The epic team-up between NISIOISIN and Oh!great—BAKEMONOGATARI—is here! Volume 1 on sale October 1!


The ultimate writer-artist manga team-up is finally here—with Vertical’s highly anticipated release of the BAKEMONOGATARI manga by Japan’s #1 literary phenom NISIOISIN and manga giant Oh!great!
Volume 1 goes on sale October 1 and represents a unique collaboration by the legendary novelist of the MONOGATARI series and the lauded artist of Air Gear and Tenjo Tenge.
One of the most exciting young novelists in Japan today, NISIOISIN is best known in the West for his literary adaptation of the Death Note manga and his bestselling MONOGATARI novels, the latter all published by Vertical. MONOGATARI is a uniquely imagined serial blend of noir and fantasy that has gone on to pop-culture prominence in the form of hit anime series, video games, merchandise, and now … manga. Oh!great, of course, is a longtime manga legend, famed for his incredibly polished style.
The BAKEMONOGATARI manga represents a unique collaboration between these giants in their fields. It opens with the story of high school student Koyomi Araragi, who catches a girl named Hitagi Senjougahara as she falls, but—much to his surprise—she doesn’t weigh anything … at all. Koyomi is about to learn the truth that monsters have been here since the beginning. Always. Everywhere.
Read the entire 75+ page Chapter 1 right here!
[reader chapter_id=”31623″]
About NISIOISIN
Born in 1981, NISIOISIN dropped out of Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, to pursue a career in storytelling. Initially he had ambitions to be a comic artist, but he began to focus on his writing, eventually winning the 23rd Mephisto Prize for Kubikiri Cycle (Del Rey), recognizing his talents as a mystery writer, at the age of 20. Since his debut in 2002, NISIOISIN has penned more than fifty novels and a number of comics. And he has quickly become one of Japan’s top selling authors in recent memory with more than 5 million units sold since 2009. Many of his works have been adapted into animated television series and films. His best known works are the MONOGATARI series and KATANAGATARI
About Oh!great
Oh!great is most notable for his manga series Tenjo Tenge and Air Gear. He has worked on other projects such as Biorg Trinity and character designs in video games such as Tekken 5, Tekken 6, and Soul Calibur IV.
 

Limited-time offer to comiXology Unlimited members: 50% off all Kodansha Comics titles!


One more sale for ya today … and if you’re a subscribing member of comiXology Unlimited you’re in luck!
That’s cuz for this week only every Kodansha Comics book is on sale to comiXology Unlimited members only.
So in addition to the already 100+ series you can read on comiXology Unlimited, you can go even deeper into those awesome stories with the whole freakin’ Kodansha Comics catalog at 50% off!
And if you find your new favorite new manga series on Unlimited, get the remaining volumes at a deep discount and keep reading! This limited-time offer ends September 30, 2019.

Barnes & Noble: Buy 2, Get the 3rd FREE for all Kodansha Comics and Vertical titles! Ends 10/28


Head over to your local Barnes & Noble bookstore or the BN.com promo page for a special month-long sale starting today!
Here’s the deal: buy any 2 Kodansha Comics and/or Vertical titles and get the 3rd title FREE!!!  
This is a prime opportunity to stock up on any sizzling summer titles you may have missed! Offer ends October 28.

Also… check out our Summer Anime 2019 Season Finale Sale!
Up to 50% off digital editions of our Summer 2019 manga-to-anime titles, featuring Fire Force, To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts — and more!
 
 

Summer 2019 Anime Season Finale Sale! Fire Force and MORE up to 50% on digital (ends 9/30)


As summer goes … so goes the Summer 2019 anime season… but don’t be sad! Even though the anime season might have ended … remember the story starts—and continues—in the manga!
That’s why this week—no matter which anime based on a Kodansha Comics series you were watching this summer—we’re putting the digital editions of all those manga that became anime up to 50% off (helps you to binge read) during this week’s Summer 2019 Anime Season Sale! The digital volumes of the following series are discounted at our digital retail partners:  BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, Kindle, MyAnimeList, and nook! (Sale ends September 30.)

