Predictions for Weekly Champion in 2021

2021 is starting in a few days but for Weekly Shonen Champion and other magazines it has already begun but its never too late to do predictions for how the coming year will unveil. There are a few things already confirmed for 2021 and those are the second season for Mairumashita! Iruma-kun and the anime adaptation of the Vampire Dies in No Time. For the former, we know it will be airing in spring and for the latter we have yet to receive any indication of when it air in 2021. 

How will these anime play out for Champion?

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun will pick of straight from where it ended last this year where it ended with a tease of the start of the new arc.  I do not expect the series to receive another boost in sales but it might be possible since it will cover the content of the manga that really took the series to a wider audience. It is some of the most comedy and slice of life content of the series by development Iruma-kun relationship with other characters but also at same time it gives hints of various future developments. I believe the content covered in this second season is more interesting than the first season and it would be great to see it do well again, in order for it to receive more seasons in the future. 

The Vampire Dies in No Time by Bonnoki Itaru

The Vampire Dies in No Time anime adaptation comes late as the series will probably be by then six years old thought its better late than never. I have already made a post referring to what I think about the studio and the main staff including some of the cast. I also included it as one of the top comedy series to look forward to in a list in my anime blog. Perhaps that gives away quite a bit of how I believe this series will perform.

I think The Vampire Dies in No Time is a not only a rather good comedy series but I also believe anime adaptations of series like it have not been exactly prominent. There are many comedy series, do not get me wrong but not many gag centric series especially in its style, perhaps the closest being Osomatsu-san in recent times. I do not want to rehash why I think this is a series to look out for in 2021, so I will talk about my expectations for the waves it will cause. 

The Vampire Dies in No Time has a strong loyal following even if its sales do not seem too impressive at the moment, it has many goods and it was absurdly quick to meet its funding goal in the 50th anniversary crowdfunding project. The fact it was chosen to receive a project like that alongside Yowamushi Pedal and Baki already say a lot about the series, but the fact it achieved its goal within hours and it managed to double its goal by the end vastly outdoing the other two massively popular series. This illustrates how loyal and perhaps even fanatic some of its fanbase is and the great aspect that I think will be the pillar of its success will be its appeal to hardcore audiences such as fujoshi. The series, I would say already has a fujoshi audience since its fanbase seems to be largely female. The anime can be a way to expand this audience whilst netting other audiences as well which could mean a decent boost for the series. Whether this happens, we will see but it will be interesting to see how this develops in 2021 either way. 

In regards to new series -

Now for the first time we delve into unknown territory for the first time. Firstly, we know Itagaki Paru is returning with BEAST COMPLEX in the first issue to go on sale in 2021. It is a short series, however, so it probably will only be around for a a couple of issues in order to gather enough chapters for another volume release. Perhaps the question here is whether this will be a door for her return for a full series within 2021. I am not confident this will happen since she also is starting a short series in Manga Goraku and she could easily start a series there instead. In the end of the day, Itagaki Paru probably will not sit out for long but whether she will return to champion is a toss up, it might possibly depend on what she can draw about.

Referring more generally about new series is much harder since not many series are based of previously published one-shot most of the time at least. In regards to me some one-shot stood out, one of these was the Seishun Shout which returned as Heartbeat Shoot, the latest short series that ended in the latest issue. It obviously did not become an official series but I am confident it has the potential to in the near future. 

Kingmaker by Noda

Another one-shot that came a bit later than Seishun Shout is Kingmaker by Noda. Seishun Shout focused on Javelin throwing whilst King Maker is focused on Speed Skating, both unconventional sports.  Kingmaker also like Shout comes from one of Champion manga awards but it does not come from Next Champion but from Monthly Fresh, an overall lower scale award that has not produced many one-shots for the magazine in recent times. Kingmaker stands out in this regard and it was quite polished and the story somewhat refreshing since t focused on two main characters one of which is the Kingmaker, who therefore has a supportive role and of course the king. It is an interesting idea and the overall polish in terms of art and story is why I think this or another work by the author will probably be serialised in this coming year. 

