# Btooom!
**Btooom!** (stylized **BTOOOM!**) is a Japanese battle-royale manga written and illustrated by Junya Inoue (井上淳哉) and published by Shinchosha, in which players of an online bomb-combat game are abducted and forced to play a lethal real-life version of it on an isolated island.[1](https://www.btooom.com/) It ran from 2009 to 2018, first in the weekly magazine Weekly Comic Bunch and then in Monthly Comic @Bunch, and was collected in 26 tankōbon (Standalone collected volumes of a manga series) volumes.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=14417) A 12-episode television anime adaptation by the studio Madhouse aired from October to December 2012.[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-09/junya-inoue-btooom-manga-will-end-with-26th-volume/.121139)
The story follows Ryōta Sakamoto (坂本竜太), a 22-year-old unable to find employment, whose distinction is his standing as a top player of the online game Btooom!, a title the official anime site says has sold more than 3,000,000 copies worldwide.[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html) He is kidnapped and stranded on an uninhabited island where the game is played for real, and the only weapons are bombs called BIM.[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html) Yen Press published it in English from 2013 to 2020.[5](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author and publisher | Junya Inoue (井上淳哉), Shinchosha (新潮社)[1](https://www.btooom.com/) |
| Serialization | Weekly Comic Bunch, June 2009 to August 27, 2010 (its final issue); Monthly Comic @Bunch, January 21, 2011 to March 20, 2018 (May 2018 issue)[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=14417) |
| Volumes | 26 tankōbon; MyAnimeList lists 27[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=14417) • [5](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom) |
| Premise | A 22-year-old shut-in top player is abducted to an island and forced into lethal bomb combat[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html) |
| Weapons | BIM bombs only, no guns of any kind; opponents located by radar; eight types with different effects[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html) |
| Anime | 12 episodes, Madhouse, October to December 2012, directed by Kotono Watanabe (渡邉こと乃)[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-09/junya-inoue-btooom-manga-will-end-with-26th-volume/.121139) |
| English edition | Yen Press, February 26, 2013 to April 14, 2020[5](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom) |
## Premise and plot
**The setup.** Sakamoto is a shut-in. The French publisher Glénat's synopsis describes him as constantly shut in at home playing online, until one day he is kidnapped by men in black and taken to a desert island.[6](https://www.glenat.com/glenat-manga/series-btooom/) [Anime News Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/anime-news-network)'s encyclopedia synopsis likewise places him in his room as a top player of an online action RPG before the abduction to an uninhabited island.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=14417) The official site's synopsis frames the turn directly: the game Sakamoto now plays is not virtual but real, and on the island he is handed BIM bombs and forced to kill without understanding why he must fight.[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html)
**The rules.** MyAnimeList's synopsis states the only way out is to kill seven other players.[5](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom)
**The ending.** In September 2017 Inoue announced that the 26th volume would be the manga's last.[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-09/junya-inoue-btooom-manga-will-end-with-26th-volume/.121139) The final volume was issued in two simultaneous editions, Dark Edition and Light Edition, both released in French by Glénat on May 15, 2019.[6](https://www.glenat.com/glenat-manga/series-btooom/) [Yen Press](https://www.edgepedia.org/yen-press) describes the Dark Edition as a "bad ending" conclusion in which Ryouta casts aside his history with his former friend and rival Oda, who has taken Kaguya and Uesugi hostage, while Himiko and Kira hatch a plan to save their captured allies.[7](https://yenpress.com/series/btooom)
## BIM weapons and game mechanics
In the fictional online game Btooom!, the only weapons are bombs called BIM; the official site states there are no guns of any kind. Players locate opponents by radar and use eight types of BIM, distinguished by different effects, to kill them strategically.[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html)
The story’s real-life game reproduces the systems of the online game it mirrors: radar-based search, bomb-only combat, and a top player who is a 22-year-old unable to find employment.[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html) • [2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=14417) The official synopsis contrasts the virtual and the real: the game Sakamoto now plays is not virtual but real.[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html)
## Publication
Inoue launched Btooom! in Shinchosha's Weekly Comic Bunch in 2009 and transferred it to Monthly Comic @Bunch in 2011.[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-09/junya-inoue-btooom-manga-will-end-with-26th-volume/.121139) ANN's encyclopedia dates the Weekly Comic Bunch run from June 2009 (issue 2009 #29) to August 27, 2010 (issue 2010 #39), and the series then ran in Monthly Comic @Bunch from its January 21, 2011 launch issue through the May 2018 issue (last dated March 20, 2018).[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=14417) [MyAnimeList](https://www.edgepedia.org/myanimelist) gives a different overall span, July 3, 2009 to August 9, 2018.[5](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom)
