With the Shaman King anime ending the year prior, the manga series looks to come up with new storylines to keep moving. Without the burden of the anime catching up to the story anymore, Hiroyuki Takei develops his new pace for the series while the competition against other rising popularity of manga series in Weekly Shonen Jump begins to grow. This new pace resulted in several breaks/hiatuses for the Shaman King manga series, but also a new opportunity to think about future stories he might want to tell.
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 2003.
| Issue # | Release Date (MM/DD/YY) | Shaman King Chapter # | Author Comment (Japanese) | Author Comment (English) | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12/2/02 | 207 | 息子に雑誌買ったつもりが別冊だった。母親 にジャンプ頼んだら月刊買って来られたのを 思い出して大人になったなと思う | I thought I was buying a magazine for my son, but it was the special edition. That reminded me of when I asked my mother to buy me Jump and she instead got the monthly magazine. | |
| 2 | 12/9/02 | Break | |||
| 3-4 | 12/16/02 | 208 | RC飛行機物フライトで大破。でもくじけない。あの風にのって浮かびあがった瞬間の感とう忘れないから。また作ります。 | I wreaked a RC airplane while flying. But I’m not discouraged. I will never forget that feeling I had when the wind lifted it up. I will rebuild it. | |
| 5 | 12/30/02 | 209 | 2002年な沢山のステキな人達に出会えた、今あらためて感謝したいと思います。2003年もよろしく。ありがとうございました。 | I would like to thank again all the wonderful people I met in 2002. Best wishes for 2003. Thank you very much again. | |
| 6-7 | 1/6/03 | 210 | 自宅の民芸品コーナーがとてもいい感じ。民芸は部屋との調和がすごい。 グッド空間がうまれる。 「民芸メロン」 こうかしら。 | The folk art corner of my home looks great. The folk art has a great harmony with the entire room. It creates a good space. Maybe it’s “Mingei (folk art) Melon.” | |
| 8 | 1/20/03 | 211 | 気が緩むせいか大きい休みが来ると決まって。体調を崩す。今回はいつにも増してすごい風邪でかなり寝正月。返してほしい。 | I always get sick during the big holidays. I’m sick again. This time, it was a worse cold than usual, so I spent a lot of time in bed for the New Year’s holidays. I want that time back. | |
| 9 | 1/27/03 | 212 | LEGO 。デッドストック物の再販が次々決まって嬉しい。持ってるやつに隈り侮しいけどそれでも組めるからやっばり嬉しい。 | I’m glad that out of stock LEGOs are being resold one after another. It’s a little insulting to the ones I already have, but I’m really happy that I can assemble these ones too. | |
| 10 | 2/3/03 | 213 | 動物を追いかけるとすごいワクワクする自分に気付いた。本能の自覚めか、虐待にならぬ様、気を付けながらもっと追いたい。 | I find that I get very excited when I chase animals. I want to chase them even more, but I got to suppress that instinct and not cause them distress. | |
| 11 | 2/10/03 | 214 | 短い間だったけど本当にお世話になりました。 もっとお話聞きたかったのに残念でなりません。まんが、がんばります。 | It was only for a short time, but thank you for your help. I wish I could have heard more from you. I’ll do my best for the manga. | |
| 12 | 2/17/03 | 215 | 夏の入学説明会。母親、校長の話も聞かずべキャクチャ。 携帯もあちこち鳴ってペチャクチャ。みんなはいい大人になろう。 | Summer Admission Information Session. A mother, who wasn’t listening to the principal. Cell phones ringing with chatter all around. Let’s all be good adults. | |
| 13 | 2/24/03 | 216 | かなり遅ればせながら年賀状全部読みました。ありがとうございます。 あけましておめでとう。今年もよろしくお願いします。 | Although belated, I have read all of your New Year’s cards. Thank you very much. Happy New Year. I look forward to continuing our relationship again this year. | |
| 14 | 3/3/03 | 217 | 阿弥陀気の小茜さんに招待されて半後の舞台行ってきました。 昨年末は竜の田中さんの舞台にも誘われていいづくしです。 | I went to a stage show with Konishi-san who played Amidamaru. At the end of last year, I was also invited to a stage show by Tanaka-san who played Ryu. | |