The other one-shot that stood out for me was Madoromi by Hamayan, the grand prize winner of the 9th edition of Next Champion. It was a rather peculiar but incredibly special one-shot, the main character of the story is a about a bullied boy within his dream a creature shows up and it trains him on how to use telepathic powers, with his newly gained powers he seeks to fight against his bully. I will not spoil further since it actually is not as predicable as this set up might suggest. However, what i really liked about the story is its peculiar art style and panelling which gave it a certain unique feel which I value a lot in an artist. I can see this story serving as a serialised version but I am not sure it would have the same impact, so I am not as confident in it being serialised in 2021 but I can see the author returning with something more fit for a serialisation.  All together these are three series that I can see being serialised in this coming year. 

Madoromi by Hamayan

Series that will be ending -

Rokudou no Onnatachi is definitely a series that is lined up to end in 2021. It has reached a climatic point in its story and whilst it could go on for much longer it seems to be treading towards a conclusion instead. It should end late next year to be more specific and it will be a rather disappointing end to a series that the editorial department probably feels like could have achieved a lot more. On the other hand, Nakamura will be free to explore other ideas for series and I am sure he has many just going by his past one-shots. 

Anime predictions - 

Atsumare! Fushigi Kenkyuubu by Masahiro Anbe

I do not actually have a lot of hopes for anime announcement but I want to relish at the possibility of two series receiving anime adaptations. One of these is Atsumare! Fushigi Kenkyubu, a series that is reasonably popular and Masahiro Anbe previous work Squid Girl received an anime which was reasonably popular. Atsumare! is not really like Squid Girl but it is a comedy ecchi series with romance and harem sub-tones and it generally feels like a stable series for anime since it is a common anime genre. I am sure it is the series most apt for an anime in the current lineup of Champion. 

'Ippon' Again by Muraoka Yuu

The other is 'Ippon' Again which is a pipe dream of mine to be honest. It is a series that would work well as an anime by in sense appealing to the crowd that enjoys slice of life series with girls which are a large audience. The series however is not popular enough but it has continued its run in Champion against all odds and to my happiness. It is a great sport series that breaks the mold of other shounen sports that are usually about winning and growing stronger, 'Ippon' Again is about friendship and enjoying doing judo together not really about rivalries and beating everyone to be the best. In a sense it touches a different side of sport that involves leisure instead of the usual competitive aspect that invovles beating down rivals to get stronger, this does not mean it is not about getting stronger, because it is actually but in comparison to oneself whilst enjoying it. I am not the first to draw this comparison but it resembles series like Yawara and Judobu Monogatari both seinen sports series that similarly to 'Ippon' Again do not necessarily focus solely on the competitive aspect of the sport. They instead relish on exploring the actual daily routine of the group members practicing not necessarily because they are ambitious at being the best but because they enjoy it. In sense this shows to the reader how much the author loves Judo. I would love to see an anime of this gem. 

What will definitely get an anime announcement - 

The Dangers in My Heart by Sakurai Norio

The Dangers in My Heart by Sakurai Norio will definitely have an anime announced in 2021. It has continued to grow and for the happiness of many readers it has become a bi weekly series cutting by half the wait between chapters. I am not here just to remind why this manga is an enjoyable read but its rapid rise in popularity and its shift in schedule to pump out chapters and subsequently volumes with more frequency which resulted even in the end of Rororro! her other work is probably a sign. It might be a bit too much to see in these events a push for the series to get content out more quickly for a anime adaptation to be possibly but it seems exactly like that even the volume releases are becoming more frequent. For these reasons alongside how popular this series is and how much eyes it has on it at the moment, an anime is almost inevitable at this point. It is not technically a series from Champion but it began it did begin in the magazine and it broke off to become the pillar of Manga Cross. 

Series that might take off in 2021 -

Yankee JK Kuzuhana-chan by Toshinori Sogabe

Yankee JK Kuzuhana-chan is my biggest bet to grow and become an important series for the magazine. It is a stable harem romance series and whilst that might be a genre that people look down upon it is one that attract many readers and usually have good sales as a result. Kuzuhana-chan has found this through its good sales so far, and reprints are a good sign for the future since it is actively growing in popularity.  This is a promising title for champion because just like I mentioned with Atsumare! Fushigi Kenkyuubu harem ecchi series like this are a common feature for the anime market so naturally it continues growing into an anime is a decent possibility. It is a potential star for the future if it can keep growing. 

A long post but if you have reached this point congratulations and happy holidays. 

