Kaitei Manga From 2001 Nights' Yukinobu Hoshino Ends With 9th Volume

The eighth compiled book volume of Yukinobu Hoshino's Kaitei (Ocean Adventurer Kaitei) manga revealed on Friday that the manga's ninth volume will be the final volume. The ninth volume will ship in late September.

Shogakukan's Big Comic magazine revealed last month that the manga's new arc is the manga's climax.

The manga tells of the "life and death" voyages of Ming Dynasty Chinese explorer Zheng He. The first chapter features a trip to Japan. Hoshino launched the manga in Big Comic in July 2018, and Shogakukan published the manga's seventh volume on December 25.

Hoshino also created the 2001 Nights science fiction manga series, which he originally serialized in Futabasha's Monthly Super Action magazine in 1984-1986. Viz Media released the three-volume manga in North America. The manga inspired an original video anime (OVA) of the same name in 1987, and another OVA titled TO (2001 Nights) in 2009. Funimation licensed and released the 2009 OVA in North America in June 2011 on Blu-ray Disc and DVD and again on DVD in July 2015. UK distributor Manga Entertainment released the OVA in the United Kingdom on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in August 2011.

Hoshino ended his Rainman in January 2018.