Summary
After fifteen years of publication in the renowned magazineWeekly Shonen Jump,Narutoended its massively successful run in 2014. While fans of the series continued to enjoy the ongoing anime franchise and accompanying sequel mangaBoruto, there was also a lot of anticipation as to what new project series creator Masashi Kishimoto might work on next. Kishimoto himself mentioned thathe was already working on new ideassome time afterNarutoended, building anticipation for work he might bring out down the line.
In 2019, Kishimoto finally debuted his second original work,Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru. The series launched inWeekly Shonen Jumpand was illustrated by his former assistant, Akira Okubo. Though initial reception to this new manga was good, it failed to find a foothold in the magazine and was canceled less than a year later, ending its run at only 43 chapters. While manga inWeekly Shonen Jumpcan often be canceled very quickly, it was a surprise to many to see it happen to one written by such a celebrated author. Why didSamurai 8fail where its predecessor succeeded?
A Spacefaring Sci-Fi Samurai Story
In a futuristic worldwhere space travel is common and robots are everywhere, samurai are cyborg warriors with bodies that can heal from almost any wound. The young Hachimaru dreams of becoming a samurai himself and protecting space from ruthless villains. However, he was born sickly, and he has been connected to a life support device for as long as he can remember. His father is strict and overbearing, meaning that the only way he can achieve his dreams is through the virtual reality fighting game he plans day in and day out.
One day, however, he is visited by a mysterious blind cat named Daruma, who is secretly a legendary samurai of old. When his home is attacked by a ronin, Hachimaru ends up coming into contact with a locker ball, which grants him the undying cyborg body of a samurai. Having suddenly achieved his dearest dream, Hachimaru begins a new adventure with Daruma to save the world from certain doom.
A Mixed Bag of Strengths and Weaknesses
WithSamurai 8’s writing being done by Masashi Kishimoto, there’s a strong focus on familial bonds and character growth. Hachimaru starts off as a coddled brat who hates his father’s overbearing nature and acts on impulse and impatience, but over the course of the series slowly comes to mature as a samurai and a person. As he does, he slowly begins to appreciate the things his father has done for him, and he does his best to show his gratitude by becoming a great samurai. Hachimaru’s character arc in this manga easily matchessome of the better character arcs inNaruto.
Unfortunately, the manga still suffers in other areas. While the world ofSamurai 8is unique, featuring elements taken from both sci-fi stories and traditional Japanese aesthetics, this often leads to long-winded info dumps that hinder the story’s flow. At the same time, while Akira Okubo does a valiant job of emulating Kishimoto’s style, the characters are often incredibly over-designed and the landscapes are both busy and confusing.Samurai 8ultimately lacks a lot of the strong composition and crisp character designs that madeNarutoso renowned and recognized.
There Was Just too Much Good Competition
Despite Kishimoto’s attempts to make a unique and unconventional story,Samurai 8ends up coming off as a rather generic shonen battle manga. While it had an interesting setting and a power system with potential, it lacked a strong identity that would make it stand out from its peers. Its only real defining strength was being written by Masashi Kishimoto, but even that name recognition would not manage to carry the series for long.
To make things worse,Samurai 8ran alongside several serious heavy hittersthat dominated the readership ofWeekly Shonen Jump.My Hero Academia,Black Clover, andDemon Slayerhad been running for years at that point, while more recent hits likeJujutsu KaisenandChainsaw Manmanaged to make a splash much faster thanSamurai 8could. With so many big hits in the same magazine, it’s no surprise that the manga failed to make an impression with the readers, what with its confusing worldbuilding and generic storyline.
In the end,Samurai 8ended with only 43 chapters under its belt. It’s not the first time that a renowned mangaka failed to find success with a series, but the magnitude of it happening to a creator of a titan likeNarutowas certainly surprising to everyone. Unfortunately, it’s hard to disagree with the decision; whileSamurai 8had some good ideas, it ultimately struggled to execute them in a way that would put it above its competitors and peers. Still, with Kishimoto still working in the manga industry, fans should not lose hope that he might return with another original idea.
