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This 2,264-page manga behemoth is the biggest Japanese comic anthology we’ve ever seen【Photos】

Casey Baseel Apr 23, 2019
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Two of Japan’s top manga publishers team up for a special collection of 44 different series in one huge book.

Just about anyone with even a passing interest in anime or manga has heard of Weekly Shonen Jump, Japan’s largest manga anthology which a huge number of hit series have been adapted into animated TV series. But Weekly Shonen Jump isn’t the only once-a-week magazine for shonen manga (boys’ comics), as there’s also the rather straightforwardly named Weekly Shonen Magazine, a separate publication altogether.

Shonen Magazine is actually the older of the two, having started in 1959, while Shonen Jump’s first issue didn’t come until 1968. The two anthologies have spent the decades since as direct rivals, but publishers Shueisha and Kodansha are setting aside their competitive spirits for a collaborative effort called Shonen Jummaga, which collects chapters from dozens of their most popular series into one ridiculously massive tome.

Ordinary issues of Weekly Shonen Jump and Weekly Shonen Magazine are already several hundred pages long, but the Shonen Jummaga Special Commemorative Edition, to use its full name, goes even beyond that. In the ample space between the front and back covers, you’ll find 44 different series on a total of 2,264 pages.

Another impressive highlight from the tale of the tape is that the magazine is 13 centimeters (5.1 inches) thick, and this heavyweight manga champion tips the scales at 3.35 kilograms (7.37 pounds), making it heavier than some exercise dumbbells.

But this isn’t just a collection of quantity, but one of quality too. Instead of the most recent chapter for each series in its pages, the Shonen Jummaga Special Commemorative Edition contains the first chapter of each, enabling readers to flip back at the earliest scenes of hit series such as One Piece…

…Hunter x Hunter…

…Ahiru no Sora…

…and The Seven Deadly Sins…

…as well as Haikyu!!, Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, My Hero Academia, and The Quintessential Quintuplets.

▼ The Shonen Jummaga Special Commemorative Edition next to a regular Weekly Shonen Jump

Due to its massive size, the Shonen Jummaga Special Commemorative Edition isn’t available for regular purchase. Instead, just 10 are being printed, and they’ll be given away as prizes for selected entrants who also write a book report-style report on the special collection or who correctly answer a series of trivia questions about the included series (entries can be made through the magazine’s official website here). Even if you’re not lucky enough to receive one of the physical books, the contents of the Shonen Jummaga Special Commemorative Edition are available to read for free online here.

So either way, you’ll be pretty much set for bathroom reading material for the next several months.

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[ Read in Japanese ]