2019 Anime Season Finale Sale
— Click on the covers to read free full Chapter 1s —

Fire Force A new action fantasy set in a steampunk Tokyo from the creator of the smash-hit Soul Eater! The city of Tokyo is plagued by a deadly phenomenon: spontaneous human combustion! Luckily, a special team is there to quench the inferno: The Fire Force! The fire soldiers at Special Fire Cathedral 8 are about to get a unique addition. Enter Shinra, a boy who possesses the power to run at the speed of a rocket, leaving behind the famous “devil’s footprints” (and destroying his shoes in the process). Can Shinra and his colleagues discover the source of this strange epidemic before the city burns to ashes?

Watch the anime on Funimation or Crunchyroll!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

O Maidens in Your Savage Season  This debut manga from anime legend Mari Okada (Maquia) follows five girls and their five moving, funny, and mortifying answers about … sex! Join their bittersweet (and a little spicy) journey from girlhood to … whatever comes next … Amid an explosion of graphic novels about girls’ teenage years, O Maidens brings a diverse, fresh, and hilarious perspective on how it feels to leave childhood behind.

Anime coming soon!Watch the anime on HiDive!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Vinland Saga As a child, Thorfinn sat at the feet of the great Leif Ericson and thrilled to wild tales of a land far to the west. But his youthful fantasies were shattered by a mercenary raid. Raised by the Vikings who murdered his family, Thorfinn became a terrifying warrior, forever seeking to kill the band’s leader, Askeladd, and avenge his father. Sustaining Throfinn through his ordeal are his pride in his family and his dreams of a fertile westward land, a land without war or slavery … the land Leif called Vinland. 

Watch the anime on Amazon Prime Video!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts During a protacted civil war that pitted the North against the South, the outnumbered Northerners used dark magic to create monstrous super-soldiers called Incarnates. Now that the war has ended, those Sacred Beasts must learn to make their way in a peaceful society, or face death at the hands of a Beast Hunter. Nancy Schaal Bancroft, the daughter of an Incarnate, turns to hunting the hunter herself. But once she catches up with her quarry, she discovers hard truths about the lives of these Sacred Beasts.

Watch the anime on Crunchyroll!

 

Historical Manga Sale! 10+ digital series up to 50% off!


Yeah, maybe it wasn’t your strongest subject in school, but history in manga form is way more fun than in a textbook! Now that the summer is in the past (hah) grab some hot cider, curl up in your favorite reading nook, and enjoy this curated selection of historical manga titles, each up to 50% off!
This week 10+ of our historical manga series are now up to 50% off on digital at our digital retail partners: BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, Kindle, MyAnimeList, and nook. Sale ends September 23!
Speaking of history … We’ve all got our romantic histories. Highs and lows, crushes, unrequited love … So what’s highschooler Uta to do when her first crush and childhood friend becomes her sister-in-law? Get the debut volume of the heart-wrenching yuri manga If I Could Reach You out September 17—TODAY!

Click on the cover and read Chapter 1 FREE!

~ Historical Manga Sale ~
September 17-24

Click on the cover or links to read Chapter 1s for FREE!

Altair: A Record of Battles
Basilisk
Blissful Land
Frau Faust 
The Ghost and the Lady
The Heroic Legend of Arslan
Magus of the Library
Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai
The Tale of Genji: Dreams at Dawn
Vinland Saga
The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls

… and for those of you who prefer your manga in print: From now until September 22, our friends at Indigo are hosting a historically great sale at their online store …  all physical Kodansha Comics titles 40% off!

Indigo Deal of the Week: 40% off Kodansha Comics titles online! Ends 9/22!


Kodansha Comics is Indigo’s Deal of the Week! Head over to the Indigo website and stock up on all print editions of our manga!
For this week only through September 22nd, all Kodansha Comics books purchased online at the Indigo website are 40% off.

That includes our hot new releases like our premium Sailor Moon Eternal Edition and Cardcaptor Sakura Collector’s Edition and Harvey Award-nominated Witch Hat Atelier, not to mention a deep selection from one of the biggest and most diverse manga catalogs around! So whatcha waiting for?

The BIG Back-to-School Manga Sale! 90+ digital series up to 50% off!