| 15 | 3/10/03 | 218 | 応援してくれたみんなへ感謝のつもりでーキャラずつ気合入れて塗りました。一切やらせなし。構成もいい具合で次回も楽しみです。 | I’ve drawn every character with great enthusiasm to thank everyone who has supported me. I’m not joking. The layout is really good and I am looking forward to what happens next. | The 2nd Character Popularity poll results were released in this issue. |
| 16 | 3/17/03 | 219 | 今週はマザー牧場行ってイチゴ狩ってジンギスカン食べて仔ブタ追いかけて幸せでした。生きる喜びを実感した気がします。 | This week was great since I went to Mother Farm, picked strawberries, ate jingisukan, and chased some piglets. I was feeling the joys of life. | Mother Farm is an Family interactive farm with an amusement park and other activities located in the Chiba Prefecture. |
| 17 | 3/24/03 | 220 | 自分的的にはスパリゾートハワイアンズ「与一の湯」が気に入っています。再現率も雰囲気もかなり上質なので、次は是非夜にでも。 | I like the “Yoichi’s Onsen” at the Spa Resort Hawaiian. The ability to replicate the style and atmosphere is a very high quality, so be sure to go at night. | The Spa Resort Hawaiians is a large resort with various different offerings. |
| 18 | 3/31/03 | 221 | リロ&スティッチ観てる閉じゅう泣いてた。ストーリーとは別に。 何だろ? 手描きの感動?それとも最近モロくなっただけ? | I was crying the whole time watching Lilo & Stitch. Not the story. What was it? The feeling of hand-drawings? Or just the level of technical skill? | Lilo & Stich released in Japanese theaters on March 8, 2003. |
| 19 | 4/7/03 | 222 | 自宅のご近所さんに「ぐりとぐら」の作者さんがいてとても光栄。何故って「ぐりとぐら」好きなので。ホットケーキ焼きます。 | I am honored to live in the same neighborhood as the author of “Guri and Gura.” It must be because I love “Guri and Gura.” Time to bake a hot cake (Hottokēki). | Guri and Gura is a series of books first created in 1963 by the author Rieko Nakagawa |
| 20 | 4/14/03 | 223 | 日帰り旅行が強度の後、いつかは泊まりたいと指をくわえて眺めてた旅館が全焼してしまいました。何度目だ！ 後悔先にたたずが。 | After an intense day trip, I had my fingers crossed that I could finally stay at a certain Ryokan, but it burned down. Why does that happen!? Take action before you regret it. | |
| 21 | 4/21/03 | 224 | 生前と言えば亡くなる前の事を言いますが、 生後と言えば生まれた後の事を言うのはS・F | When we speak about life we mean before it’s death. When we speak about what happens after that, then it moves into Science Fiction. | |
| 22-23 | 4/28/03 | 225 | 蓮の朴さんの招待で伊豆の土肥まで舞台へ。 橋爪功さんの別荘でアットホームなパーティーとムッシュの数がすばらしかった。 | Ren’s Paku-san invited me a stage performance in Toi, Izu. The house party at Isao Hashizume’s villa and the number of Monsieurs was wonderful. | Paku Romi, who was part of the “Theater Troupe En” (演劇集団 円) along with Isao Hashizume. Was likely the annual “菜の花舞台” which is hosted by that Theater troupe in early April. |
| 24 | 5/12/03 | 226 | 針センスが良いという25歳のキックボクサーにはじめて針治療受けて気持ち悪いほど元気に。肩こりは精神をむしばみますね。 | I was feeling de-energized, so I received an acupuncture treatment for the first time from a 25-year-old kickboxer who also had a good sense of needles. Stiff shoulders can take a toll on your spirit. | |
| 25 | 5/19/03 | 227 | 夜、ラーメン食べに出たらコキーン…コキーン…と金属音が。出所は神社の森。時刻は2:30。…これってもしかしてやっぱりアレ? | Recently when I went out late to eat ramen, I heard the sound of a kokīn… like a water droplet but with a metallic sound. It came from a shrine in the forest. And it was 2:30am. What could it have been? | This is similar to the sound of the water droplet that is featured in the Shaman King anime opening theme. |
