GANTZ is dormant as a series. Dark Horse Manga has GANTZ deluxe editions scheduled for spring 2027, and Hiroya Oku has said he will draw GANTZ:E through to the end alongside Kairoki Hime.
Hiroya Oku's public position in late 2026 is that he will finish his manga and stop. On October 12 he stated on his X account that he will retire with Kairoki Hime, the series he runs in Big Comic Superior, and that he will draw both Kairoki Hime and GANTZ:E through to the end. He had called Kairoki Hime his retirement work in earlier posts on February 4 and May 28. Volumes 1 and 2 of Kairoki Hime are on sale.
GANTZ itself has no new serialized content in these stories. Its only recent commercial movement is in English: Dark Horse Manga announced at its Anime Expo panel that GANTZ deluxe editions are among four licenses scheduled for spring 2027, alongside Kenji Tsuruta's The Sky is but One Roof of the World, Gou Tanabe's H.P. Lovecraft's The Haunter of the Dark, and Yoshitaka Amano's Deva Zan. The four titles are available for pre-order.
The other thread in the coverage concerns Thunder 3, which Oku confirmed in September 2026 he had created under the pen name Yuki Ikeda. He said on X that the alias protected a first-chapter twist that his real name would have weakened. Thunder 3 ran in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine, ended on June 5, 2026, and collected 10 volumes, the last released on August 17. Its anime premiered on July 8, 2026 and streams on Netflix, with Episode 12, the final episode, set to air on September 30. Online speculation about the art style resembling GANTZ had circulated before Oku's post. A week later, on October 4, Oku said Thunder 3 had already ended by the time the credit was corrected.
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Hiroya Oku, the manga author known for GANTZ, stated on his official X account on October 12 that he will retire with Kairoki Hime, the manga he currently serializes in Big Comic Superior. He had called it his retirement work in earlier posts, on February 4 and May 28. Kairoki Hime has volumes 1 and 2 on sale. Oku said he will draw both Kairoki Hime and GANTZ:E through to the end.
Hiroya Oku confirmed on social media Thursday that he created the Thunder 3 manga under the pen name Yuki Ikeda. He said the pen name kept a first-chapter surprise intact for new readers, one that the Oku name would have lessened. The series launched in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine in May 2022, entered its climax in January 2025, went on hiatus that March over Ikeda's health, returned in February, and ended on June 5.
Hiroya Oku, the manga artist behind GANTZ, stated on September 24, 2026 that Yuki Ikeda, the credited author of Thunder 3, is his own pen name. Oku posted the confirmation on his X account. He said the pen name existed because a chapter 1 twist would have been weakened if his real name had been attached, and he wanted first-time readers to be surprised. Thunder 3 began serialization in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine in May 2022 and reached its final chapter in the July 2026 issue, released on June 5, 2026. The collected volumes total 10, with the last volume released on August 17. The TV anime adaptation premiered on July 8, 2026 and its final episode, Episode 12, is set to air on September 30. Online speculation about the art style resembling GANTZ had circulated for some time before Oku's post.
Hiroya Oku revealed on X that he is Yuki Ikeda, the pen name credited as the author of Thunder 3. He said the alias protected the twist in Episode 1, so first-time readers would be surprised. Oku thanked the anime staff and said he watches every episode. Thunder 3 ran in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine, concluded in June 2026, and its anime streams on Netflix.
Dark Horse Manga announced four new manga licenses during its Anime Expo panel on Friday, including Kenji Tsuruta's The Sky is but One Roof of the World and Gou Tanabe's H.P. Lovecraft's The Haunter of the Dark. All titles are scheduled for spring 2027 release and are available for pre-order now.