Tag: akiko higashimura

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!

Updates 7/20: SDCC 2019—announcements and awards!


 July 20 UPDATE #2! 

Kodansha Comics and Vertical made new announcements for upcoming seasons in 2019!

Kodansha Comics x  comiXology Originals: Initial D

Initial D Volumes 39-48 by Shuichi Shigeno
Finally completely translated in English for the very first time! Learn how the all-time, high-octane manga bible of  Japanese street racing concludes with comiXology and Kodansha Comics releasing Volumes 39-48 of Initial D today. More than a manga: Initial D spawned a global craze with a legendary anime adaptation, video games, movies, and of course the immortally beloved techno soundtrack. 

Digital-firsts: Four new shojo series kicking off—starting in August!


Vampire Dormitory by Ema Toyama The new manga from shojo hit-machine Ema Toyama, creator of Missions of Love and Aoba-kun’s Confessions, about a poor girl whose encounter with a bishonen vampire leads her down a dark path … Coming August 20!

Atsumori-kun’s Bride-to-be by Taamo A new country-girl/city-boy romance from Taamo, the hit creator of House of the Sun and I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World! Coming August 27!

Smile Down the Runway by Kotoba Inoya A charming new comedy about a high-school girl chasing down the dream of becoming a high-fashion model. Her ambitions literally hit a ceiling, though, when she stops growing—and her only chance might be to team up with a talented-but-overlooked designer classmate!  Coming September 3!

Queen Bee By Shizuru Seino A new high-school romantic comedy about a potentially very mismatched odd couple—misunderstood and monstrous Hirata and popular Touma-kun! Coming September 10! 

VOFAN coming to America—at Anime NYC 2019!

Yes! Taiwanese master artist VOFAN (illustrator of the MONOGATARI novel series) is coming back to America—at Anime NYC 2019! Dates are November 15-17 at Javits Center. Plus a new art book coming in October! More details soon

July 20 SDCC Update #1

 

Big congratulations to the great Akiko Higashimura for winning an Eisner Award last night in the “Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia” category for her magisterial Tokyo Tarareba Girls!

Original July 16 post

 

Heeeeeey, c’est moi, Kacey, a.k.a. the intern of Kodansha Comics. Maybe I look to you a bit more ruffled than I did the last time you saw me? Yeah, I know. That’s because I’ve been wandering the dusty road of convention season all summer to bring you the good news about manga! A-and this weekend, Kodansha Comics and Vertical will be headed to “America’s Finest City” for the biggest comics  party convention of the year!

Come visit us at Kodansha Comics Booth #1631 for a photo op with Takumi and his legendary race car from Initial D! And get this: For 3 days only,  the first 100 fans who share a photo from our booth on social media with hashtag #Initial D will receive a Comic-Con Limited Edition Initial D Air Freshner to keep your car smellin’ fresh! Don’t miss your chance! This offer is only on July 18-20 at the Con, while supplies last!

 

 

 

Initial D Sweepstakes! 

So, bummed you’re not at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, but still gotta get your hands on that limited-edition Initial D Air Freshner? We got you covered! Take this survey before August 20 to enter for a chance to win it, no matter where you are! 

 

ComiXology Originals Sale featuring Initial D

So, just a little late to the game and only found out now that you can read all of the Initial D manga, finally, all the way to the end? Kodansha Comics and comiXology have been partnering up to revive some amazing manga classics like BECK, MARS, and You’re My Pet as comiXology Originals! To showcase those series, this week we’re hosting the comiXology Originals Sale! …More Details 

Kodansha Comics + Vertical Panel

When? Saturday July 20 11:30am-12:30pm
Where? Room 8 

Anime Expo wasn’t the end … We’ll have some exciting new announcements at our SDCC panel on Saturday, July 20! Curious? Check back on this page for a recap from sunny San Diego! 

Stay tuned for more updates from Kodansha Comics + Vertical at San Diego Comic-Con! 

 

 

Preorder: the Princess Jellyfish Complete Manga Box Set — with exclusive items!



