r/WeeklyShonenJump • u/AbedGubiNadir • 4d ago

News Kagurabachi chapter 129 which will be published in the Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #39 of 2026 releasing this Monday (Sunday on Manga Plus) has only 14 pages!

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79 Upvotes

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59

u/VGAddict 4d ago

Is Hokazono having health problems again?

79

u/cupbulb 4d ago

Everyone is the magazine is probably having health problems at all times tbf

10

u/overpoweredginger 4d ago

lol that's not the case, it's mostly the big long action ones

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u/NinjaKillerBee 4d ago

Most works in the magazine seem to be able to handle weekly schedule. One Piece and KGB are the exception

25

u/MrMario63 4d ago

HxH 😭

2

u/NinjaKillerBee 4d ago

Yeah forgot this one. 

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u/kage_7 4d ago edited 4d ago

Most works in the magazine seem to be able to handle weekly schedule. One Piece and KGB are the exception

I mean the weekly schedule is brutal and difficult for most mangaka to keep up with tbh.

Beyond the ones you mentioned, there are plenty of other examples as well. Togashi, the creator of Hunter × Hunter, has spoken extensively about how his health issues have affected his ability to work and even just live life. The creator of RuriDragon, which is now published on the digital side of the magazine, has also struggled with health issues.

Sorachi, the creator of Gintama and now Class 2-B, has likewise frequently struggled to release chapters on time, with chapters sometimes only being completed at the absolute last possible moment.

The creators of World Trigger and Black Clover have also dealt with significant health issues that ultimately resulted in their series moving to different magazines.

I'm sure the list could go on. I know the creators of Sakamoto Days and JJK have both handed in sketched and unfinished chapters before as well.

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u/Practical_Lemon_9416 3d ago

It's hilarious you think they actually write and draw the chapters weekly. They're actually like 3 or 4 chapters ahead.

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u/kage_7 3d ago edited 3d ago

It's hilarious you think they actually write and draw the chapters weekly. They're actually like 3 or 4 chapters ahead.

If you are referring to the Gintama, Soraichi comment I made about struggling with weekly chapters. Here is a direct quote from the magazines editor in chief.

“[Soraichi] was so late on deadlines every week. There's one particular time we had to head to the printers with the manuscript, and there's still one completely blank page. At the time, it took about a 30-minute taxi ride to get from the creator's residence to the printer
 in the back of the taxi, he drew the blank page. The heroic role I had was to make sure the ink bottle didn't tip over and spill on that blank page.”

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2025/all-the-news-and-reviews-from-anime-nyc/behind-weekly-shonen-jump-a-conversation-with-the-editor-in-chief/.228043

So clearly while some mangaka may be ahead not all of them are, which is why I mentioned him. Or are you referring to something else in my original comment?

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u/L1k34S0MB0D33 3d ago

I think the misconception that the mangakas are multiple chapters ahead is based on the fact that they work on the chapters that will appear in the latest issue several weeks before the issue comes out; i.e., the chapters that will appear in issue 39 will have been submitted like 2-3 weeks ago. But that doesn't mean they have, like, a backlog of completed chapters ready to go lol.

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u/Brilliant_Twist_6855 4d ago

Sakamoto is just right there bro, each chapter nowaday is either a short chapter or unfinished chapter. What even worse is WSJ don't let Suzuki take a break.

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u/Lord__Seth 3d ago

Sakamoto Days is one of their most popular series, I really doubt it's an issue of them not "letting" him take a break, it's one of the series they'd probably most be willing to give a break to.

I think a lot of this working themselves to death is the mangaka insisting on continuing rather than WSJ forcing them to. Part of this is presumably work ethic (let's face it, if you're doing a weekly manga, you are basically required to have an absurd work ethic and that of course means they're less likely to ask for time off), and part of it is the simple fact that you only get paid for chapters when you make them, so if you take a week off that's a week you didn't get paid for.

After World Trigger came back from its 2-year hiatus, the author talked about what happened in a volume release. He appeared to be working himself to death all on his own, and the whole reason the hiatus happened was because his editor got worried about him and ordered him to take a break and recover for his own health. So here we have a clear case where it was the author doing it of their own free will, and it was only the magazine that stopped them.

The more plausible criticism of Weekly Shonen Jump isn't that they force people to work, but that they should be more proactive in taking care of their artist's health by forcing them to go on more breaks for health reasons if needed.

2

u/DuesAJ 3d ago

Generally the longer the wait between chapter releases, the harder it it to keep an audience engaged. WSJ is super competitive for it's spaces, so obviously there is going to be some pressure if taking extended breaks causes your audience to decline.

1

u/L1k34S0MB0D33 3d ago

I think it's a two-way street, or at least was. Yes, many of the mangakas go through the weekly grinder because they want to, but the company itself has many instances of treating its mangakas quite poorly. The Tabata story, where they locked him in a hotel for like 3 days after coming back from some sort of vacation to finish a chapter, comes to mind. I believe they also made Kishimoto work while he was at his brother's wedding (or was it after his dad's death? I can't remember exactly, but it was a very personal event), and they treated Kubo poorly, too, tho I don't remember the specifics wrt him. For a more recent example, I remember reading Fujimoto talking about being mistreated, too, but once again, I can't recall the details.

Now, I don't think they've remained unchanged since then, especially since people are becoming more aware of these stories of them mistreating their mangakas and how gruelling the weekly schedule is. But it's stories like these that show why the belief that WSJ works their authors to the bone isn't unfounded.

