Ultimo Removed from SJ USA, no new chapters for months

In a shocking turn of events, Ultimo has been removed from the monthly manga line-up of Shonen Jump USA. In the March 2011 issue (issue #3, available now at some news stands), on page 122 this announcement was printed. This single page announcement was stuck between chapters of Bleach. The leading lines of the announcement read; “You noticed it. You told us about it. You said you wanted it! We’re giving it to you!” In the previous issue (Feb 2011, #2), there was a preview for Ultimo in the upcoming March 2011 issue. Chapter 21 was not published in this issue. Chapter 21 will be published in volume 6, which has not been printed in Japan yet, and does not have a US release date and will not be released for at least 4 months.

There is an extra bubble near the title, (which refers to it as “Big Ultimo News”) which states that it is “Uncut! Uncensored! Unbound!” It is possible that the newer volumes of Ultimo may be more graphic and use more mature language than the Shonen Jump edition had. Previously Bakuman was censored for the Shonen Jump publishing, but fixed for the volume print. Ironically, Viz re-published Death Note chapter 2 in this issue and Hiroyuki Takei is listed for the cover art for the issue (though he has no artwork on the cover). Hiroyuki Takei’s previous series, Shaman King, was also cut early from Shonen Jump and given graphic novel-only treatment.

Ultimo volume 4 will go on sale March 1st, 2011 and volume 5 will go on sale June 7th. After the 5th volume, we do not know the release schedule, the release of Chapter 21 (first chapter of volume 6) will have to be sometime after June 7th and effectively put the series on hiatus for at least 4 months, if not at least 6-8 months. It is possible that Ultimo volume 6 could be released in the US sometime August at the earliest, but could be as late as October depending on Viz’s release schedule.

Ultimo volume 4 and 5 release dates updated

Earlier today, the fifth Graphic Novel volume of Ultimo has been announced for release by Viz. It will be released on June 7th, 2011 for $9.99 USD. The ISBN will be 9781421539539 and will be 200 pages. The back of volume summery will be the following:

Returning from his time travels, Yamato lands back on the day before the Hundred Machine Funeral. Will his newfound knowledge about Iruma help him divert the inevitable, or will it only help him mess things up more? In a fierce continuation of the battle that started Yamato’s first time around, both Maruyama and Yamato are injured. Sensing weakness, Vice takes things into his own hands…

This volume will contain chapter 17 through 20, all of which have been released by Viz in Shonen Jump.

At the end of Ultimo volume 3, the release date for Ultimo volume 4 was June 2011. The new release date for volume 4 will be on March 1st, 2011.

Last Tuesday, the final volume of the original series of Shaman King, volume 32 was released. The higher the sales for the final volume of Shaman King there are, the better chance that Viz will license the “Kang Zeng Bang” or “Perfect Edition” of the manga. Since Ultimo is selling well enough to gather a faster release schedule, this could also help Shaman King gain a re-release as well.

Ultimo volume 5 sells almost 35,000 copies

Recently the Oricon manga volume sales rankings were released for last week’s sales in Japan. As Ultimo volume 5 was released last week, we now have some initial sales numbers for that volume. In one week, Ultimo volume 5 sold 34,899 copies, placing it at rank 21 of 30. Below is the comparison chart of first week sales numbers for Ultimo volumes in Japan.

Ultimo Volume 1: 19,018 copies (+12,642 on week 2 for a known total of 31,660 copies)
Ultimo Volume 2: 41,141 copies
Ultimo Volume 3: 37,259 copies
Ultimo Volume 4: 39,313 copies
Ultimo Volume 5: 34,899 copies

Comparison:
Shaman King KZB vol 27: 63,864 copies (+25,407 on week 2 for a known total of 89,271 copies)
Shaman King Mentalite (fanbook): 42,250 copies

(Thanks to BadS for getting some more numbers for us!)

Ultimo Volume 5 Japanese Preview

Ultimo volume 5 was released today in Japan. As such, s-manga has uploaded a preview of the volume. This preview is the entire 17th chapter of the series in Japanese. You can read the preview here. Last month, this chapter was released in English by Viz in Shonen Jump. To read the 27 page English preview of chapter 17, see here. Volume 5 of Ultimo will contain 4 chapters, which are 17, 18, 19, and 20. This is the text summery of the book provided by Shueisha:

入間の過去を「知る」ために12世紀に飛ぶ大和。そこには民を思う入間がいた。だがダンスタンの介入で、現代の入間と変わらなくなってしまう。混乱の中、現代に戻る大和は、ムサシのジェラスと入間殺害を防ごうとするが…。一方悪の童子、バイスも動きだし…。

Ultimo Chapter 18 Preview

In the December issue of Shonen Jump, Viz published chapter 18 of the Ultimo manga. This chapter was titled “Yamato in Trouble.” You can read the first 24 pages of the chapter online at Viz’s website, which can be found here. The entire chapter of Ultimo can be read in the November 2010 issue of Shonen Jump, currently on newsstands in the USA and Canada. You can subscribe online at Amazon, or directly from Viz.

Chapter 18 will be released in Ultimo volume 5 in the US by Viz later in 2011. Volume 5 of Ultimo releases in Japan on November 4th.

In other Viz news, Viz has just recently launched an iPad app to pay and read manga volumes online. Currently none of Takei’s works can be read in the app. When this changes, we will have a news post about it.

Ultimo Volume 5 Cover Art

Karakuridôji Ultimo Volume 5 (機巧童子ULTIMO　5巻) will be released in Japan on November 4th.

Series: カラクリドウジウルティモ
ISBN: 978-4-08-870137-0
Pages: 194
Chapters: 17-20
Price: 460円 (yen)

Ultimo is currently being published in JumpSQ in Japan. It is also being published in English by Viz in Shonen Jump every month. Chapter 17 was recently released in the November issue of Shonen Jump (released on the first Tuesday of October).

Jumbor Volume 1 to be Released in Dec 2010

Earlier today, Shueisha updated it’s s-manga webiste with the new releases scheduled for December. Jumbor volume 1 (  ユンボル－JUMBOR－　1巻 ) is set for release on December 3rd for 500yen. It will follow the Jump Comics imprint. These will include the first chapters of the new Ultra Jump series of Jumbor.

Ultimo volume 5 (  機巧童子ULTIMO　5巻 ) will go on sale November 4th for 460yen.

Check back soon for additional information about each volume, including cover art.

Update: Jumbor volume 1 will have 188 pages which is roughly the first four chapters. ISBN: 9784088701622, size: Shinshoban (17x11cm).

Ultimo volume 5 Japanese release date announced

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.

Reprint Volumes 3 & 4

On April 4th, the second wave of reprint volumes will be released in Japan. Volumes 3 and 4, as listed below, are the two volumes to be released on this date. It is expected that Volume 3 will contain “Last Word Vol 2,” and both volumes to contain new Shaman Files. There has been no new updates on any additional extras in these volumes.

シャーマンキング　完全版 3
Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang 3
Kang Zeng Bang Volume 3 Cover

ISBN: 9784088742052
Format Size: A5
Pages: 232
Price: 1,000yen

シャーマンキング　完全版 4
Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang 4
Kang Zeng Bang Volume 4 cover
ISBN: 9784088742059
Format Size: A5
Pages: 236
Price: 1,000yen

Based on the images from “Last Word” Volume 1, we can assume, the following:
Volume 5: Horohoro
Volume 6: Tamao (possibly doubled with Manta)

Shaman King Kang Zeng Bang volumes 3 and 4 will go on sale this Friday in Japan. Shaman King Nation will have updates from these volumes, as well as a comparison and review of Volumes 1-2 next week.