With its first full year of being serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, the Shaman King series has established itself amongst the on-going manga series. As a stable series, it slow begins to expand outside of just the core Shaman King chapters in the year 2000.
Within Weekly Shonen Jump, on the “Table of Contents” page located at the back of the magazine, each author can leave a short comment to their fans. Below is a transcription of the original Japanese text along with a rough English translation. For some of these comments, we are also providing some additional information/context. There may be some minor errors. The comments listed here are for the ones where the issue # for Weekly Shonen Jump was for 2000.
| Issue # | Release Date (MM/DD/YY) | Shaman King Chapter # | Author Comment (Japanese) | Author Comment (English) | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12/6/99 | 69 | 2000年のボクの夢は倉庫借りて秘密基地を作る事。 2階は事務前で1階はガレージだ！！ | My wish for the year 2000 is to rent a warehouse and build a secret base. The 2nd floor in the front will be an office and the 1st floor a garage!! | |
| 2 | 12/13/99 | 70 | 来たるJ・F。 S で何かやらねばならんらしい。 恥ずかしがり屋のぼくをどうか可愛がって | The upcoming Jump Festa. I can do something related to “S” (Shaman King). I’m shy, so please be nice to me. | |
| 3-4 | 12/20/99 | 71 | 赤マルJの懸賞に葉っぽいヘッドホンが！ でも竜の木刀素が却下されてちょっと残念。 | In Akamaru Jump you can win a replica of Yoh’s headphones! I’m a little disappointed that Ryu’s wooden sword was rejected. | Akamaru Jump was a seasonal magazine which often contained short extras from Shaman King and other Weekly Shonen Jump series. |
| 5-6 | 1/3/00 | 72 | 深夜のウミホタル、異はちょっとした穴場です。行ける人は試しにぜひ行ってみて！！ | Sea Fireflies late at night are tricky to find. If you have a spot, go take a look!! | Also called Vargula hilgendorfii or “umi-hotaru” |
| 7 | 1/17/00 | 73 | こないだJ・F2000。 Sを待つ舞台裏であの梅澤由香里3段と結婚をかけ対局。 冗談じゃないわとばかりに秒殺されました。 | The other day at Jump Festa 2000. While waiting for S backstage, they were playing against Yukari Umezawa, a 3-dan, for her hand in marriage. After watching for a second, I realized this wasn’t a joke. | Yukari Umezawa is a Professional Go Player and was likely at the event because of Hikaru No Go. |
| 8 | 1/24/00 | 74 | 正月旅行ゃら新年会やら灯ち上げやら、大人の世界って何かと大変なんだなあこの時期 | With New Year trips, to New Year parties, the lighting lights, the adult world is very busy this time of year. | |
| 9 | 1/31/00 | 75 | 今度出るJC 7は余ページがいっぱいで埋めるの大変だった。オマケお楽しみに。 | The upcoming Jump Comic volume 7 is full of bonus pages that were tricky to make. Enjoy all the extras. | |
| 10 | 2/7/00 | 76 | 武井は今頃ゾイドにおねつ。 改めてメーカーの心意気にほれました。かなり塗装したい。 | Takei is now engulfed by Zoids. I am again impressed by the manufacturer’s designs. I really want to paint them. | |
| 11 | 2/14/00 | 77 | いつも応援してくれてどうもありがとう。今週はいろんな事に区切りをつけるつもりで描 きました。 これからもよろしくね！ | Thank you for always supporting me. I drew this week to put an end to various things. Say hello to the future! | |
| 12 | 2/21/00 | 78 | 普遊んだオモチャと言えばバンダイのマシンロボもすごかった。絶対再販するべき！ | Speaking of toys I used to play with, Bandai’s Machine Robo was amazing. It should definitely be re-released! | |
| 13 | 2/28/00 | 79 | バレンタインのチョコみんなどうもありがとう。今年はもっとモテるように頑張ります | Thank you for all the Valentine’s Day chocolates. I will try my best to be even more popular this year. | |
| 14 | 3/6/00 | 80 | 深夜に日テレでやってる「ラブボート」。 つまんないけど70’sっぷりがなかなか素敵。 | Late at night Nippon Television would air “Love Boat.” It’s boring, but has a very cool 70’s feel to the show. | |
| 15 | 3/13/00 | 81 | いまだにFM3やってる。 目指すはPP！このゲームは把握してからがおもしろい。 | I’m still playing Front Mission 3. Aim for the PP! This game is very fun once you learn how to play it. | |