You can now preorder the Princess Jellyfish Complete Manga Box Set — hitting stores June 25!

Calling all Princess Jellyfish fans! Not only is Akiko Higashimura’s masterwork being sold all together in this gorgeously produced new set with stunning wraparound box design, it also comes with some very cool exclusive items that will make your inner fangirl squee!

Super-cute Clara keychain
Carry Tsukimi’s adorable pet jellyfish Clara with you wherever you go, with this exclusive keychain!

Double-sided poster
Declare your allegiance to the Amars by putting their motto—”A Life with No Use for Men”—on your wall! This massive, 32-inch poster features English on one side and the original Japanese calligraphy by creator Akiko Higashimura on the other.

 

Bonus content Our special 2-in-1 editions include bonus interviews and color pages!

Pre-order today!

Like, before supplies disappear! Follow the link below from your retailer of choice. Amars can always use another member!

 

Kodansha Comics Gift Guide Part 2: If you liked ___, then check out ___!

Kodansha Comics Gift Guide Part 2: If You Liked ___, Try ___!

There’s nothing like discovering a manga series that swiftly earns its place on your list of favorites. So when a series like that comes to an end, reading that last volume can be bittersweet and, when it’s all over, can make you think: So what am I supposed to read now?! If you’re like us and shed a tear at that last chapter of Fairy Tail or Princess Jellyfish, or if you’re—or someone you know is— looking to find a new series to add to your list of favorites, this week’s installment of our Holiday Gift Guide is sure to help you find just what you want to buy.

For the Fairy Tail Fan—Can’t get enough Fairy Tail? Have you been looking to read more manga from Hiro Mashima? If so, these three brand-new series and spin offs are perfect to add to your TBR pile!

NEW message from Hiro Mashima to the Fairy Tail fans! 

 


EDENS ZERO (Ages 13+)

It’s been not even a year since Fairy Tail ended, and shonen manga superstar Hiro Mashima is already back with a brand-new series that’s ready to become another fan favorite. If you loved the fist-pumping action, endearing cast of characters, and fantasy from Fairy Tail, EDENS ZERO offers all that and more—in space! EDENS ZERO revolves around Shiki, a boy who has lived his entire life among machines at Granbell Kingdom amusement park. One day, when his old homeland suddenly becomes too dangerous, Shiki joins a girl named Rebecca and her cat companion Happy on their spaceship, escaping into the boundless cosmos and beginning his epic journey to become an adventurer. So if you’re looking for an epic adventure, missed the heart-pounding guild action from Fairy Tail, or have been looking for a brand-new sci-fi manga that reaches for the stars (literally!), you won’t want to miss checking out EDENS ZERO. (Plus, if you look closely, you might be able to see some familiar Fairy Tail faces in the background!)

 

EDENS ZERO Volume 1 is available now and Volume 2 comes out in February 2019!
Wanna read ahead? EDENS ZERO simulpub is available on comiXology and Crunchyroll Manga! 

 

 

 

 


Fairy Tail: Lightning Gods (Ages 13+)

One of the most awesome things about Fairy Tail was Mashima’s ability to create not only a great, compelling story, but with its wide cast of characters, fans were guaranteed to find at least one character they loved. So if you want to stay in the world of Fairy Tail a little longer, or if you happen to be a Laxus fan, Fairy Tail: Lightning Gods is the spin-off for you. Taking place in the mysterious aftermath of the disbanding of Fairy Tail, Laxus takes his Raijin Tribe to Blue Pegasus, where they quickly become popular new wizards. But when Ichiya is kidnapped, the tribe gets drawn into an inter-guild grudge match. If you’ve read the other Fairy Tail spin-offs and have yet to complete your collection, this final electrifying spin-off featuring Laxus and the rest of the Raijin Tribe in their very own adventure is the perfect note to complete your collection on.

 

Fairy Tail: Lightning Gods is available now in a single, complete volume!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiro Mashima’s Playground (Ages 13+)

If you’ve been on a search for a treasure-trove of Hiro Mashima manga, look no further than Hiro Mashima’s Playground. This super-stuffed collection includes eight never-before-seen tales from the master of shonen manga—including the one shot that would later become the Fairy Tail we all know and love today! At almost 400 pages of new adventures, from stories about love and magicians to devils and heroes, Hiro Mashima’s Playground is one wild ride you won’t want to miss!