| 26 | 5/26/03 | 228 | 佐藤さん(葉の)朴さん(蓮の)が家に遊びに来たいきおいで深夜草津までいきなり温泉ドライブ。こういう時のSAってトキメキ | Satou-san (Yoh) and Paku-san (Ren) visited my house but we suddenly went to Kusatsu late at night for a hot springs drive. Having this be a Service Area is exciting. | Kusatsu refers to the Kusatsu Onsen, which could be one of multiple baths |
| 27 | 6/2/03 | 229 | 大江戸温泉物語。 ロッカールームを脱衣所と間違えた僕ら親子は街へ出るのれんを裸でくぐっておおあわて。 早朝で助かったです。 | The Oedo hot springs story continued. We mistook the locker room for a changing room, so we were in a panic when we walked naked through the curtains that led back to town. Good thing it was so early in the morning. | |
| 28 | 6/9/03 | 230 | 仕事場植例の誕生プレゼント。武井宏之31歳の貰ったものは・・・ ジッポ、お弁当箱、メガネクリーナー 、ふぁみこん野郎、スケボー。 | The workplace birthday gift exchange. Hiroyuki Takei is now 31-years-old received… A Zippo, lunch box, glasses cleaner, a Famicom Yarō, and a skateboard. | A Famicom Yarō is an unlicensed Nintendo Famicom device that could play Nintendo games when the patent rights expired in 2003. |
| 29 | 6/16/03 | 231 | 来週は取材の為お休みします。何の取材かは10週位ひみつ。次回もその時もどうぞお楽しみに。 | I’ll be on break next week for an interview. That interview will be a secret for about 10 weeks. Please look forward to seeing you then. | |
| 30 | 6/23/03 | Break | |||
| 31 | 6/30/03 | 232 | 取材とは全然関係ないけどはじめて野性のカモシカ見た。ガケの上から見下ろされててなんかとても神々しい感じがした。 | This has nothing to do with the interview, but I did see a wild antelope for the first time. It was very divine, looking down on me from on top of a cliff. | |
| 32 | 7/7/03 | 233 | 担当へん集が変わった。短い間だったけどおつかれ様稲生氏、本当に有難う。次回作、出来なくて残念です。 そしてよろしく渡辺氏。 | The people in charge of the series has changed again. Thank you Inao-shi for your hard work, even though it was quite short. I’m sorry I couldn’t do the next one. Best regards Watanabe-shi. | Makoto Watanabe would later become the Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Jump SQ magazine in 2012. |
| 33 | 7/14/03 | 234 | 息子がMOTHER 1+2めた。親子の世代こわたって同じゲームが受け継がれていくのよ凄い事だと思う。僕はやってないが。 | My son has Mother 1+2. I think it’s great that the same game can be passed down from generation to generation. I haven’t played it yet. | |
| 34 | 7/19/03 | 235 | アオバズクがすごい。ありえないものを見てしまった。衝撃を受けた。 やはり猛禽は侮れ侮し今カッコいいのはシロハヤブサ | The White-faced Owl is amazing. I some something impossible. I was very shocked. None of the birds of prey should be underestimated, but the coolest right now is the White Falcon. | |
| 35 | 7/28/03 | 236 | JC25巻25Pの「未納」。本誌では消してもらってたんですが、すっかり忘れてまんま残ってしまいました。ミスです。ごめんなさい | Jump Comic volume 25, on page 25 says “Unpaid”. I had erased it for the magazine, but I completely forgot about it and ended up leaving it there. It’s a mistake. Sorry. | |
| 36 | 8/4/03 | 237 | 夏休みに入り、薄くっても子供達が起きて待っててくれるので嬉しい。 R-TYPEとか で遊ぶ。昼間息子が増やした機体で。 | It’s summer vacation and I’m happy my kids are waiting for me when it gets dark. We play R-TYPE or similar. During the day my son and I fly an aircraft. | |
| 37-38 | 8/11/03 | 238 | 庭に母猫と仔猫三匹が棲みついてて、とにかく微笑ましい。 忙しい朝も、見るとついニッコリ。黒猫も来るがこいつはウザい性格 | I smile when I see the mother cat and her three kittens living in the garden. Even on busy mornings I can’t help but give them a smile. A black cat also comes by, but he has an irritable personality. | |
| 39 | 8/25/03 | 239 | やべっ、なんかDIOっぽくなっちゃった。直さなきゃ。という訳でまだ何も出来てない次号読切「エキゾチカ」、どぞヨロシク。 | Oh no, he’s starting to look like DIO. I’ll need to fix that. So please look forward to the next issue with “Exotica” that I’m still working on. | DIO is in reference to the Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure manga. |
