Kodansha Reveals Spring 2027 Line-up of New Print Manga Licenses at Comic-Con International in San Diego

Just announced at Comic-Con International in San Diego 2026, Kodansha reveals even more print manga licenses set to debut this Spring 2027. The newly announced series for Spring include Subaru and Subaru, the next gear of the street racing saga that started with Initial D, and continued with MF Ghost; The POOL, the xenomorph battling sci-fi thriller from the author of Ajin: Demi-human; Meaheim, a fantasy epic with shades of cosmic horror; I Love You, Please Dump Me, a teasing yuri rom-com one-shot, and more!

These newly announced print manga licenses from Kodansha join the already tremendous slate of new print licenses announced at Anime Expo 2026.

The new print licenses announced at Comic-Con in San Diego and set to debut in Spring 2027 will be available for purchase at physical and online book stores like Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon, and more, while select digital editions will be available upon release across all our participating vendors, including Bookwalker, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play, Nook, Kobo, and more! Fans can also purchase and read all Kodansha digital manga directly on kodansha.us.

Full details of each new print license announced at Anime Expo can be read below:

In Case You Missed It:

The POOL
By Gamon Sakurai

JP Title: ＴＨＥ　ＰＯＯＬ

Debut Date: Spring 2027

Gamon Sakurai, author of the hugely popular sci-fi manga Ajin, hits us with an all-new sci-fi thriller! Dropped thirty miles from home base on an alien planet, Chief Yugi Oishi must lead her men and the exploratory excavation crew they find stranded in an abandoned mine to safety as alien monsters close in on them from both sides. But not all is what it seems, and there may be more than one danger lurking in the dark.

Twenty years ago, a wormhole suddenly appeared above Earth’s orbit and opened a passageway to an alien planet full of untapped resources and mysterious life forms. Two decades later, Team Sierra, a small military squad of security specialists working for the Tiberius Coke Corporation, are thirty miles away from home base on that planet when their leader, Chief Yugi Oishi, spots an SOS flare coming from a theoretically abandoned mine. Despite the danger, she leads her four-man team to the facility to see who’d called for help, only for it to be attacked by a horde of powerful creatures almost as soon as the doors close behind them. Now, she and the stranded exploratory excavation crew Team Sierra finds inside must traverse the treacherous mine to reach the only vehicle that could get them to safety—without waking the terrifying monster that’s been picking off the researchers one by one.

Rated: 16+

Box Set:

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Manga Box Set 1
By Saka Mikami

JP Title: 犬又と猫又の一生

Debut Date: Spring 2027

The sweet romance manga that inspired the hit anime reaches full bloom in this premium box set edition featuring exclusive artwork from the author!

Includes manga volumes 1-6 of The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity and an exclusive set of 10 art cards, all inside a pastry box-inspired package with magnetic closure!

Chidori High is a boys’ school that takes in the dregs of society with the lowest grades. Next door stands Kikyo Girls’ High, where the wealthy, high-class families send their precious daughters. Chidori second-year Rintaro, who has a fierce face but a gentle heart, is helping at his family’s patisserie when he meets a girl named Kaoruko. The two hit it off right away…but this blissful peace is quickly disturbed when Rintaro discovers that Kaoruko is actually a student at Kikyo. Worse, she doesn’t seem to realize what a huge problem this really is! Will these two be able to forge a path for themselves, and sidestep the traps (metaphorical and literal) laid by their classmates?

Rated: 13+

All-Ages:

The Cat and Dog’s Nine-Tailed Lives
Story by Maki and Art by Hamuhamu

JP Title: 犬又と猫又の一生

Debut Date: Spring 2027

What if your pets could live forever? When an aging cat and dog named Buchi and Kotaro wake up one day as immortal yokai, they’re overjoyed at the chance to spend more years with their beloved owner. But time waits for no man, as Buchi and Kotaro soon learn… A heartfelt fantasy one-shot manga for animal lovers young and old!

One day, a pet cat and dog named Buchi and Kotaro wake up to find that they have become yokai, supernatural beings blessed with eternal life. Now, not only do they get to spend more time with their beloved owner, they can stick around to befriend his children, and his children’s children! But even as Buchi and Kotaro remain the same, their owner slowly begins to gray… A heartwarming tale about the importance of life and all its little joys.

