The
official account of Shueisha's Jump SQ. magazine confirmed
that the Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc manga, created by
Nobuhiro Watsuki together with his wife and collaborator Kaoru Kurosaki, will
go on a one-month hiatus. Because of this, there will be no new chapter in the
September issue of the magazine, which will be released on August 4. The series
will resume publication in the October issue, scheduled for September 4.
Background
and current situation
The manga
returned from its previous hiatus in the August issue, published on July 4. The
current hiatus is due to the delicate health of Watsuki, who had already left
the series on hiatus since May 2024. Since then, publication has been spotty,
and the editorial team had anticipated that the absence would continue until
further notice.
A saga
with history and legacy
Originally
released in September 2017 on Jump SQ., this Rurouni
Kenshin arc had to be halted in December 2017 following Watsuki's
legal troubles, then resumed in June 2018. The original Rurouni Kenshin franchise,
started in 1994, has sold more than 72 million copies worldwide and has been
adapted into multiple formats: from animated television series to live-action
films and theatrical musicals.
Recently,
the new anime based on the main manga premiered in July 2023 and has
successfully continued its seasons, cementing the popularity of the story of
Kenshin Himura, a former assassin in search of redemption in the Meiji era.
