The reason for this was because the manga had actually entered an indefinite hiatus in Japan back in 2006, after Koji Inada fell intensely ill.
Anyway, Viz eventually released Volume 12 in late 2007, a year after the Japanese release, which ended on a massive cliffhanger. One would think that it may have been low sales, and for all we know it might have played a factor, but it's really more that Viz was catching up to Japan a little too quickly had Viz continued, Volume 10 would have come out the same month as Volume 11 did in Japan. Viz got onto the "Beet Train" (get it?) rather quickly, releasing the first volume in late 2004, and after a little over a year of consistent bimonthly releases was slowed down after Volume 8. Now, to be fair, Beet the Vandel Buster does play a bit too close to its RPG roots, with characters having literal experience & levels to gain, but it also showcases Sanjo's talent for writing a fun & engaging adventure story, while Inada's art style reminds one of Akira Toriyama, but without simply feeling like a blatant copy. It tells the story of Beet, a young teen who wishes to bring an end to the "Dark Ages" that the monsters known as Vandels have brought upon the world, especially after the Zenon Warriors, five men who were Beet's idols, seemingly sacrificed their lives to protect Beet by infusing him with their Saiga, weapons brought about by the user's very soul & life force. Following that, Sanjo & Inada made Dragon Quest IV Gaiden: The Labyrinth of Hell, a single-volume spin-off of that particular game, for Monthly Shonen Jump in 2001, and in early 2002 the duo returned to Monthly Jump with an original series, Beet the Vandel Buster (also known as Bouken-Oh/ Adventure King Beet).
It was a massive hit, running for 37 volumes until late 1996 & even seeing a TV anime adaptation & trio of movies by Toei in the early 90s.
GeistĀ to Gaiking: Legend of Daiku-Maryu to both Kamen Rider W & Drive), & in late 1989 teamed up with artist Koji Inada to debut Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, a Shonen Jump manga based on Yuji Horii & Enix's Dragon Quest RPG series it wasn't based on any specific entry, but rather utilized elements to create an original story. Riku Sanjo has been a writer in the entertainment business ever since the mid-80s (from M.D. Let's start things with what is easily the most interesting & unique situation there is when it comes to a Shonen Jump manga that Viz has released "all of" in the past. Still, not every entry in this final third fits this description, but all of them do share this fact: None of them are mentioned in any way on Viz's website, even though all but one of them were indeed published under the Shonen Jump (or Shonen Jump Advanced) label. For example, while Case Closed has managed to maintain a seasonal release ever since 2010, Hayate the Combat Butler went down to twice a year in 2011, while Kaze HikaruĀ (which will be ending early next year) has only seen one new volume a year ever since 2011 at this rate, Viz won't be done with Kaze Hikaru until at least 2037! Back around 2010, Viz was able to put a stop to some Shueisha manga that just were not selling, but had been obligated to release on behalf of its co-owner, but some are guessing that this doesn't apply to fellow co-owner Shogakukan. If you ever wondered why some manga releases slow down to a trickle, & hasn't simply caught up to Japan, that's why it's an attempt to stem the flow. Sometimes it works out & the manga sells well abroad, but other times the manga will be a bomb, and it could leave the possibility that the publisher will be forced to continue releasing a title that only loses more money with each release. Most of the English manga publishers that exist today are actually owned (either partially or completely) by a Japanese conglomerate of some sort, and that means that there is always the possibility that said owner will want to make sure a specific title sees release. This has actually been admitted by people like Jason Thompson, who used to work freelance for Viz as an editor, and it really isn't all that surprising. In the past two parts of this look at Jump manga Viz Media released that currently isn't in the Shonen Jump Vault section of the label's year-old subscription service, I've occasionally brought up the idea of "manga that Shueisha forced Viz to release".