 

Hiro Mashima’s Playground is available now in a single extra-large, complete volume!

 

 

 

 

 

 

For fans of sweet spin-offs and The Seven Deadly Sins—If a mix of sweet and shonen is what you’re after, look no further than The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days!

 

 

The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days (Ages 16+)

Nakaba Suzuki, creator of The Seven Deadly Sins, is not only great at creating a series with exciting twists and turns at every corner, but amidst all the action and tension he also develops amazing, compelling characters and their respective romantic relationships and histories—making The Seven Deadly Sins a series you can’t wait to read more of. And now, while you’re pausing between episodes of the newest anime season, make sure to sate your own hunger for more Sins with The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days. The official prequel manga to The Seven Deadly Sins, The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days focuses on the fated relationship between Ban, the Seven Deadly Sins’ Fox’s Sin of Greed, and Elaine, the Fairy King’s sister. When Ban, a young, opportunistic thief, is drawn to the Fairy King’s Forest by the rumor that it holds the Fountain of Life, he meets the Saint of the Fountain, a young Fairy named Elaine, and soon finds that the treasure he most desires may not be the one he originally came to seek.

 

The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days is complete in two volumes—Volume 1 is available now, with Volume 2 coming December 2018!

 

 

 

For the Akiko Higashimura, josei, and geek girl fans—Whether you’re an Akiko Higashimura mega fan or have been searching for the next Kiss Him, Not Me! or Princess Jellyfish-esque series, these final two josei rom-coms are sure to have your manga neuroses working overtime.

 

 

Tokyo Tarareba Girls (Ages 16+)

If you ever wondered what Bridget Jones’s Diary or Sex and the City would have been like if adapted into a manga, Tokyo Tarareba Girls is your answer. This sharply funny, well-plotted, and empathic comedy follows struggling screenwriter Rinko and her two best friends as they fight to find true love. At 33, Rinko can’t help but lament over the fact that her career’s plateaued, she’s still painfully single, and she spends most of her nights drinking with her two best friends in their favorite pub. One night, in a booze-fueled delusion, Rinko swears to get married by the time the Tokyo Olympics roll around in 2020. But finding a man—or love—may be a cutthroat, dirty job for a romantic at heart!

 

Tokyo Tarareba Girls Volumes 1 through 3 are available now in print, with Volume 4 coming December 2018! (And the complete 9-volume run is available digitally!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku (Ages 16+)

If you’re an otaku, gamer, nerd in love, or lover of nerds in love, Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku is the perfect read. ICYM the anime premiere back in April, this otaku love story between childhood friends Narumi, who’s a fujoshi, and Hirotaka, a hardcore gaming otaku, instantly became a fan favorite—and with generously sized 2-in-1 volumes, the manga contains even more hysterical, adorably awkward moments between the two characters. After having every boyfriend she’s ever had dump her once they find out she’s an otaku, Narumi decides to go to great lengths to hide it. When a chance meeting at her new job with childhood friend, fellow otaku, and now coworker Hirotaka Nifuji almost gets her secret outed at work, Narumi comes up with a plan to make sure he never speaks up. But Hirotaka comes up with a counter-proposal: why doesn’t she just date him instead?

 

Wotakoi: Love is Hard For Otaku Volumes 1 through 3 are available now!

 

 

 

Want to save big? Head on over to Books a Million for their Graphic Novels and Manga: Buy 2, Get 3rd Free Sale!

 

Stay tuned next week for the final installment of our gift guide, featuring our staff recommendation picks!

 

Digital volume 1s by Akiko Higashimura, Mitsurou Kubo, Makoto Shinkai

Kodansha Comics is the home of awesome manga creators. Did you know we publish multiple manga by Mitsurou Kubo (one of the minds behind YURI!!! on ICE) and Makoto Shinkai (of Your Name. fame)? Are you familiar with all the works of shojo manga maestro Akiko Higashimura (Princess Jellyfish, Tokyo Tarareba Girls) or up-and-coming best-sellers like Taamo (House of the Sun, I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World)? 

