Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine has already cancelled four series through the year thus far, and it seems like the next series is getting the axe soon as revealed through a new update. Shueisha has been going through a period of change in the last few years as following the loss of some of its more long running series, there have been several new serializations hoping to have their shot at success. But many of these newer stories have not been able to catch any longterm fan attention and had been cancelled not long after their original debut.
This has been the case for each of the cancellations seen with Shonen Jump through the year thus far as each cancelled series has been given the axe with less than 30, and sometimes less than 20 chapters overall. Unfortunately, it seems like Akira Inui’s Alien Headbutt is next on the proverbial chopping block as a new update for its future physical volume releases in Japan (as spotted by @WSJ_manga on X) have all been lined up to point towards an immediate end to the series in the coming weeks.
According to the listings for Alien Headbutt’s physical volume releases in Japan, the first two volumes are slated for a quick release on July 3rd. This simultaneous launch of its first two volumes is a signifier that most other cancelled series have had previously that saw a push out of its releases because they aren’t primed to sell very well. This indicates not only an admission that the series likely won’t have any traction even with its volume sales, but likely that an official cancellation is going to be quickly at hand.
Alien Headbutt had already seemed like it was going to have a quick cancellation too. Making its initial debut with Shonen Jump earlier this year, the series introduced fans to a pro wrestling fueled sci-fi action story that didn’t seem like anything else in the magazine to date. While fans outside of Japan had been quickly noting its appeal, it seems like the series had not been doing well in its home region and thus marked for a potential early cancellation either way. It seems like that’s unfortunately come to pass.
Alien Headbutt has yet to be officially cancelled with Shonen Jump, but Chapter 14 of the series had fans ready for that impending end to come. The series had Ouga receiving a challenge from the final boss for the fate of the Earth, and even gave him a final form. Even the fierce battles didn’t seem enough to make up for the lack of attention, and a ton of new alien designs had been thrown out in a single page as a seeming admission that the end of the series was coming fast.
With a final form and final boss fight already teased, Alien Headbutt is likely going to be officially cancelled within the next four or five chapters. Chapter 19 is often when many of the cancellations hit the magazine, and it won’t be long before the Summer season introduces a new batch of one-shots to fill in all of the cancelled slots. So this one likely won’t be the only cancellation or ending we’ll see in the coming weeks.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
HT – @WSJ_manga on X
