Death Note artist Takeshi Obata has been running with Shueisha’s Jump magazines with a brand new series focusing on a young comedy duo, and Show-ha Shoten! has been brought to its end after four years of serialization. Obata has had a ton of experience with Shueisha’s magazine as he’s not only worked with different writers on major classics like Hikaru no Go, Bakumanand most famously with fans, Death Note over the years. That means each time the artist is attached to a new series, fans are instantly drawn to seeing what the prominent artist could be coming out with next.
The last time that fans had seen Obata’s work with Shueisha’s Shonen Jump magazine was with Platinum End back in 2015 (which ended up being adapted into a very divisive anime when it premiered). But Obata has been working with writer Akinari Asakura on a comedy series, Show-ha Shoten!, for Shueisha’s Jump Square magazine since 2021. But as of the newest chapter, this series has officially come to its end after four years and nearly 50 chapters.
How Does Show-ha Shoten End?
Show-ha Shoten! introduced fans to the young duo of Azemichi Shijimi and Taiyo Higashikata, who decide to pursue comedy together under the name of “One Way Ticket to the Top.” While the final arc of the series saw the duo winning a major contest after a lot of work to make it happen, it was quickly revealed that the duo immediately lost their debuts in other contests later. In fact, it’s revealed in the final chapter that the two of them have been failing to make a mark in these comedy contests in the years since that first major win. But the two of them never gave up on their dreams regardless.
The final chapter of Show-ha Shoten! jumps ahead six years into the future, and reveals that each of the comedy duos that One Way Ticket to the Top had competed against all went on to enjoy varying levels of success in their own right. But the tide is starting to turn as while the duo had been failing to make their mark, they instead had been trying to develop a new form of comedy that could be hailed as the true future of the medium. As the chapter ends, it seems their work is finally resonating as they’re making it through to the final stage of a new competition.
Shonen Jump Has Been Changing This Summer
Show-ha Shoten!’s ending with Shueisha’s Jump Square magazine marks a continuation of the fact that Shueisha’s magazines are entering a new era. This has been most noticeable with their Weekly Shonen Jump flagship magazine as the past year has seen many of its longest running franchises come to an end, and even more series are beginning their final battles and arcs as well. It means that fans are about to see a whole new kind of Jump heading into the future with all sorts of new works coming.
With Shueisha ending so many of its works after less than five years, it also means that fans will need to keep an eye on their favorites to see when they could possibly end too. It seems like Shueisha is moving away from the kind of long running schedules seen with the likes of One Piece, Black Clover or Hunter x Hunter in favor of a more compact run, but we likely won’t get to see the full impact of that kind of decision for quite some time.
