Shaman King Nation

On October 27th, the first volume of the “Shaman King Perfect Edition” will go on sale in Italy by Star Comics. The price will be  € 5.90 and will be released monthly.  It has also been confirmed that the cover art of the volumes will be exactly the same as the Japanese editions (including all of the original Japanese, and not including the publisher on the cover). Additionally,  the special “Oversoul Covers” which are a special removeable plastic cover overlay for each volume will also be included in each volume. It’s not confirmed if the binding art will remain the same as well.

We will continue to follow as new volumes are being released in Italy.

In the latest issue of Shonen Jump, Viz published chapter 16 of the Ultimo manga. This chapter was titled “Time Traveler Yamato.” You can read the first 25 pages of the chapter online at Viz’s website, which can be found here. The entire chapter of Ultimo can be read in the October 2010 issue of Shonen Jump, currently on newsstands in the USA and Canada. You can subscribe online at Amazon, or directly from Viz.

Viz has recently updated it’s website with a bunch of interviews and pictures from San Diego Comic Con 2010. You can read the full articles below:

http://shonenjump.viz.com/features/index.php?id=408

One of the biggest announcements is that “Part III” of the manga will be coming soon, starting in chapter 21, which will be released in JumpSQ in October. This would be the first chapter in volume 6 of the manga. Currently, chapter 20 will be released in Jump SQ on September 4th in Japan. This chapter would also complete the 5th volume of manga, which will be released in November 2010.

From the Oricon weekly rankings of manga volume sales in Japan, Ultimo was placed 15th for it’s first week of sale. The exact number of volumes sold was 39,313 copies. Volume 3 of the Ultimo series only sold 37,259 in it’s first week on the market.

Additionally, Shaman King volume 29 in English has been on the NY Times best selling manga list last month. This list doesn’t include all retailers, and doesn’t provide numbers of copies sold.

On August 4th, 2010 the fourth volume of the Ultimo manga series by Hiroyuki Takei and Stan Lee was released. This volume contained chapters 13-15.  There are no notable changes from the original chapters printed in JumpSQ.

In the next volume preview, Ultimo volume 5 is being listed as a November release date. This release date could be changed (as was with Ultimo volume 4) as we get closer to the actual release date.

In the September issue, the Ultimo chapter will be 46 pages long and contain a color page.

The September issue of Shonen Jump (Volume 8, issue 9), is a very unique issue for Hiroyuki Takei fans. In this issue there is both a chapter of Shaman King and Ultimo in the same issue. Shaman King chapter 258 “Extraordinary Days” is a special preview chapter for this one issue only. This chapter is the first chapter in volume 30, which is released on September 7th. There is an additional featire  as a recap of the Shaman Fight (written by Jason Thompson) included after the chapter. For online content, there is an additional article online for members of the Sub Club.

You can read a preview of the Shaman King chapter here. The entire chapter is included in the issue of Shonen Jump.

The Ultimo chapter this month was Chapter 15 “Battle at the Antique Shop.” Stan Lee’s spider references were very strong in this chapter. The only minor edit was the removal of Jealousy’s comment of “Shit!” which was replaced by “Grrr!”. There were no other edits in the chapter.

You can read a preview of the Ultimo chapter here. The full chapter was printed in the issue of Shonen Jump.

Finally, we HIGHLY recommend that you complete Viz’s reader survey, which can be found here (even if you didn’t buy the issue). Show your support for both Ultimo and the Shaman King series. You can also place your comments in the last field of the form. Your support for Hiroyuki Takei can help bring over even more of his works!

Yesterday, Viz held it’s annual Shonen Jump Panel at San Diego Comic Con, which covers details about current and upcoming releases. This year, new announcements were very limited, but some information about Shaman King and Ultimo were hinted at. Additionally, the Shonen Jump magazine will also be recieving a “face-lift” in December. This could include additional content online (such as online chapters), though this statement was not made at the time.

