Anime Expo 2017 Kodansha Comics announcements
It was a big year for Kodansha Comics at Anime Expo! We had a new & improved booth with lots of unique activities, goods, and giveaways, hosted a few major events, and made big announcements about our most popular properties (Sailor Moon and Fairy Tail to name two—see below)!
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card anime World Premiere (July 1)
For the first time, Kodansha Comics hosted a world-premiere event at Anime Expo. Over 3,000 Sakura fans attended the screening of Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Prologue: Sakura and the Two Bears!
Everybody who attended the screening received an exclusive gift card for the first volume of the Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card manga—on sale now as a digital-only edition at all of our digital retail partners!
Kodansha Comics Panel (July 3)
We also made several big announcements at our industry panel, with a special guest appearance by Yumi Sukemune, the Japanese editor of Princess Jellyfish, who shared some behind-the-scenes episodes of the making of this groundbreaking series!
Sailor Moon Eternal Edition details revealed! The new premium paperback edtion features all-new cover illustrations by creator Naoko Takeuchi! Volume 1 releases January 2018—available for preorder now! Details:
• new, revised translation and all-new lettering
• premium white paper, French flaps—Sailor Moon has never looked better!
• 7”x10” trime size, making this the BIGGEST Sailor Moon edition ever!
• beautiful metallic ink and holographic effect on cover
• at 290 pages per volume, this new edition will reach 10 volumes total
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Following the digital debut of Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Kodansha Comics confirmed licensing of the print edition, scheduled for later this year. Seventeen years after the original Cardcaptor Sakura manga ended, CLAMP returns with more magical clow card adventures! Volume 1 releases November 2017—available for preorder now!
Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle Yukito Kishiro finally reveals Alita’s early years on Mars in this finely detailed prequel. Print and digital release February 2018.
Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition After more than a decade out of print, the original cyberpunk action classic returns in these glorious 400-page hardcover deluxe editions, featuring an all-new translation, color pages, and new cover designs. Just in time for the major Hollywood film adaptation from Robert Rodriguez! Volume 1 of the deluxe print editions releases November 21.
More digital-first titles revealed—available on all digital retail channels July 18!
Kounodori: Dr. Stork: A smash-hit in Japan, this drama looks at the lives of the men and women who work to deliver one million new lives into the world each year in Japan.
Hotaru's Way (aka Hotaru no Hikari) "I'd rather nap at home than fall in love." 27-year-old Hotaru is a career woman and a himono, who unexpectedly finds herself involved with a younger man—who happens to be her boss! How will this josei romance play out!?
Love's Reach (aka Kinkyori Renai) Yuni likes the way her new substitute English teacher looks—but he's kind of a jerk. Then she starts getting afterschool lessons from him!
Hiro Mashima is coming to New York Comic Con 2017!!!
Just announced: as we approach the conclusion of Fairy Tail, creator Hiro Mashima will attend New York Comic Con this October as Guest of Honor!
To help get you caught up on this long-running series in time for Mashima's epoch-marking Stateside appearance and Fairy Tail's final conclusion, here's a great deal: we're offering Fairy Tail volumes 1-45 and the spinoff series on Humble Bundle. It's more than $600 worth of manga but you pay what you want!
Hurry, though. There's only 2 days left. Sale ends July 5, 11 a.m. Pacific Time.
