Mag Talk Weekly Shonen Jump [2014] - Discussion and TOC Talk

[Kaizou 10]

I might be the only one thinking this but I think that by WSJ standards these are mediocre sales for World Trigger considering it's on its 4th volumes already. If the series continues getting an increase of around 15,000 copies in sales for its first week when volumes get out then it might only reach 100,000 around volume 7~8 which by WSJ standards is painfully low especially considering this is a Sci-Fi / action series.

Jump didn't really had much huge success on sci-fi series for long time, so it really isn't that surprising for WT having low sales.

 

[vinceled]

Jump didn't really had much huge success on sci-fi series for long time, so it really isn't that surprising for WT having low sales.

Didn't know that (haven't been following WSJ series or even ToC for that long).

On another note after quickly looking at Stealth Symphony raws c01 it looks like the first chapter is actually a follow up of the one shot. (Base on the female lead? appearance which is the same as the last two pages of the oneshot)

 

[Kaizou 10]

Didn't know that (haven't been following WSJ series or even ToC for that long).

I believe the last successful sci-fi action series is Houshin Engi (mid-90s). If you look at just sci-fi, then To Love-Ru.

On another note after quickly looking at Stealth Symphony raws c01 it looks like the first chapter is actually a follow up of the one shot. (Base on the female lead? appearance which is the same as the last two pages of the oneshot)

Raw for Stealth Symphony is already available? Or are you talking about chinese scanlaion.

 

[jagman1x3]

Didn't know that (haven't been following WSJ series or even ToC for that long).

On another note after quickly looking at Stealth Symphony raws c01 it looks like the first chapter is actually a follow up of the one shot. (Base on the female lead? appearance which is the same as the last two pages of the oneshot)

I found it funny that compared to the oneshot, there's almost no text at all despite being from a LN author. I mean, it's still more than a lot of Jump series would have, but the oneshot was practically a novel unto itself. Eagerly awaiting Monday so I can read it in VIZ's WSJ.

 

[DeidaraGrimmjow]

I found it funny that compared to the oneshot, there's almost no text at all despite being from a LN author. I mean, it's still more than a lot of Jump series would have, but the oneshot was practically a novel unto itself. Eagerly awaiting Monday so I can read it in VIZ's WSJ.

Mind sharing where you read it?

 

[jagman1x3]

Mind sharing where you read it?

Let's just say that being a Manga Editor comes with several perks and leave it at that in the interest of legality. Public raws should be out soon, though.

 

[RafaFedKilla]

Jump NEXt is bimonthly as in twice a month or once every two months?

 

[jagman1x3]

Jump NEXt is bimonthly as in twice a month or once every two months?

Once every two months.

 

[vinceled]

I found it funny that compared to the oneshot, there's almost no text at all despite being from a LN author. I mean, it's still more than a lot of Jump series would have, but the oneshot was practically a novel unto itself. Eagerly awaiting Monday so I can read it in VIZ's WSJ.

I'm actually glad there is less text. The oneshot was overkill... With the way the series is right now I might even be able to actually read it in Japanese (if I'm not too lazy)

---------- Post added at 08:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 PM ----------

I believe the last successful sci-fi action series is Houshin Engi (mid-90s). If you look at just sci-fi, then To Love-Ru.

Raw for Stealth Symphony is already available? Or are you talking about chinese scanlaion.

Well, Jagman explained it all in his answer... let's just say being a Manga Editor comes with certain perks...

 

[Kaiten]

I was thinking that too, the series will probably never pass the bar of the 200,000 thousand copies sold in first week. And well considering the other series in Jump ToC there is no way for it to suddenly become that big. It would have done so otherwise.

On another note I'm actually quite surprised by the sales Magico had. Back then the series had a lot of color pages in the first 40 chapters which showed it was popular but the first week sales for the volumes I found on the MH were these :

Magico #1 32,023
Magico #2 21,622
Magico #3 23,857

Volume 4 having roughly the same number and well it's actually a lot less than WT 3~4 first week sales. Intriguing. It looks like WT success resides within a long run and the ability of the author to actually make a really interesting story, contrary to most other series that start with a really interesting concept but end up burning out too fast

Maybe the same will happen to "Illegal Rare" (though I'll probably drop the series after c03 if it's as boring as c02).

An anime could always boost sales. Kuroko was on a similar sales track until the second cour of season one. That is obviously a long shot, but still possible. There's nothing really wrong with World Trigger's trajectory. As long as it continues ranking in the middle of the magazine it could have a nice, respectable run. There is nothing wrong with lasting four or five years, with 25 - 30 volumes, and an anime.