Rated: 8+

Action & Adventure:

Kraken Mare
Story by IZU and Art by Hagane

Debut Date: Spring 2027

This gritty space opera manga pits morally gray heroes against both each other—and a leviathan beyond human imagination, lurking on the other side of a tear in space.

Kraken Mare is a unique collaboration between Japan’s top publisher, an acclaimed French science fiction author, and an Italian manga artist that blends the gritty solar system sci-fi of The Expanse, the magitech of Battle Angel Alita and AKIRA, and the sweeping scale and massive monsters of Dune. In a universe overrun by the dark primordial beasts known as Krakens, the remnants of humanity contend for black ether, a fearsome energy source harvested from black holes. Amid the wreckage of war, a spy named Oriale ends up on a critical mission…

“Robust both in its worldbuilding and sci-fi storytelling. This is science fiction befitting Monthly Afternoon [the magazine that serialized BLAME! and Knights of Sidonia].” –legendary manga artist Tsutomu Nihei

In the distant, far-flung future, humanity’s pursuit of a vital energy source known as “Black Ether” has awakened monsters called Krakens, which lay dormant within black holes. These horrors brought humanity to the brink of extinction. A thousand years later, the Krakens are worshiped as gods by a church that exploits them to spread fear and control the remnants of humanity.

Brave smugglers known as scavengers defy the iron fist of the clergy, risking their lives to mine black ether in secret for profit. The crew of the space ship Pulsar, led by Captain Paze, is tasked with extracting black ether from an extremely dangerous black hole at the request of the Mars-based pirate group Red Sand.

Oriale, a church agent and skilled Atomancer, lurks amongst the crew, pretending to be the innocent cook “Eden.” But when the Pulsar is discovered by a terrifying Abyssal Kraken, she must reveal herself in order to save the crew.

A full-fledged science fiction story in which a heroine with wild power and cunning spycraft collides with a world swirling with revolution and conspiracy.

Rated: 16+

Meaheim
Story by Kenji Tsurubuchi and Art by Konata

JP Title: メアヘイム

Debut Date: Spring 2027

Meaheim—where fallen, rotting fruit returns to the tree, lakes roil with flame, and gold flows like water.

Meaheim—where reality itself unravels and only specialized Guides can navigate the dangers.

Meaheim—a realm untouched by God.

Firechasers come to the Dark Lands seeking impossible treasure, but what they find instead is untold danger…and few return to enjoy the spoils. Now a young scholar named Ren must brave the journey to retrieve the panacea that is her ailing brother’s only hope…

A young scholar named Ren makes her way to Meaheim, the last town on the border of the Dark Lands—a bizarre place where horrifying monsters run amok, and reality itself is all but unrecognizable. With the aid of a Guide named Tobia, Ren sets off on a journey into the very maw of chaos, where she must overcome monsters known as “Witches,” traitorous adventurers, and the godforsaken land itself to retrieve the panacea and save her brother…

Powered by impeccable art, a clean premise, and excellent storytelling, this ominous, surreal fantasy is a cut above the crowd. With a female protagonist worthy of Le Guin and a dark style that will instantly hook fans of Tower Dungeon and Attack on Titan alike, Meaheim is poised to be the next powerhouse fantasy series.

Rated: 13+

Rega in the Sleeping Forest
By yoruhashi

JP Title: 眠れる森のレガ

Debut Date: Spring 2027

Sleeping Beauty is downright beastly in this action-packed dark fantasy manga, which reimagines classic fairy tales with horrific monsters and gripping drama, perfect for fans of Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost, ONE’s Versus, or the Fables graphic novel series.

To save Princess Lorana from a sleeping curse cast by an evil dragon, Rega, captain of the kingdom’s knights, faces down a wicked wyrm within an ancient forest. Drawing upon his devotion to the princess, who rescued him from a life of slavery many years ago, Rega slays the monster, freeing the princess from her sleep. But the moment she awakens, the girl begins casting wicked magic, slaying Rega’s fellow knights and cursing the land, creating a “sleeping forest” which corrupts familiar figures into dark, monstrous forms. Stunned at this horrific sight, Rega looks up to see a crooked, crescent-moon smile in the night sky. Could this be the mastermind behind the corruption? And were those tears Rega saw in the princess’s eyes as she gleefully destroyed the kingdom she called home?

