Summary Cipher Academy ‘s complex storyline made it difficult for casual readers to follow, requiring careful attention to fully enjoy the series.
The lack of charismatic characters in Cipher Academy failed to engage fans and keep them invested in the story.
The niche appeal of Cipher Academy , combined with its complexity and character flaws, ultimately led to its cancelation in Shōnen Jump .
While Shōnen Jump is known to be particularly hard on its new titles – often canceling those that do not meet its metrics and requirements within a year of their debut – it’s widely believed among fans that the longer a series survives after its 30th chapter the less likely it is to be canceled. However, for fans of the recently canceled Cipher Academy, the code for its demise was deciphered early on. The surprise was how long the series managed to survive in the first place.
According to an announcement made on Shōnen Jump News’ X, formerly Twitter, account on January 31, 2024, Nisio Ison and Yuji Iwasaki’s Cipher Academy would conclude its publication with the release of its 58th chapter on February 4. Even though the narrative was concluding, fans will still be able to enjoy the release of two additional compiled volumes of the series that are scheduled for publication in March and May.
The story centers on Iroha Irohazaka, a student at the Cipher Academy, a new military school focused on graduating a cohort of soldiers skilled at cryptography and code-breaking. In addition to his normal coursework, and navigating the social complexities of being one of just a handful of boys in the predominantly female school, Irohazaka is also challenged to solve an increasing array of puzzles and games, where failure will have dire consequences.
Cipher Academy Was Too Complicated For Its Own Good
Created by Nisio Isin & Yuji Iwasaki
The problem with Cipher Academy was twofold. Cipher Academy’s story was simply too complicated for casual readers to follow. Careful attention was required to truly enjoy the series. While keeping track of a wide range of characters wasn’t difficult, solving puzzles, games, and mysteries that were fundamental to the story was more than challenging. This is especially true if a fan missed or skipped a chapter. What seemed inconsequential in one chapter, such as a random set of keys, often turned out to be crucial a few chapters later. If the reader was not closely following the story, they’d be completely lost as to why the keys mattered.
A complicated story in and of itself is not a fatal flaw for a manga, which leads to the second element of Cipher Academy’s problem, namely that its characters lacked the charm to keep its fans engaged in the story despite its complexity. Take Jujutsu Kaisen a notoriously intricate manga, as an example. Despite its complex nature, the main characters, such as Gojo, Yuji and Nobara, have resonated with readers so profoundly that creator Gege Akutami’s perplexing storylines have been forgiven. While Cipher Academy’s protagonist, Irohazaka, is an interesting fellow, neither he nor anyone else in the story approaches the level of likability and popularity of a Gojo.
Cipher Academy Was Too Niche To Survive
Taken together, Cipher Academy’s overly complex story, along with its lack of a truly enthralling cast of characters, doomed it from the very start – at least in terms of Shōnen Jump. Whilefans aren’t privy to the exact calculations that Shōnen Jump management engaged in to determine that the series would be canceled, it’s safe to say that even with a series as well written as Cipher Academy is, its cancelation is more than likely if it doesn’t manage to draw a sufficiently large and diverse audience. This isn’t to say that Cipher Academy is not good content. It’s one of the more well written manga currently available. It’s just not suitable for Shōnen Jump’s readerbase
Read On Manga Plus
Source: @WSJ_manga