Shonen Jump's New Series Shows How Early Cancellation Is Changing Manga
It's a well-known fact among manga fans that Shonen Jump has a knack for cutting off and canceling new series before they even have a chance to shine. As a result of this status quo, new manga authors (mangaka) are forced into delivering a compelling and perfect story right from the get-go, lest their series end up in Shonen Jump's dreaded «Under 19 Club». Shonen Jump's newest series, Aliens Area, debuted earlier this week and shows just how much the fear of cancellation is affecting the manga industry.
Written and illustrated by Fusai Naba, Aliens Area follows Tatsumi Tatsunami, an orphaned teenager living in Tokyo whose arm has been infected by an alien substance, giving him powers similar to One Piece's Luffy. The story covers many of the same beats expected from the shonen genre, except it hits them all in the first chapter. The pilot feels rushed because of this, but it could be part of Naba's strategy to avoid cancellation.
Related: Shonen Jump Traded Two Incredible Manga For Duds
Setting the entire stage in the premier chapter, which other manga series tend to do in three to five, allows Naba to waste no time telling their story. Tatsumi's world has been established and immediately flipped upside down, and now Aliens Area is able to kick off right from its second chapter. As long as the story delivers with no lulls, the series has a better chance to grow than even One Piece would in today's Shonen Jump environment.
At the same time, however, if the pacing doesn't slow down and glosses over what should be the series' compelling moments, prospective readers will quickly lose interest, and Aliens Area will get canceled well before it reaches its 19th chapter. Manga fans have noticed a trend with Shonen Jump manga
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