Princess Hao and Other Legendary Shounen Jump Endings

Weekly Shounen Jump is known for canceling its series (even the 2ch Early Sales info is called the "Cancellation Survival Race"), which in turn produced many legendary endings. In an interesting article, the Japanese blog Yamakam takes a look at some of the most famous endings in Shounen Jump. (To fully enjoy this transaltion, one should have some knowledge of the series mentioned in the article)

Spoiler Alert!!!

Ever heard about the infamous Princess Hao ending of Shaman King? The final chapter of the manga promised to wrap up the story and "go reckless without much sense," but it ended up as just one of the many series in Jump that ended "tastefully."

The Ultimate Manga-Ending Technique

"Kimen-gumi" by Motoei Shinzawa (who was enslaved by the Jump editorial team), a story about a group of highschool girls and boys in a club known as the "Kimen-gumi", was serialized for a long time after repeated time slips. Shounen Gangan is currently serializing "Flash Kimen-gumi", but its style is a lot different from other manga's. The series looked like it'd end with love and comedy with Rei and Yui's kiss...but no, it ended as a dream - the ultimate manga-ending technique.

The explosive power of the "Ultimate technique"

The Gamou Arc Ending

The ending of Yasuaki Kita's "Makuhari" is another great example, which involved other manga artists (it was rumored whoever got involved ended up being seriously angry with the project). The involvement of Hiroshi Gamou during its serialization is especially legendary. Kita-sensei speaked to Gamou-sensei in the TOC comments without any warning:

"€œDrawing is not important in Manga. It's not about the drawing~! Right, Gamou-sensei?"€

Kita-sensei said. It was as if Kita-sensei was saying that Gamou-sensei's drawing sucked. Gamou-sensei responded nicely:

"It's nice to have good drawings, but what is really important in a manga is '€˜love.'€™ Right, Kita-sensei?"

Later on, Kita-sensei and Gamou-sensei again bantered in the TOC comments, thus deepening their "love." In the last chapter of "Makuhari," Kita-sensei stated that the main character is actually Gamou Hiroshi. While the readers were still in shock, Kita-sensei ended "Gamou arc" without any warning.

Gamou Arc The End

The legendary "Gamou arc." People thought the next arc would be the "Tsunomaru arc," but instead Kita-sensei shouted, "I'm free!" and left Jump.

The Kurumada Endings

Masami Kurumada also ended one of his series, "Otoko-zaka," in a very impressing (humiliating) way. After creating popular series such as "Saint Seiya" and "Ringu ni Kakero," it was said that "Otoko-zaka" went through 10 years worth of planning, and was the concentration of his entire life as a manga artist. Unfortunately the final chapter came in a very unexpected way.

Incomplete

"Incomplete." After leaving numerous foreshadowing, putting the series to an end was rather refreshing to fans.

While the "Otoko-zaka" end is already a legend, Kurumada-sensei managed to do it again. After the completion of "Saint Seiya," Masami Kurumada began a new series called "Silent Knight Sho." The new manga began with foreshadowings comparable to that of "Otoko-zaka," but ended after only 10 weeks of serialization.

NEVER END

Nothing more can be said here.

The Princess Hao Ending

Many great manga artists in Jump have created unforgettable and traumatic endings to their manga, most of these endings became legends.

The most recent of such legend came in the form of Shaman King's ending. (This article was written the week Shaman King ended.) In the final chapter in Jump Issue 36, Hiroyuki Takei showed that his laziness would surprise even Yoshihiro Togashi (author of Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter X Hunter, known for his laziness and his frequent breaks in the middle of serialization).

Super skimping

And of course the author is receiving a manuscript fee for this. At the time of the ending, the manga is in its "Priest Battle arc," but will the battle with Hao ever finish?

Of course not, it was ended abruptly. Usually, when a series gets out of hand and is forced to end, mangaka usually end it with lines like "the real battle begins now," "now, let's go," or at least some sort of epilogue set a few years later.

In Shaman King's case, Yoh shouts, "Our fight starts now. I'll get a good night of sleep so I can win tomorrow!" The ending credit says, "Thank you for cheering for six years. Please look forward to Takei-sensei's next series!" But that's not all, Takei-sensei created yet another legend through Manta's mysterious dream:

Princess Hao

What a way to end the story. Most readers were paying attention to Kiriki Bonken-sensei's "Puuyan" and wasn't paying attention to this. This is Jump after all, Readers will never know where a trap is hidden.

Hiroyuki Takei is, after all, Kiyu-sensei's master, and he won't lose to his pupil. When Kiyu-sensei's series was put to an end, Hiroyuki Takei left a great comment:

"€œMy courageous lovable pupil Kiyu, thanks for the hard work, retort back next time, as you want."€

Unfortunetly, Kiyu-sensei's next series also ended in 10 weeks. But still, both the master and the pupil are making legends.

Extra:

Mikan means incomplete as well as tangerine/mandarin orange. Found Mikan. Did Takei-sensei mean "Mikan (tangerine orange)" as in "Mikan (incomplete)"...?

Translated by ocean
Proofread by Marlex and Iliana
Original Article: http://www1.odn.ne.jp/cjt24200/yamada/text/_0/index2.html