| 16 | 3/18/00 | 82 | シャンプーはティセラの550があ気に入り。あの香りは子供の頃のスーパーの匂いだ。 | Tessera 550 is my favorite shampoo. It has the scent of the supermarket from my childhood. | Fragrance number 550 titled “Go Go” was released in 2000. The TV commercial for it was called “Dance Dance Dance” (ダンスダンスダンス) and featured the song “Bright Daylight” by hiro. |
| 17 | 3/27/00 | 83 | ガシャポンの残りの1個をそろえるのに26回スカ。 こんなにツイてないのは初めて。 | It took me 26 tries to get the Gashapon I wanted. I’ve never had such bad luck before. | |
| 18 | 4/3/00 | 84 | 「バッファロー’66」DVD発売。面白い！ さいこう！ 今までで一番主人公に共感した映画！！ | “Buffalo ’66” is out on DVD. It’s interesting! It’s great! I really connect with the main character in it. | Buffalo ’66 was a 1998 American crime drama film. It was in Japanese theaters in July 1999. |
| 19 | 4/10/00 | 85 | コトブキヤ FM3AFS 新作発表！ 何体までいくのかドキ2ですが、超！ 応援してます。 | Kotobukiya’s Front Mission 3 AFS is coming out! Super! I wonder how many the will make. I will buy them. | |
| 20 | 4/17/00 | 86 | 況！陸戦型ガンダムMG化決定。次はS、PGは1/144 デンドロビウム超！！ 希望です。 | Alert! Ground Type Gundam MG has been decided. Next is S, PG 1/144 Dendobium Super!! I hope. | |
| 21-22 | 4/24/00 | 87 | 僕の中で3年続いたオレンジブームが終わった。これからは渋系の縁に銀のワンポイント | The Orange Boom that I’ve lived is now over. From now on, Shibuya-kei is moving up the list. | “Orange Boom” is a style of music in the early-to-mid 90s. Shibuya-kei was a music genre that started in the late 1990s |
| 23 | 5/8/00 | 88 | 単行本の猫き下しに久々に「仏ソーン」を読んだ。この作者は天才だと思いました。 | Since it’s been a while, I re-read through the “Butsu Zone” volumes. I think this author is a genius. | Butsu Zone was the series Hiroyuki Takei created before Shaman King in Weekly Shonen Jump. |
| 24 | 5/15/00 | 89 | 国内未発売レゴARCTICシリーズをゲット。最新なのに、色やロゴが70’sの香り。 | Get the not-yet released in Japan, LEGO ARCTIC sets. Even though they are brand new, the colors and logo fell like the 70s. | |
| 25 | 5/22/00 | 90 | GWは今回の取材のため大阪→奈良→京都いっちきました。超ハードでございます。 | During Golden Week I had an interview that travelled from Osaka, to Nara, and then Kyoto. It was super hard. | |
| 26 | 5/29/00 | 91 | 昨年以来ウチの仕事場は誕生プレゼント交換会が定番になった。今年もみんなありがとう | Since last year, having a birthday gift exchange party has become a regular event. Thank you all again this year. | |
| 27 | 6/5/00 | 92 | ハムスターの死を看取る。フッと動きを止め全くの抜毅になってしまう死の現実だった | My hamster has died. The reality of his death really hit when he had suddenly stopped moving and became definitive. | |
| 28 | 6/12/00 | 93 | 統き。寂しさの祭り念願の乗ついに購入。なのに餌が1日マウス1.5匹。 細切りで(泣) | Continued. I got him originally to keep me company. He ate 1.5 his size a day. In small pieces. (crying) | |
| 29 | 6/19/00 | 94 | 散歩してたら木の上に20羽程の緑のでかい鳥の群れ。なんと野生化したインコだった。 | While on a walk, I saw a flock of about 20 big green birds in a tree. They were wild parakeets. | |
| 30 | 6/26/00 | 95 | 近所のGSSが突然閉店。 原因は強盗殺人によるものでした。最近世の中、物騒すぎ。 | A GSS in the neighborhood closed suddenly. The cause was a robbery and murder. The world is getting more dangerous. | |
| 31 | 7/3/00 | 96 | 2年間ご愛読萌ありがとうございます。僕的には勉強になった2年でした。これからも精進していきたいと患います、それなりに | Thank you for reading along for these two years. This has been a good two years for me and I’ve learned a lot. I will continue to devote myself to this project, in my own way | |
| 32 | 7/10/00 | 97 | ウチの仕事場から各々まんが掲親のため一気にアシが3人抜けた。 オオ、神の試練か。 | 3 assistants have left my workplace at the same time to work on their own manga. Oh, is this a test from God. | |
| 33 | 7/17/00 | 98 | 最近、廃虚菜の本が多くて満しい。いずれ消えゆく昭和の情緒、せめて写真で残したい。 | Recently, there has been many books about abandoned ruins. I would like to capture the Showa era’s atmosphere through photographs before it disappears one day. | |
