Warning: contains spoilers for Ayakashi Triangle chapter 74!

Shonen Jump‘s manga series Ayakashi Triangle just released its 74th chapter, but it seems the content proved too controversial for English publisher Viz Media, which is skipping over the chapter entirely.

Ayakashi Triangle is a romance/comedy manga by Kentaro Yabuki, and has been running in Shonen Jump since June of 2020. The story uses the common set-up of dangerous demonic creatures (here called Ayakashi) roaming the world, which can only be stopped by skilled ninjas. The story’s protagonist, Matsuri, is cursed by a powerful Ayakashi, transforming him into a girl until the curse can be lifted. Curses that change a character’s sex are not particularly unusual in manga, with Ranma 1/2 probably the most famous example. Ayakashi Triangle, however, has become known for pushing limits, with abundant nudity and intimate contact as the basis for many of its jokes.

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The 74th chapter, which was set for release on January 3, has been pulled from publication by both Viz’s Shonen Jump app and Shonen Jump‘s parent company Shueisha’s online Manga Plus. The only statement made by Viz is a confirmation on the series’ webpage: “Ayakashi Triangle chapter 74 will not be published on Shonen Jump.” Chapter 74 published as normal in Japan this past weekend, however, and a look at the Japanese version of the chapter will quickly explain why. The chapter’s content is based around side character Lucy Tsukioka investigating Matsuri’s “disappearance,” snooping around his home in search of clues. Living with the female Matsuri is an Ayakashi named Rochka, but Lucy’s strong disbelief in their existence makes it impossible for her to see Rochka in her natural form. Rochka transforms, but Lucy sees her vanish and reaches out, only to wind up groping the Ayakashi.

While there’s a bit more to the chapter, it does seem to primarily exist as fan service, opening with a hot springs scene, and about a third of the chapter’s total page length consists of partial or full nudity, albeit mildly censored. The characters’ status as high school students likely contributes to Viz’s reluctance to publish the chapter, and the questionable content simply takes up too much of the chapter to be cut or removed, making omission the best option. For many manga, the collected volumes (referred to as tankobon in Japanese) are often uncensored, so content like this can certainly drive sales of the paperbacks – particularly relevant as the seventh volume of Ayakashi Triangle was set for release the next day. This may pose a larger problem when it eventually comes to localizing the volume, but for now at least, the chapter is gone from the English translation of the manga.

The line between adult comedy and pure titillation can be blurry even in American productions, but manga’s focus on younger characters is often what leads to censorship during localization. If manga creators at major publishers have any guidance on what’s acceptable and what isn’t, it has never been made public, and often times it can feel like a successful series can get away with far more than a new one, like the controversial manga Cheat Slayer which was canceled after one chapter. For publication in the West, at least, Ayakashi Triangle has found the boundary of what’s acceptable, but whether this discovery will impact the manga’s future content is a question only time can answer.

Source: Viz

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Carlyle Edmundson
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Carlyle Edmundson is a news and features writer with an affinity for science fiction and fantasy. He graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BS in Film Studies and is glad that it’s relevant to his work. A lifelong fan of anime and manga, he has attended dozens of conventions over the years and may or may not have cosplayed at them. He is also the author of the Dystopian Detective series, available from most places ebooks are sold.

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