Sad summer’s over? Ready for school … ? You’re in good company! This week’s BIG digital sale features all kinds of your fellow students in every imaginable school setting! We’re not even sure how some of these characters have time to study! So tell your sensei and grab your senpai, cuz this massive list of academia-related titles is up to 50% off!
Whew, have we got a lot of manga set in school … That’s right, this week 90+ of our school-themed series are now up to 50% off at our digital retail partners: BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, Kindle, MyAnimeList, and nook. Sale ends on September 16.
And to help celebrate our school-manga theme, here’s our digital-first debut of the week! What more embarrassment can you face after you accidentally confess your love to your crush? Learn more in our new digital-first title Queen Bee, which debuts September 10—TODAY!


Click on the cover and read Chapter 1
FREE!

And here’s the complete lineup!

~ The BIG Back-To-School Manga Sale ~
September 10-16
Click on the link to read Chapter 1 for FREE!

Ace of the Diamond
Again!!
Aho-Girl
Air Gear
Ajin: Demi-Human
ALIVE
All Out!!
All-Rounder Meguru
Ao-chan Can’t Study!
Aoba-kun’s Confessions
Arisa
Asahi-sempai’s Favorite
Attack on Titan: Junior High
Beauty Bunny
Beware the Kamiki Brothers!
Boarding School Juliet
Chihayafuru
COPPELION
Days
Defying Kurosaki-kun
Devils’ Line
Domestic Girlfriend
Elegant Yokai Apartment Life
Farewell, My Dear Cramer
The Flowers of Evil
Gakuen Prince
The Garden of Words
Genshiken Omnibus
Gleipnir
Goodbye! I’m Being Reincarnated!
Happiness
I Am Here!
I Want to Hold Aono-kun so Badly I Could Die
I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World
Interviews with Monster Girls
Karate Heat
Kigurumi Guardians
Kira-kun Today
A Kiss, For Real
Kiss Him, Not Me
Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight
Kitchen Princess Omnibus
LDK
Let’s Dance a Waltz
Liar x Liar
Living-Room Matsunaga-san
Love and Lies
Love in Focus
Love’s Reach
Lovesick Ellie
Magical Sempai
Magus of the Library
Manga Dogs
MARS
Mikami-sensei’s Way of Love
Missions of Love
My Boy in Blue
My Boyfriend in Orange
My Brother the Shut-In
My Little Monster
My Sweet Girl
My Wife Is Wagatsuma-san
Mysterious Girlfriend X
Negiho: Mahora Little Girls
Negima!
Nodame Cantabile
O Maidens in Your Savage Season
Our Precious Conversations
Paradise Residence
Parasyte
Peach Girl
Peach Heaven
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Side: P4
The Prince’s Romance Gambit
The Quintessential Quintuplets
Ran the Peerless Beauty
Real Girl
Say I Love You.
Sayonara, Football
Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei
School Rumble
Shojo Fight
Shugo Chara!
A Silent Voice
A Springtime with Ninjas
Sweetness and Lightning
Tsuredure Children
Vampire Dormitory
Waiting for Spring
The Walls Between Us
Welcome to the Ballroom
Witchcraft Works
That Wolf-Boy Is Mine!
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
You Got Me, Sempai!
Your Lie in April
Yuri Is My Job!

 
 

Digital-first debuts for September/October: Fairy Tail and Cells at Work spinoffs!


What’s goin’ on here?! Happy starring in his own series at last? Lucy now a … policewoman?! Those industrious erythroblasts in your body … slacking off? And the Squad Leader of the Killer T Cells looking for a personality makeover?!
Not a dream! Not an alternate reality (well, maybe)! With the recent debuts of Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest and Cells at Work! Code Black, just last week, it does seem like there’s no better time to dive yet even deeper into some of your favorite fantasy-manga series! That’s right, for our digital-first debuts in September/October we’ve got a new Fairy Tail or Cells at Work spinoff series debuting EVERY WEEK starting September 17! Here’s the lineup!

Fairy Tail: Happy’s Heroic Adventure By Hiro Mashima and Kenshiro Sakamoto Happy of Fairy Tail was summoned to another world and became a hero! And its inhabitants aren’t human … They’re animals, with ears and tails to match! Guided by a mysterious talking heart, Happy soars through the skies of this new world, helping the friends he’s making along the way, like a cute bunny, an alluring fox, and even a dog that scares him! What is this place? And will Happy ever make it back home to Natsu and the rest of Fairy Tail?! A new adventure begins through uncharted territory, with Happy as the star and artwork by Kenshiro Sakamoto, creator of Pitch-Black TenOn sale September 17! Click on the cover to read Chapter 1 free!

