These days, while shonen franchises like One Piece and Dragon Ball continue to make waves in the anime industry, not all is well in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump. To date, the regular manga publication has lost big titles such as Gonron Egg, Hero Girl And Demon Lord Call It Quits, The Mage Next Door, and Otr of The Flame. While some series might reach their natural conclusions, others are the victims of lower attention, causing Shueisha to give them the axe. Unfortunately, the time has come for another newcomer, as said series will end the same year that it debuted.
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Alien Headbutt is a wild recent entry to Weekly Shonen Jump, debuting in February of this year from creator Akira Inui. Focusing on a professional wrestler who is looking to make his dreams come true, Shirokiba the Hell Hound returns to his hometown to catch up with friends and family. Discovering that an alien invasion has taken place in his place of birth, the protagonist attempts to use his acumen in the ring to save humanity. Unfortunately, while Alien Headbutt started strongly enough earlier in 2026, interest waned, and reader polls saw a serious lack of support for the new manga. While not officially confirmed by Shueisha, it is most likely thanks to this fact that the manga ended earlier this week with chapter sixteen.
One Last Headbutt
While creator Akira Inui might not want to end the series so early, he did deliver a sad message to readers of the manga. Most recently, he thanked readers while apologizing for the manga’s cancellation, “Thank you to everyone who read this all the way through. I’m sorry.” From the fifteenth chapter of the series, it seems as though the stars are aligning for Shirokiba’s adventures to come to an end. The professional wrestler has come face-to-face with the current big bad of the series, with his family trapped inside alien cocoons. Alien Headbutt might have never found its footing, but as a manga, it has delivered some hilarious action, while also playing into some major tropes of the professional wrestling scene at the same time.
While manga has never been hotter, a manga making its way to Shonen Jump doesn’t guarantee that it will be a part of the publication for years, even if it makes the cut. As mentioned above, popularity polls are a major reason why manga might be cancelled, as readers can directly dictate which stories they want to see continue. Also, overall sales of manga volumes can have a direct link to whether individual chapters will continue. Unfortunately, the chances of Alien Heabutt receiving an anime adaptation are slim at this point, since the overall story would barely have enough material to cover even a single movie. With no manga and/or merchandise to help push, seeing Shirokiba on the screen seems like a long shot.
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