The endgame was announced in two steps. In March 2014 Monthly Comic @Bunch announced that the manga was entering its final arc, which began with the 23rd volume; in September 2017 Inoue announced that the 26th volume would be the last.[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-09/junya-inoue-btooom-manga-will-end-with-26th-volume/.121139) On the total, ANN and the sales tracker MangaCodex record 26 volumes, while MyAnimeList lists 27.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=14417) • [8](https://mangacodex.com/manga/btooom) • [5](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom)
## Translation and availability
Yen Press published the series in English from February 26, 2013 to April 14, 2020.[5](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom) Other licensed editions followed the Japanese run closely: Italian by Panini Comics from September 22, 2012 to May 23, 2019; German by Tokyopop as 2-in-1 omnibus volumes from November 11, 2013 to July 10, 2019; Spanish in Spain and Argentina by Editorial Ivrea; and [Brazilian Portuguese](https://www.edgepedia.org/brazilian-portuguese) by Editora JBC from January 2014 to April 2019.[5](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom) Glénat's French edition reached Tome 25 on February 20, 2019 and the dual Tome 26 on May 15, 2019.[6](https://www.glenat.com/glenat-manga/series-btooom/) On the screen side, [Crunchyroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/crunchyroll) streamed the anime as it aired, and [Sentai Filmworks](https://www.edgepedia.org/sentai-filmworks) released it on Blu-ray and DVD in 2013.[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-09/junya-inoue-btooom-manga-will-end-with-26th-volume/.121139)
## Anime adaptation
The television series ran 12 episodes from October to December 2012, produced by Madhouse, with Kotono Watanabe (渡邉こと乃) as director and Yōsuke Kuroda (黒田洋介) as scriptwriter.[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-09/junya-inoue-btooom-manga-will-end-with-26th-volume/.121139) The credits of episode 1, titled "start", assign the script to Kuroda, the storyboards and direction to Watanabe, and the animation direction to Naoki Hinata (日向正樹).[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html)
## Reception and sales
**Circulation.** The sales tracker MangaCodex records cumulative circulation of 4.5 million copies.[8](https://mangacodex.com/manga/btooom)
**Weekly chart track.** Oricon data show the series at its commercial peak mid-run and declining toward the end. Volume 19 sold 49,681 copies in the listed week (January 11, 2016, #19) for a cumulative 71,071, and volume 20 reached #9 for the week of May 9, 2016 with 61,956 copies (cumulative 62,164).[8](https://mangacodex.com/manga/btooom) Volume 23 ranked #10 with 40,612 copies, though the tracker's own tables place that week in both May 2017 and May 2016, so the timing is ambiguous.[8](https://mangacodex.com/manga/btooom) The final volume 26 sold 22,631 copies in its debut week of August 6, 2018 at #47, the last charted volume; these weekly snapshots are not directly comparable first-week totals.[8](https://mangacodex.com/manga/btooom)
**Reader ratings.** On Anime News Network's aggregated reader scale, the manga holds an arithmetic mean of 6.723 ("Good−") and a Bayesian estimate of 6.770, ranking #2961 of 3601 titles by Bayesian estimate, from 107 users who saw part or all of it.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=14417)
## Themes and legacy
MyAnimeList catalogs it as a seinen title with high-stakes-game, psychological, and survival themes.[5](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom) The character premise carries the thematic weight: a 22-year-old shut-in and top player unable to find employment is placed in a real-life version of the game, and the official synopsis marks the shift by insisting the game is no longer virtual but real.[4](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html)
A multiplayer smartphone game from the developer Asobimo launched in February 2017.[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-09/junya-inoue-btooom-manga-will-end-with-26th-volume/.121139)
## References
1. [BTOOOM！（公式サイト トップページ）](https://www.btooom.com/)
2. [Btooom! (manga) - Anime News Network](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=14417)
3. [Junya Inoue's Btooom! Manga Will End With 26th Volume - Anime News Network News](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-09-09/junya-inoue-btooom-manga-will-end-with-26th-volume/.121139)
4. [BTOOOM！ ストーリー（公式サイト）](https://www.btooom.com/story/index.html)
5. [Btooom! | Manga - MyAnimeList.net](https://myanimelist.net/manga/20593/Btooom)
6. [Btooom! | Éditions Glénat](https://www.glenat.com/glenat-manga/series-btooom/)
7. [BTOOOM! | Manga | Yen Press](https://yenpress.com/series/btooom)
8. [Btooom! (Manga) · MangaCodex](https://mangacodex.com/manga/btooom)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Manga titles, publishers, and magazines › Genre-coded manga and thematic categories*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license