Status: target in sight. The December issue of Shueisha’s Jump SQ. magazine confirmed on Wednesday, November 4, that the climax of Kemono Jihen, the manga by Shō Aimoto, is “imminent”. No surprise for those keeping track: volume 25, released on August 4, had already announced that the series ends with its next volume, number 26.
The numbers
Aimoto launched Kemono Jihen in Jump SQ. in December 2016. That is almost ten years of serialization and 25 compiled volumes in Japan so far. In North America, Seven Seas Entertainment publishes the manga and released volume 22 in English on October 6. The exact date of the final chapter has not been announced.
It has not been an easy year for the author. The series took a one-issue break in February, when Aimoto shared that she had gastroenteritis at the start of the year, and another one-issue break in September, following the death of her brother in August. She said she is feeling better now.
The story
Inugami is a Tokyo detective who specializes in the occult. A call to investigate attacks on livestock in a remote village leads him to Dorotabo, a boy with no parents, nicknamed after a yokai that haunts muddy rice paddies. The boy gives off a foul odor and is mistreated by everyone, but Inugami realizes there is something monstrous about him, and takes him in to train and face the supernatural creatures hidden in the world, using the eerie powers of his own body.
The manga became a TV anime in January 2021, with 12 episodes, now available on Crunchyroll. It is not the only ending on the way in Jump SQ.: Seraph of the End wraps up on December 4.
Where to buy
Affiliate links: SavePoint may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Sources: Shueisha (Jump SQ.), Seven Seas Entertainment and Anime News Network.
Rudeus Greyrat
Edward Elric
Tanya Degurechaff