At 5:32 in the video, the question of “Will there be an end to Ultimo at some point?” was asked to the Shonen Jump Panel (not Takei). The response basically was it would be up to Takei when he feels the ending should be.

At 6:16 in the video the following was asked: “Are we going to be seeing the extended Kanzenban endings for Shaman King and DragonBall?” The response:

“Uh.. Do you mean Today…? Ever…? We’ve had a few fans ask… Do you want to see that? Do you know what he’s talking about? [*crowd cheers*] So in Japan after they put out the first manga in the magazine then it goes into regulat takoban format, after that, a few years later, after the series has ended, they collect it and do a nicer edition. Sometimes there is an alternate ending, or extra content, or stuff like that. So that’s what he is refering to. So there is one for Shaman King and Dragonball, and we haven’t published those here. But is that something you guys would like to see? [*crowd cheers*] I’ll officially put that on the consideration list.

At 11:14 in the video, the panel announces that Stan Lee wasn’t feeling well, but their surprise was Hiroyuki Takei would make an appearance instead.

Joel: First off, new cover [of Shonen Jump USA], right there. Really quickly volume 2 just came out this month, number 3 is coming out in December here. So what were your first impressions seeing the book in English?

Takei: So my answer to what I think about it… So when work is translated into English it becomes something of it’s own entity. So that would also influence how awesome a series is as well. So I really honestly hope all of you study Japanese.

Joel: So in Shonen Jump magazine we are a little bit into Part 2 of the story now. And part 1 is finishing up in the graphic novels. So without giving any spoilers is there anything cool you can tell us that’s happening? Part 1 was really epic story. What do we have coming in Part 2 that you can talk about?

Takei: [*Takei laughing*] The interesting thing about chapter 2 is that it won’t get interesting until chapter 3. [*crowd laughs*] But! But! I promise you Part 3 is going to be really, really awesome! [*crowd applause*] I’m always constantly searching for something in the darkness… blindfolded completely… but finally I recently reached this path that’s definately going to be kick ass. So please look forward to that and please bear with Ultimo. [*Takei laughs, crowd cheers*]

On Saturday, Viz’s Shonen Jump panel will be from 10:30am to 11:30am in Room 9 at San Diego Comic-Con International. Attending the panel will be the following people:

• Hiroyuki Takei (Creator of Shaman King, Jumbor, and Co-creator of Ultimo)
• Stan Lee (Head of POW Ent., Co-Creator of Ultimo)
• Mr. Kosuge (小菅) (Editor at JumpSQ)

We will have full coverage of the panel relating to various Takei series throughout the weekend. Please check back often.

On this coming Saturday morning Viz Media will be holding it’s “Shonen Jump” Press/Industry/Fan Panel at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). As mentioned in previous articles (Cite 1, Cite 2), Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei will both be making a return visit to the convention. Like last year, it is very likely that there will be a Q&A session with them, but there could also be a few announcements. The following is a series of PREDICTIONS of what COULD be announced at the panel (related to Hiroyuki Takei’s series). Please check back over the following days for more details of the panel and the convention.

Prediction 1: Announcement of “same month” Ultimo manga in english online
On Viz’s Shonen Jump website, they have a special area called the “Sub Club.” This area is designed for special extras for people to subscribe to the magazine each month. It’s very likely that Viz has worked out a way for the Ultimo manga to be uploaded in this area to be given as a free benefit for the people who subscribe to the magazine. The series would still be printed in the magazine, but it would give the benefit of a subscription-like service, but maintain actual hard copies. Additionally, they could catch up with Japan (and be in front of the magazine in the US) and have the same chapter released in Japan and the USA in the same month.
Estimated Release: October 2010

