Jump Force DLC Predictions: Hunter x Hunter, Gin Tama & More

Bandai Namco’s Jump Force released last week, boasting 40 playable fan-favourite characters from 16 different renowned manga series, ranging from the likes of Dragon Ball Z, Naruto and One Piece to Fist of the North Star, Hunter x Hunter and Yu-Gi-Oh. It’s certainly an impressive who’s who of the medium, celebrating Shonen Weekly Jump’s 50th anniversary.

While it isn’t the largest roster in the history of J-Stars titles (2015’s J-Stars Victory VS had 39 playable characters ((52 including support-type characters)) across 32 different Jump series’ and 2006’s Jump Ultimate Stars had 56), upcoming Jump Force DLC promises to present nine further fan-favourite characters. We do not yet know who these extra nine characters will be nor if they will represent any series not currently seen in Jump Force but, as mentioned in our review of the game earlier this week, there is a glaring flaw with the roster in term of representation, with only 3 of the 40 strong roster available being female.

There is no official timescale in place yet for when the next nifty nine names will drop, although some rumours currently circulating are suggesting it will be some time in May. With all this in mind, here is our predictions of who we think we be joining the Jump Force later this year.

 

1. Sakura Haruno – Naruto

Honestly, the fact that Sakura was nowhere to be seen in the original line-up was a shock. A member of Team 7, along with Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi, Sakura is a long-serving member of the Naruto series and rightfully deserves her spot alongside her teammates.

Her training alongside the former fifth Hokage, Tsunade, and subsequent development of medical ninjutsu would give her a formidable arsenal to make her both stand out from, and rival, her already present Team 7 comrades.

Sakura has long been an underappreciated and underrated character in the Naruto-verse. Jump Force can make things right and make her the valued ninja she’s always truly been.

 

2. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo – Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

The most impressive name and weirdest character perhaps in all the manga/anime medium goes to ol’ Bobobo, who I’ll just be calling Bo from now on. The series relies heavily on comedic elements, like visual gags, puns and cross-cultural references and often breaks the fourth wall, so trust me when I say it’s a ‘unique’ programme, to say the least.

Bo, the yellow-afro’d, sunglasses-wearing eccentric, battles the forces of evil using his nose hair, via his fighting style known as ‘Fist of the Nose Hair’, and, frankly, if that’s not enough to sell you on this guy, then nothing will. In terms of sheer weirdness, however, Bo is merely the tip of this show’s strange, strange iceberg.

 

3. Nami – One Piece

While there are already six One piece characters in Jump Force, the chief navigator of the Strawhat Pirates and third official member of Luffy’s crew, “Cat Burglar” Nami, would make a welcome addition.

Post-time skip in the One Piece storyline, Nami has become a considerably stronger and more accomplished fighter in her own right, no longer needing to rely on the other Strawhats to defend her. Primarily, Nami utilises her Sorcery Clima-Tact, a staff she uses to create different types of weather with, for both practical and offensive purposes.

Having this weapon to manipulate the battlefield and create ranging effects, akin to Yugii’s ‘Draw’ ability, would be a fun and unique ability (one I would absolutely apply to my created character’s arsenal) along with Nami’s skillset in mixing close and long ranged combat

 

4. Toriko – Toriko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBbVF7Ygj_U

Anime’s favourite food enthusiast, the ‘Gourmet Hunter’ and one of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ – Toriko should absolutely be on this list.

His attack style is, arguably, the most distinctive out there, utilising a cutlery-based variety of strikes, such as his ‘Fork and Knife’ technique, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some kind of spork attack thrown in for good measure. Not to mention that he’s a tough son of a chef, having had various appendages blown off in the manga, but restored (along with his power increased tenfold) after chowing down on some delicious, legendary dishes.

Toriko’s time in anime form was unfortunately cut short, as due to low viewership, the story was wrapped up unsatisfactorily and the show was cancelled. However, that hasn’t stopped the blue-haired food hunter from keeping a place in people’s hearts long after, so here’s hoping he can deliver some just-desserts in the Jump Force DLC.

 

5. Kefla – Dragon Ball Super

Now while there will likely be plenty of support for adding the likes of Gohan, Vegito/Gogeta, Broly or even the more recent likes of Jiren or Goku Black, I think Jump Force should be looking to Super’s newest original fusion.

