Kodansha Comics have been busy lately lining up their fall publishing plans, and they’ve already announced seven new manga licenses, if only for North American release as a certainty. Hopefully us otaku across the pond will get all these releases in due time, as well as the ones still yet to be announced. “Everyone worried that the manga you’re waiting for won’t be announced today,” Kodansha Comics added on their site, “this is less than half of our new Fall licenses. Just wait!” They then went on to describe the first batch of books as below.
Sweetness & Lightning (print)
Kodansha Comics is proud to announce that Sweetness & Lightning by Gido Amagakure (already available on Crunchyroll and in ebook formats) is coming to print, with Vol. 1 releasing in July (just in time for the premiere of the anime adaptation).
Teacher Kouhei is a single father who is terrible at cooking. His adorable little daughter Tsumugi barely remembers the cooking of her mother, who’s passed away. But, then, the pair comes across a teenage girl eating rice balls and crying (in joy?) at the park. She takes Kouhei and Tsumugi to her mother’s restaurant, where they taste their first home-cooked meal in ages. A tribute to the power of food to bind people together!
In/Spectre
In/Spectre, known in Japan as Kyokou Suiri, with art by Chasiba Katase and story by the renowned mystery author Kyo Shirodaira, creator of Spiral, Record of a Fallen Vampire, and Blast of Tempest.
When she was still just a girl, Kotoko was kidnapped by yokai. These spirits made her into a powerful intermediary between the spirit and human worlds, but this power came at a price: an eye and a leg. Now, years later, she watches out for dangerous yokai while developing feelings for a young man named Kuro, who is also special: an incident with a yokai has given him healing powers. He’s surprised when Kotoko asks him to team up to handle renegade yokai, preserving the thin line between reality and the supernatural.
Vol. 1 of In/Spectre is coming to print this Fall. (English title is tentative.)
That Wolf-Boy Is Mine!
That Wolf-Boy Is Mine! by Yoko Nogiri, known as Watashi no Ookami-kun in Japan. This is an adorable romantic comedy full of shapeshifting boys, in the vein of Fruits Basket!
Komugi’s not sure what to expect when her family moves to remote Hokkaido and she starts at a new high school. But she certainly didn’t expect a boy to come up to her and say, “Gee… you smell good!” That boy is Yu Ogami, and Komugi finds herself strangely drawn to him. But when she sees him in an unguarded moment, she discovers he’s half wolf! Now she has a choice to make: to keep his secret, or to ask for help and risk angering a wolf-boy?
Vol. 1 of That Wolf-Boy Is Mine! is coming to print this Fall. (English title is tentative.)
Welcome to the Ballroom
Welcome to the Ballroom by Tomo Takeuchi, an action-packed, beautifully-drawn shonen battle manga… except with ballroom dancing!
Fujita has drifted through middle school aimlessly, unable to find friends or anything that can hold his attention. Then, one day, he’s attacked by a gang and saved by a mysterious man. But this isn’t a karate master; it’s a ballroom dance instructor! Reluctantly, Fujita takes a few beginner’s classes, only to find his inspiration… an entrancing, teenage dance prodigy named Shizuku. It’s Fujita’s first step into the high-octane world of competitive dance!
Vol. 1 of Welcome to the Ballroom is coming to print this Fall.
The Prince in His Dark Days
Emotional, rags-to-riches four-volume romantic drama The Prince in His Dark Days by Hiko Yamanaka.
Atsuko’s father is a drunk, and she’s shunned by her classmates as “the poor kid.” Walking the streets in a dark fog of despair, Atsuko cons perverts out of their money to survive. Then, one day, she meets Itaru, the heir to a wealthy family, who happens to look exactly like her. Itaru hatches a plan: Atsuko will live his tedious public life for him, and she will get a taste of the luxuries enjoyed by the 1%. Everybody’s (finally) happy. Right?
Vol. 1 of The Prince in His Dark Days is coming this Fall. (English title tentative.)
Cells at Work!
Cells at Work! by Akane Shimizu, known in Japan as Hataraku Saibo. This is an action shonen manga set inside a human body!
The average human body contains about 60 trillion cells, and each of them has work to do! But when you get injured, viruses or bacteria invade, or when an allergic reaction flares up, everyone from the silent but deadly white blood cells to the brainy neurons has to work together to get through the crisis!
The first volume of Cells at Work! is coming out in print in Fall 2016. (English title tentative.)
Attack on Titan spinoff, Attack on Titan: Lost Girls the Manga
With a story by Attack on Titan creator Hajime Isayama himself, this is the backstory of Annie Leonhart and Mikasa Ackerman, the series’ two most beloved female characters. The novel is due out this June from @vertical-inc!
Attack on Titan: Lost Girls the Manga is coming to print this summer.
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