| 40 | 9/1/03 | Exotica | 239X「大試練」の表紙には意味があったのでアオリ文を自分でかいたら「家族」を「京都」に関違えられた。字は寧に書かんとね。 | The cover for chapter 239, “The Great Ordeal” was meaningful to me, so I wrote the tagline myself, but I misspelled “family” as “Kyoto.” I need to be careful how the characters are written. | Exotica was Hiroyuki Takei’s one shot manga that was included as an extra in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine this issue. |
| 41 | 9/8/03 | 240 | 数年前白鳥に噛まれた事がある。 痛くはなかっ たがあのカブッ！とした感触が忘れられず、 最 近また噛まれたいと思うようになった | A few years ago I was bitten by a swan. It didn’t hurt, but I can’t forget the feeling of that swan’s bite. Recently I think I want to be bite again. | |
| 42 | 9/13/03 | 241 | 常に空きが出来たので、ここで改めてアシス タントの募集をしたいと思います。 我こそは な方は担当渡邊真氏までよろしくです | There is always vacancies here, so I would like to recruit some more assistants again. Please contact Mr. Makoto Watanabe if interested. | |
| 43 | 9/22/03 | Break | |||
| 44 | 9/29/03 | 242 | 夏休みは仕事でみんなと墓参り行けなかった ので、先週温泉がてら行ってきました山形へ 大ブームらしい人面魚もバッチリ。 | I couldn’t visit the cemetery with everyone during summer vacation due to work, so I went to Yamagata last week to enjoy the hot springs. | |
| 45 | 10/6/03 | 243 | とある目的のために15年連れ添ったメガネと別れ、初・コンタクトに挑戦しました。が、実に快適。さらばメガネ。(マルコは関係ない) | For reasons, I stopped using glasses I’ve had for the last 15 years and tried contacts for the first time. They are very comfortable. Goodbye glasses. (Marco is not involved) | |
| 46 | 10/11/03 | 244 | キッシー結婚おめでとー！何だか二人を見てたら本っ当に幸せそうで僕は少し目が覚めました。ケンカしないで末永くお幸せに | Congratulations on getting married Kisshī! I was awakened by happy they looked. Don’t fight and be happy for a long time! | |
| 47 | 10/20/03 | 245 | 久々の伊豆。ホテルの温泉とプール、 家族で 貸切状態で大はしゃぎ。やっぱ平日は人いな くていいなー。「都民の日」ありがとう！ | Been a while since I went to Izu. The hotel’s hot springs and swimming pool were reserved for the whole family, so we had a great time. It’s nice that there are nobody there on the weekdays. Thank you “Citizens Day”! | |
| 48 | 10/27/03 | 246 | 疲れ果て、家でグッタリ横になってたら猫に髪を毛づくろいされた。なんつー幸せなん コー気持ち良さ。今年最大の癒し。 | Exhausted, laying at home, my cat started grooming my hair. What a great feeling. Greatest healing of the year. | |
| 49 | 11/1/03 | 247 | ウチの娘はボーボボが好きだ。 しかし「サービ ス！」と、サービスマンの真似して遊んでるの には参った。外でやってないか心配だ。 | My daughter likes Bo-Bobo. But she imitated a serviceman by calling out “Service!” I’m afraid she’ll do it again in public. | |
| 50 | 11/10/03 | 248 | 先週うは加治佐君達と飲んだ。普段だとなかな言えないぶっちゃけトークが出来て楽しかた。今度また飲みましょうね。 | Last week I had drinks with Osami Kaijsa and friends. It was fun to have a frank talk with them. Let’s get drink again soon. | Osami Kaijsa had previously worked on the Tattoo Hearts manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2003. |
| 51 | 11/17/03 | 249 | スズキのG-STRIDER(バイク)がヤバい。こ れ我々の世代にはトラウマ的かっこよさなんじゃないだろうか。 すんごい欲しい。 | Suzuki’s G-STRIDER (motocycle) is badass. They leaned into the traumatic coolness of this generation, huh? I want it so bad. | Autoevolution has a short article on the Suzuki G-STRIDER. |
| 52 | 11/22/03 | 250 | 溜めに溜めた仕事のツケがいっぺんに来て、今50枚アタックに挑戦中です。〆切はとうに超えてます。 無事終わるのでしょうか | The bill for all of the work I’ve accumulated has finally come, and now I’m fighting a 50-page attack. The deadline has already passed. Will I be able to finish in time? |
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