#young ace

We have always noticed that at the end of each chapter of Bungo Stray Dogs, there is a box with the publication date of the next chapter.

As an example, here is this month's box, which in Japanese says exactly: 「12月号に続く」 and translates as “To be continued in the DECEMBER ISSUE.”

The chapter that was released yesterday (October, 2nd) corresponds to the MONTH of October in the November ISSUE of KADOKAWA's Young Ace magazine.

As a general point to clarify this, magazines published by publishing houses have their own publication schedule (weekly, biweekly, monthly—as in the case of Young Ace).

And although it may seem that the magazine's publication is “ahead of schedule” or that the chapter is “out of sync,” this is not actually the case. These types of editions are chosen due to the production and distribution logistics of each publishing house. If you have seen, for example, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi (loool a great example to explain this due to the context in which it takes place xD), you will know that each magazine requires time for printing, compiling the authors' works, and finally distribution.

That's how it works in Japan. You've probably noticed that publishing houses in your country of residence opt for a different publishing model.

When the chapter has to be delayed, that is, when Asagiri-sensei takes a month off (which, if I remember correctly, is at the beginning of the year), instead of coming out the following month, the audience is informed that the new chapter will be published the month after the break.

For example, suppose the chapter is published in January and sensei decides to take a break in February. The final page of the chapter will say something like: 「4月号に続く」 . In other words, the chapter would be published in March (after sensei's break) and belong to the April issue of the current year.

The following vignettes can serve as a guide if you are confused:

-> You will be right here the next month: November / December Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「1月号に続く/ To be continued in January Issue / Chapter will be published on December」

December / January Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「2月号に続く/ To be continued in February Issue / Chapter will be published on January」

January / February Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「3月号に続く/ To be continued in March Issue / Chapter will be published on February」

February / March Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「4月号に続く/ To be continued in April Issue / Chapter will be published on March」

March / April Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「5月号に続く/ To be continued in May Issue / Chapter will be published on April」

April / May Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「6月号に続く/ To be continued in June Issue / Chapter will be published on May」

May / June Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「7月号に続く/ To be continued in July Issue / Chapter will be published on June」

June / July Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「8月号に続く/ To be continued in August Issue / Chapter will be published on July」

July / August Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「9月号に続く/ To be continued in September Issue / Chapter will be published on August」

August / September Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「10月号に続く/ To be continued in October Issue / Chapter will be published on September」

September / October Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「11月号に続く/ To be continued in November Issue / Chapter will be published on October」

October / November Issue / It will be displayed on the final page of the chapter as 「12月号に続く/ To be continued in December Issue / Chapter will be published on November」

Some translation teams, such as Nine of Coups, translated 「12月号に続く」 as “To be continued in November,” which is also correct. As you can see in the illustrations related to this example:

I hope that with this brief explanation, you now have a better understanding of how to interpret the publication dates shown at the end of each chapter of Bungo Stray Dogs.

Avoid falling prey to misinformation and spreading confusion. If you have any doubts, you can always check the translations from your trusted scan group.