The Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc (Rurouni Kenshin, Meiji Kenkaku Romantan: Hokkaidō-hen) manga, penned by Nobuhiro Watsuki with story collaboration from his novelist wife Kaoru Kurosaki, will be taking a one-month break. The manga will not feature a new chapter in the September issue of Shueisha’s Jump SQ. magazine, which is set for release on August 4. The series is expected to resume serialization in the October issue, scheduled for September 4.
Recent Publication History and Hiatuses
The Hokkaido Arc manga had just resumed serialization in the August issue of Jump SQ. on July 4, following a previous hiatus. The manga had been on break since the magazine’s June 2024 issue, released in May 2024. In September 2024, staff at Jump SQ. confirmed that the hiatus would continue for an unspecified period due to Nobuhiro Watsuki’s poor health.
Prior to this recent extended break, Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc has experienced several interruptions in its serialization. The series first went on hiatus in December 2017 after Watsuki was charged with possession of child pornography. It later resumed publication in June 2018. The manga also took a break in June 2021, resuming in August of the same year.
About Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc
Nobuhiro Watsuki and Kaoru Kurosaki launched the Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc manga in Shueisha’s Jump SQ. magazine in September 2017. The series serves as a direct sequel to the original Rurouni Kenshin manga, following Kenshin Himura and his companions in 1883 Japan as they travel through Hokkaido in search of his father-in-law. As of November 2023, nine tankōbon volumes of the Hokkaido Arc have been released.
Viz Media previously published the manga digitally in English simultaneously with its Japanese release but ceased publication when the manga went on hiatus in 2017.
The Enduring Legacy of Rurouni Kenshin
The original 28-volume Rurouni Kenshin manga, which Nobuhiro Watsuki first launched in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1994, has achieved widespread popularity, with over 72 million copies in circulation worldwide. The story centers on Kenshin Himura, a former deadly assassin during the Meiji Restoration, who seeks a new life away from violence.
The franchise has seen numerous adaptations, including a 95-episode TV anime series, an anime film, three original video animation (OVA) projects, five live-action films, and a stage musical by the Takarazuka Revue. A new anime series, which re-adapts the main manga, premiered its first season in July 2023, running for two consecutive cours. The second season, titled Rurouni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Romantan: Kyōto Dōran (Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Disturbance), began airing in October 2023, also for a continuous two cours. Crunchyroll has streamed both seasons as they aired, including an English dub.