Rated: 16+

Yuri & BL:

I Love You, Please Dump Me
By Shizuku Torii

JP Title: 夢と恋ではつり合わない

Debut Date: Spring 2027

Resisting temptation isn’t so easy in this funny, cute coming-of-age one-shot yuri manga where the class’s top student has a plan to control her feelings—that’s doomed to backfire! Torn between the intense feeling of first love and dreams of a grand future, can she find romance and success in equal measure?

Fans of the new wave of heartfelt, hilarious sapphic comedies like There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… and I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl will love I Love You, Please Dump Me.

“Love makes people go crazy.”

Hikaru’s always been told to be wary of love—it can make you do stupid things. Like abandon your dreams, or worse, fail your exams! Which is exactly what happens when she falls in love at first sight with the gorgeous Kairi Kira. The problem is, Hikaru’s dream of one day living it up in an expensive penthouse apartment relies on her first achieving academic success. Which is why she’s going to have to nip this little love problem in the bud. If Kairi rejects her and breaks her heart, she’ll be able to get over her feelings and focus on her grades. Except Kairi insists on becoming her girlfriend, which is definitely not part of the plan! But this should be fine, right? She just has to get used to splitting her time and attention. Or…she could, if Kairi would let her!

A single-volume comedy and Shizuku Torii’s English debut!

Rated: 13+

I Loved Him First!
By toreta

JP Title: 俺が先に好きだった！

Debut Date: Spring 2027

A charming and funny friends-to-lovers BL one-shot manga about an ex-yakuza member who won’t let anything stand in the way of winning over his best friend’s heart—including that best friend’s boyfriend!

Makoto, an ex-yazuka, has harbored feelings for his best friend Ayato since high school but has always been afraid to confess his love and risk ruining their friendship. Instead, he resigns himself to the role of best friend to the bitter end…that is, until Ayato tells him he’s dating—a guy. Makoto does a total 180 and vows to win over Ayato’s heart by any means necessary—after all, he thinks, “I loved him first!”

A sweet and turbulent BL comedy—complete in one volume—perfect for fans of My Instructor Won’t Yield and Honey Bee & Lemon Balm.

Rated: 18+

One Final Reveal:

Subaru and Subaru
By Shuichi Shigeno

JP Title: 昴と彗星

Debut Date: Spring 2027

A new entry in the world of legendary street-racing manga Initial D! It’s the modern era, and the next generation of heroes take the wheel on terrain made famous by the tofu delivery boy-turned-GOAT driver Takumi Fujiwara. Premiering in Young Magazine USA, Subaru and Subaru is what you’ve been waiting for, if you feel the need for speed.

One year after Takumi Fujiwara’s student Kanata Rivington tore it up on Japan’s mega-popular MFG street racing circuit, two new drivers are itching to try their luck at the event. Their names: Subaru Sato, from Gunma Prefecture, and Subaru Kudo, from Kanagawa. The worlds of Initial D and MF Ghost meld into one as these two Subarus join together to weave the ultimate street racing legend!

Rated: 16+

This summer was packed with awesome series that made the jump to screen, and now it’s your turn to return the favor and jump into the manga that inspired them… and what better way to than with the Summertime Anime digital sale!

Add digital volumes the recently adapted manga to your collection including the dark yuri romance, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day; the origins Noh theater saga, The World is Dancing, the bro-tastic sea-side comedy, Grand Blue Dreaming, the genre-defining cyberpunk adventure The Ghost in the Shell and spin-off The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm. Sample each at a steep discount with first volumes available for only $0.99 and additional volumes available for up to 50% off!

Sale ends Monday, August 3, 2026!

You can pick these titles up for your collection by purchasing them on Kodansha.us or through one of our participating digital manga venders:

Amazon Kindle
Barnes & Noble Nook
Bookwalker
Google Play
Apple Books
MyAnimeList
Mangamo
and more! 

See the full details on these discounted titles for the Summertime Anime digital sale below:

The Ghost in the Shell
By Shirow Masamune

An epic dystopian tale of politics, technology, and metaphysics, The Ghost in the Shell has been hailed worldwide as an unparalleled visionary work of graphic fiction. Deep into the twenty-first century, the line between man and machine has been inexorably blurred as humans rely on the enhancement of mechanical implants and robots are upgraded with human tissue. In this rapidly converging landscape, cyborg superagent Major Motoko Kusanagi is charged to track down the craftiest and most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including “ghost hackers” who are capable of exploiting the human/machine interfance and reprogramming humans to become puppets to carry out the hackers’ criminal ends. When Major Kusanagi tracks the cybertrail of one such master hacker, the Puppeteer, her quest leads her into a world beyond information and technology where the very nature of consciousness and the human soul are turned upside down.

