Act-Age Sales Soar Amidst Cancellation While Shonen Jump Scrubs Series

This past week has been a difficult one for fans of Act-Age to process. Last weekend, fans learned the writer of the hit manga had been arrested by police in Japan after allegedly acting indecently towards a minor. Fans were horrified by the news, and it did not take Shonen Jump long to cancel the manga outright. Now, it turns out the manga is selling better than ever, but Shonen Jump has all but scrubbed the series from its history.

Recently, fans began to pick up on book sales in Japan to see how Act-Age was doing amidst its cancellation. It was there fans discovered the Top 100 sales list on Shoseki was riddled with Act-Age. In fact, all 12 of its volumes are charting on the list, and it has been selling in greater volume.

In fact, stores selling the volumes seem to be running out of stock. Japanese outlets will not be able to replenish their supply, but collectors are trying to get the manga while they can. After all, they want to keep a piece of manga history… even if Act-Age is known for a disappointing reason.

As for Shonen Jump, Act-Age has been swept under the rug as quickly as possible. Viz Media confirmed it will not publish the final chapter of Act-Age which was released this week. The U.S. publisher also removed links to explore the manga’s volumes but did say it would continue to translate Act-Age for now. Shueisha’s MANGA PLUS service also refused to publish this final chapter, so fans can only read it in print through Weekly Shonen Jump‘s latest issue.

For anyone catching up on the news, the writer of Act-Age is currently in custody for harassing an underage woman. Tatsuya Matsuki is accused of inappropriately touching a middle girl school on the street before fleeing on his bike. Further investigation led police to suspect Matsuki targeted a different underage girl before his second target. When asked about the allegations, Matsuki said there was “generally nothing incorrect” about them.

What do you think about the manga’s rising sales? How are you coping with its sudden cancellation? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!