Kodansha is expanding its English-language and Americas footprint through K MANGA simulpub additions, a Dentsu partnership for brand deals, and a second Young Magazine USA issue, while managing several serialization breaks and endings across its magazines.
Kodansha's most recent moves center on the Americas. A partnership with Dentsu makes the advertising firm the central contact for brands seeking to use Attack on Titan, Ghost in the Shell, and Blue Lock in campaigns, sponsorships, and fan events across North and South America. A second issue of Young Magazine USA is now open to submissions from Japanese manga creators, with a chapter storyboard and three sample pages due December 13 and a stated theme of an outcast overlooked by society. These follow Kodansha USA's Anime NYC panel, where the company licensed Trapped on Tape! and announced an omnibus print release for Hajime no Ippo: Fighting Spirit!, plus two Kodansha Print Club titles.
K MANGA keeps adding simulpub titles, including Adachitoka's The Wolf at Memory's End, Chihiro Kanisawa's Oh My Panda!, Yui Hata's No-Clipping My Way to Supremacy, and Daiki Yamazaki's Golden Phantom. Kodansha's game labels are also active: Kodansha Game Lab opened Steam pages for Legacy Code and Catharsis ~The Last Atelier~, and Kodansha Creators Lab released MissMon on Steam. Kodansha Game Creators' Lab announced Buzz or Die for PC via Steam in 2026.
On the serialization side, Gachiakuta remains on hiatus with no return date, while Quality Assurance in Another World and Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi are on breaks. Several series ended, including Fairy Tail Re:Fantasia, Ura-Tokyo: Exorcist City, Hanako-gari, and Jukebox. Subaru and Subaru is scheduled to return October 26.
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Kodansha's Monthly Dessert announced that Yūichirō Momose and artist Hina Hinata's Bagudan: Sono Otoko-tachi Toriatsukai Chūi ni Tsuki will end in the magazine's next issue on November 24. The reverse harem comedy follows Tokiko, an otome game fan whose five favorite characters reincarnate as classmates. It launched in Monthly Dessert on March 24, and the first compiled volume shipped on July 13.
Magazine Pocket's official X account announced that Shinobu Ohtaka, creator of Magi and Orient, will launch a new manga titled Geek and Crown (Geekrown) on October 27. The announcement teases a story about a treasonous military officer caught in a succession crisis. Ohtaka's Orient ran in Weekly Shonen Magazine from May 2018, moved to Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in February 2021, and ended in October 2024 with 22 compiled volumes.
Kodansha lists the 10th volume of Nana Mikoshiba's The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World light novels with a blurb teasing a story finale. The volume ships on December 2. The ninth volume shipped on June 2. Riko Korie illustrates the novels. Norihito Sasaki's manga adaptation ended in January 2024, and a sequel manga launched on May 27. The anime's second season premiered on October 8 and is ongoing.
Kodansha USA Publishing announced new licenses and Kodansha Print Club releases on Thursday. The Print Club slate has seven titles, among them Moyashi Fujisawa's Burn the House Down and When Arika Went Missing, Shikako and Tsukasa Monma's Manchuria Opium Squad, and two Daisuke Igarashi books, Kamakura Bakeneko Club: Uncanny Cat Tales and Umwelt and Other Stories. The other licenses include Jackpot Girls, Powerless Without You, and Occult Times.
Kodansha Game Creators Lab announced on October 14 that the horror adventure game 1999 Tokoyo Building will be released for PC via Steam on November 10, 2026. The game is set in December 1999 inside Tokoyo Building, a run-down indoor amusement park where people are rumored to disappear. The protagonist is Akira Hiruyuki, a boy with amnesia who is caught by the owner, Kazuto Yano, while committing burglary and is forced to work without pay in exchange for food and lodging. His coworkers include Camellia, a short-tempered fortune teller; Samejima, a servile aquarium keeper; Count, a performer who claims to be a charismatic villain; Tokoyoman, a suit actor; and Hajime Kotobuki, a serious employee. Players alternate between point-and-click exploration of 360-degree low-polygon backgrounds to pick locks and search private rooms, and conversation sections using Live2D where choices can lead to immediate dead ends. A free demo containing all of Chapter 1 is available now on Steam.