In the latter half of DBS, Goku and co. competing in the Tournament of Power, which saw the strongest fighters of numerous universes competing for survival. Over in Universe 6, there also happen to be Saiyans, namely Caulifla and Kale, who were permitted to use the Potara earrings, subsequently fusing into Kefla.

Cocky and confident, Kefla’s power rivals even Goku’s in his Super Saiyan Blue form and, in terms of play style, she’ll have plenty of energy blasts, combo strikes and (two) transformations at her disposal, similar to the other Dragon Ball characters in Jump Force so far. Plus, she’s simply one of Super’s most fun characters, meaning added Kefla as DLC is a no-brainer.

 

6. Seto Kaiba – Yu-Gi-Oh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRyViEmHb3o

Seto Kaiba is one of the main rivals of Yugi Muto in the card dueling seriesYu-Gi-Oh and, due to his ruthless nature, quickly became a fan-favourite in his intent to defeat Yugi in a fair duel.

For my money, Yugi is one of the more entertaining characters to play as from the original 40, owing to his ranged card attacks and the random, risky nature of his ‘Draw’ move, which can either attack the enemy or buff Yugi. To see a second version attributed to Kaiba would lead to all sorts of frolics and mischiefs, not to mention that his special attack could very likely be either Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon or even the Egyptian God Card, ‘Obelisk the Tormentor’.

Plus, let’s not even get into the argument about how he’s technically the best duelist in the series – the only people to beat him were Millenium Item wielders (here’s looking at you, Yugi/Maximilian Pegasus). Don’t @ me.

 

7. Gintoki Sakata – Gin Tama

You had us at ‘freelance rebel samurai’, but when it comes to adding another swordsman into Jump Force, look no further than Gintoki Sakata.

Enough Jump Force players were heated at Gin Tama’s lack of presence in the initial 16 series’ represented at launch, seeing as it is easily one of the most popular series’ in Japan right now, having sold more than 55 million copies as of February 2018.

Sword-wielding characters are often exceptionally fun to play, in part because of their defensive moves, but mostly because the attacks they come with look so damn cool. Plus, Gintoki is an incredibly cool character anyway (personally, I struggle to think of anyone who has blocked as many sword strikes by being stabbed through the hand as he has). If Bandai Namco has much sense, they’ll up the 16 series’ present to 17, and give the “White Demon” his day as DLC.

 

8. All Might – My Hero Academia

This is probably the safest bet on who will be added as Jump Force DLC, not to mention the fact he gets name dropped multiple times by Deku in the main story, so there is no doubt that the ‘Symbol of Peace’ will be debuting.

All Might, aka Yoshinori Yagi, is the eight holder of the powerful quirk known as ‘One For All,’ gifting him with an extremely muscular form and unrivaled physical strength, which, truth be told, is really handy when punching criminals in the face.

Practically all of All Might’s moves are named after American states, such as his Detroit, Oklahoma and Delaware Smash attacks, for example, and his finisher being patriotically titled the ‘United States of Smash,’ basically making him anime’s very own Hulk Hogan.

I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Bakugo, Deku’s main rival in My Hero, not too far behind, either.

 

9. Biscuit Krueger – Hunter x Hunter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2oehQk6buQ

Plenty of Hunter x Hunters fans will probably be calling for Meruem to be added instead of Biscuit, but android-type fighters are already represented through Cell and Jump Force won’t want to have too similar a character on its roster.

While perhaps not the most popular with the Hunter x Hunter fandom, Biscuit is, nonetheless, a skilled fighter and highly regarded by the Hunter Association, with excellent abilities like immense strength, masterful hand-to-hand combat prowess, and high speed and reflexes, making her formidable opposition on the battlefield.

Her ultimate ability is also very similar to Gon’s, with her true form, a much larger and more muscular version of herself, dramatically altering her already established physical abilities.

Yes, this may be a more ‘controversial choice’ when there are other, more popular characters in the HxH series, but in terms of both representation and just plain kicking ass, there’s no-one better to level the playing field than Bisky.

Edit: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the number of playable characters in other Jump titles, which has since been corrected.