Masashi Kishimoto has set a benchmark in the anime-manga industry with the success of Naruto. Matching the success of Naruto is not an easy feat, and it might not even be the goal. But after Naruto ended, fans were expecting him to release something that was either related to Naruto or something that matches it’s glory. Boruto was the former and has become fairly successful. Whereas Kishimoto’s other manga, Samurai 8, was neither of those things.
Published for the first time in 2019, Samurai 8 had a lackluster year-long run. It’s performance was far worse than the general perception regarding Boruto. Here are 3 reasons that made Samurai 8 a complete disaster.
3. The Weight of Expectations
After Naruto’s massive success, there’s a set of expectations from the readers and publishers that follows after Kishimoto. These expectations were further elevated through massive promotions of Samurai 8. Far from the expectations, the first chapter was decent at best. It didn’t have the power to hook the readers. There was too much information in the first chapter itself.
Moreover, the art style was not refined. It wasn’t Kishimoto illustrating the manga, but Akira Okubo. His art is something that you grow accustomed to over time, like an acquired taste. There were too many elements on every page, making it hard to make out the details. So, Samurai 8 started out rough with chaotic art style and an overload of information.
2. The Quick Escalation of Power and the Flawed Execution
As the story progressed, the first few chapters failed to establish much connection. There were too many developments and again a whole lot of information to work with. To add to that, the first proper villain of the series had the power to destroy the world.
Simultaneously, the protagonist’s powers were even greater if he had the Pandora Box in his possession. Within the first 20 chapters, the world had been put at risk. The introduction of such high-level powers early on in the story was a result of the bad execution.
We go from point zero to hundred straight away. It leaves the reader wondering about the ultimate extent of the power scale. Madara’s conclusion is a good example of how navigating the power scale becomes difficult, when you introduce such astronomical (magnitude-wise for Madara) powers. Somehow, Masashi Kishimoto made it work as he started explaining the key concepts, but it was already too late by then.
1. Competition with the Top Titles
Finally, Samurai 8 was publishing in the Weekly Shonen Jump alongside Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Demon Slayer. All these series have established themselves as some of the most popular manga of all time. While Chainsaw Man might not be on the same level of commercial success as JJK and Demon Slayer, it was unique and exceptional in many ways. Competing with these giants every week, while struggling with the execution and art style, Samurai 8 eventually came to a rushed end in 2020.
Had it been given more time, Samurai 8 might have established itself with a dedicated fanbase. But the odds were not in its favor.
Samurai 8 is available to read on MangaPlus app and website.