Kodansha's Young Magazine has announced a second issue of Young Magazine USA, its special edition for the U.S. The staff is seeking Japanese manga creators who want their work published for overseas readers. Applicants must submit a chapter storyboard and three sample manuscript pages by December 13. The requested theme is an outcast who is overlooked by society and struggles to fit in.
K MANGA will release Adachitoka's The Wolf at Memory's End in English on October 5. The manga, known in Japan as Yadoya no Oinu-sama, launches in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine on October 6, the same magazine where Adachitoka's Noragami: Stray God ran from 2010 until it ended in January 2024. The story follows Kasumi Kuromine, a junior high school girl in the countryside who falls down a mountainside during a school field trip.
The November issue of Kodansha's Shonen Sirius announced on Friday that a new Cells at Work! spinoff, Hataraku Saibo Dental (Cells at Work! Dental), will launch in the next issue on October 26. Koma Warita and Kawede Sakaki handle the manga. It follows the end of Cells at Work! Cat, which wrapped on March 26 and shipped its fifth and final volume on May 8.
Dentsu and Kodansha have entered a partnership that gives potential clients in North and South America access to Kodansha intellectual properties including Attack on Titan, Ghost in the Shell, and Blue Lock. Dentsu is now the central point of contact for brand marketers seeking sponsorships, tie-in campaigns, live events, and fan experiences tied to those properties.
Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine announced on Thursday that Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail Re:Fantasia manga miniseries will end in the next chapter, in the magazine's 44th issue on September 30. The miniseries launched in the 35th issue on July 29. The original Fairy Tail manga ran from 2006 to July 2017, and Mashima and Atsuo Ueda's Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest sequel inspired a television anime that premiered in July 2024.
K MANGA added Chihiro Kanisawa's Oh My Panda! (Horeta Hareta Panda) as a simulpub title on Wednesday. The story follows Hanna, a high school student with endless stamina who takes a part-time job as a performer for the local mascot Panboo, until a boy from the class next door gets close to uncovering her. Kanisawa launched the series in Kodansha's Dessert magazine in November 2025, and the second compiled volume shipped on September 11.
The 43rd issue of Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine announced that Shuichi Shigeno's Subaru and Subaru manga will take a break and return in the magazine's 48th issue on October 26. Kodansha USA Publishing licensed the manga and will release the first compiled volume in English on April 6, 2027.
Kodansha's K MANGA service announced Thursday that it has added Yui Hata's manga adaptation of Nikita Kitagawa's No-Clipping My Way to Supremacy as a simulpub title. The web novel began on Shosetsuka ni Naro in February 2021. The light novels started in June 2022 with illustrations by Meto Sasame. A television anime is planned for 2027.
Kodansha and Dentsu have signed a partnership that gives marketers across the Americas access to three of the publisher's anime and manga properties: Attack on Titan, Ghost in the Shell, and Blue Lock. Dentsu is the primary contact for brands that want to use the Kodansha-owned intellectual property in advertising campaigns, sponsorships, promotional work, and fan events across the region. Cartoon Brew reported the agreement on September 24, 2026. OtakuKart Anime followed on September 25, 2026, describing the three franchises as globally recognized and framing the deal as a route to advertising campaigns and fan-focused experiences in the Americas. The arrangement covers promotional use of Kodansha IP. It does not name specific partner brands, campaign dates, or the terms of the agreement. The three titles are the only Kodansha properties the reports name.
The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System has released a preview for Episode 13, which premieres on September 24. The same week, the production confirmed that Part 2 will continue in Fall 2026, with a key visual, a main promotional video, theme songs, and four additional cast members. The anime is based on the Kodansha Young Magazine series, and the work has more than 5 million copies in circulation. Part 2 picks up after Elymas and Ruche, the lead pair, and it will stream on Crunchyroll. The team behind the adaptation includes Studio GoHands, with Kodansha as the publisher of the source material. The preview arrives one day before the Episode 13 broadcast, and the Part 2 announcements land while the first part is still airing.