To showcase our amazing creators and their work, we’re hosting our first installment of  the Creator Spotlight Sale at all of our digital retail partners: BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, iBooks, Kindle, Kobo, MyAnimeList, and nook. 

Here’s the deal

First of all: all digital Volumes 1s of all series listed below only 99¢!
Next: if you like what you’re reading, keep going—because the all other volumes are up to 50% off!
And to make it even easier for you, we’ve put some of the series available as a complete series bundles up to 60% off!

Pretty sweet deal huh? But you gotta hurry, because the sale will end on May 21!

~ Kodansha Comics Creator Spotlight Sale Part 1  ~
May 15-21
Click on the cover to read Chapter 1 for FREE!

Akiko Higashimura
Akiko Higashimura is HILARIOUS. Princess Jellyfish, her award-winning first work published in English, is the rollicking saga of fangirls taking on Tokyo. In her follow up series, Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Higashimura once again sharpens her razor wit on the lives of young women in the big city. This time she hones in on one single thirtysomething and her dystopian dating problems—”One day I woke up and I was 33”!

Check out this exclusive creator interview with Akiko Higashimura! Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls volume 1s are only 99¢ + all other volumes are up to 50% off during the Creator Spotlight Sale! (ends 5/21)


Ema Toyama
Psst … do you like secrets? Ema Toyama’s works are full of attractive girls and boys who are 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 ever-popular, yet black-hearted student body president to be her sim-boyfriend … all for the sake of research for her novel! Toyama’s latest work, Aoba-kun’s Confessions is about a very shy girl who just started a peculiar job at a “Listening House” and ends up getting the basketball star from her school as her first client!

Missions of Love and Aoba-kun’s Confession volume 1s are only 99¢ + all other volumes are up to 50% off during the Creator Spotlight Sale! (ends 5/21)

Mitsurou Kubo
You may have heard of her name as the original concept/character designer of the hit iceskating anime series Yuri!!! on ICE . And she’s also the latest rising superstar manga creator from Kodansha Comics! Her first two manga to appear in English are Again!!—a dramatic, funny, time-traveling high school story about what it means to cheer on a friend—and  Moteki (from Vertical Comics)— a romantic comedy about love, coming of age, and hope … at age 30! 

Again!! and Moteki volume 1’s are only 99¢ + all other volumes are up to 50% off during the Creator Spotlight Sale! (ends 5/21)

Mari Yoshino
The talented Mari Yoshino comes up with something spicier than your typical shojo manga with Peach Heaven, the story of a seemingly average high school girl—who’s a famous erotica author in disguise. All goes well until her supermodel classmate—and the biggest playboy in school—learns about her secret! Mari Yoshino’s follow-up work isn’t quite so salacious: Beauty Bunny is a modern day Cinderella story about a spunky protagonist and the rich boy makeup artist she gets mixed up with!

Peach Heaven and Beauty Bunny volume 1’s are only 99¢ + all other volumes are up to 50% off during the Creator Spotlight Sale! (ends 5/21)

Taamo
Taamo is just one of the many “hidden gem” creators fans are discovering through our digital-first program. 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!

House of the Sun and  I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World volume 1’s are only 99¢ + all other volumes are up to 50% off during the Creator Spotlight Sale! (ends 5/21)


Makoto Shinkai
Kodansha Comics’ sibling publisher, Vertical Comics, has been publishing fine manga adaptations of the films of anime auteur Makoto Shinkai (the director of Your Name.) for some time now. Four standalone manga based on Shinkai’s films—Voice of a Distant Star, She and Her Cat, Garden of Words, and 5 Centimeter Per Secons are ALL only 99¢ during the Creator Spotlight Sale! (ends 5/21)

Kouji Seo
Kouji Seo is a master of “boy-meets-girl” stories—some of you may recognize Fuuka from the recent anime adaptation. But did you know that Suzuka, Seo’s previous work, is a prequel and about the parents of  Fuuka? Find out more connections between Suzuka and Fuuka, while both series are on sale! 

