Thanks to the success of several long-running serializations such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, etc., Weekly Shonen Jump became the best-selling manga magazine of all time. The magazine thrives even after several decades since it was first launched, especially considering how trends have changed significantly from the past. Now, most series barely even reach 300 chapters before concluding their stories, including industry hits like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. Each year, the magazine also includes several new series in its roster, which naturally means that just as many manga will have to be removed to make room. Usually, the magazine waits around a year for a manga to release 40–60 chapters and at least a couple of volumes to see if it’s worth continuing.
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If any series fails to hit the mark like Astro Royale did, they get axed right away. However, there are also times when a few series, regardless of how promising they may be, end up being discontinued without even reaching 19 chapters. In June this year, WSJ began serializing Kaedegami by Jun Harukawa, which reached its conclusion on October 19th, 2025, with Chapter 17, much to readers’ dissatisfaction. However, amid the controversy, the series’ creator, Jun Harukawa, shared a promising message in the author’s section of the magazine.
Kaedegami Creator Promises to Return in the Future
In every WSJ issue, the manga creators whose chapters are being featured add a special note for fans, which is always shared by Viz in its Mangaka Musings section. Along with the final chapter of Kaedegami, Harukawa left a note, “It was like a dream! I’ll power up and do my best to appear here again in the future!”
Kaedegami is a historical supernatural series set in a world where demonic monsters known as Shenguai lurk in the shadows. The story follows a young orphan, Kou, who lives in the mountains with one such Shenguai named Chiyou, who has a horrifying past. Despite being a Shenguai, she has Kou’s trust, and the orphan will do anything in his power to save her. While the creator has released one-shots previously, Kaedegami is his first serialized manga, and what happened couldn’t be considered satisfactory.
Although it wasn’t a smashing hit like Kagurabachi and Ichi the Witch, Kaedegami had a promising start and a considerable number of readers in the beginning. Not to mention that the art was absolutely gorgeous. The only problem is that the manga was axed without even releasing a volume, so it never got any chance to prove itself. Naturally, the cancellation sparked a lot of outrage among Shonen Jump readers, but it still won’t be the last time the publishers prematurely end a series with potential.
At the very least, Harukawa’s message confirms that he will continue to work on newer series despite a major setback in his career. The manga is available to read on the official app of Manga Plus, and the first volume is scheduled to be released on November 4th, 2025, in Japan.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