Tokoronyori's new game Twospeak (Working Title) appeared at the Kodansha Game Lab booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026. It is a two-player-only puzzle adventure, separate from the BOKURA series, in which each player is given a different vocabulary and the two decode each other's language while solving puzzles. The booth features 24 titles.
Kodansha FES 2026 in Animate runs from October 10 to November 15, 2026 at Animate stores nationwide and Animate mail order. Buyers of eligible Kodansha books and magazines receive one Replica Mini Shikishi drawn from a set of 40 designs. Customers pick a group from A through D, then receive one sheet from it, without choosing the design. Animate mail order distributes the bonus differently, and the source points buyers to the official site for that guidance.
Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine announced on Wednesday that KOJIRO's Ura-Tokyo: Exorcist City manga will end in the next issue on September 24. The series follows Soma Kuroniwa, a student at a secret exorcist academy beneath Tokyo who is cursed to carry a dangerous spirit. KOJIRO launched the manga in Weekly Shonen Magazine on March 17, the same day it began on K MANGA. The second compiled volume shipped on August 17.
Kodansha Game Lab opened the Steam store page for Legacy Code on September 16 and started accepting wishlist registrations. The physics simulation game is developed by indie creator Room 127 and is scheduled for release on PC in 2027. Players combine junk parts, including doll heads, electric fans, televisions, 3D puzzles, dentures, chains, and cacti, into creatures called Mechanimals, then operate them directly. Defeating enemies yields the parts they carried, and adding those parts changes both appearance and performance. Each part has its own movement quirks, and no clear correct answer exists for assembly. The game runs on the Marionette Engine, an in-house physics system built by Room 127 that moves a Mechanimal regardless of how its parts are combined, though the result sometimes walks in ways its own creator did not intend. The cycle of build, fight, and collect expands the walkable world, from deserts to snowy mountains and ruins. Legacy Code supports Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese, with pricing undecided.
Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine addressed the ongoing Gachiakuta hiatus on September 8, stating it will announce the manga's return once decided. The magazine's last new chapter ran in the combined 36th and 37th issue shipped August 5. Issue pages since have said the break is for creator Kei Urana to conduct research. Kodansha published the 19th collected volume on July 16, and the anime adaptation premiered in July 2025.
Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine confirmed on Sep 9 that Gachiakuta is on hiatus, after chapter 174 missed its Aug 25 release with no word from the staff. The magazine apologized for the concern the unannounced delay caused but gave no cause and no resumption date. The confirmation follows weeks of silence after author Kei Urana and graffiti artist Hideyoshi Andou stepped back from X following a public fallout with toxic fans.
Kodansha announced that THINKpod, its business video media launched in June 2026, has passed 300,000 subscribers on its official YouTube channel. The company says the channel is drawing support from U35 next-generation business leaders. THINKpod positions itself against the AI era with the concept that knowledge is not meant to be immediately useful, and has editors from various fields act as planning producers for daily free content.
Kodansha Creators Lab released MissMon, a looter-strategy game for PC via Steam, on September 8, 2026. The game, developed solo by Mach Habanero, tasks players with forming parties of five mythic monsters, called MissMon, to defeat the Demon King. Battles are automatic, and success hinges on pre-battle decisions about equipment and formation placement. There are 30 types of MissMon, each with a role such as tank, attacker, healer, buffer, or debuffer, and monsters can learn new abilities at certain levels, allowing for varied builds of the same type. The game features four weapon types (sword, shield, staff, great sword), nine attributes like fire and lightning, and over 140 equipment items with random skills and options. Equipment affects stats and attributes can trigger status ailments that, if chained, may wipe out enemies. A unique mechanic involves the 'struggle for equipment,' where winning battles lets players take enemy weapons, while losing risks their own weapons being taken by the Demon King's army. After defeating the final boss, endgame content unlocks with progressively stronger enemies and powerful weapons obtainable only post-story. MissMon is priced at 980 yen, with a 10% launch discount to 882 yen until September 21.