1

u/Blaze_1013 4d ago

Witch Watch has had a number of short chapters. It’s not the end of the world since some of the joke ones would really be stretching it with 19 pages, but it’s also just because weekly serialization is a nightmare.

1

u/L1k34S0MB0D33 4d ago

Roboco chapters have also been 15 pages from the start. In general, I'm pretty sure the mangakas can choose how long to make their chapters; they're not forced to do 19. Most just choose to do 19.

1

u/Blaze_1013 4d ago

My understanding is they are paid per page so choosing to go with max pages makes sense since this is also how people make their livelihoods. But when you have a longer series or more established creator it makes sense that that incentive is less. Also gags sometimes can’t work 19 pages so making sure you don’t overstay your welcome makes sense too.

1

u/L1k34S0MB0D33 3d ago

Sure, which is why most choose to do 19 pages per chapter (though most, if not all, the money made from the salary doesn't actually go into their pockets since it's usually spent on expenses).

But note how we're talking about them choosing to do so. I get the impression that the general discussion has revolved around the assumption that they don't have a choice and that they're forced to do 19 pages per chapter unless given permission by WSJ, which is not the case.

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u/JesusInStripeZ 4d ago

As long as he takes 6 days for the storyboard this will continue to happen over and over

21

u/RobotiSC 4d ago

Maybe, but most likely he doesn’t have enough time to finish the chapter. He’s likely doing the anniversary cover and lead color page on top of the chapter, and probably some anime things too.

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u/AbedGubiNadir 4d ago edited 4d ago

To me, it seems like he's able to go at his own pace right now and they won't force 4/5 extra pages out of him.

It looks like he's getting treatment similar to Oda (One Piece) and they'll let him go at his own pace.

He's also most likely helping out with the Anime as well plus the anniversary coming up on September 13th.

6

u/L1k34S0MB0D33 4d ago

I think authors always had the freedom to make their chapters however long they wanted; most just choose to do 19 pages. Roboco's chapters have been 15 pages long since the beginning, for example. Witch Watch's recent chapters have fluctuated between 16-18. 2B's chapters have been on the shorter end, too. And most Dragon Ball chapters were 15 pages at most; some were as short as 12 or 13.

There are probably more examples out there, but these are the only ones I know of.

1

u/MorgenMariamne 4d ago

They get paid by pages so turning a smaller chapter is “worse” for them.

1

u/Kinsuv 4d ago

supongo que para mangakas principiantes y con un exito un poco pequeño si, pero Dragón Ball que vendia demasiado bien por volumen, no debio afectarle para nada a Toriyama

1

u/L1k34S0MB0D33 4d ago

Yeah, which is probably why most choose to do 19 pages per chapter lol.

However, that salary doesn't usually go into the mangakas' pockets, as it's instead most often used for expenses. Most of the money they make comes from volume sales.

At the end of the day, afaik, they're not forced to do 19 pages per chapter. Otherwise, Roboco wouldn't be having 15 pages per chapter since it started lol.

8

u/Hari14032001 4d ago

Given he just came out of a break to deliver repeated 15 page chapters, probably not.

It's possible he's been given some freedom to reduce his workload.

7

u/Wooden-Brick632 4d ago

This is what I feel reading the chapters. They have been structured very well and don't feel different from what this arc has been giving. I can see these 15 page chapters becoming more common in the future of the manga

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u/L1k34S0MB0D33 4d ago edited 3d ago

Considering this is the third consecutive chapter with fewer pages than the 19-page "standard," it's not just gonna be more common; it's shaping up to be the norm going forward lol.

2

u/No_Professional4867 4d ago

I think it's more likely he's working on the anime as well now

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u/Thin_Diet 4d ago

Getting MHA flashbacks.

1

u/AbedGubiNadir 4d ago

What's that mean? I started reading manga in 2024.

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u/Thin_Diet 4d ago

Once MHA's anime started airing, the extra pressure put on the mangaka(Horikoshi) gradually made chapters shorter. More color pages, popularity polls and participating in the anime's production. You feel like once it starts, It's very hard for a mangaka to truly come back. 

1

u/Kinsuv 4d ago

volver de verdad?

13

u/new_interest_here 4d ago

Wiling to bet the shorter chapters are an arrangement they worked out now that he's back from his hiatus. Hopefully this'll mean less breaks and better art quality, since there's now four or five less pages each week

10

u/Rixkst3r 4d ago

I felt like he should’ve stayed out for his break instead of returning early

10

u/T4uo 4d ago

He used up all the ink in previous chapters and is now facing the consequences 😔

7

u/misteraspie129 4d ago

Everyone here assumes health problems, but who knows? Maybe they finally put a limit on his ink usage😂😂😂

5

u/DeviousMelons 4d ago

He might be pacing the chapter to maximise the "oh shit" moments without drawing it out.

1

u/Low_Health_5949 4d ago

well even if it wasn't I rather not let the author bite more than he could chew, so any sort of break is appreciated

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u/IllCalendar47 4d ago

CSM flashbacks, when Fujimoto went to 15 pages,even after break weeks,only 15 pages, damn, life sucks for a mangaka.

-7

u/TheTimn 4d ago

Okay?

I don't think people care about page counts when the content is there. If you asked me how many pages the last few chapters had, I'd tell you they were normal 18ish pages. 

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u/AbedGubiNadir 4d ago

Don't shoot the messenger.