Prediction 2: Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang (Complete Edition) is announced
The sales for the Shaman King manga have been passable. Not knock your socks off, but do a bit better than break even. However, Viz is basically selling an incomplete product, and Shueisha wants to try to sell Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang as a brand new series. My prediction is that Viz has worked out an agreement and will begin to release the conclusion in 2-3 volumes. These volumes would be additions to the current running series, and be sold as a sequel, not a complete redraw of the series. This 3 volume set would be released bi-monthly, and contain a collection of the extras (Shaman Files, Last Words) from the KZB sets. They would be sold at a slightly higher premium price of $12.99 but would have several color pages in them in addition to the new chapters.
Estimated Release: March 2011

Predicition 3: Jumbor is announced for release
As Jumbor is just starting in Japan this month, Viz may want to continue it’s collection of Takei series (with SK and Ultimo) and grab this new series as well. How it will be released is something that is hard to predict. It could be online, it could be in Shonen Jump, it could be somewhere else. This could also include the original series of “Jyuki Ningen Jumbor” being released as well.
Estimated Release: October 2010 – May 2011

Prediction 4: Ultimo Anime is announced
When the series was originally announced, it was hinted at an anime would also happen as well. However, there has been little to no word on this happening. Viz could take this as a chance to announce that Ultimo will become an anime. However, rather than a full anime series, it will be a full feature length movie with a release in Spring/Summer 2011. This announce would be a rather big shock since it hasn’t even been hinted at, but we would welcome the surprise if it did!
Estimated Release: Spring/Summer 2011

So, those are my predictions of what could be announced this weekend. I hope for all of them to come true, but we are more likely just to get the first one. Be sure to check back later this weekend for all of the up-to-the-minute details from all of Hiroyuki Takei’s series!

On July 17th in Japan, the latest issue of Ultra Jump was released in Japan. With this month’s release begins the start of Hiroyuki Takei’s new series, “Jumbor” ( ユンボル -JUMBOR- ). This series is an continueation of his original series “Jyuki Ningen Jumbor” ( 重機人間ユンボル ) which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2007. This new adventure is more targeted to an older audience, and will follow Baru’s journey. The first chapter title is called “Scrap and Build.” The first chapter is 63 pages long and contains 3 color pages. The Ultra Jump August issue cover can be found to the left, and the first 3 pages of the manga can be found below.

Included with this issue of Ultra Jump is also 2 volume cover jackets for the upcoming reprint release of the original Jumbor series. The two volume set will include all 10 original chapters, the two oneshots for “Jumbor” from UJ and some new extras. The new covers are drawn by  Tenjin Hidetaka in the style of model kits found in Japan. The two reprint volumes (know as Angzengbang, or ユンボル 安全版 ) will be released on August 4th with Ultimo volume 4. Hiroyuki Takei continues to use extra letter “g” in his spelling for the reprint volume, which should be spelt “Anzenban”. This trend started with the Shaman King reprint volumes of “Kang Zeng Bang.”

Additionally, some retailers in Japan, with the release of this new Ultra Jump issue have another promotional campaign. This campaign is giving out free double-sided posters with the purchase of an Ultra Jump issue. A sample of these image can be found below. The poster is about 18 inches tall. This poster can be found at the following retailers:

• Yurindo (有隣堂)
• Junkudo (ジュンク堂)
• Kinokuniya (紀伊国屋)
• Tsutaya

In another promotional campaign, the store Toranoana (とらのあな) is giving out special Jumbor cards, which feature the artwork that is on the cover of the Ultra Jump issue. A sample of this card can also be found below.

Along with these promotions the retail covers for the Jumbor reprint volumes were also released, both which feature Baru on them. These covers can be placed next to each other for an overlapping image. They are positioned so either order would show a complete image. These covers are also posted below.

Click the images below to see the full image.

Sources:

http://comicsoul.blog7.fc2.com/ (For promo card image and store locations)
http://ultra.shueisha.co.jp/ (Various information)
http://natalie.mu/comic/news/34899 (Retail Jumbor cover images)
http://www.yurindo.co.jp/info/1007ultra_jamp.html (Poster images and information)
Heiji-sama (Additional scans)