Suzuka and Fuuka volume 1’s are only 99¢ + all other volumes are up to 50% off during the Creator Spotlight Sale! (ends 5/21)

 

 

Romance is in the air: digital manga up to 50% off thru Feb 19!

What kind of love are you looking for? 
Romance season is ON! Looking for that special someone? Trying to plan a surprise for your sweetie? Or maybe you’re just looking for something more than plain ol’ “romance” per se … Hey, why don’t you get a clue from some manga 😉 

Starting February 6, Kodansha Comics is offering a whopping 67 romantic manga from all genres for up to 50% off at all of our digital-partner platforms: BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, iBooks, Kindle, Kobo, and nook. This offer will last for 2 weeks (ends February 19)!

Been away from romance … or romance manga? We’ve picked up some of our recent favorites by powerhouse creators like Akiko Higashimura, Ema Toyama and Mari Yoshino. Check out the Chapter 1 previews and see if there’s something you like! 

Kodansha Comics Romance Manga Sale (February 6-February 19)
Click on links below for free Chapter 1 previews!

manga by Akiko Higashimura
Princess Jellyfish
Tokyo Tarareba Girls

manga by Ema Toyama
Aoba-kun’s Confessions
I Am Here!
Missions of Love

manga by Mari Yoshino
Beauty Bunny
Peach Heaven

manga by Taamo
House of the Sun
I’m in Love and It’s the End of the World

manga by Robico
My Little Monster
Our Precious Conversations

manga by Rin Mikimoto
Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight
Love’s Reach

manga by Jun Yuzuki 
Gakuen Prince
The Prince’s Black Poison

As seen as Anime
Aho-Girl
Appleseed Alpha
Clockwork Planet
5 Centimeters per Second
From the New World
Fuuka
The Garden of Words
Love and Lies
Love Hina
Negima!
Nemiga! Omnibus
Nodame Cantabille
School Rumble
A Silent Voice
Suzuka
The Gods Lie.
Tsuredure Children
Unlimited Fafnir
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
Your Lie in April

Shojo / Josei Romance
A Springtime with Ninjas
Black Panther and Sweet 16
Cosplay Animal
Drowning Love
The Full-Time Wife Escapist
Hotaru’s Way
Kigurumi Guardians
Kiss Him, Not Me!
LDK
Let’s Dance a Waltz
Living-Room Matsunaga-san
Lovesick Ellie
My Boyfriend in Orange
My Brother The Shut-In
The Prince in His Dark Days
Real Girl
Say I Love You.
Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty
That Wolf-Boy is Mine!

Shonen / Seinen Romance
Cage of Eden
Devils’ Line
Domestic Girlfriend
The Flowers of Evil
Forget Me Not
Happiness
I Want to Hold Aono-kun So Badly, I Could Die
Imperfect Girl
Magatsuki
My Wife is Wagatsuma-san
Mysterious Girlfriend X

Kodansha Comics at Anime NYC: license announcements updated 11/19

Going to Anime NYC? Kodansha Comics is exclited to join this new anime convention in our hometown!

Kodansha Comics Booth #416 
Come and check out pre-streets and new release books and exclusive products at the Kodansha Comics booth (#416)! 

Kodansha Comics Manga Announcement Panel
We've got a slew of reveals for new manga coming in 2018! Plus, a chance to ask your questions to our editorial and publishing team and free books, art cards, and other goodies straight from Japan!

Date Saturday, November 18
Time 11:00-11:45 a.m.
Location Panel Room 1

Vertical Comics Industry Panel
The publisher that brings you the Monogatari series, Chi’s Sweet Home, and nichijou will be making special announcements and reveal brand-new titles for 2018! Plus Q&A andsome special giveaways!

Date Sunday, November 19
Time Noon- 12:45 p.m.
Location Panel Room 3

Can't make it to the show? 
Don't worry! Check back on this page for the updates on our panel announcements! 