Fairy Tail: City Hero by Hiro Mashima and Ushio Ando A spinoff from the Fairy Tail universe—with Lucy now on assignment as a police officer—and lots of your old friends appearing in an unexpected new setting! Starts September 24!

Cells NOT at Work! By Moe Sugimoto Here comes a new Cells at Work! spinoff series—with laughs galore! Erythroblasts are cells raised by a Macrophage in order to become promising Red Blood Cells, but that doesn’t seem to be really the case here with these erythroblasts, who are on an indefinite moratorium—with no reason to work! Starts October 1!

Cells at Work and Friends! By Kanna Kurono and Mio Izumi The smash-hit anthropomorphic cell fantasy’s latest spinoff features a fearsome Killer T Cell as its protagonist! Killer T Cells are the assassins who destroy virus-infected cells and other foreign contaminants to keep things peaceful inside the body. The Squad Leader of the Killer T Cells is feared by all … but he wants to change his public persona! He wants friends! But he can’t just say so! Solo karaoke, hot pot parties, and smartphones … Cells using modern gadgets in their daily lives unexpectedly result in one hilarious situation after another! Starts October 8!

We got more digital-first debut announcements comin’—stay tuned!

10 Years of Kodansha Comics—September Spotlight: Akiko Higashimura

10 years of Kodansha Comics!

The year 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of the first Kodansha Comics manga published in English. Please join us in celebration as we select
one classic Kodansha Comics series each month for exclusive content, promotions, and other surprises!

Princess Jellyfish Volumes 1-9 (complete series) and Tokyo Tarareba Girls Volumes 1-9 (complete series) are available from Kodansha Comics!

Our September Spotlight is on celebrated all-around manga genius Akiko Higashimura and her iconic shojo series Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls, just in time to celebrate the release of Princess Jellyfish‘s beautiful complete manga box set and Tokyo Tarareba Girls winning the prestigious Eisner Award at this year’s San Diego Comic Con! So what kind of “special surprises” do we have for you to pillage this month? Check ’em out!

Surprise 1: Exclusive Tara and Reba Pins!

As a part of the 10 Years of Kodansha Comics project, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Rightstuf to bring you these awesome Tara and Reba pins!

Visit Rightstuf and order any volume of Akiko Higashimura’s manga and you’ll receive an exclusive pin for FREE! Your order will also come with our new Kodansha Comics mascot Kacey pins! Available this month (September 2019) only or while supplies last.

Surprise 2: Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls digital sale!

Are you more of an otaku like the Amars or a hustler like the Tarareba Girls? Find out who your true friends are by reading both series! From now until September 9th, get up to 50% off on Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls at our digital retail partners: BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, Kindle, MyAnimeList, and nook! 

Surprise 3: Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Survey Sweepstakes!

Wanting to check out Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls after hearing all the hype? Already a diehard member of Amars? Trying to score a date while working overtime at your job? For the month of September only, ONE lucky winner will win a Princess Jellyfish Complete Manga Box Set and Tokyo Tarareba Girls Volumes 1-9. All you have to do is take this survey by September 30 to enter for a chance to win!


©Jun Tsuchiya/B.P.B.

Surprise 4: Interview with Akiko Higashimura

After Tokyo Tarareba Girls‘s big Eisner win, we got the chance to sit down with Akiko Higashimura to talk about her reaction, her ideal “Girl’s Night Out,” and, that’s right, dating advice!

Kodansha Comics (KC):  Congratulations on winning an Eisner Award. Do you have any comments about the win and being the first woman creator winning in the U.S. Best Edition of International Material—Asia category?

Akiko Higashimura (AH): Honestly, I’m shocked. I thought shojo manga as an art form was so far removed from American comics that I’d never come close to winning this award. It makes me incredibly happy!

KC: You were partly inspired by Sex and the City when drawing Tokyo Tarareba Girls. What differences did you have to consider in order to create a story set in Tokyo with Japanese characters, rather than in New York?

AH: I love SATC. I was playing with the idea of drawing a manga with a “girl movie” vibe that featured single Japanese women in Tokyo, and that was how it all started. I really respect the directors and writers of SATC. It was a TV show that changed how women lived their lives, and it has a lot of fans in Japan, too. Many Japanese women are like Carrie. They enjoy fashion and throw themselves into their work. Women’s lifestyles in Tokyo and NY aren’t that different, which I think is a part of living in the modern age of the Internet. As for any differences between the manga and SATC, I guess I changed the place where they drink from a bar to a Japanese-style pub.

