Space Brothers Manga Ends After 18 and a Half Years as Creator Chuya Koyama Hints at Future Projects

The popular manga Space Brothers, created by Chuya Koyama, reached its final chapter, Chapter 432, in Issue 28 of Morning, released on June 11. The series has concluded after an 18 and a half year run that began in December 2007. The final chapter was featured on the cover and opened the magazine with color pages. The final collected volume, Volume 46, will be released on July 22.

The final chapter spans 46 pages and depicts the words and appearances of Mutta and his younger brother Hibito, the Space Brothers who have overcome countless hardships and connected one miracle to another.

Chuya Koyama Shares His Thoughts on the Finale

To commemorate the conclusion, a special interview was published online. Koyama said, “Once the final volume is released, I think readers may enjoy it even more with a deeper sense of immersion if they read continuously from a few volumes before the end.”

Regarding his next work, he said, “There are many things I want to draw, including horror and mystery. However, Space Brothers was so long, so next time, I would like to create several shorter works, with the ending planned in advance, ideally around the length of a single film, or at most about five volumes. The genre has not been decided, and I do not have anything concrete in mind yet, but I think my basic approach of depicting realistic human ensemble stories will remain the same.”

About Space Brothers

Space Brothers began serialization in Morning by Kodansha in December 2007. The story follows older brother Mutta and younger brother Hibito, who once promised each other as children that they would become astronauts, and depicts their challenges and bond as they pursue that dream.

In 2025, Hibito has fulfilled his promise and become an astronaut, joining the first long term crew stationed on the Moon. Meanwhile, Mutta has lost his job and become unemployed. However, after receiving a single email from his younger brother, Mutta begins aiming for space once again.

The manga has surpassed 35 million copies in circulation. In 2011, it won both the 56th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category and the 35th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category. A television anime aired from 2012 to 2014, and a live action film starring Shun Oguri and Masaki Okada was released in 2012.

Chuya Koyama Profile

Chuya Koyama was born on September 30, 1978, in Kyoto. He brought his first work, GGG Jijijii, to Kodansha’s Morning and won the Judges’ Award, the Seizo Watase Award, at the 14th MANGA OPEN. He later won the Grand Prize at the 15th MANGA OPEN for Gekidan Jet’s and made his debut. After serializing Harujan in Morning, he launched Space Brothers, his first weekly serialization, in December 2007.

Source : ORICON NEWS