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. 

 

State of the magazine

Champion has been hit a stride recently with popular and series with good sales emerging and establishing themselves in recent years. I want to sketch in this post how I imagine the current situation of the magazine regarding the new hits and its position for the future.

First of I would like to base this analysis through series, so it will be separated in segments.

The Vampire Dies in No Time

Vampire Dies in No Time had an anime announcement not long ago, it also has been a established series in the magazine for close to 5th years already. It has always received support and cooperated with other popular series in the magazine namely Jitsu wa Watashi wa and more recently Mairimashita! Iruma-kun. In terms of its place and how it plays in for the magazine current situation it is a series with promise and the anime could give the magazine another hit if it fulfils its promising status.

Mairimashita Iruma-kun

There is not much to say about Iruma, after its initial years it great to be an astounding success with the help of a stellar anime adaptation. It has become the best selling series in the magazine and its spin off is also one of the best selling series in the magazine. It really is a big hit and one of the pillars of the magazine at the moment and for the future as it looks like it could last a long while, in a sense its success serves to overshadow and pivot the magazine to the future as it looks past its older hits like Baki and Super Radical Family.

Koe ga Dasenai Shoujo wa [Kanojo ga Yasashisugiru] to Omotteiru

A new series but one that represents a different way to look for series. Koe is a series that found its popularity first online as it was shared online via twitter by its author. I highlight this because in essence this series is a safer bet to serialise as its has a degree of popularity but it also might bring people not familiar with champion to the magazine. I do think this something that will continue happening and probably expand if Koe finds success. In fact, however, Koe is not unique in this aspect Meika and Sachio had a similar route and occasionally artists are scouted via twitter by editors nowadays and it will only expand in the future. Hence, whilst this series is in itself not important at moment it signals a new sort of serialisation in Champion and magazines in general. However, at the same time it also highlights a potential gloomy aspect which I will highlight further on.

Yowamushi Pedal

Yowamushi Pedal is a very successful series and it still holds a great deal of importance to the magazine. It has however declined in sales and that was to be expected from its peak a few years ago now especially as there is no news of a new anime. It has a live action film set for this year and whilst it might renovate interest in the series and increase sales again, I can not say I am confident. Regardless of that Pedal is not going anywhere any time soon, its position in the magazine is still firmly of a central pillar even after over 10 years and I do not see this changing in the near future.

Worst Gaiden Guriko

A spin off of a popular series, for the future this series shows together with Makai a future that I am not particularly excited for, a magazine with spin off of popular series. I prefer this series to be in side magazines as well but their sales and popularity have propped up the magazine and its probably going to continue being a trend.

Appare! Urayasu Tekkin Kazoku

A big hit series, but one that has lost a that status in the magazine in recent years. The recent drama brought a new highlight but I expect the series to continue to be a mid level series in the magazine which will end when Hamaoka decides its time.

BEASTARS

Like Iruma-kun, one of the newest biggest hits in the magazine, however, unlike Iruma its close to its ending so its place in the future of the magazine depends heavily on the following work of Itagaki Paru and whether it will be in Champion or not. However, at the moment it is one of the biggest hits of the magazine and a sustaining pillar of the magazine but probably not for much longer.

Atsumare! Fushigi Kenkyuubu

Masahiro Anbe's latest hit that started in the same new series round. It is a successful series but one which has potential if given an anime, but at the moment its firmly a secure series in the middle of the magazine. It can continue for much longer, so it probably still has a long way to go for any ending.

Harigane Service Ace

The sequel to the popular series Harigane Service, at this point the series sales have declined significantly from its past glory but it will continue to run in the magazine for the coming future or at least one to two years. I however, only see it as a middle pack series which is past its best especially if it is not given any anime adaptation or similar.

SHY

A new series that might eventually become a standout series but at the moment its struggling to establish a clear position in the magazine, part of this originates from its lack of substantial growth in sales according to shoseki. Its future is up in the air and I am not personally confident in saying this will be a new standout hit but a middle pack series.