Kodansha Game Lab opened the Steam store page for Catharsis ~The Last Atelier~, an immersive art adventure by creator Mana, on September 7, 2026. The game is planned for release within 2026. Players control a nameless being who knows nothing about humans, guided by a mysterious voice through ten paintings by Van Gogh, Klimt, and Monet. Each stage changes the viewpoint and controls: some are 3D walking spaces, others side-scrolling, and one involves traveling by boat. A wolf and an owl accompany the journey, letting the player ride across plains or fly to high places. The game has no game over and no time limits, and each stage takes about 10 to 20 minutes. Wishlist registration opened with the store page. Catharsis is Mana's debut work. Mana self-taught Unreal Engine after moving abroad, won Epic Games' Unreal Quest 5 contest, and was selected for Kodansha Game Creators Lab in February 2024. The game supports Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese, and is published by Kodansha.
Kodansha USA will host Saka Mikami, creator of The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, at its Kodansha House pop-up in New York City on October 10 and 11. The event includes a Q&A and signing on October 10 and an additional signing on October 11. Tickets are allocated through a random drawing on kodanshahouse.com, with applications open September 3 to 10. The pop-up runs October 9 to 18 at 508 West 37th Street, during New York Comic Con.
Adachitoka, the manga duo behind Noragami: Stray God, will launch a new series titled Yadoya no Oinu-sama (The Inn's Dog) in the November issue of Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine, which goes on sale October 6. The story follows middle schooler Kasumi Kuromine, who lives in the countryside and falls down a mountainside during a school field trip.
Toshiko Machida's Hanako-gari manga ended with its final chapter on Kodansha's Pocket Magazine platform on August 27. The series launched in September 2025 and ran for three compiled volumes. Kodansha shipped the second volume on March 9 and will release the third and final volume on September 9. The story follows a Tokyo government organization that claims to protect spirits called Hanako but actually hunts and disposes of them.
Kodansha Game Creators' Lab announced on August 31 that the visual novel Buzz or Die, created by indie game developer Bon, will launch on PC via Steam in 2026. The announcement came with a renewed Steam store page, a new key visual, and a first trailer. The game is set in a variety show where death row inmates compete by making short videos that expose their opponents' secrets, with viewers' likes deciding the winner. The winner gains acquittal and one wish, while the loser faces public execution on live broadcast and becomes a model for slave androids, described as permanent destruction of dignity. Gameplay splits into an Investigation Part, where players read conversations and recollections to dig into an opponent's past, and a Thumbnail Creation Part, where they combine images and words to make a thumbnail that shapes the partner's short video. Players partner with Sagishima Sho, a former leader of a new religious cult, and face opponents including a former entertainer turned bomber, a genius hacker girl, a revolutionary, and a cannibal chef. Character portraits and event stills come from manga artist Atsushi Okada. The game supports Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese. Kodansha also announced that Bon joined the lab as a member. The game contains violent and grotesque expressions and psychologically disturbing depictions.
Weekly Young Magazine announced that its next issue will carry a special one-shot by Tohru Fujisawa serving as the finale of the Saejima Arc in GTO: Paradise Lost Kai. The story began as GTO: Paradise Lost in April 2014, went on hiatus, and returned under the Kai title in Magazine Pocket in April 2024.
Kodansha's K MANGA platform announced it has added Daiki Yamazaki's supernatural battle manga Golden Phantom as a simulpub. The series follows Shingo Asahina, who shelters a bloodied man at an amusement park and learns the park will become hell in 30 minutes. Yamazaki debuted the manga in Afternoon magazine on February 25; the first volume shipped in Japan on July 22.
