While Shueisha still has some major movers and shakers in its roster, including One Piece, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, Black Clover, and more, this doesn’t mean that every series is safe. Unfortunately, not all has been sunny and bright for the world’s biggest manga publisher. In recent days, quite a few manga stories have gotten the axe, and it seems that another big series is planning its final chapter. In the world of sports anime, series like Haikyu, Blue Lock, and Hajime no Ippo have stood at the top of the ladder, but the door has closed for a ping-pong-focused franchise.
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Ping Pong Peril first debuted in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump this summer, created by artist Kataoka Yoshiharu. In typical manga fashion, the series would focus on the tabletop game while injecting some wild action and heart-pounding moments into the mix. While the grand finale for the sports manga has been rumored in recent weeks, Shueisha made it official with the seventeenth chapter being its last when it arrived on the stands earlier this week. With the series taking its ping pong matches to outer space in its recent chapters, it’s a shame that the manga won’t have the chance to venture to wild new territory in the future.
The Tragedy of Shonen Jump
Typically, Shonen Jump makes decisions regarding the longevity of its manga based on several factors, including volume sales, low readership, and the results of its regular fan polls. An official reason behind Ping Pong Peril’s end has yet to be confirmed, but it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility if the finale were caused by one of these factors. What makes this ending all the more sad is that the hard-hitting series was recently endorsed by a major Shonen Jump artist, which unfortunately wasn’t enough for the series to dodge the ax.
Recently, the creator of Dandadan, Yukinobu Tatsu, expressed his love for the now-finished manga on social media. In praising the series, Tatsu stated, “Ping Pong Peril is so much fun! The final space battle is way too intense!” While the manga might be finished, we have to imagine some fans wouldn’t mind seeing the short-lived anime arrive as an anime, with the seventeen chapters perhaps being enough to spawn a feature-length film.
If you haven’t had the chance to check out this story, all the chapters are currently available to read on Viz’s website. Here’s the official description of the series from the publisher: “Former prodigy Taira plays ping-pong again to get out of crippling debt, but against the degenerates of the underworld, all the rules are off the table!” As of the writing of this article, you’ll still need to wait a few days to read the grand finale, but since it takes place in space, it is one worth waiting for. Perhaps if enough readers dive into the series, Ping Pong Peril could receive a revival, as stranger things have happened.
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