 

Thoughts on Manga Cross

 Manga Cross is the platform Akita Shoten unveiled in 2018. It was a fusion of Champion Tap and Champion Cross. The merge of the two was a natural step to take focus all its digital efforts on one platform instead of at many different ones. The platform has just passed its second anniversary and I wanted to talk about how it is doing, its achievements and failures and most importantly analyse its future and where it could go.

First of all lets list out all the notable on-going serialisation on Manga Cross at the moment -

The Dangers in My Heart - Bi Weekly
Creature Girls - A Field Journal in Another World - Monthly
Oritsue Taishi - Another World Creatures Girls Survival Journal - Spin Off - Monthly

Dai Kyochu Rettou - Bi weekly 

Maou no Musume Sugoku Choroi - Biweekly

Hitomi-chan Hitori Mishiri - Monthly

Majo Senpai Nichijou - Biweekly

Kawaii Kouhai ni Iwasaretai - Weekly/Biweekly

Umigui - Biweekly

Yuushun no Mon 2020 - Weekly

Cross Over Rev - Bi weekly

Kanmuri-san no Toukei Koubu - Monthly/Biweekly

The Love and Creed of Sae Maki - Monthly

My Boss is Goofy - Biweekly

Tsugaru Senpai no Aomori Meja Meshi - Biweekly

Ohime-sama no Ohime-sama - Monthly

Dolphin - Biweekly

Haken no Ninja Akabane - Monthly

Kamiina Botan , Yoeru Sugata wa Yuri no Hana - Monthly

Ohitsurisama - Biweekly

Saint Seiya Episode G Requiem - Irregular

I left out some series that have more irregular releases that have not received a new volume in a while.  

Some of these series like Creature Girls came from Champion Cross and they already had some success there. The rest are all new series that begun and found success in Manga Cross. 

There are also two new series that started recently

Usotsu Kitsune Ai Hanashi - No clear schedule yet

Looking at this Manga Cross has probably more series then a magazine but at the same time the schedule varies significantly which means volume releases are not as often as the main magazine. But most importantly it has a wide variation of series that would be impossible to achieve in a magazine. It has series in so many genres such as yuri, adult, gore, romcoms, sports, yankee, shoujo romance, comedy. Of course, this helps it achieve success. In particular many of these series sell reasonably well matching series of WSC and sometimes even surpassing them. In itself this is not a surprise, after all digital platforms are growing as reading manga in smartphones and similar devices become much bigger. Plus they are also interlinked with social media primed for sharing, in a way that your usual manga series with in a physical magazine is not.

One of the good things Manga Cross has done is that it is a platform with significantly more attention then its predecessors. Champion Tap was basically dead and it barely had only a couple of series update regularly whilst Cross was much better in that it had some successful series but it still had not many series. Manga Cross has way more active series than just a combination of the two and I am sure that is because it has the attention Akita Shoten much more than Tap and Cross that felt like side things that they remembered every once and while. 

It has also become a more attractive platform which has attracted more experienced authors though still mostly authors which previously had ties with Akita Shoten. There are particular authors to highlight here, the first one is Umigui's author Fujisawa Yuki, He is a veteran author with a lot of experience in champion magazines with many long serialisations under his belt.  This year he started Umigui in Cross, his first work outside a physical magazine and its first volume released not long ago. 

Likewise, this is the case for Taro Chiaki, who has many experiences with long serialisation in Monthly Champion. He started Maou no Musume Sugoku Choroi earlier this year and its first volume is releasing this month. There other cases but the significance of these two cases is that veterans were attracted to Manga Cross instead of another physical magazine. It makes the the platform more attractive to see these authors with experience, who create stable works. I dare say that these authors migrated to Manga Cross because it is  more promising then something like Monthly Champion because it has the opportunity to give more exposure than the niche that buys those magazines. Part of this is that these digital platforms are more accessible due to the lack of a paywall to read the initial chapters. 

Attracting these veterans also contrasts it from Champion Tap and Champion Cross that more often turned to unexperienced even amateurish authors, probably for reasons i have cited before it had not real attention given to them. Of course, Manga Cross also has newbies but they tend to be more polished and with the expansion of Cross and the vast amount of talented manga authors publishing on twitter and other social medias it has more attraction to bring them to the platform. 