Rated: 18+

READ A FREE Ch. 1 PREVIEW

I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day
By Nachi Aono

An orphanage for girls is actually a boot camp, turning out magical child soldiers for a gruesome war. Yet love finds a way to blossom amid bloodshed, in this dramatic, much-anticipated yuri manga that is spiritual kin to the likes of Revolutionary Girl Utena, Otherside Picnic, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury.

Rated: 16+

READ A FREE Ch. 1 PREVIEW

Grand Blue Dreaming
By Kenji Inoue

The hit comedy manga is now in print by popular demand! Swimsuits! Ramen! Dumb jokes! Beer! Uncomfortable nudity! After moving out on his own to a seaside town, Iori Kitahara makes a college debut he never anticipated. A new chapter of his life unfolds, full of diving with beautiful girls and shenanigans with a gaggle of lovable bastards! Idiot-expert Kenji Inoue and au naturel authority Kimitake Yoshioka bring you a glorious college tale filled with booze-fueled antics!

Rated: 16+

READ A FREE Ch. 1 PREVIEW

The World is Dancing
By Kazuto Mihara

Born into a life of acting and dance with a traveling theater troupe in 14th-century Japan, 12-year old Oniyasha has one problem-he doesn’t know what the point of any of it is. Why must I step with the left foot here instead of the right? Why is one performance good and another, bad? Why do people dance at all? It all seems perfectly arbitrary, until a chance encounter in a run-down shack sets him down a path to revolutionizing the art form and influencing much of Japanese culture to come. A fictionalized account of the early life of Zeami Motokiyo (Oniyasha), the founder of modern Noh theater-the world’s oldest surviving theater art-this coming-of-age artist’s journey vividly brings to life a man far ahead of his time during one of Japan’s most culturally and socially vibrant eras.

Rated: 16+

READ A FREE Ch. 1 PREVIEW

The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm
Story by Junichi Fujisaku, Art by Yuki Yoshimoto
Based on the The Ghost in the Shell by Shirow Masamune

Togusa, Batou, and the rest of Public Security Section 9 are back in The Ghost in The Shell: Human Algorithm, a new story set after the events of The Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human Error Processer! With the Major missing, Section 9 continues along, solving cases with the help of their newest recruit, Tsunagi!

Rated: 16+

READ A FREE Ch. 1 PREVIEW

That’s Not Love By Peko Watanabe

Creativity and Romance Aren’t Special Exemptions—Turning the Tables on Twisted Oppression

With a discerning eye, the manga artist Peko Watanabe sheds light on issues and incongruities we experience in today’s society such as with 1122: For a Happy Marriage, which has sold over 2 million copies. In her new series That’s Not Love serialized on the online manga magazine Morning Two, Watanabe confronts the themes of “creative expression linked with sexual assault” and “the abusive brutality of romance” head-on. In this interview, we asked Watanabe about what inspired the work and her thoughts behind the story. (Written by Shuko Yokoi)

Overview

One day, 40-year-old housewife Akane discovers that Mr. Imai, a cram school teacher from back in middle school, is now a celebrated sculptor. His sculpture of a girl looks suspiciously like Akane’s former best friend Yukari, and memories from 26 years ago come rushing back. When the girls were still 14, Yukari and Imai had been in love despite him being her teacher…or so it seemed at the time. The three of them now lead completely separate lives, but a nude photo of Yukari that Imai took resurfaces and their paths cross once more. This is the story of confronting the mistakes and regrets from the past that never got addressed.

The Two Core Concepts—Systematic Sexual Abuse and Sisterhood

—When I first read That’s Not Love, it brought to mind a number of incidents. There was the 2017 #MeToo movement in response to sexual abuse by the formerly powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, as well as the 2018 confession by former model KaoRi, who was known as a “muse” to photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. Did the idea for your story originate from those kinds of real-life examples?

The idea didn’t just originate from real-life incidents. There was an indistinct feeling of unease and frustration that gradually grew inside of me over the years. Of course the #MeToo movement was a factor, but the model’s confession that you just brought up was a particularly big influence. When I was in university, Araki was a star in contemporary art and there was an unspoken understanding that, although some of his work was edgy, it was important to comprehend its artistic value. No one explicitly said so, but I understood that reacting with shock at his photos showing women in bondage would be considered very crass and tasteless. But when a shift in value judgement happens in society, an artist’s position can change, along with how their work is viewed. This does seem to be the case, seeing how people recognize that a problem is awful once it comes to light, even if the problem was tolerated until then, with some knowing what was going on to some extent.

