If you haven’t already heard the latest news regarding the manga series Silver Spoon, I have good news and bad news for you.
The good news is that the much-beloved farming manga has returned from its long hiatus. The bad news is that it will end in four chapters.
Hiromu Arakawa, whom you might remember as the creator of a series no one has ever heard of called Fullmetal Alchemist, first launched this manga about a boy who runs away to an agricultural high school, in 2011, with two seasons of anime following in 2013 and 2014. There are fourteen volumes in print now with the most recent hitting store shelves in 2017. Yen Press licensed the manga series in English and describe the story as:
Defying the expectations of family and teachers, Yuugo Hachiken chooses to leave the city and enroll at Ooezo Agricultural High School. Having always been at the top of his class, Yuugo assumes a rural school will be a breeze, but mucking out stables, gathering eggs, and chasing errant calves takes a lot out of him-and fills him with something he’s never experienced before. Surrounded by endless fields and fresh air, Yuugo discovers a new connection to the land and to life…Springtime begins at Ezo AG!!
Sadly though, the manga went on hiatus in June 2018 only to return in the 49th issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday with the announcement that the series would end in four chapters. In a statement published to Web Sunday, the official website of the magazine, Arakawa explains why she had to go on hiatus for such a long time:
It has been a long time. I’m sorry. The last time I wrote for this section was…, December 2015!? …And just like the last time, it has become a season to take the lightsaber out of the closet…
Over the past few years, my husband and child have been suffering from a series of incurable diseases, so I have been tied up with the high-cost of medical care, papers, procedures, and such. I realized again that the Japanese insurance system was amazing. And I thought I would go to blood donation.
She went on to state that she was surprised to see the announcement regarding Silver Spoon ending because she had turned in the final chapters so long ago that she had completely forgotten about them.
This is sad news for a series that didn’t make nearly as big of a splash around the world as die-hard fans hoped it would. Still, it’s nice to see a series get a proper conclusion and I know that I join many others around the world when I say that we’re all looking forward to whatever this author comes up with next!
