The manga creators of Kaiju no 8, SPYxFAMILY and more have released new illustrations celebrating Japan’s annual Obon Festival.
More than a dozen top Shonen Jump+ manga authors have released special illustrations of their characters celebrating Japan’s traditional Obon Festival.
New illustrations have been posted to the Shonen Jump+ website and app. Shonen Jump+ is Shuiesha’s online digital manga service and a launching point for several popular new series’, including Naoya Matsumoto’s Kaiju No.8 and the critically-acclaimed SPYxFAMILY high, both featured in the app’s Obon celebration. Some of the other series featured in the festival are Otomo No Teikoku, World’s End Harem and Dandadan.
Obon, sometimes called “bon”, is a traditional Japanese Buddhist custom dedicated to honoring the spirits of ancestors in the family. The three-day festival has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years, and although it is not an officially recognized public holiday, many businesses will allow employees to take time off for the festival, while other Schools are usually closed for the summer break during the period. People celebrate this event with a variety of traditions, from praying and visiting the graves of loved ones, to more festive activities, such as dancing, carnivals and fireworks. Anime and manga fans have probably seen the Obon Festival and its accompanying fireworks many times without realizing it, as the festival has been featured in every TV series like A Silent Voice to comedy anime series like Monthly. Girls Nozaki-Kun and Kaguya-sama: Love Is War.
Shonen Jump + is the online only spin-off of Shueisha’s best-selling Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The app has been downloaded more than 10 million times and brings in more than 12 billion yen in revenue for the publisher. In December 2020, Shuiesha announced that they would be porting the second installment of the hugely popular Chainsaw Man manga series to Shonen Jump+ from the print magazine. Titles from the service can be viewed in English on the Manga Plus service, which Shuiesha also owns.
