It’s the start of a new year for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, and it already seems like there’s another major series heading for cancellation. Shonen Jump had one of its most transitional years in 2025 as 13 major franchises ended with the weekly magazine over the course of it. There were a few series that were able to reach their natural ends, but ultimately there were 10 major cancellations that saw many creators end their series before they ever really had a chance. And it seems like the first cancellation of 2026 is at hand too.
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There are a few series in 2025 that fans had been suspecting were going to be cancelled in the near future, but that’s starting to take shape with Yuki Kawaguchi’s Otr of the Flame. It’s a shame because this creator has already had a series cancelled with the magazine with under 20 chapters, and this newest effort is likely going to end within the next few chapters as well as its final battle has already begun with Chapter 33.
Otr of the Flame Nears Cancellation With Final Battle
Otr of the Flame ended 2025 with the debut of the King of the Ice Kingdom, one of the big icons that Otr and the others had been journeying towards through the series thus far. Otr himself had reached a new level of understanding with the Flame Spirit, and the two had united their power into a new final form. But with Chapter 33 of the series released this past week, it’s now clearer than ever that the series is coming to an end as all of the Spirits and their respective warriors have been gathered into a single place much sooner than fans might have ever guessed.
But what really seems to hammer in that final nail is the ressurrection of the Evil King of legend. This evil force was what the Five Spirits had banded together to face off against years before, and had been teased as the final fight on the horizon of what was likely going to be a much longer journey for Otr. With the debut of both the Ice King and the Evil King, now the final battle begins as Otr and the Ice King are teaming up with the power of the spirits one final time to save the world. And end the series with some sort of conclusion.
What’s Going to Happen to Otr of the Flame?
If Otr of the Flame is already starting its final battle, the axe is likely going to hit within the next one or two chapters. We’re either going to get a rushed through finale with a final couple of pages to help send it off, or enough room to end the final battle and then have a final chapter to help end the story. Either situation, it’s got to be tough for Yuki Kawaguchi themselves as they have been through this situation before with the cancellation of The Hunter’s Guild: Red Hood.
Though Otr of the Flame is a totally different kind of series than the previous effort, and managed to make it beyond 20 chapters, it just never really caught fire with Shonen Jump fans. It has a unique kind of power system, cool ideas, and great art, but for one reason or another didn’t connect. If the cancellation does come, hopefully Kawaguchi doesn’t get discouraged and tries again with something new someday.
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