KC: If you were one of the characters in Tarareba Girls, what would your character be like? What would your profession and your ambitions be? And what would be your favorite drink? What’s your ideal “Girls’ Night Out”?

AH: The characters I relate to would have to be 50% the main character Rinko and 50% Key. I let the angel and devil inside me run free when I made those two characters.

I like drinking shochu. Where I was born (this place called Miyazaki in Japan), they drink it a lot.

For me, a girls’ night out would be sitting in a tatami room in a Japanese pub with cod milt and liver for snacks, drinking Hoppy. Men would be allowed to come, but in that setting they’d have to let the women call the shots.

KC: You’ve mentioned in the afterword and bonus comics that you’ve gotten a lot of reactions from readers, especially ones who consider TTG “Horror.” How have reactions changed as we get closer to 2020? Any reactions that have particularly stuck with you?  What do the fears and anxieties of female otaku and those of tarareba girls share in common, or how do they differ?

AH: I still hear from single women that it’s a horror story. The reactions haven’t changed, but the number of young women who have no interest in romance has been growing, I think.

KC: Do you see the challenges of 20-, 30-, and even 40-somethings today as being different from when they were when you first started Tokyo Tarareba Girls and Princess Jellyfish? Is there any resemblance or unified message you wanted to send across the two titles?

AH: Time marches on, and time is limited. If you want to get married and have a family, you have to put in the work early. You can’t sit around just saying,“What if?” Those words have goaded a lot of my readers into finding a partner, and tons have gotten married!! Although personally, I’ve failed twice at marriage, so I’m single!!

KC:  How did you learn to draw such funny facial expressions? I always look forward to how your characters are going to react to the latest impossible situation!

That’s all I drew, ever since I was in elementary school. I believe that everyone is born with a talent for manga. Look at me—I still do the stuff I did as a kid!

KC: Do you have any advice to the tarareba girls of the world in 2019? How about in the U.S.? Are tarareba girls different in different parts of the world?

AH:

  •  Instead of whining about how there are no good men out there, groom a male friend in your life into a “good man.”
  • Just go on dates, it doesn’t matter who! Limit girls’ night to once a month!
  • Hey, American tarareba girls, you aren’t the type who break up and then check your ex’s Instagram every single day, are you?!
  • Tarareba ladies are the same in any country!! A global sisterhood!! And that’s wonderful!! Women have all this in common.

Translator’s Notes

Shochu: A type of Japanese liquor that is usually between 25% and 45% alcohol by volume. It is earthier than sake, and is typically distilled from rice, barley, or buckwheat.

Hoppy The brand name of a beer-like beverage that has an extremely low alcohol content (0.8%).

About Akiko Higashimura

One of Japan’s most popular authors of manga for women, Akiko Higashimura is the author of more than a dozen series including the hits Kakukaku shikajika (Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist’s Journey) and Mama wa Temparist. After its adaptation into a popular anime and live-action film, Princess Jellyfish was her first work to be released in English. Her recent work Tokyo Tarareba Girls won the 2019 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia.

Surprise 5: Akiko Higashimura’s original sketches from Tokyo Tarareba Girls Chapter 1!

Before it became an Eisner Award-winning series, Tokyo Tarareba Girls started as most manga does … as concept art. So behold: the original sketches by Akiko Higashimura, side-by-side with the final pages of Tokyo Tarareba Girls Chapter 1! What if!? What if!?

Watch this video of Akiko Higashimura in action at her workplace on Higashimura Akiko Production YouTube Channel.

Celebrate 10 Years of Kodansha Comics with us all year long by following us on KodanshaComics.com!

Be sure to check back again next month, when we’ll be throwing the spotlight onto yet another Kodansha classic!

Creator Spotlight Sale! Ema Toyama & Taamo titles up to 50% off on digital!


