News
Oedo Fire Slayer Manga Goes on Hiatus Due to Artist's Illness
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
This year's 40th issue of Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine announced on Thursday that Shinobu Seguchi's Oedo Fire Slayer (Hikuidori Ushūboro Tobigumi) manga adaptation of Shōgo Imamura's Hikuidori historical novel does not appear in the issue and will go on hiatus at least until the magazine's next issue (shipping on September 10), due to Seguchi's hospitalization for an unspecified sudden illness. The magazine will provide a later update on Seguchi's condition and whether the manga will resume in the combined 42nd and 43rd issue (shipping on September 17) or not.
AI localization company Orange Inc.'s e-bookstore service "emaqi" is releasing the manga in English, and it describes the story:
Once hailed as "The Phoenix," Edo's greatest fire slayer, Gengo Matsunaga has fallen from grace. After a fateful incident forced his retirement, he now lives as a penniless ronin with his wife Miyuki. But when an unexpected offer arrives from the DewaShinjo domain—"Return as fire brigade chief and save Edo once more"—Gengo's fighting spirit reignites.
With mysterious fires threatening lives throughout the city, he resolves to become a fireslayer once again. Rebuilding the nearly-decimated brigade mockingly called the “Ragtag Hawks,” Gengo stands against the raging infernos to protect Edo and its people!!Will The Phoenix rise from the ashes to save the city he once swore to protect?
Seguchi launched the manga in Weekly Shōnen Champion in April 2025. Akita Shoten published the manga's sixth compiled book volume on August 6.
Imamura launched the Ushūboro Tobigumi novel series with the Hikuidori story in 2017. Shodensha has published 12 volumes of the novel, and a volume of spinoff short story collection, which released in 2022. The novel won in the sixth Yoshikawa Eiji Bunko Award in 2021.
Oedo Fire Slayer -The Legend of Phoenix-, the television anime adaptation of the novel, debuted on January 11 earlier this year. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan.
Source: Weekly Shōnen Champion issue 40
