What is JUMP?
WEEKLY JUMP, rival publication of WEEKLY SHONEN SUNDAY, is a "phone book" anthology published every week, with a circulation over 4 million. It is filled with some of today's hottest titles targeted for school age boys, many of them familiar to anime fans. JUMP has among its esteemed alumni: DRAGON BALL, VIDEO GIRL AI, CITY HUNTER, FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD, SAINT SEIYA, SLAM DUNK, and YUU YUU HAKUSHO / POLTERGEIST REPORT.
Last issue's WEEKLY JUMP update (1999 Issue 34) can be found here.

Selected News:

While other weekly "boy's manga" magazines seemingly fill up with cute girls in bikinis, JUMP seems to stick it out with other boys' interests. In this issue, the spotlight is on Matsuzaka Daisuke, the sensational rookie professional baseball player that has been the talk of all Japan since his days in the national high school baseball tournament. He tells JUMP readers that he was a DRAGON BALL fanatic much like other boys of his age, and that he loves the sport of baseball so much that he abandoned his potential career in kendo to pursue baseball.

Two new JUMP-based TV anime shows will hit the airwaves via the Fuji TV network! It has just been announced that both ONE PIECE and HUNTER x HUNTER will become television series and will start airing this fall. Timeslots were announced in issue #42: the ONE PIECE animated series will start on October 20, and will air every Wednesday at 7pm (the timeslot that featured DRAGON BALL / DRAGON BALL Z) while the HUNTER x HUNTER animated series will start on October 16, and will air every Saturday at 6:30pm (in what was YUU YUU HAKUSHO timeslot a few years back). More information to come (such as staff and cast) as soon as it is released to the public.

Selected Overview:

NEKOMAJIN GA IRU 2
by Toriyama Akira

Toriyama's short story was mentioned in EX4.4...and now, Toriyama returns with a sequel. The Nekomajin is as crazy as ever in this "Summer Super Jumbo Ora-Ora Short Story"...but now has a "rival" in the hero business named Kobayashi Pete. In the story, Nekomajin sees a UFO landing near his home one evening. When he goes to look the next day, he tries to fly it out of curiosity, and ends up crashing the ship. Just then, two aliens return with a girl taken as hostage. The aliens are upset, but Nekomajin demands that they give him a cell phone to call a repairman. Furthermore, he pays no respect to the hostage—the daughter of a wealthy family. Things get even more hectic as Nekomajin tries to be chummy with the aliens, and the girl calls Pete for help—and Pete thinks Nekomajin is on the aliens' side and starts to fight! After a battle scene that is as beautiful as ever, the aliens flee.

Selected Brief Updates:

ZOMBIE POWDER
by Kubo Taito
Started in #34, 1999

Overview: In this world, there is a powder called the Zombie Powder that brings the dead back to life and gives the living eternal life. The long journey for Elwood the pickpocket begins when he meets Akutabi Gamma, a Powder Hunter in search of the 12 Rings of the Dead to acquire the Zombie Powder. Elwood doesn't know much about the powder hunting industry, but he decides to follow Gamma for hopes of bringing his sister back to life...How will they escape from the Ash Daughter clan and their "special helper" Smith?
This Issue—Track 4: shakin' edges & smokin' barrels - Smith seemingly unloads his gun onto Gamma...but only the bars and the handcuffs are broken. Gamma introduces his friend Smith to Elwood, much to the pickpocket's surprise. Elwood asks why they can cut or shoot with intent to kill if they trust each other; Gamma and Smith both reply that they don't team up with weaklings that they can easily kill. The two stand up to fight the rest of the gang, and Elwood is impressed at Smith's incredible sharpshooting. Meanwhile, Buckley—the guy that brought Gamma back—dies at the hands of his boss, Calder.

HIKARU NO GO
story by Hotta Yumi, art by Obata Takeshi, supervised by Umezawa Yukari
Started in #2/3, 1999 (2 volumes available)

Overview: Hikaru was a normal elementary school student until the spirit of Sai, an ancient master of go, became trapped in his body. At first, Hikaru knew nothing about go, but with Sai's proddings and teaching him the basics, his own ability starts to blossom. Hikaru then starts to notice the difference in ability and has doubts of having Sai play his games for him...then he learns about playing go on the 'net! Hikaru realizes that he can now allow Sai play to his heart's content thanks to the anonymity that the Internet brings.
This Issue—33rd bout: akira - Everyone in the international go tournament wonders who "sai" is. Waya explains to the other players his theory that the mystery player's identity is someone who is not a professional, but more like what Honinbo Shusaku (the last person Sai spritually bonded with, known to be the best go player of all time) would be if he knew how current go players laid out their hand. Just as Waya explains that he thinks "sai" is a kid, Akira appears on the scene, and he is reminded of Hikaru and he remembers their last bout (when Hikaru played without Sai's help). The group asks Akira to login to the go network, and Hikaru notices an "akira" in the network. Hikaru, as "sai", refuses all other matches and asks "akira" for a match to the surprise of all the tournament players.

SHAMAN KING
by Takei Hiroyuki
Started in #31, 1998 (4 volumes available)

Overview: Asakura Yoh is a shaman who wishes to become the best of the shamans—the Shaman King. Supported by his friend Manta and his fiancée Anna, Yoh and his spirit-friend Amidamaru enter the Shaman Fight in Tokyo, the tournament which will decide who the King will be. After his devastating loss in the second match, Yoh went back to his homeland and strengthened his abilities as a shaman. Now he prepares for his third battle: a rematch with Tao Ren.
This Issue—55th Reincarnation: Cemetary of Reunion - While Manta frets about Yoh's rematch with Ren, Yoh stays calm...a little too calm for Manta's tastes (especially because Yoh must win today's match to go onto the next round of the Shaman Fight). Back at home, Anna tells Tamao that all they can do is wait, and she even asks the young girl if she has no faith in Yoh because she is so worried. Manta continues to worry about Yoh and his future, when Ren arrives on horseback. Ren states that he will kill Yoh because our hero will someday prove to be a threat to him. Yoh laughs because that train of thought is typical of Ren, but claims that he can't lose and therefore he will win.

HUNTER x HUNTER
by Togashi Yoshihiro
Started in #14, 1998 (5 volumes available)

Overview: Gon is a boy who dreamed of becoming a Hunter just like his father Ging. Now that he and his friends Clapika and Reolio passed the Hunter Qualifications Examination and became Hunters, they went their separate ways in search of finding the answers to the questions that led them to become Hunters. Gon decides to team up with Kirua, his friend from the Exam, and climb the Heavenly Arena, a tall tower where people fight for money. Gon gets severely injured in his first match up on the 200th floor; and while he recuperates, the focus turns to Hisoka, a fellow Hunter. Hisoka's opponent, Castro, is out to seek revenge from two years ago.
This Issue—No.054: Reason for Losing - Hisoka, now with only his left arm, performs a simple mind trick. Castro gets upset by this, and he cuts off Hisoka's left arm, using his power to create a second physical self...but Hisoka's right arm grew back! Hisoka declares victory to the dumbfounded Castro. Castro sets out another attack with the "double," but he can't hide the toll of his battle and now Hisoka can tell which is which. Hisoka's left arm comes flying in to make a clean hit on Castro's jaw. The damage from the punch leaves Castro unable to create his other self, and he falls to Hisoka's next set of card attacks.