MeetToMatch will hold its sixth annual Tokyo Edition from September 17 to 20, 2026, during the Tokyo Game Show 2026 period. The event connects Japanese game companies with overseas counterparts through pre-arranged business meetings. Japan-based companies can participate free of charge, with registration available on the dedicated website. Last year, 571 companies from 45 countries took part, including 120 Japanese firms, and 93% of meetings involving Japanese companies were with overseas partners. So far in 2026, 361 companies have registered on the platform, among them Bandai Namco Entertainment, Sega, Kodansha, Shochiku, Colopl, Drecom, G-mode, Kotobuki Solution, Crunchyroll K.K., 505 Games Japan, Active Gaming Media, Toylogic, and Chorus Worldwide. Meetings can be held at Makuhari Messe booths, public spots, rented rooms, restaurants, or online via Zoom, Google Meet, or a proprietary time-zone-adjusting system. Shochiku's Hiroaki Ishige noted that the most common contact he receives at conferences is from people who found him through MeetToMatch. The service is independent of Tokyo Game Show and not an official TGS offering.
Kodansha USA announced new manga releases during its panel at Anime NYC on Friday, including the horror license Trapped on Tape! and an omnibus print release for Hajime no Ippo: Fighting Spirit!. The company also announced two Kodansha Print Club titles: How to Grill Our Love in September 2026 and Abe-kun's Got Me Now! in December 2026.
Soborou's Jukebox manga ended on August 1 with the final part of its final chapter on Kodansha's Magazine Pocket platform. The third compiled volume ships September 16. The series follows odd residents of the Jukebox dormitory, including an angel, a demon, a wizard and apprentice, an amateur manga artist, and a genius Edo-era painter.
Yuri Sonoda's Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi manga resumed with a new chapter on Kodansha's Comic Days website on Friday. Sonoda put the manga on hiatus in January 2025 for health reasons. She said the series will proceed at a slower pace but that she will continue to draw each chapter with care.
Masamichi Sato announced on Kodansha's Comic Days platform that the Quality Assurance in Another World manga will take an extended hiatus while they recover from hospitalization for a hernia. The series will return at a later date to be announced. Kodansha ships the 18th volume in Japanese on Monday, and Kodansha USA releases the 17th volume on August 18.
Anime and manga accounts celebrated International Cat Day on August 8 with cat-themed art and messages. Participants included Cyberpunk 2077, Pragmata, Inherit the Winds, Black Torch, Akira Failing in Love, Kodansha, and Kojima Productions, among others.
Celsys announced the release of footage showing manga being drawn in space for Mission: SPACE COMIC, Kodansha's project to draw manga in space. The demonstration used the Kibo module's robotic arm on the ISS. Celsys provided technical support through CLIP STUDIO PAINT, its illustration and manga creation app.
Digital manga publisher Omoi announced at its Otakon 2026 industry panel on Friday that it will release Shinji Wada's Delinquent Detective: Sukeban Deka in English for the first time. The shojo crime thriller will be available exclusively on the Omoi: Manga Reader app this fall, with chapters accessible through the Omoi Premium subscription. The original manga ran in Hakusensha's Hana to Yume magazine from 1976 to 1982, and has inspired multiple live-action series and films, a 1991 video anime, and a 2006 live-action film. Omoi also revealed plans to add 54 Kodansha titles to its catalog, available for volume purchase, with early volumes from six titles available now, including After the Rain, Dororo, and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun. Omoi Premium members receive a 20% discount on all volume purchases. The announcement marks a significant addition to Omoi's library of classic shojo manga, following its earlier license of The Sword of Paros.
Kodansha USA announced eight new manga licenses at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, including Gamon Sakurai's The Pool, Shuuichi Shigeno's Subaru and Subaru, and IZU and Hagane's Kraken Mare. The company also plans a spring 2027 box set for The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity.
Kodansha released 'Hamukoi - Hamster ni Tensei Shita Boku to Sanshimai no Amaama na Hibi' on July 17 for PC via Steam and Epic Game Store. The live-action romance sim places the player as a hamster pampered by three sisters, played by gravure idols. The game faced multiple Steam bans before release, which developers discussed in an interview with Automaton.