See you there!

 

Update 11/18: Kodansha Comics made new announcements at Anime NYC today!

Attack on Titan Season 1: Part 1 and Part 2 manga box sets
coming April 2018
four volumes each
includes exclusive bonus items


Golosseum by Yasushi Baba
Coming Spring 2018
Scientists discover a new material that renders people immune to all existing weapons. But these “peacemakers” instead transform world war into a martial-arts free-for-all! Rasputin plots with Russian President Putinov to control the global supply. Opposing them are the unstoppable Axe Bogan under American President Billary Quintone and a slew of other muscular heroes!

Two shojo digital-firsts debuting November 28!

Lovesick Ellie by Fujimomo
Eriko Ichimura spends her high school days in complete obscurity. Her sole hobby is staring at handsome, smooth-spoken Akira "Omi-kun" Ohmi, and tweeting her daily fantasies under the screen-name "Lovesick Ellie." One fateful day, she accidentally bears witness to Omi-kun's true self—and if that weren't enough, he sees her mortifying Twitter, too! Follow along with a plain, perverted girl, a two-faced boy, and their curious romance!

My Brother the Shut-In by Kinoko Higure
Every family has its share of problems, be they big or small. Shino Tadokoro has the perfect high school life, full of romance and friendship. Her biggest problem is her shut-in brother Tamotsu. She stubbornly keeps his existence a secret, telling even her closest friends that she is an only child. Completely oblivious to Shino's concerns, Tamotsu suddenly declares that he is giving up the shut-in lifestyle. Is there still time? The curtain rises on a tale of family reconstruction!

 

Update 11/19: Vertical Comics made new announcements at Anime NYC today!

APOSIMZ by Tsutomu Nihei
From acclaimed master mangaka Tsutomu Nihei, the creator behind BLAME! and Knights of Sidonia, comes his newest science-fiiction epic, APOSIMZ. The 200,000 KM diameter artificial celestial body of APOSIMZ: most of its volume is its core space, which is covered by a superstructural shell. Fifty centuries ago, the people who lost a war against the core lost their right to reside legitimately in APOSIMZ and were left behind on the extremely cold surface. They face the spreading Frame disease and aggressive automatons which appear frequently on the ruins level. Even so, somehow people survive.


Print edition releasing Fall 2018!
Ongoing series now available as simulpub on comiXology and Kindle!
 

Updates 11/20: Here's the recap of Kodansha Comics Spring-Summer 2018 new licensing announcements from NYCC 2017: 


Again!! by Mitsurou Kubo 
Coming February 2018 
Kinichiro Imamura isn’t a bad guy, really, but on the first day of high school his narrow eyes and bleached blonde hair made him look so shifty that his classmates assumed the worst.  Three years later, without any friends or fond memories, he isn’t exactly feeling bittersweet about graduation. But after an accidental fall down a flight of stairs, Kinichiro wakes up three years in the past… on the first day of high school! Has he really gone back in time, or is this just a crazy dream? An encounter with an awkwardly eccentric fellow student might give Kinichiro the chance to live a different version of his dull high school life – if he can just bring himself to seize the chance…
From the co-creator of Yuri!!! on Ice!


Tokyo Tarareba Girls by Akiko Higashimura
Available now digital-first & Coming in print June 2018
Rinko has done everything right. She’s hustled her whole life, got a job right out of college, and is doing everything she can to make it as a screenwriter. Everything should all have gone according to plan… So at 33, she can’t help but lament over the fact that her career’s plateaued, she’s still painfully single, and spends most of her nights drinking with her two best friends in their favorite pub. One night, in a booze-fueled delusion, Rinko swears to get married by the time the Tokyo Olympics roll around in 2020. But finding a man – or love – may be a cutthroat, dirty job for a romantic at heart!
A sharp new comedy about female friendship from the creator of Princess Jellyfish!


Grand Blue Dreaming by Kenji Inoue & Kimitake Yoshioka
Available now digital-first & coming July 2018
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!

 

 

Events: Kodansha editors 7/25-7/30 in New York City!