| 34 | 7/24/00 | 99 | 娘を叱ったら「パパ大キライ」と言われた。もう立ち直れない。散歩してきます……。 | When I scolded my daughter she said “I hate Papa.” She can’t even stand up. I’m going on a walk……. | |
| 35 | 7/31/00 | 100 | また赤マルに 「ふんばりの詩」描きました。割と名作なので細かいこと抜きで楽しんでね | I also drew “Funbari No Uta” in Akamaru. It’s a masterpiece, so enjoy it without worrying about the details | Akamaru Jump is a seasonal magazine. |
| 36-37 | 8/7/00 | 101 | どうでもいい事だが、水のあとぬるくて気の抜けたコーラ飲むと失敗みかんの味だよ。 | Not that it matters, but if you drink water and then some lukewarm cola it can taste like bad mandarin oranges. | |
| 38 | 8/21/00 | 102 | このまんがはいいかげんなようでいて、実は資料調べるのが割と毎度大変なんだよ。 | This manga may seem messy but it’s actually getting difficult to find research materials for everything. | |
| 39 | 8/28/00 | 103 | Dの町Tが世界遺産登録で驚愕の新事実。実際のヴラド家の子孫はR経営していた。 | I just learned that Dracula’s home in Transylvanian was added to the World Heritage list. The actual descendants of Vlad’s family fled from Romania. | This was added to the list on December 2, 1999. |
| 40 | 9/4/00 | 104 | 「知ってるつもり！?」の水木しげる良かった。やっぱあんだけの休験しないと敵う訳ねえ | The Shigeru Mizuki episode of “Do You Really Know About It?!” was great. In order to keep up with him, I would need to take a lot more breaks. | The episode aired on August 20th and focused on Shigeru Mizuki and his Gegege no Kitaro series. |
| 41 | 9/11/00 | 105 | キャラ人気投票、健全(！?)な結果でほっとしたよ。 つ一訳でこれからも応援よろしくね | I was relieved to see a healthy(!?) number of responses in the character popularity poll. Thank you for your continued support | |
| 42 | 9/18/00 | 106 | 今週は車のブレーキが故障したり歯が痛かったり大変でした。数回「死ぬ」と叫んだ。 | This week has been tough with my car’s brakes failing and getting a toothache. I screamed “I’m dying” many times. | |
| 43 | 9/25/00 | 107 | なけなしの勇気ふりしぼって、やっと歯医者に行きました。俺は恐怖にうち勝った！！ | I mustered up what little courage I had and finally went to the dentist. I was able to conquer my fear!! | |
| 44 | 10/2/00 | 108 | 都内某所の梟専門店にて、お効強してきました。いつか必ずリーフライトするよ。 | I’ve found a well-stocked owl specialty store in Tokyo. I’ll definitely fly back to it someday. | |
| 45 | 10/7/00 | 109 | 勇敢なる愛弟子キユ。とりあえずお疲れさまでした。 次は思いきりやりかえしてやれ。 | My brave and beloved disciple Kiyu. Thank you for your hard work. Come back and fight again. | Kiyu was one of Takei’s assistants. His first cancelled Jump series, Rocket de Tsukinukero! ended in the previous issue. |
| 46 | 10/16/00 | Break | This was Takei’s 2nd break from serialization. | ||
| 47 | 10/23/00 | 110 | ウチの駐車場にタヌキが出没。それも2匹。 タヌキ2匹、 ほのぼのしてしまった。 | There was a raccoon in our parking lot. Actually 2 of them. Seeing them together was heartwarming. | |
| 48 | 10/30/00 | 111 | 国産初のVメタルルーフのあの車がついに納車！ でも街中での変形はやっぱりてれる。 | The first domestically produced car with a V-metal roof has been released! But the style might be a bit too much for the city. | |
| 49 | 11/6/00 | 112 | 披に「パパ大好き」と3回合われた。これで半年はいける。散歩いっちきますぞー！ | She said to me “I love you papa” 3 times. This feeling will last me half a year. Let’s go out on a walk! | |
| 50 | 11/13/00 | 113 | このところ立て続けに気味味は現象が起きてます。ちょっと信じざるをえないかも。 | There has been some strange phenomena occurring one right after another. I might have to believe for a little bit. | |
| 51 | 11/20/00 | 114 | フクロウと鳴きかわしができるようになりました。 夜はエサくれコールがとてもかわいい。 | I can now hoot and holler with my owl. The call to feed him dinner is very cute. | |
| 52 | 11/27/00 | 115 | 梟の種類はスピックスコノハズク。 図鑑を見れば載ってるよ。興味のある人は見てね。 | My owl is a Tropical Screech Owl. It’s often listed in illustration books. Anyone who is interested should take a look. |
Contributions:
- The Grand Line for actual Weekly Shonen Jump release dates.
- 咲良さくら, Dit, 晴, Clover, Stacey, Elliot Têtedoie for Japanese transcription assistance