The wave of cancellations in the famous Weekly Shonen Jump magazine hits another new series before even giving it a chance. Just last week, Kaedegami got axed, sparking controversy among Shonen Jump readers. While many understood the magazine’s decision to discontinue the series, others believed it should’ve at least been given a chance after the first volume’s release. Only a week has passed since the update was shared, along with another news of three new WSJ series being introduced in consecutive weeks. Naturally, this means that two more series were supposed to be axed, and many had already guessed that one of them would be Ekiden Bros by Daiki Nono. The series debuted in June this year and will release its final Chapter 17 on October 26th, 2025.
The information was shared by @WSJ_manga, a famous X account known for sharing major updates regarding Shonen Jump series. While WSJ usually gives new series at least a year to see if they will perform well, discontinuing something before it even releases 19 chapters isn’t out of the ordinary, although it’s not as common. Ekiden Bros is the first serialized manga by Daiki Nono and had a strong start, but it failed to catch the readers’ eye during the time it was being serialized. It only has 200 votes on MyAnimeList and a score of 5.61, which is considered below average both rating and engagement-wise.
What Is the Plot of Ekiden Bros?
The story follows Nobunaga, a young student who grew up watching the Tokyo-Hakune Round-Trip College Ekiden Race since his mother ran a dormitory full of long-distance runners training for the marathon. Not only that, but his father is the coach for the Ekiden marathon and has been training new runners for a long time. The race takes place every winter, and Nobunaga watches it with the same excitement each time as he witnesses the incredible moments, the prizes, and the new records being set each year.
Now that Nobunaga has entered high school, he plans to dedicate all his time and energy to learning everything about the marathon. However, despite his passion, he doesn’t actually feel confident enough to participate since he’s worried his father will be mocked by others for having a “mediocre” son. Instead, his goal is to watch from the sidelines and support the runners in every way possible.
However, things turned out a lot differently than he planned after he rediscovers his love for running after getting in a brief argument with his childhood rival and entering a ten-kilometer run. Thanks to the help of Kenzaki, the ace of Seitoku University’s track and field team, Nobunaga wins the race and decides to pursue his dream of running in the Ekiden marathon. The manga is currently available on the official app of Manga Plus, where the final chapter will drop on Sunday. Although the volume’s release date has been revealed, it’s only in Japanese, and there’s no guarantee that an English version will be published.
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