This week we’re celebrating our “new shojo manga every week” digital-firsts and the debut of our two newest series, Vampire Dormitory (whose Volume 1 debuted last week) and Atsumori-kun’s Bride-to-Be (which debuts TODAY), with a dual Creator Spotlight Sale! That’s right, we’re putting all the other series created by the awesome Ema Toyama and Taamo on sale! The promo is happening at our digital retail partners: BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, Kindle, MyAnimeList, and nook! Sale ends on September 2.


Two great new shojo manga, Vampire Dormitory and Atsumori-kun’s Bride-to-Be, just debuted as digital-firsts! Click on the covers and read Chapter 1 free!

Kodansha Comics Creator Spotlight Sale! 
August 27~September 2


Ema Toyama works featured in this sale:

 
Taamo titles featured in this sale:

Ema Toyama is an award-winning manga creator whose works are full of attractive girls and boys, bounded by the power of secrets! In her first long-running breakthrough series, Missions of Love, the high school girl with the heart of an “ice queen” appoints the popular, yet black-hearted student body president to be her sim-boyfriend … all for the sake of research for her novel! If you are into complicated love stories check out more of her works!
Taamo is just one of the many “hidden gem” creators. Her first work, House of the Sun, is the moving account of a young woman who reconnects with a childhood friend as she puts together the pieces of her life following her parents’ broken marriage. Her follow up work, I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World, is about a girl who’s always seen herself as the negative to her twin sister’s beautiful photograph, and the handsome boy who just won’t give up on her. Not too many creators tackles the subtle yet complex relationships around a family like Taamo does. If you’ve liked one of her works, you’ll probably like the other one too!

Kodansha Comics at Crunchyroll Expo 2019! August 30-September 1


Going to Crunchyroll Expo this weekend? It’s happenin’ August 30 to September 1 at New Crunchy City a.k.a. San Jose Convention Center! and you can find us there at our “Kodansha Comics Got Weird Manga!” panel at 4:30 p.m. on August 30 (more deets, below)!
Plus there’s a whole plethora of Kodansha-related events! Junji Ito, of his own Junji Ito’s Cat Diary fame, will be there, in the flesh, so to speak, as the headliner of the show. But there’s also other related panels and screenings, including the world premiere of the new In/Spectre anime and Chihayafuru Season 3! Here’s a rundown of all things Kodansha Comics-related while you’re there!
PANELS!
Miho Okasaki: The Voice behind That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime‘s Rimuru Tempest
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m., August 30 (Friday)
Grand Station (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
Meet the voice of Rimuru Tempest, Miho Okasaki, from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime! Come learn about her work in the anime industry and behind the scenes of one of the most recent popular shows.
Junji Ito: The Man Behind the Horror
3:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m., August 30 (Friday)
Grand Station (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
Come join one of horror’s most celebrated manga creators, Junji Ito, as we take a look at some of the most memorable works throughout his career, from Uzumaki to Tomie, as well as a look ahead to what’s coming next!
Kodansha Comics Got Weird Manga!
4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m., August 30 (Friday)
Classroom 2 (Lower Level), San Jose McEnery Convention
Do you consider yourself a savvy manga fan who’s no longer satisfied by certain formulaic, neverending manga? We got you covered! Kodansha Comics has been launching dozens of new digital-first manga like Are You Lost?, Magical Sempai, and Domestic Girlfriend, offering an even more diverse and robust library of manga officially in English to blow your mind! This panel is the perfect chance to find out what’s up and also add your two cents to what goes into our digital-first lineup. Ready to talk far-fetched manga? Come to our panel and participate in the Q&A for a chance to win special prizes!
Anime’s Best Cats with Junji Itoh
1:45 p.m.- 2:45 p.m.,
August 31 (Saturday)

Cinema 2 (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
Proud cat dad and Master of Horror Junji Ito joins us to discuss the best cats featured anime and manga throughout history! We hear why Ito-sensei is so fond of felines, learn how his own pet inspired many of his chilling tales and share loads of cat memes!
WIT Studio Creative Perspective with President/CEO George Wada
3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m., August 31 (Saturday)

Classroom 1 (Lower Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
WIT Studio is behind many anime hits including Attack on Titan, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, The Ancient Magus Bride and more. Come learn about the creative perspective behind an anime studio with president and CEO George Wada.
WIT Studio CEO, President George Wada Career Perspective
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m., September 1 (Sunday)
Classroom 1 (Lower Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center