Wherever you go around the world, comics are comics—but how they get made can be quite different. The process of creating a manga is uniquely Japanese, and American readers don’t get many opportunities to learn about this difficult behind-the-scenes work. So we’re especially thrilled to host not one, but two events this month with manga editors from Kodansha Japan! This is an amazing chance to meet the people who’ve helped guide your favorite series from idea to ink on paper, hear insider stories, and ask them your questions! 


Princess Jellyfish creator Akiko Higashimura (left) with her editor, Yumi Sukemune (right)

Meet Princess Jellyfish editor Yumi Sukemune at NYPL
Bronx Library Center
July 25th 3:30 p.m.

In 2016, uber-talented artist Akiko Higashimura's Princess Jellyfish was named one of New York Public Library’s “50 Best Books for Teens.” As a special thank-you, Princess Jellyfish's editor Yumi Sukemune will make a brief appearance at NYPL’s Bronx Library Center on July 25 in New York City to take you behind the scenes of what went into making this series so special. Learn about creator Akiko Higashimura’s process, how shojo and josei manga work in Japan, and get a chance to ask Sukemune-san a few questions!

Conversation with Princess Jellyfish editor Yumi Sukemune
Barnes & Noble Tribeca
July 28th 6:00 p.m.

This year, Princess Jellyfish became the first josei (“women’s”) manga ever nominated for an Eisner Award, America’s top honor in comics—and just a few days after the ceremony, Akiko Higashimura’s editor, Yuki Sukemune, will make an appearance July 28 at the Barnes & Noble store in Tribeca, New York City.

In addition to her hilarious and stylish characters, Higashimura-sensei is famous for working simultaneously on multiple series. Sukemune-san will provide a step-by-step look at her process, including some of Higashimura-sensei’s original drafts! Sukemune-san will also discuss the world of shojo manga in Japan and Higashimura’s current josei series, the much talked-about Tokyo Tarareba Girls. 

About Yumi Sukemune
Yumi Sukemune first joined Kodansha in 2006. Since that time, she's been an editor for the women’s manga magazine Kiss and is currently working with Akiko Higashimura on the Eisner Award-nominated Princess Jellyfish and Tokyo Tarareba Girls, as well as with Mari Ozawa on Silver Spoon, which was adapted into a live-action drama in 2015. She also curated an exhibition of Akiko Higashimura’s work that was displayed at venues across Japan including the Yokote Masuda Manga Museum, Meiji University, and the Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subcultures.


Shukan Shonen Magazine 2017 No. 31 (July) Issue, Kodansha Ltd.

Four Hundred Pages of Manga, Every! Single! Week!
A Round Table Discussion with the Editors of Weekly Shonen Magazine
Kinokuniya NYC (across the street from Bryant Park)
July 30th 2:00 p.m.

Each and every week, the editors at Weekly Shonen Magazine oversee the creation of over 400 pages of brand-new manga. It’s often hectic, sometimes frustrating, but always rewarding work. So it’s remarkably good luck that five of Weekly Shonen Magazine’s editors were able to take time out of their brimming schedules all at the same time and come to the United States to meet with fans!

On July 30th at the Kinokuniya NYC store, they’ll explain how monthly and weekly manga serialization actually work, before the chapters get compiled into paperback form. Bring your questions for the team that delivers, on time every week, the magazine that’s home to hits like Fairy Tail, The Seven Deadly Sins, A Silent Voice, and many more! Plus, the editors directly responsible for Aho-Girl, Fire Force, and The Heroic Legend of Arslan will be on hand to share stories, sketches, and process art from those series.

The panelists
Kiichiro Sugawara Editor-in-Chief, Shukan Shonen Magazine
Testuya Fujikawa editor of Aho-Girl and Tsuredure Children
Megumu Tsuchiya editor of Fire Force and The Heroic Legend of Arslan

Creator Spotlight Sale: Akiko Higashimura thru 6/12

To celebrate the nomination of Princess Jellyfish for the prestigious Eisner Award we're holding a sale on all digital editions by Princess Jellyfish's brilliant creator, Akiko Higashimura! 