Another thing was a semi-documentary film that I personally enjoyed and even wrote commentary for. I found out that one of the male actors had been a victim of coercion. Not only had I enjoyed the film, I had actively recommended it to others. I had been naïve and hadn’t realize what was going on at all. Even after finding out, I didn’t take the victim’s words as seriously as I should have and remained a consumer for a time. That’s a source of deep regret.

From there, I started thinking about various issues—situations where abuse isn’t recognized for what it is, problems that are tolerated for the sake of art or talent, and hierarchies that form within small groups or industries where everyone tends to know each other, among other things. While I’m not a fine artist, I do creative work that I publish, so it was an issue that I cared about on a personal level as well.

—How did those ideas come together as a story?

When art is involved, the problems are less visible and there’s a general unwillingness to question such issues. But I think that we as a society also contribute to creating that atmosphere. We’re responsible for providing the excuse that artists are special, and therefore, exempt. I wanted to think properly about how that happens systematically, and make sure I never forget it.

Separate from my thoughts on sexual abuse, when I was still working on my previous series 1122 that focuses on marriage, a desire to feature middle-aged women for my next story started to well up inside of me. I wanted to depict a kind of sisterhood. I don’t have what it takes to write a legal drama about pressing charges in court, but when I thought about systematic sexual abuse and the bond between two women, I thought I might just be able to make a story out of those two core concepts.

To Step Away From a Schematic Way of Thinking

—What made you want to feature middle-aged women?

In the last several years, I have seen the phrase “life gets easier as you age” as a way of empowering or encouraging women. From experience, I understand the feeling that aging is not a bad thing, and a part of me does want to tell younger people that this is true. Still, the situation can vary by person and I thought it was important to remember that it’s not true for everybody. I just don’t think schematic representations like “age = ease” or “women = [some stereotype]” make sense.

—Right in the first chapter of That’s Not Love is a scene where some old friends of Akane’s are saying things like, “I like myself better now than when I was younger,” and “Your forties are much more liberating and fun,” and Akane feels forlorn deep inside because she can’t relate.

Draining things are still draining no matter how much you age. I’m 45 years old now, and I used to think that at this age I would be more mature, regardless of whether I was married or had children. But when I actually hit my forties, I wasn’t the wise middled-aged woman I thought I would be. I was still just as immature as I had always been. This is nothing new and it’s a common topic, but I wanted to depict that in my own work, too.

—Akane harbors guilt that she never responded to Yukari’s cry for help when they were fourteen. When they reunite 26 years later, both have changed in some ways but not in others. They have carried their issues but a part of them has grown up, too.

With time and distance apart, people change. You can’t hope to rebuild a relationship exactly the way it was before, but from personal experience I’ve found that it’s sometimes possible to reconnect in a slightly more mature, mindful way. Akane and Yukari hadn’t seen each other for years, and they live far apart. But even if they haven’t been together all this time and there is a physical distance between them, some relationships can continue with genuine concern for each other. I hope to depict that in this series.

—I see a kind of solace in Akane’s resolve to not turn her back this time and the story about the two women’s friendship. 

Same-gender friends who get along are more often than not depicted as having very similar mindsets, sharing experiences and emotions in real time with mutual understanding. Personally, I struggle with that kind of closely knit friendship. So I thought in the same way that romance can come in many different forms, maybe it’s okay for there to be a spectrum in friendships, from really intimate to much more mellow.

—There are problems depicted within their respective families, too, including some that are not explicitly apparent but are nevertheless there. Friendships can sometimes provide another place where you feel you belong that’s separate from your home.

Of course, the family you’re born into is different from the family that you build for yourself, but perhaps because I grew up in a home where I was subjected to some pretty unreasonable things, my sense is that having an immature adult in the house is kind of a given. For example, with Yukari or Beniko’s family, I don’t intend to portray them as abnormal or awful homes at all. I think of them as very ordinary families that could exist anywhere. In any family, the roles tend to get fixed as the wife, the husband, the parent, or the child. That kind of “packaging” of the concept of family inevitably gets my guard up. As the slang term “parent gacha”* indicates, what kind of family you’re born into is up to chance, 100%. So I didn’t want to put too much weight on that aspect. Friendship comes in many forms, but I think it’s important that there are no fixed roles between friends.