Ever wondered what it’s like to work on popular series like Attack on Titan, The Ancient Magus Bride, Psycho Pass and more? Come join president and CEO George Wada as he shares his experience in the industry.
Find your Phobia with Junji Ito!
4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.,
September 1 (Sunday)
Cinema 2 (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center

Ichthyophobia, gyrephobia, somniphobia and much much more! We review Ito-sensei’s most phobia-inducing manga panels, review the history behind them and dig into how he’s creepiest creations came to his pen!
SCREENINGS!
Cells at Work! English Dub Screening
2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., August 30 (Friday)
Episode Room (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
Enter the fascinating world inside your body with the brand new Cells at Work! English dub starring Cherami Leigh (Sword Art Online, Fairy Tail), Billy Kametz (Fate/EXTRA Last Encore, Katsugeki TOUKEN RANBU), Robbie Daymond (I want to eat your pancreas, Charlotte), and Laura Post (The Promised Neverland, March comes in like a lion) under the direction of English voice director Christian La Monte and adaptation by Blair Rowan of FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Episodes 1-5
4:15 p.m.-5:15 p.m., August 30 (Friday)
Episode Room (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
Corporate worker Mikami Satoru is stabbed by a random killer, and is reborn to an alternate world. But he turns out to be reborn a slime! Thrown into this new world with the name Rimuru, he begins his quest to create a world that’s welcoming to all races.
Chihayafuru Season 3 Premiere
3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., August 31 (Saturday)Cinema 1 (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
Join the producer of Chihayafuru Season 3, Toshio Nakatani, for an exclusive look at the upcoming new season. Be one of the first to watch the return of this series, coming to Crunchyroll this Fall!
In/Spectre: Episode 1-2 World Premiere & A Talk with Producer Tatsuya Ishiguro
5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m., August 31 (Saturday)
Cinema 1 (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
What do you get when you cross romance and mystery with the supernatural? You get In/Spectre! Join special guest Tatsuya Ishiguro as he brings you the latest behind Crunchyroll’s upcoming anime co-production, In/Spectre! Be one of the first to get an exclusive screening of the anime and learn more about the series before it simulcasts in January 2020.
ALL WEEKEND!
Junji Ito Gallery
10:00-19:00, August 30-September 1
Junji Ito Gallery (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
We often learn more from fear, as it is one of the most compelling vehicles for storytelling. “Junji Ito: a master of horror,” will be gracing New Crunchy City with a gallery featuring an array of artwork—three of which are exclusive for Crunchyroll Expo 2019! Mr. Ito’s iconic stories like Uzumaki, Tomie, and Gyo have haunted generations through a concoction of thought-provoking themes and mesmerizing art. We hope this gallery will embed curiosity and awe in each and every one of you!
Manga Library
11:00 – 7:00 p.m., August 30-September 1

Manga Library (Upper Level), San Jose McEnery Convention Center
Check out your favorite manga from Kodansha Comics in the Manga Library, located upstairs!

Get your Shonen Magazine T-shirts now at UNIQLO stores!


Why just read manga when you can wear it? MANGA UT (UNIQLO T-shirts) launches Shonen Magazine T-shirts TODAY!
Weekly Shonen Magazine + UNIQLO are releasing 14 different designs of Shonen Magazine T-shirts! Inspired by six popular manga series—Hajime no Ippo, Fairy Tail, The Seven Deadly Sins, Attack on Titan, Negima!, and Shota no Sushi, the shirts are available at UNIQLO Stores worldwide in sizes XXS-XXL and up to XXXL through UNIQLO.com. Get your fresh merch now and represent your favorite manga series just in time for the fall convention season!

… and it’s GIVEAWAY time!
10 lucky winners will win a pair of T-Shirts! To enter, do the following:
• follow both Kodansha Comics and UNIQLO USA accounts Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (see below)
• tag one friend in the comments
• mention which T-shirt of the full collection HERE that you would like to win
• name any of your favorite manga series!
Winners will be randomly selected and notified via DM to confirm mailing address, size, and T-shirt design. Giveaway ends August 30th at 5 pm EDT.
Facebook: @KodanshaComics  @uniqlo.us
Instagram: @kodansha_comics  @uniqlousa
twitter: @kodanshaUSA  @UniqloUSA

Good luck and thank you all for celebrating Weekly Shonen Magazine’s 60th birthday with us!