While the perennially popular manga/anime franchise Naruto continues to run through its sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, creator Masashi Kishimoto's new manga series Samurai 8 is coming to an end.The weekly manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump has confirmed Chapter 43 will be the last for Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru, bringing the series to a close with what will be five collected volumes.
When first announced in March 2019, Kishimoto indicated he had plans for the manga series to run for 10 volumes, with the potential for the story to expand beyond his initial expectations like Naruto. The series officially debuted in May 2019, with an English translation soon arriving from Viz Media.
Samurai 8 follows the adventures of a young boy named Hachimaru, who suffers from severe physical disabilities that require him to be constantly connected to a life support system. After wishing on a shooting star to be cured of his condition and transformed into a samurai warrior, Hachimaru learns he's a figure prophesied to save the galaxy, as he trains in samurai arts and encounters familiar faces from the video games he obsessively played while ill.