I do realise that there is still a limitation probably of human resources for Manga Cross.  The limitation in resources could be easily solved if Manga Cross possibly received its own editorial department to only manage it. It could even come at the cost of other magazines that I feel have no future. Magazines are shrinking and I am not really brought onto the idea that they are really selling significantly digitally to compensate for the loss in print sales. Manga magazines are too big and culturally important to mostly die off like they did in China and Korea in place of digital platforms but a smaller publisher like Akita Shoten has less to lose from taking the chance, especially since Manga Cross with a just a bit more attention than Tap and Cross has grown substantially.  

This attention could result in a lot more series, since at the moment it does not have a lot of series. It does not have a new work updating every day,  at the moment it pads out its releases with magazine series re-serialising. This is more difficult to guarantee but it follows on from the previous point; the more resources, attention and management it receives from Akita Shoten, the more it can become more attractive for authors. In fact it already has become better at that as I have previously explored but they should strive for more. 

WSC 2020 Thoughts

2020 has been a peculiar year that definitely stands out from any previous year because of the circumstances we have had to live and still continue to live with at the moment. But we are not here to look at what happened in the world but at what happened to Weekly Shonen Champion. So lets stop wasting time and begin analysing.  

Winter - 

A terrific season for Champion, not only was the Mairimashita! Iruma-kun anime airing and a giving the series a sales boost, it also was when its successful spinoff Makai no Shuuyaku Wareware begun. The rises of the spinoff and its sales alongside the main series to the rank of highest selling series in the magazine crowned Iruma as the new sweet heart of the magazine. Iruma had an incredible journey, as I have highlighted in another post, so it is an even greater achievement for it have reached the status it currently has. 

As well as this there was of course, the serialisation of Koe and Meika. Both series that come from twitter and niconico respectively.  It signalled a new movement by the magazine to bring series that started outside of it in the internet. Needless to say these series found reasonable success in sales, the former especially. A important factor for this was that they already had an audience for themselves before they begun serialisation therefore they started already in a better chance than an usual series. I do think these series would be better served in Manga Cross instead of the main magazine but Manga Cross is probably not a massive source of attention for Akita Shoten yet. I do believe it needs to receive more and more attention however. 

Spring - 

The season of flowers and graduation in Japan was a quieter one for Champion. Iruma-kun's anime ended and with it came the announcement of a second season for the following year. A month after, there was the surprising news of The Vampire Dies in No Time anime adaptation which I have also made a blog post about. The series has always seemed like it was primed for an anime especially after polling high in many series we want to see animated ranking. 

In regards to new series, we had Yankee JK Kuzuhana-chan by Sogabe Toshinori standout. Toshinori is a veteran he had done the Magical Site Sept spin-off which was serialised in Champion Tap as well as works in Monthly Shounen Champion but this was his first time in Weekly Shonen Champion  and in a weekly magazine in general. Needless to say his experience shows and the series is incredibly stable and reminds me of Romcom harems of the past but with the touch of the recent yankee girl trend. 

Summer - 

A quiet season all in all. Tougen Anki by Urushibara Yura began right at the end of spring. It has managed to sell reasonably well and perhaps surprisingly was the fact that Urushibara Yura had not previously published anything or even won an award from what I have researched. It is resounding success that he or she is able to debut and find success so rapidly. Apart from that there was no really anything else in summer that was notable. 

Fall -

The current season we find ourselves in at the moment. The end of Beastars came to a surprise to some and of course it will be dearly missed because it was a rather huge success for the magazine but Itagaki Paru is coming back in due time. In fact probably in a month or two at most now for another round of Beast Complex. 

Aside from that there was the debut of a new round of new series of which two were previously published one-shot in the magazine in the past year. Usotsuki Android is a romcom with a female main character which is rather unusual for a shounen magazine but it is a cute sweet comedic story. The  Suiyou Dou Deshou collab with Champion return for a few more chapters but has already ended at this time. Last but not least was the debut of Hagure Yuusha Isekai no Bible, an isekai story, not the first since there was in 2016 Houkago Wizard Club, but it is the first since the trend really exploded.  The jury is still out for the remaining two series of this three series round but it seems promising so far. 

Concluding Thoughts - 

A good year for champion, it found new hits two of which it plucked from the net. However, on top of that Yankee JK Kuzuhana-chan and Tougen Anki also have shown sign of a success. It does seem like the new head editor might have hit a stride in these last two years after the pitiful 2017 and 2018 when it came to new hits. Lets hope there are more adaptations lined up but I am sure that is on the hands of the media department and sales department as well.