Kubo Ibuki Great Game Manga Will End in Seven Chapters

Kaiji Kawaguchi’s Kūbo Ibuki Great Game manga will be ending in seven more chapters, according to an announcement in the 19th issue of Shogakukan’s Big Comic magazine. The series is also confirmed to conclude with 19 compiled book volumes total, with the 17th scheduled to ship on September 30.

The manga is a sequel to Kawaguchi’s earlier Kūbo Ibuki series, which ended in December 2019 after 13 volumes. Kūbo Ibuki Great Game launched in Big Comic in December 2019 and picks up after the battle of Senkaku, following the great powers as they compete for sovereignty in what the series frames as a “great game.”

The original Kūbo Ibuki was created in collaboration with journalist Osamu Eya and launched in Big Comic in 2014. That series won the Best General Manga award at the 63rd Shogakukan Manga Awards in January 2018. The combined volumes of both series have sold more than 3 million copies. A live-action film adaptation of the first series was released in 2019.

Kawaguchi has a long history of acclaimed manga with political and military themes. His series Zipang ran in Kodansha’s Morning magazine until 2009, and a television anime adaptation was produced. The Silent Service inspired naval anime content and two live-action films. The second film opened on September 26, and a live-action series sequel titled Silent Service Season 1: The Battle of Tokyo Bay premiered on Amazon Prime in February 2024. Viz Media has published Kawaguchi’s political manga Eagle in North America.

My take: Kūbo Ibuki Great Game has been running for years alongside its predecessor and it is interesting to see it approaching its end. Kawaguchi’s geopolitical storytelling is unlike most things in manga, and finishing on his own terms feels right.