Fly Me to the Moon by Kenjiro Hata and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle by Kagiji Kumanomata have crossed over in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday, even bringing Rumiko Takahashi along for the ride.
The collaboration – consisting of three distinct parts and an illustrated front cover – serves not only to promote both series’ upcoming TV anime, but also cement their status as some of Sunday’s brightest and best – sorely needed considering the situation surrounding Detective Conan.
If you pick up this week’s issue no. 44 of Weekly Shonen Sunday, you will find three things inside related to this latest Fly Me to the Moon/Sleepy Princess collaboration. Firstly, there is a special “three-way discussion” between Kenjiro Hata, Kagiji Kumanomata, and Rumiko Takahashi. That last figure surely needs no introduction, while the other two are the original creators of the aforementioned series.
The other two parts of this Fly Me to the Moon/Sleepy Princess collaboration consist of the above cover, as well as a special “collaboration manga” between Kenjiro Hata and Kagiji Kumanomata. Curious readers will have to pick up the issue themselves to find out what it is about, as I don’t want to ruin the surprise.
For now, it is sufficient to talk about the significance of this Fly Me to the Moon/Sleepy Princess collaboration. Obviously, a TV anime is a big deal for any property, as it brings many more eyeballs to the story. Yet, Weekly Shonen Sunday finds itself in a peculiar situation as its flagship series is increasingly MIA: not only is Detective Conan supposedly coming to a close, it is doing so very slowly thanks to constant hiatuses from Gosho Aoyama.
That being said, Weekly Shonen Sunday is in no trouble. It still has a fair few successful series under its belt, but nothing along the lines of Detective Conan. If this Fly Me to the Moon/Sleepy Princess collaboration can slot the two series next to the likes of Komi Can’t Communicate and Yofukashi no Uta, then I’m sure Shogakukan would be happy.
Both anime adaptations of Fly Me to the Moon and Sleepy Princess in a Demon Castle air in October.