Debut manga Sen Sen Senki gets reprint before it even goes on sale

Sen Sen Senki hasn't hit bookstores yet and already has a reprint secured. The first collected volume goes on sale on November 16, but the publisher decided in August to order a second printing, a month before the release. The Sanyo Shimbun newspaper reported it, and the Weekly Shōnen Magazine editorial team confirmed it.

The series has been running in Kodansha's magazine since June. The script is by Ehten and the art by Ryūga Kawasaki. For Kawasaki, this is his debut in a commercial magazine, and a first volume by a rookie author getting a reprint before release is something the publisher itself calls unusual.

For veteran authors with proven sales, an early reprint happens from time to time. For a debutant, it doesn't. "I can't believe it... Is it really going to sell? Are you sure it's okay?" Kawasaki said, still not fully processing the news.

From assistant on Gachiakuta to debuting with a reprint

Kawasaki didn't come out of nowhere. Before getting his own series, he worked as an assistant on Gachiakuta, the manga by Kei Urana that also runs in Weekly Shōnen Magazine. In 2023 he won the 110th New Manga Artist Award.

The publisher highlights his art level and says the series has received good feedback both inside and outside the company. They add that his art has potential to appeal outside Japan.

"Despite being his debut in a commercial magazine, the reprint of the first volume was already decided in August, a month before the release," the magazine's editorial team explained.

What Sen Sen Senki is about

The story starts in a world divided by war. An ambitious king destroys a small country and takes a boy prisoner. He doesn't give up: his goal is to free the people from the tyrant's rule. To do it, he decides to become a sennin, a being with supernatural powers.

The first volume arrives in Japanese stores this November 16. The reprint is already underway; we'll see if word of mouth makes it fall short.

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