Saikyo Jump (最強ジャンプ, Saikyō Janpu, lit. "Strongest Jump"[a]) is a monthly shonen manga magazine published both in print and digitally in Japan by Shueisha under the "Jump" line of magazines.
Originally launched as a joint publication between Weekly Shonen Jump and V Jump[2], the first issue was released with a cover date of January 17, 2011.[3] Initially structured as a quarterly magazine, Saikyo Jump became an independent monthly publication in December 2011[4], before switching to a bimonthly format with the November 2014 issue[5], and returning to a monthly schedule with the September 2021 issue.[6] The magazine's focus is spin-offs and supplementary manga series aimed at a juvenile male audience (aged 6 to 12), while also including game promotions, news coverage, and more.
A one-shot reboot of Hirohiko Araki's Cool Shock B.T. manga was first announced in the March 2024 issue of Saikyo Jump on February 1, 2024. It was published in the April 2024 issue on March 4, 2024[7]
Saikyo Jump began as a joint special quarterly publication between Weekly Shonen Jump and V Jump[2], marking their first collaboration since e-Jump in 1999. The first issue was released as a Winter edition on December 3, 2010, featuring three completely original titles and seven spin-off manga from series in the collaborating magazines[8]. The subsequent issues followed as a Spring edition on April 2011, a Summer edition on August 2011, and a Autumn edition on October 2011.
On December 3, 2011, Saikyo Jump evolved into an independent monthly magazine[4]. Concurrently, One Piece's author Eiichiro Oda designed the mascot character, and through a public contest, his name was chosen as Pharaon (ファラオン, Faraon)[9]. Despite being classified as a "shonen manga" magazine, Saikyo Jump tends to cater to a slightly younger audience in the elementary-school age group, with juvenile, spin-off adaptations of popular Jump series, usually being gag manga and/or in chibi style. New authors and artists are recruited to produce these works, rather than the respective series' original author. There is also a strong focus on magazine aspects outside of the manga, filling itself with promotional material and collectibles.
Probably due to its childish nature, it is the most niche of Shueisha's ongoing shonen manga magazines, having a significantly smaller audience than most of its counterparts[10]. Likely because of this, the magazine shifted to a bimonthly schedule in October 2014[5], and most of the series that had been serialized since the inaugural issue ended. However, in summer 2021, after ended most of the series that had been serialized since the beginning of the bimonthly period, the magazine went on a brief hiatus for a branding refresh, re-emerging in August 2021 as a monthly publication once more[11], now also published digitally, being one of the last Shueisha magazines to expanded into the digital realm, but still doing so before its parent magazine V Jump.
On August 2021, in the same issue where the magazine returned to its monthly format, the special project "Dragon Ball Super Gallery" was introduced[12]. In commemoration of the Dragon Ball franchise’s upcoming 40th anniversary, different artists redesign one of the original 42 tankōbon covers of the Dragon Ball series in their own art style, along with an accompanying comment, both present on each issue's back cover. In the August 2022 issue on July 04, 2022, Hirohiko Araki brings his take on the series’ 33rd volume cover, along with a comment praising Akira Toriyama's original artwork[13].
Author's NoteOn February 1, 2024 in the March 2024 issue of Saikyo Jump, a reboot one-shot “dedicated to young kids born in the Reiwa era” of Hirohiko Araki‘s debut serialized manga Cool Shock B.T. was first announced[7]. On the following day, the one-shot was also announced online with the statement “look forward to an episode where B.T., with his devilish intellect, experiences a bone-chilling adventure!”. Written by Juichiro Hitsujiyama and illustrated by Yuta Matsutani, with storyboard composition by Ao Suzumura, the one-shot was published in the April 2024 issue on March 4, 2024. Similarly to the spin-off manga Cool Shock Old B.T., the one-shot contains many references to the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series.
| No. | Title | Type | First Issue | Last Issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cool Shock B.T. (Reboot) | One-shot | March 4, 2024 | N/A |
August 2022 Issue, with Hirohiko Araki take's on Dragon Ball Super Gallery on the back cover
Dragon Ball Super Gallery - Volume 33
March 2024 Issue, Cool Shock B.T. (Reboot) Announcement
Cool Shock B.T. (Reboot) Announcement
April 2024 Issue, Cool Shock B.T. (Reboot)
