Anime fans are on the precipice of one of the biggest anime events of the year as Jump Festa is about to begin. Running for years as the premiere annual event for all things Shonen Jump, the largest anime franchises are planning to release some big news when it comes to what their futures hold. Unfortunately, while there are plenty of voice actors from individual series that will be making an appearance, some last minute cancellations have been announced from essential anime franchises. Luckily, these cancellations don’t mean that Jump Festa is cancelling any of its panels but it does mean that some familiar voice actors might not be around to share the good news.
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Jump Festa has been a major event in Japan for twenty-five years, first premiering in 1999 to share news about major shonen franchises. The likes of Dragon Ball, One Piece, My Hero Academia, Bleach, and Haikyu have long been a part of the festivities and that won’t change this year. Spanning three separate stages starting tonight, Friday December 20th, both old and new series are planning to reveal major bombshells not just when it comes to their respective manga but their anime adaptations to boot. Unfortunately, voice actors from several series won’t be in attendance due to a influenza outbreak.
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Jump Festa Cancellations
To start, Chiakai Kobayashi will be unable to attend. This voice actor might be best known for his roles as Gabimaru in Hell’s Paradise and Mashle: Magic & Muscles’ Mash, which both have prominent places in this year’s Jump Festa. Alongside Kobayashi, voice actor Soma Saito, the current voice actor responsible for bringing Rurouni Kenshin to life, won’t be in attendance also thanks to influenza. Finally, Yuma Uchida, the voice behind Jujutsu Kaisen’s Megumi Fushiguro, also will be unable to attend.
At present, there are plenty of mysteries surrounding the future of these respective shonen anime. Amongst them, anime fans are perhaps most interested in any news regarding Jujutsu Kaisen season three, as the previous season was one that took the anime world by storm in 2023. The story of the Battosai, aka Rurouni Kenshin, is the old franchise of those mentioned here but recently made a comeback thanks to its rebooted series that is in the throes of its second season. Finally, Mashle and Hell’s Paradise are relative newcomers to the anime game but have gained some major attention thanks to their vastly different stories and themes.
Where Can You Watch Jump Festa?
Thanks to anime’s continued growth in popularity, you can stream this year’s Jump Festa on YouTube. We have given you a deep dive into the schedule, which anime franchises will be in attendance, and how you can check out the event for yourselves by clicking here. Keep in mind that since this is taking place in Japan, you might want to note some of the time differences when it comes to witnessing all the breaking news. Luckily, we here at ComicBook.com will be covering the event in detail so even if you don’t watch it live, you can follow us to see what earth-shattering announcements are made.
Want to see what secrets are unveiled at this year’s Jump Festa? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on all things Shonen Jump and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