Rokudou no Onnatachi

Rokudou is by all means a middle tier success in the magazine and it is undoubtably quite far into its story, so it should head towards end in the near future. So in short it a sales that sustain the magazine in the middle tier but one which will probably never become big enough to be a pillar of the magazine.


Overall -

The magazine features all these series with varying degrees of importance and potential for the future. However, Champion is probably in a rather decent spot at the moment, the recent hits of beastars, and iruma-kun have given the magazine new big hits that it had not had in a while. However, it also has shifted to relying on series from the internet and spin offs for what i assume is safer bets for success and whilst former is not technically and issue i do find an issue with the latter.

Champion currently has two novel spins offs and two manga spin off, whilst the novel are harmless because they occupy only a couple of pages the series take a slot that could be given to a original work, potentially a successful one. It is a fall back measure for safety and I can understand in this difficult period for magazines that they seek safety instead of taking more risks. its normal and common in fact other shounen magazines tend to serialise things that they have found success with before. However, obviously this is only a problem because of the limited size of the magazine and you might know what I am trying to hint at here. I believe digital platforms for manga will only grow bigger, not only because they have no clear demographic so they can appeal to wider audiences and are in fact more convenient.

Akita Shoten has dipped in to the water with Manga Cross but it does not reach the level of other platform like Jump+ and the likes. It has various series of various genres that target differences audiences and it also has a re-serialisation of Ika Musume, Crows and AI no Idenshi for people that register in the platform.  I do think they should expand and republish their older series this way. They also occasionally have series from WSC feature at least some chapters for a limited period of time and I think they should do this from the onset as the series begins it serialises up to 1 or two volumes of chapter so it could give these titles more chance of exposure from the onset. 

This in fact makes me wonder to the digitally dominated comics market in Japan asian neighbours which instead of offering free to read with limitations to coerce people into buying the physical volumes, in these places there is less of an emphasis on this. In fact, they instead focus on monetising chapters after a certain threshold with usually cost small amounts of money but with the amount of readers it is worth it. I do know these webtoons can and are occasionally released physically but it is often a second thought and not all series receive this. Of course, the predominance of digital allows publishers and authors to cut out the manufactures and vendors and keep a large part of the profit for themselves. In addition, it also makes second hand sales impossible which is an annoyance for the publishers in Japan.

I do not think the Japanese market will transition to something resembling its neighbour but I do believe digital platforms will become bigger and not smaller, so Manga Cross has probably a more promising future than the WSC itself. However, I do feel like the magazine is in a good spot at the moment but I am not optimistic about the future and I see a shift towards a digital platform as the future for smaller publishers. 

DIssecting the Magazine - Mairimashita! Iruma - The Star has arrived.

Mairimashita Iruma-kun began in Issue 14 in 2017 of Champion. Its has had a bumpy ride to its current position as the one of the best selling series in Shonen Champion. Its debut in march in 2017 came as a surprise perhaps because it was a fantasy school life manga, genres that have not traditionally made significant success in Champion.

Start and Limbo

However, Mairimashita! Iruma-kun found an audience and its first few volumes sold relatively well according to data from shoseki. Its placements in the magazine somewhat contrasted this as whilst it initially received a opening colour page for its volume 1 release, it after this initial push by the editorial department it was left often in low placements. It seemed like the series had fallen to back seat and was possibly in even danger of cancellation as it often drifted towards the bottom of the table of contents. It came to end of its first year of existence in this limbo state. It did not seem like it had a significant future in the magazine even if its sales were not poor.