Kodansha released the gravure mook 'FRIDAY GOLD 2026 Summer' on July 13, featuring talent and YouTuber Shinonome Umi on the cover and opening pages. The issue includes 30 pages of new photos of Umi, a selection of gravure photos from other talents including voice actress Kanon Shizaki, and a 100-minute making DVD. The mook is priced at 1,300 yen.
Negi Haruba's Go! Go! Loser Ranger! manga is going on hiatus due to the creator's health, according to the 32nd issue of Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine. The series will resume sometime in August. This follows a previous hiatus in February 2026, after which the manga returned and entered its final arc. The series launched in February 2021 and has two television anime seasons.
Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Sirius editor-in-chief Takashi Yamaguchi issued a public apology to Cells at Work! creator Akane Shimizu on July 3, acknowledging failures in medical supervision, working environment, editor conduct, and crediting of derivative works. Shimizu confirmed receiving the apology and said discussions with Kodansha are ongoing.
Kodansha USA Publishing announced during its Anime Expo panel on Thursday seven new print releases for spring 2026, including the prose collection Witch Hat Atelier: Special Stories, the yuri thriller Fatale Game, and the historical fantasy The Chronicles of Leënde. Other titles are The Serenade of Spring Thunder, Myther, and the classic Phoenix, along with Historié.
Akane Shimizu, creator of Cells at Work!, posted a series of allegations on X on July 1 and 2 detailing what she describes as years of editorial mistreatment during the manga's serialization. She claims Kodansha failed to provide promised medical supervision, dismissed her requests for professional assistants, and subjected her to personal criticism that contributed to severe mental health struggles, including suicidal thoughts.
The 30th issue of Kodansha's Morning magazine published the final chapter of Akane Torikai's Bad Babies Don't Cry manga on Thursday. The series, which launched in July 2024, follows four strangers who saved a 10-year-old girl from a train platform and must reunite years later to save her again. The manga entered its final arc on April 30.
Kodansha will begin localizing and publishing manga in India this autumn through a joint venture with Dai Nippon Printing, becoming the first Japanese publisher to directly enter the Indian market. The venture aims to release 200 titles per year in English and Hindi, printed locally to reduce costs and compete with pirated editions.
Kodansha announced on June 5 that all 12 episodes of the TV anime adaptation of Taku Kuwabara's manga Drifting Dragons will be streamed for free on the Full☆Anime TV YouTube channel from June 5 to July 5. The limited-time release coincides with the manga's 10th anniversary and the launch of its 22nd volume.
The television anime adaptation of Hitoshi Iwaaki's historical manga Historie will premiere in January 2027, with Nobunaga Shimazaki voicing the lead role of Eumenes. The announcement came via the July issue of Kodansha's Afternoon magazine on Monday, alongside a second teaser visual and the first promotional video. LIDEN FILMS is handling animation production. The cast also includes Ryota Suzuki as Eumenes' brother Hieronymus, Kazuya Ichijo as his father Hieronymus, Yuko Kaida as Teresila, Wataru Takagi as Charon, Satoshi Tsuruoka as Hecataeus, Anri Katsura as Trax, Tsuguo Mogami as Aristotle, Miki Kariya as Periala, Seiyu Fujiwara as Nicogenes, and Junya Enoki as Tormides. Iwaaki began serializing Historie in Afternoon in 2003 (some sources say 2004), and the manga has 12 compiled volumes as of June 2024, with over 4.7 million copies in circulation. The series previously won the 2010 Ministry of Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festival Award for manga, the 2012 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, and the Best General Manga category at the 49th Kodansha Manga Awards in 2025. Iwaaki noted he first conceived the story over four decades ago.
Hiro Mashima's Dead Rock manga ended its Academy Arc on Thursday and will go on hiatus before returning with a new Godfall arc this winter. Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine published the final chapter of the arc. The seventh compiled volume shipped on Friday.