunk" is basically the same thing as CTE? I only heard of it through the NFL and I don't know how soon one can die from it, but I guess that's where they're getting it from. But I have no idea.

As for my reaction, and while I've never seen of Ashita no Joe, Ippo was never a character I actually cared for, but he is what kept the story going (and I could at least get behind and root for), and I keep coming back to his character because as the main character I feel he was handled poorly. Now while I understand he just enjoyed boxing, but overall he had no goal. And truth be told, it's not him going out the way he did that bothers me. It's him losing to a nobody that's making me have that reaction. He's punch drunk, fine, but I'd rather him have a rematch against the #2 guy (what is his name) that he lost to the first time or Sendo, and have that type of defeat, but he lose to a nobody and it feels almost like a Ronda Rowsy type of defeat. He was suppose to become a BEAST!!! Joking aside, I did want to see him obtain a goal before having this type of defeat. He did tell what's her name that he would retire if he lost again.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yabuki stated that he wanted to go back to Black Cat for a while and tie up some loose ends, so if it's that I wouldn't object. He just had such a talent for action adventure that it's a shame he hasn't been able to do it for so long.

That's a good point. That said, I'm not worried. He's been writing this for so long that I'm sure he knows what he's doing at this point.

In other news, Kentaro Yabuki's new not-To-Love-Ru series will be debuting in Jump+ in January. Here's hoping it's closer to Black Cat.

Also, lol @ the first comment.

As long as Hasemi isn't attached to this new work, I'm down for it.  I want to see Yabuki write his own series again, because he has a really underrated talent for it.  We'll be hearing more about his new series at Jump Festa, so hopefully it's something interesting.

In other Jump+ related news, Astra Lost In Space is ending on December 30th.

The series has been heading towards its natural conclusion, so it's not too much of a surprise, but it's good to have an official confirmation.  I'm about 20 chapters behind, so I'm going to try to catch up before the conclusion. 

As someone who is keeping up with it, this is quite surprising.

Spoiler

The story is heading to its climax, but so much has to happen by the time they get back home that I'm really surprised it'll be able to wrap it up so quickly. I'm not sure how it can be done and still have it remain satisfying.

[close]

[VLordGTZ]

I don't know where the implications of him being dead in the ring came from, and I'm assuming "punch drunk" is basically the same thing as CTE? I only heard of it through the NFL and I don't know how soon one can die from it, but I guess that's where they're getting it from. But I have no idea.

As for my reaction, and while I've never seen of Ashita no Joe, Ippo was never a character I actually cared for, but he is what kept the story going (and I could at least get behind and root for), and I keep coming back to his character because as the main character I feel he was handled poorly. Now while I understand he just enjoyed boxing, but overall he had no goal. And truth be told, it's not him going out the way he did that bothers me. It's him losing to a nobody that's making me have that reaction. He's punch drunk, fine, but I'd rather him have a rematch against the #2 guy (what is his name) that he lost to the first time or Sendo, and have that type of defeat, but he lose to a nobody and it feels almost like a Ronda Rowsy type of defeat. He was suppose to become a BEAST!!! Joking aside, I did want to see him obtain a goal before having this type of defeat. He did tell what's her name that he would retire if he lost again.

Yeah, punk drunk's official medical term is "dementia pugilistica" which is a type of CTE.  I don't think there's a consistent period of time in which it can kill someone, but excessive impacts to the head severely worsen the condition and can eventually lead permanent brain damage.  The manga has already been confirmed to be continuing for the near future, so while Ippo promised he would quit if he lost again, I'm pretty sure something is going to cause him to continue regardless of the risk to himself.  The manga's end goal is very likely still going to be Ippo vs Martinez, though it's probably going to play out similarly to Joe vs Mendoza at this point.

[VLordGTZ]

Yabuki stated that he wanted to go back to Black Cat for a while and tie up some loose ends, so if it's that I wouldn't object. He just had such a talent for action adventure that it's a shame he hasn't been able to do it for so long.

Black Cat Part II has been something Yabuki has wanted to do ever since original ended, so I definitely wouldn't be opposed to it.  At the very least, I think he'll be taking break from ecchi harems for a while considering that he didn't want to do more To Love Ru right away despite Hasemi's insistence. 

[VLordGTZ]

Oricon's top selling manga of 2017 list is out.

1. One Piece 11,495,532
2. Attack on Titan 6,622,781
3. Kingdom 6,184,214
4. My Hero Academia 5,852,310
5. Tokyo Ghoul:RE 5,303,514
6. Haikyu! 5,067,939
7. Seven Deadly Sins 3,592,571
8. One-Punch Man 3,223,151
9. Food Wars! 2,792,441
10. Magi - The Labyrinth of Magic 2,713,074

Unfortunately, there was only a top 10 this year, but a guy on the MangaHelpers forums did a rough estimate of the series and sales numbers of the top 11-50 using Oricon and Shosekiranking sales data:

Spoiler

11 Detective Conan 2,321,126
12 Promised Neverland 2,093,790
13 3-gatsu no Lion 1,920,489
14 Black Clover 1,892,501
15 Ao no Exorcist 1,809,121
16 FAIRY TAIL 1,808,863
17 Diamond no Ace Act II 1,673,333
18 Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii 1,460,842
19 Dragon Ball Super 1,439,895
20 Major 2nd 1,425,722
21 Black Butler 1,403,592
22 HUNTER x HUNTER 1,365,417
23 Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen 1,364,991
24 Gintama 1,339,124
25 Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken 1,304,520
26 P to JK 1,228,431
27 Dungeon Meshi 1,225,788
28 Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 1,221,743
29 DAYS 1,216,742
30 BORUTO 1,206,518
31 Kimetsu no Yaiba 1,198,357
32 Kakegurui 1,181,393
33 Kimi ni Todoke 1,167,796
34 Komi-san wa, Community-shou desu 1,135,494
35 Yowamushi Pedal 1,121,123
36 JoJo Part 8: JoJolion 1,118,165
37 Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai 1,091,710
38 Shuumatsu no Harem 1,058,884
39 Tokyo Tarareba-jou 1,040,145
40 Mahoutsukai no Yome 1,016,131
41 Nigeru wa Haji daga Yaku ni Tatsu 1,010,590
42 Owari no Seraph 1,010,031
43 Saiki Kusuo no PSI Nan 992,909
44 Youjo Senki 970,146
45 Ajin 959,992
46 Chihayafuru 937,307
47 Terra Formars 935,581
48 World Trigger 929,495
49 Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare 914,311
50 Prison School 881,484

[close]

They also compiled numbers for some other notable Shueisha series:

Spoiler

Golden Kamuy 828,351
Yuragisou no Yuuna-san 679,228
Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai 269,783
Robot x Laserbeam 233,226
Dr. Stone 205,697

[close]

Of course, all of these numbers only account for physical volume sales.  For instance, Robot x Laserbeam is currently at 480,000 in combined physical and digital sales, so it definitely seems like digital is starting to have a much larger effect on overall sales.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Also noted is that sales for MHA, AoT, TG:Re, and Magi all went up for this year. Impressive when digital sales are only increasing.

[VLordGTZ]

YonkouProductions released a video where he talks about the early history of Weekly Shonen Jump and its mangaka.

It's only 20 minutes long so it doesn't cover everything of course, but I found it to be a pretty insightful video.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That was a great sum up of Jump's history. Very to the point, but it was extremely well done. A lot of the best series were highlighted, too.