2018 and Reprints -

2018 was a year that led to a completely different scenario for the series, it started in the same trend as 2017 in the bottom of the magazine more often than not and with a complete lack of colour pages. However,  volume 6 release marked a different scenario when all volumes of the series were finally reprinted for the first time. Moving onwards from this it started to find it itself more often in middle of the magazine throughout most of the remainder of 2018 eventually receiving an opening colour page to celebrate the release of volume 7. This did not mean a complete change as it still often featured in the middle and sometimes in the bottom part of the magazine however whilst it did not receive significant attention or promotion yet it continued receiving reprints and growing in sales from volume to volume. 2018 was by all means the year in which Iruma turned its fortune as it started as a cancellation candidate and ended it as a established middle tier series in the magazine. However, 2019 would bring even more surprises for this series.

Becoming an Idol in 2019

The year started hot coming directly of the rise sales of the previous year and the series expanding popularity. It quickly received a opening lead colour page in the first December double issue and it was soon followed by the volume release in February with the anime announcement in another opening colour page. This trend of colour pages would continue throughout the year. In addition to this Iruma-kun placement soon started to be on the higher end spectrum, it still sometimes had middling position but it was now rarely ever in the bottom part.

After the anime announcement came its participation in the masterpiece revival project and a interview with Osamu Nishi in the magazine, both things that highlighted the series had a growing star power in the magazine. In addition to this its first popularity poll had started.

Part of this highlight in the magazine came from its growing sales showcased by the rise of circulation numbers which were at 900k at volume 11 and by volume 13 had reached 1.2m before the anime had aired. This continued by the time of the release of the anime it had reached 1.5 million copies in print, an incredible milestone for a manga that had been previously in limbo in the magazine.

The anime started airing in October and not only had did it air in NHK-E and had a prime time slot at 17:35 something a champion series had not had since Gaki Deka in 1980s. It found significant success and gave a major sales boost to the series.

Achieving the status of a major player in Champion.

The year started with increasing sales with circulation numbers increasing rapidly reaching 2.5m by the end of January. it was given a renewed boost in popularity after reruns in the holidays in the start of the year. Alongside this boost in popularity came its first cover in Champion and another popularity poll and the milestone of 3 million copies in print by the end of the anime, which announced a second season for the following year. A few months after we not only close to the release of volume 17 and the results of the 2nd popularity poll another cover its second in a few months but it also revealed the series reached the 4m copies in circulation milestone, an incredible achievement.

This success made it one of the biggest series in the magazine and it has received a spin off currently running together with the main series in Champion with another one planned for the future. Its was a somewhat arduous path that Iruma since it started off well but dropped off but eventually found it strides from 2018 onwards until this current peak in 2020 which might not be a peak at all yet.

Thoughts on Mairimashita! Iruma-kun Anime

There has been news about Iruma-kun's anime. In a incredibly shock, it will actually air in NHK-E. NHK-E is sister channel of NHK General TV and obviously both are operated by public company NHK - E which stands for education. It is a channel aimed at the younger audience. A key point of NHK-E is that it is a nation wide open terrestrial channel for everyone since its a public TV station but of course the viewer has to have paid the TV license fee. Other channel do not necessarily have the same broad reach NHK has, so obviously this will provide Iruma with nation wide exposure.

Iruma-kun will be the first Weekly Shonen Champion to air in NHK-E. It will also be only the first tv series by champion to air in daytime since Black Jack and prior to that was Gaki Deka.

NHK-E, or E tele, has a long past of airing animated works not only Japanese but also foreign works.  Recent anime adaptation that aired in the last few years were Log Horizon, Kyokai no Rinne, Classicaloid, Major 2nd, Radiant all these within the Saturday 17:35 TV Slot.

Baby Steps anime aired in 2014 April. It aired in 17:30 on Sunday. Currently, this slot is occupied by Thomas and Friends. There is a possibility of Iruma-kun airing in this time slot, since  the current and latest season Thomas and Friends, will end around September. However,  the chances are low simply because they might simply rebroadcast Thomas in that time slot until the following season has been completed in Britain.