[Footnote] *”Parent gacha” originates from capsule “gacha” machines where you don’t get to choose what toy will come out of the capsule. The idea is that what kind of parents one might get is up to the luck of the draw, and one might have “won” or “lost” depending on what the family situation is like.

Manga and Lookism

—Lookism, which is about making judgments or discriminating based on physical appearances, is another running theme in That’s Not Love.

I think about looks a lot. As I age, worrying about my appearance has largely gotten easier, but it’s definitely not the case that I can say with 100% certainty that it doesn’t affect me anymore.

—Yukari’s character has a perspective that seems removed from lookism. When Akane self-deprecatingly jokes that she’s a “fat gorilla,” Yukari doesn’t even crack a smile and denies it. She also doesn’t notice Gen’s cosmetic surgery.

That’s true. In this manga, there’s a juxtaposition between people who found it necessary to change their looks versus those who didn’t need to. In Akane’s case, it’s about losing weight. I imagine she went on a diet because it wasn’t acceptable for her to be a bit pudgy or have a thicker physique. Yukari now cuts her hair and has changed the way she dresses to eliminate feminine traits as much as possible. Gen wanted to pursue his idea of attractiveness and changes his face through surgery. Only Mr. Imai, who became a sculpture artist, is able to age without having to change anything.

—Although I do think everyone has the right to choose their appearance, I also feel like Mr. Imai is very privileged compared to the other three, who have all had to struggle with their looks in one way or the other.

Mr. Imai is the only one who gets to stay the same person he has always been. Personally, I think cosmetic surgery is a perfectly viable option. But I also think there tends to be more stories about women getting enhancements, so I knew I wanted my character to be male. That’s how Gen’s character came about. Since some themes of the story are heavy and both Akane and Yukari have quieter personalities, I knew that the mood would be subdued in general. So I wanted to include a character who was uplifting and didn’t worry much.

—It’s true, it’s always a relief when Gen appears. Especially since he’s one of the characters who reaches out to help Yukari.

It’s not just in the story. I also consider all kinds of things about appearances when drawing manga. For example, the majority of manga depict women with bigger eyes and men with sleek ones, which is true in my work as well. I think that’s because there’s a general image that big, wide eyes look prettier on women. I actually wish I could draw eyes the same way regardless of gender, but with my drawing skills it makes differentiating extremely difficult for the reader. So, I follow those conventions to some extent while trying to get as close to my ideals as possible, but even as I draw, I always find myself just making the women’s eyes bigger. By default. [laughs] I know it’s just a conventional way of “coding” characters, but I’m also exacerbating the issue by mass producing it. At this point, I can’t help but wonder if it’s not that different from makeup.

—I suppose with manga, you do have to code your characters to some extent to show what kind of people they are, so maybe it’s easier to notice social conventions on appearances.

I can’t escape that kind of coding completely, but I don’t condone lookism, either. I guess that’s why I wanted to touch on that discrepancy I feel in my manga.

Romance Doesn’t Mean Anything Goes

—Mr. Imai creates a sculpture based on a younger Yukari, and although he does apologize, he still refuses to take down the exhibition despite Yukari’s protests. Meanwhile, he leaves the rebuttal completely up to his wife. He seems almost hollow inside, but also quite realistic.

For an artist or an author, expressing themselves is part of the job and they are making a living off of it. And yet, when incidents of violence or abuse come to light, many of them suddenly turn silent, which always bothered me. Like when they say, “I’m leaving it all up to my lawyer,” or “I have nothing to say.” I’m sure they have their reasons, but still. They express themselves so much through their work, and I have to wonder why they suddenly fade away like they’re invisible the moment some inconvenient truth comes out. Still, having a character stick to that in manga will really just result in a hollow personality, so I keep thinking I have to make Mr. Imai voice his thoughts and tell his side of the story at some point.

—What are you conscious of when depicting Mr. Imai, who is the abuser in the story?

I didn’t want him to seem clearly capable of sexual abuse, or present him as an obvious villain. In line with many real-life abusers, Mr. Imai has created a convenient fantasy of a legitimate relationship in his mind, including the belief that the girl gave consent, or at the very least, didn’t reject him outright.