 

[SharkBait]

I thought world trigger has potential to be a bit of a bigger sellar than the norm in its group, assuming it could get an anime. Sci-fi is an area that isnt really explored much so I imagine there are tons of people desiring it and would be receptive of it if given the chance.

 

[Kaiten]

I believe the last successful sci-fi action series is Houshin Engi (mid-90s). If you look at just sci-fi, then To Love-Ru.

Neither are sci-fi. Houshin Engi is supernatural action, based loosely on the Chinese classic Fengshen Yanyi. There are some loose science fiction elements, but if Houshin Engi is science fiction, than so is Dragonball Z. ToRa is an ecchi luvcome. Calling it a sci-fi manga just because the female lead was a bishoujo alien is a huge stretch. Jump historically has not serialized a lot of science fiction manga. It's not that sci-fi can't be popular, the genre rarely has a chance. Other than World Trigger, the only recent sci-fi manga I can think of are St&rs and Psyren. St&rs was not canceled because of genre, it was canceled because it was a bad Uchuu Kyoudai rip-off. Japanese fans saw through the facade. Psyren was a grab bag of sci-fi and tournament action. It managed to last a few years. Other than that I can not think of any proper, recent sci-fi manga. I guess you could add Corrector M&Y and Junbor to the list, but that's going back a pretty long time. It's kind of strange to attribute failure to genre, when the genre in question is so mundane, such a long time staple of Japanese pop culture. That would be really strange if Jump readers categorically rejected nearly every example of a genre so popular for so long in every medium of entertainment. The lack of sci-fi (and romance) titles seems to be more from the editorial side, offering very few new titles, rather than reader preference.

Bulge is not a good example of sci-fi either. It really is no different than One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, or Dragonball, a supernatural tournament manga set in a fantasy world. The fantasy world happens to be an alien planet, but if the setting were changed to ninja world, Soul Society, or Grand Line nothing would have to be changed. The sci-fi setting was incidental to the story, a gimmick meant to spice up an otherwise formulaic adventure title.

 

[SharkBait]

One has to kind of wish the editors could be swapped out for more new gen manga oriented folks who would be willing to give sci-fi, mecha, actual Mystery, series a try.

Perhaps it was a surprise when some rather fresher concepts like Soul Catcher(s) appeared.

 

[Kaizou 10]

One has to kind of wish the editors could be swapped out for more new gen manga oriented folks who would be willing to give sci-fi, mecha, actual Mystery, series a try.

Are you mean mystery as detective story (like Conan and Kindaichi)? Or mystery as suspense with dark fantasy (like Death Note)?

 

[Kaiten]

One has to kind of wish the editors could be swapped out for more new gen manga oriented folks who would be willing to give sci-fi, mecha, actual Mystery, series a try.

Perhaps it was a surprise when some rather fresher concepts like Soul Catcher(s) appeared.

There is a pretty big difference between what is popular in Jump now, and what was popular when I started following this thread in 2006. The number of genres represented is far more varied now than it was six or seven years ago. Jump is much less dependent on Dragonball style action than it used to be.

Mystery seems to be out of style in general. I can't think of many examples of popular new series in manga, anime, or light novels. The last mystery manga I can really remember in Jump is Neuro. Conan, Kindaichi, and the like are a dying breed. Most of the remaining examples started serialization a very long time ago. The same can be said for yanki manga and anime. Same with yanki manga (and anime). That used to be a really popular genre, new examples (Crows isn't new) have gotten rare.

 

[SharkBait]

Are you mean mystery as detective story (like Conan and Kindaichi)? Or mystery as suspense with dark fantasy (like Death Note)?

Traditional mystery like Chousuinou Kei (never encountered conan or kindaichi before).

 

[Kaizou 10]

Traditional mystery like Chousuinou Kei (never encountered conan or kindaichi before).

I think the traditional detective story is very difficult for Jump. Jump tends to have series with very fast pace at the beginning and the detective story is pretty slow; the only successful detective series in Jump is Neuro (but, it isn't pure mystery series).

So, I think Jump having traditional mystery is very difficult.

 

[WyldViolet]

Crows isn't new

Crows is even older than I am. Who would consider that new?

 

[Kaiten]

Crows is even older than I am. Who would consider that new?

Someone might have been inclined to point out the ridiculous number of Crows spin-offs that have been serialized over the last few years.

 

[FanOfAniManga]

The last time we had a mystery manga in Jump was Enigma. It performed very high on the ToC for about the first 20 chapters. I don't know about volume sales, but its Amazon reviews mostly panned the series, if that's any indication. Some in the online community have also noted that the series had plagiarized some elements in the first few chapters of the story.

It just happened to get replaced by the first romcom since Hatsukoi back in 2008. And that's how the romcom made its comeback in Jump.