Baby Steps Volume sales -
│*36238 (3)│*67517│------│------│------┃*67,517 (*10)┃2013/02｜ベイビーステップ 25
│*37882 (3)│*67225│------│------│------┃*67,225 (*10)┃2013/05｜ベイビーステップ 26
│*33584 (3)│------│------│------│------┃*33,584 (**3)┃2013/08｜ベイビーステップ 27
│*36225 (3)│*66443│------│------│------┃*66,443 (*10)┃2013/11｜ベイビーステップ 28
│*36507 (3)│*67856│------│------│------┃*67,856 (*10)┃2014/01｜ベイビーステップ 29
│*57463 (7)│------│------│------│------┃*57,463 (**7)┃2014/03｜ベイビーステップ 30
│*72973 (6)│*94711│------│------│------┃*94,711 (*13)┃2014/06｜ベイビーステップ 31
│*28424 (2)│*86105│------│------│------┃*86,105 (**9)┃2014/08｜ベイビーステップ 32
│*86953 (7)│109537│------│------│------┃109,537 (*14)┃2014/11｜ベイビーステップ 33
│*95096 (6)│------│------│------│------┃*95,096 (**6)┃2015/03｜ベイビーステップ 34
│*54626 (3)│104457│123009│------│------┃123,009 (*17)┃2015/05｜ベイビーステップ 35
│111117 (7)│138013│------│------│------┃138,013 (*14)┃2015/08｜ベイビーステップ 36
│*65174 (3)│122267│141377│------│------┃141,377 (*17)┃2015/10｜ベイビーステップ 37

I will not delve on aspects of the series as I have previously done already in previous posts.

Now lets look at the staff, of excellent quality I must add.

Director: Makoto Moriwaki (Pripara.Tantei Opera Milky Holmes)
Series Composition: Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (Pripara, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu Ka?, Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken)

Firstly, we have Makoto Moriwaki, a experienced director which has handled a lot of long series, popular series in the past. She and Kazuyuki Fudeyasu have worked together in the past. So they have experience and synergy which is very important between director and series compositor. the fact they have in worked together extensively in the past is uplifting for Iruma-kun.

Works like Pripara in which they collaborated were very successful, obviously it was based on a popular arcade game. it was an anime that was aimed at kids, it aired in the afternoon, but it was popular with people in other age groups as well. Iruma is rather different content wise from pripara and obviously its relatively obscure but previous experience by the key staff in handling family/children orientated series is great news.

The strength of Moriwaki lies in the fact her deep experience with popular anime geared at children which is what Iruma-kun will be trying to emulate. Fudeyasu on the other hand, has worked in many anime of different genres and audiences. He has vast experience and for me personally he has worked in many series, I have watched and enjoyed. As the series compositor, he will be handling the pacing amongst other important aspects so he will obviously play a big role on the quality of the series.

Character Design: Toshihiko Sano (Fairy Tail, Heybot)

Toshihiko Sano does not many works under his name, Fairy Tail and Heybot are the only previous character design work he has done. In Heybot he was one of the key staff handling many important tasks. Heybot was artistically pleasing, at least to me, it  had array of character designs. In addition the character designs in key visual look good and more polished but clearly resembled the manga's artwork.

Music: Akimitsu Honma (Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, Kyokai no Rinne)

Akimitsu Honma is again not someone with a wide list of works under his name, in anime at least. In the music production business he has an wide list of works, it seems to be his main job. There is not much I can say about him but he seems experienced in the music field so he should be able to do a good job.

Studio: Bandai Namco Pictures

Because the main staff are mostly composed of freelancers  there is not much to comment on the studio itself. BN Pictures is the studio tied to Bandai Namco. It was created when they decide to transfer all IP aimed at children and family orientated away from Sunrise. Some works under its name are Aikatsu, Gintama and the previously mentioned Heybot.

Whatever the end product ends up looking like the staff for me personally seems capable of delivering a good product. This is obviously a manga that NHK and other producers see potential in
 in pushing forward. It is a happy fun series that will be aiming directly at younger audiences so if it catches popularity it  could be a big win for Champion but we shall wait till Fall to see what happens.