Mr. Imai’s abuse doesn’t involve violent sexual assault, which makes it more sinister in a way, because he can be as slippery as he wants and get away with it. The idea that “they were in love” or that “it was a romantic relationship” tends to be used to excuse such behavior. An abuser saying, “I couldn’t help it because I was in love with you at the time,” makes things very difficult for the victim. But just because a relationship might have some romantic feelings involved shouldn’t mean anything goes.

—I see, so that’s the kind of message you put into the very striking title, That’s Not Love.

I have always questioned whether fiction places too much importance on romance as a positive thing. Love is certainly dramatic and involves big human emotions, so it’s understandable for a creator to feature it. I know I’ve had favorite romantic TV dramas that once melted my heart. But when “love” becomes this miraculous thing that solves everything and anything goes within the confines of romance, I think we need to be wary. In particular, when a story about an adult and a child is depicted as a beautiful love story_—with the excuse that the temptation was just too much or that there was a special connection—I gradually found I wasn’t okay with it anymore, even if I may have enjoyed it without a problem before. I understand how it might be used as a storytelling device, but I think it’s important for there to be a lot more work featuring things other than romance.

—Because not all relationships are defined by romance.

Exactly. Not everything is about romance. That’s not love. [laughs] I guess that’s really me talking. [laughs] The sentiment that wells up in the story that “it might not have been love,” and my desire to not make everything about love are both manifested in the title.

A Desire to Turn the Tables on Social Oppression

—I think the anxiety and fear a victim feels toward raising their voice is substantial. A monologue by Akane in volume 2 says, “She wants everyone to forget so she can move on. But what if no matter how much she begs or how much she yells, nobody bothers to listen?” The worry that an insignificant victim’s voice might not be heard is depicted repeatedly in your work.

I think there are many people who feel like their voices go unheard or who have given up after being ignored so many times. I can’t solve any of that, but I do create the manga praying that people will listen and those voices will be heard.

—When Gen’s girlfriend describes the news on a sexual harassment court case as “painful to watch” and wonders whether it might be easier for the victim to just forget about the tough situation and find peace, Gen strengthens his tone and says, “That ain’t peace at all, and you know it.” That was striking as an outsider’s perspective.

I think sexual abuse is often shrugged off with comments like, “at least they weren’t murdered.” In terms of this conversation in the manga, I think both Gen’s and his girlfriend’s comments are plausible. Gen’s just happens to be more sympathetic because he’s closer to Yukari in this scenario. It would become draining attempting to relate to all of the information that comes up on the news or online, so sometimes we have to take a step back for our own well-being. But even if we don’t sympathize with everything, if we all use our imagination and learn about the issues, I think it’s possible to avoid shrugging off problems without a thought.

—You handle some very heavy themes, but many of the issues raised, painful or otherwise, are relatable or at least familiar in a “I’ve seen this before” kind of way, which makes the story read well.

Thank you for saying that. Thinking about readability and entertainment value is really difficult for me. I love entertainment, but I’m actually not great at providing it, even though I’m a manga creator. It’s something I always struggle with through trial and error, with help from my editor. One very important thing is that I don’t want my manga to lecture on morality. It might seem to do that sometimes, but as the author I want people to read it for the story, so I take care not to get too explanatory. 

—Finally, can you tell us a little about where the story will go on from here?

Perhaps evident with the scene in 1122: For a Happy Marriage where a man gets stabbed in the genitals with a kenzan (a little bed of needles used to arrange flowers in ikebana), I think I’m impulsively destructive sometimes in my stories. Although it’s entirely unconscious, it seems I have the desire to tear apart sources of oppression. I’m pretty sure I’ve done that kind of thing repeatedly in my works. That’s Not Love is no exception, and I want to turn the tables, as it were. Unfortunately, women are generally weaker than men, both in society and in terms of physical strength. But the desire to flip that script is here inside of me, so I hope you look out for that as the story continues.

—I’ll keep thinking about these issues as I read and look forward to what comes next. Thank you very much. 

About the interviewer:

Shuko Yokoi
Manga Journalist

Born in 1978 in Tokyo, raised in Ibaraki Prefecture. Writes about manga. Associate Professor of Literary Arts at the Tohoku University of Art and Design.

No part of this article may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission by Asahi Shimbun.

Permission Number: 26-1728

Interview provided with permission from The Asahi Shimbun Company until July 17, 2027.