Viz Media announces end of Rurouni Kenshin manga series

Date: 2006 June 29 13:15

Posted by Dallas Marshall

Manga publisher Viz Media brought some news that fans of the Rurouni Kenshin manga series would not want to hear. Viz has announced that this widely popular series will end after its 28th volume is released on July 5.

Fans do not need to be sad though, for Viz has also announced that there will be a Rurouni Kenshin fiction novel. This is the first of its kind and will be unleashed to the masses on October 17. The novel is called Voyage To The Moon World and is written by Kaoru Shizuka, it is Shonen Jump's first fictional novel release, and will retail for $9.99. Voyage To The Moon World features Kenshin Himura in a brand new adventure. Viz will also release a new manga series, Buso Renkin from the creator of Rurouni Kenshin, Nobuhiro Watsuki on August 1. And not only that, Mr. Watsuki himself will be a guest at Comic-Con International in San Diego this July!

The final volumes of the series have been greatly anticipated by fans, as they have not been animated before.

Full Story

Rurouni Kenshin first made its appearance as a series of short stories in 1992 and 1993 in the weekly manga magazine Shonen Jump. In 1994, Watsuki created an actual series. It started draw a massive fan following with it's popular plots, interesting and conflicted characters and to top it all off in a historical background. This manga spawned a 95-episode series as well as two OVA films and a feature length film.

The novel, Voyage To The Moon World is based on the popular manga. After years upon years of blood being spilled, Kenshin Himura is now living in peace in Tokyo at the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu dojo. But a twist in plot is revealed when Tae from the Akabeko restaurant comes with a pot of beef stew and a plea for Kenshin and company's help. What starts as a simple case of a missing book soon becomes a dangerous mystery as Kenshin and his crew are caught up in deep secrets and dark plots. This novel also includes the story of Sanosuke and Nishik-e.

Along with conclusion of Rurouni Kenshin, Shonen Jump is celebrating this epic manga by featuring many special previews and articles related to Rurouni Kenshin. The July 2006 will preview Nobuhiro Watsuki's new series,Buso Renkin, which will be released by Viz in August. The August 2006 issue will have a Rurouni Kenshin retrospective as well as "Yahiko No Sakabato" (Yahiko's reversed blade sword), an exclusive one-shot from Kenshin creator Nobuhiro Watsuki, spun off from the Rurouni Kenshin storyline and is not even in print anymore, even in Japan.

Along with the final volume Rurouni Kenshin will include a limited edition double-sided poster showcasing a special Rurouni Kenshin 4 color illustration on one side and on the other, the covers of all 28 volumes.

In North America Kenshin has been a popular title with Viz's, Shonen Jump. The manga itself has been featured on several bestseller lists including the top 150 of the USA Today list, the first graphic novel to make such an achievement.

"It's been a long and extremely successful run for Rurouni Kenshin manga, and we are extremely pleased to offer a new Rurouni Kenshin novel that continues the adventures of everyone's favorite swordsman," says Yumi Hoashi, editor-in-chief of Shonen Jump and vice president, magazines, Viz Media. "Rurouni Kenshin is a must read for anyone interested in adventure, romance, history, and Japanese culture. We look forward to new and established fans of the series discovering the novel as well as the debut of Nobuhiro Watsuki's new manga series, Buso Renkin in August."

Watsuki's grand manga series is about a vagabond swordsman in the backdrop of Meiji era of Japan, at the time when Japan is beginning to modernize due to Western trade. Kenshin Himura, who carries a reversed blade sword and has an x-shaped scar on his face, is a rurouni, a wandering swordsman of superb skill, who during a critical turning point in a war walks away from all the bloodshed. In his quest he stumbles upon a female Kendo master, a former thief, a fighter, and a doctor, all with secrets of their own. Together they fight several enemies arising from the dark past the Kenshin is inevitably forced to confront. The final volume, number 28, will be out July 5 and retails for $7.95.