I wanted to start a thread why #Samurai8 failed for me.
Not saying, that these will be exact reasons why Sam8 failed in Japan, but I express the reasons why it failed in my eyes to be a successful manga, and why I couldnt connect with Kishimoto's latest work.
1/17

Let's start with the beginning of #Samurai8-
Which starts SLOW, and full of exposition.
Sam8 is a scifi manga, a story about Cyborg Samurai IN SPACE-
And it took Kishimoto 2 entire volumes to start with space part. Which is also the actually start of the protagonist's journey.

Kishimoto defended #Samurai8's slooow start with how SciFi takes time & exposition, but I would actually argue the necessary world building for scifi wasnt Kishi's strong suit. Taking your time, and build so much lore early on was a rare luxury only given to Kishi bc Naruto.

A big issue of #Samurai8's exposition was how it was mostly around its concept of (Cyborg) Samurai, and how the entire world was build around those-
Therefore making the actual world in the worldbuilding rather small, bc so much focus was on the samurai.

The planet, where #Samurai8 begins has no actual name, for example-
But we learn how Samurai are created, how they're called b4 they're turning into cyborgs, their cyborg animal-compagnions & a bunch of more details, but despite all the talk surprisingly low talk about the world.

That problem goes even further:
Despite the claim the entire galaxy may be the setting of #Samurai8, it lacks in diversity in design & cultures, bc apparently ALL culture is just Old Japan, reducing the world furthermore of its seize.
If you know one planet, you know all planets.

Next Step for #Samurai8:
So, it took 2 volumes to start the journey, so what is it about?
Well, for sth which took so long, it's disturbingly basic:
7 chosen ones needs to find a macguffin to save the universe.
Admittedly, an early clear goal, but also quite generic.

That rather basic plot was admittedly filled to the brim about east asian philosophies, like wabi sabi & so on, but even tho I think these are interesting, #Samurai8 presented those in a rather dry, & boring manner, not justifying its basic story

What about #Samurai8's cast?
The protagonist is Hachimaru, starting as a boy with a weak body-
Having a disabled protagonist is a rarity in Jump, admittedly. Too bad, this changed at the end of the 1rst chapter, therefore not changing the rarity of a disabled protagonist in Jump.

Admittedly, there was also Hachimaru's mentor Daruma, a blind samurai in a cat's body. I did like him.
But Hachimaru himself was overall a rather disappointing protagonist beyond the initial arc, & being a times even an unlikeable one, with only a few good points to defend him.

And then there's Ann, Hachimaru's princess.
And princesses in #Samurai8 are pretty much nothing else than cheerleaders. 'Praying' for their samurai, and by this, making them stronger. Meaning, Kishimoto built his lacking skill to write women into the actual worldbuilding.

I am also aware about Daruma's master, who is a Samurai herself-
But we just see her ONCE, and she has no further impact on the actual story afterwards, reducing her to lip service that #Samurai8 has strong women. Which is quite a speciality of Kishimoto.

Like, if you want actual female characters in a shounen, who are strong, competent and also most importantly, people with PERSONALITIES, then I do recommend the #Samurai8 fans #WorldTrigger(another scifi shonen) & #ChainsawMan(another shounen, which started shortly b4 Samurai8).

Of course, there was also another character I like to talk about, who was introduced VERY early on:
Nanashi.
A heavily implied nonbinary character, who shares the dream with Hachimaru to become a samurai, while also struggling with their own identity, sth I did enjoy.

Tho, not a perfect representation of a nonbinary person, the mere inclusion was a step forward in #Samurai8-
Therefore making it a HUGE disappointment when they were pretty much dropped early on, only to come back for a rushed ending.
This could've been better.

TL;DR for everyone, who wants to know my #Samurai8 opinion, but is too lazy-
An underwhelming cast & a poorly written world didnt create the necessary interest in me, to bother to read all the exposition dumps Kishimoto thought necessary to explain Cyborg Samurai IN SPACE.

Also important:
I do feel bad for Kishimoto, bc i's clear he had put a lot of thoughts into this, despite it's poorly execution.
But he WASNT betrayed/backstabbed by WSJ.
Failed manga normally run less than 20 chapters. He got the DOUBLE amount, bc of Naruto.

And no, WSJ doesnt OWE him, if his new works doesnt succeed. And he earned so much money bc of Naruto already, so he isnt a poor guy on the street.
He isnt a tragic figure, he is just a mangaka who failed to capture his audience's attention. And was treated accordingly.

Bonus #Samurai8-tweet:
I didnt bother for Ata as a villain. I was more annoyed tho, how everyone hyped him up for destroying a moon, which ruined the power scaling of Sam8 early on, while also a boring way to introduce him as a threat.
Because:
Power =/= interesting villain.