Starting today all volumes of Princess Jellyfish and her hilarious followup Tokyo Tarareba Girls are on sale up to 50% off at all our digital retail partners: BookWalker, comiXology, Crunchyroll, Google Play, iBooks, Kindle, Kobo, and nook. Sale runs through June 12. 

That's not all! Voracious readers of Higashimura-sensei's rollicking tale of fangirls taking on Tokyo can now get synchronized with her readers in Japan—at a nice price. Starting today we're also releasing and discounting 50% off every chapter of Princess Jellyfish published so far in preparation for the simulpub publication of Chapter 81 going on sale June 24—the same day the chapter appears in Japan. New simulpub chapters will appear monthly thereafter—find 'em on comiXology and Kindle. 

Click on the covers for free Chapter 1 previews and purchase info:

Hey, are you a comics industry pro? Please go vote for Princess Jellyfish on the Eisner Award voting site. It's been nominated for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia. The voting deadline is June 16. We and Higashimura-sensei thank you!

higashimura_ph_(Ｃ)週刊文春.JPG
Photo credit: © Weekly Bunshun

Read our exclusive interview with Akiko Higashimura, which ran on this site last year.

About Akiko Higashimura
Born in Kushima, Miyagi Prefecture, she made her debut as a mangaka with Fruits Koumori from Shueisha. In 2001, she started her first series,Kisekai Yuka-chan in Cookie (shojo manga anthology magazine published from Shueisha.) Her most famous work includes Mama wa Temparist,Himawari: Kenichi Legend, and Kakukaku Shikajika. In 2015, Kakukaku Shikajika won the 8th Annual Manga Award and also 19th Annual Japan Cultural Affair Media Art Festival Manga Award. Higashimura is known for working simultaneously on multiple manga series including Yukibana no Tora (published from Shogakukan), Princess Jellyfish, and Tokyo Tarareba-Musume (both published from Kodansha.)
 

Also, Creator Spotlight Sale for Tsutomu Nihei is happening this week (6/6-6/12)!

For more deals, stay tuned on kodanshacomics.com!

New digital manga for Valentine’s Day: Akiko Higashimura’s Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Chihayafuru, and A Springtime with Ninjas

2017 marches on with more digital manga debuts! (See last month's big announcement.)

On February 14th, rising manga star Akiko Higashimura follows up her best-selling Princess Jellyfish with the hilarious Tokyo Tarareba Girls, where Higashimura once again sharpens her razor wit on the lives of young women in the big city. This time she hones in on one single thirtysomething and her dystopian dating problems—”One day I woke up and I was 33”—just in time for Valentine’s Day!

You can read the entirety of Chapter 1 for free, here:

Along with being one of the most requested titles in Kodansha Comics’s history, Princess Jellyfish was a regular on The New York Times Manga Best Seller list and was named by the New York Public Library as one of its “50 Best Books for Teens” and by Amazon as one of the “Best Comics and Graphic Novels of 2016.” Read our interview with Akiko Higashimura here.

 

Also going on sale February 14th is the long-awaited, much-demanded debut of Yuki Suetsugu’s Chiyahafuru, the story of adolescent lives and emotions playing out against the high drama of karuta—traditional Japanese card-playing. Chihayafuru, a long-running bestseller in Japan, was the basis of the surprise-hit anime of the same name that streamed on Crunchyroll. Click on cover to read Chapter 1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, also debuting will be Narumi Hasegaki’s A Springtime with Ninjas (also known by its Japanese title Hana to shinobi), a shojo rom com about one strong-willed rich girl and her ninja bodyguard! Click on cover to read Chapter 1.

 

 

 

 

 

The Valentine’s Day trio of digital debuts rounds out Kodansha Comics’s entire month’s focus on shojo manga, with ongoing sales on select shojo titles every week throughout the month of February.

Volume 1s of Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Chihayafuru, and A Springtime witn Ninjas are now available across all Kodansha Comics digital book channels: BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, iBooks, Kindle, Kobo, and nook.

Media: read our press release here.