The final volume of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto manga will likely ship in North America in late 2015 or early 2016 based on the announced finale of the storyline, according to a spokesperson from American publisher VIZ Media.
The first appearance of the final chapter will be on November 10 with a two-part finale in Shueisha’s Shonen Jump magazine in Japan, Anime News Network is reporting. VIZ releases Shonen Jump digitally here day and date with the Japanese release (see "U.S. 'Shonen Jump' Goes Day & Date With Japan"), so the story will be available here digitally at the same time.
The finale will be a double-length story, running a total of 44 pages, and the second chapter will be published in full color, according to the report.
The print release in the U.S., if the page counts in each tankoubon (trade paperback collection) volume remain consistent and VIZ continues its quarterly release schedule, will be in Vol. 72, out in December 2015. If Vol. 73 is the final volume and VIZ continues its schedule, release of the final volume will be in March 2016.
To date, VIZ has not confirmed its schedule after mid-2015, and Shueisha has not yet announced the final tankoubon volume in Japan.
The long-lived saga is a perennial best seller, and currently ranks at #2 on the Top 10 Shonen Franchise chart (see "Top 10 Shonen Franchises--Summer 2014"). It reigned supreme on the manga charts for many years until it was unseated by Attack on Titan last fall (see "Top 25 Manga Properties--Fall/Holidays 2013"). The prolific franchise includes anime series, video games, theatrical movies, games (see "'Naruto Shippuden Deck-building Game'"), and other merchandise.
Series Wrapping Late 2015/Early 2016
Posted by ICv2 on October 29, 2014 @ 11:05 pm CT
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