Shonen Jump’s Coolest New Berserk Form Might Have Saved Its Series From Cancellation

One new series might have saved itself from being cancelled within Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine with the debut of a cool new berserk form at just the right time. It’s a very competitive world within the weekly magazine as each week can mean that any series can be quickly brought to an end despite a creator’s desire to continue the series further. Any week can make the difference for a series struggling to really make its mark with fans, and that’s even more apparent this year as Shueisha is in an active search for what could be its next big icons.

Shueisha is lining up for more cancellations this Fall following the recent hit to Jun Furukawa’s Kaedegami this past week, and fans have started to wonder which of the newer series in the magazine will be getting hit by the axe next. It seems like Otr of the Flame was one such series that fans outside of Japan had pegged as a manga heading for an early end, but the manga might have saved itself from its early cancellation with the debut of a new berserk form to end its latest battle.

Otr of the Flame Goes Berserk With Mysterious New Form

Otr of the Flame series creator Yuki Kawaguchi is no stranger to early cancellation within Shonen Jump as their previous work, The Hunter’s Guild: Red Hood, was cancelled before it even hit 20 chapters. The early axe seemed to be closing in during that series as it sped through its final battle, and started to reveal more about its wider world at a much faster rate. But in comparison, Otr of the Flame isn’t showing those same signs of slowing down as it not only ended a major battle, but the latest chapter of the series dropped the first tease for its next major arc.

What seemed to have stalled the axe for now, is that Otr of the Flame suddenly dropped a very curious tease for its future. While the titular Otr has been working together with the Flame Spirit Fylga since the beginning of the series, Fylga completely took over his body and revealed a more wicked form. This not only pushed Otr close to death, but resulted in a demonic kind of form that was teased to be Fylga’s real self. With the Flame Spirit losing its memory, it’s clear that this berserk form is a window into the future of the series.

Will Otr of the Flame Be Cancelled?

Otr of the Flame started out with an impressive power system that really teased the kind of fights we would see throughout the new series, but for one reason or another seemed to have trouble sparking fans’ interest. But through the battle with the Wicked Horn, the real promise of the series is coming to fruition. Now we’re seeing multiple Spirits in use, we’re starting to see different uses of Heroic Vigor, and more of its bigger world.

It’s still very much in danger of being cancelled as Shonen Jump has revealed that they are willing to cancel a series as late as a year into their serialization (with one even getting a new anime after the fact), so Otr of the Flame really needs to be careful with how it moves forward. The potential for success is there, but that potential won’t matter if Shueisha’s editorial department doesn’t think the series can make something out of it. But with cool berserk forms opening things up further, hopefully this fantasy action series gets a chance.

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