Why did Masashi Kishimoto's Samurai 8 manga fail in Weekly Shonen Jump? Reason explored

Modified Mar 03, 2024 08:30 GMT

Understanding why Samurai 8 manga failed (Image via Masashi Kishimoto/Shueisha)

Samurai 8 manga might not be one of the most popular titles that members of the animanga community might have come across. However, this was a manga series that was created by one of the most popular manga artists - Masashi Kishimoto. This was a manga that was written by Kishimoto, and it was illustrated by Akira Okubo.

With such a successful mangaka, it is quite surprising to see that the manga didn’t particularly perform well. In fact, the performance of this manga was so bad that some fans didn’t even know that Masashi Kishimoto had written another manga series.

This led to an interesting and obvious question - why did the Samurai 8 manga fail? In order to do so, we must take a close look at the technical aspects of the manga as well as the overall execution to understand the reason.

Samurai 8 manga: Reasons for the series’ failure

A panel from the Samurai 8 manga (Image via Shueisha/Masashi Kishimoto and Akira Okubo)

Before we get into this topic, it is important to acknowledge some of the positive aspects of the Samurai 8 manga. There were plenty of elements that were great in the series. The plot was decent, and fans were happy to see how it would progress as time went on. Furthermore, fans also liked bits and pieces of the character design, despite having some issues with the art style as a whole.

When it came to the problems that the Samurai 8 manga faced, the primary one was its execution. The premise of the manga was great. However, the way the story progressed wasn’t something that fans thoroughly enjoyed. Another point that most readers brought up was Masashi Kishimoto’s writing.

Comment byu/RainSpectreX from discussion inmanga

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There is no doubt that the Naruto series was enjoyable. However, fans were of the opinion that Masashi Kishimoto’s magnum opus was saved by the intervention of the editors at Shueisha. Therefore, they believed that the writing was not great - a trend that has been observed since the time he wrote the Naruto series. Additionally, fans had mixed opinions on the art style of the Samurai 8 manga.

As stated earlier, Akira Okubo was responsible for the art of the manga. There is absolutely no doubt that he was an incredibly talented manga artist, and the visuals were pleasing, to say the least. However, a shonen series like this requires a slightly sharper art style.

Comment byu/RainSpectreX from discussion inmanga

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The exaggerated strokes and sharp lines create an atmosphere that is perfect for action sequences. However, the rounded lines and softer art style didn’t appeal to most members of the animanga community, which was another reason why the Samurai 8 manga didn’t do well.

Finally, the incredibly high expectations of the fanbase could have also resulted in the series’ failure. The manga author had made a name for himself since he created one of the most iconic anime and manga series. The incredibly high standards set up the manga for failure, and since it didn’t live up to these expectations the failure was inevitable.

Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2024 progresses.