Seeing Yen Press and Seven Seas bow out in the ‘Great Licensing Battle of 2024tm‘, we’re left with Viz Media and Kodansha going toe-to-toe with each other over New Manga Licenses…. until you realize that all of Viz’s announcements are comic-centric. It does make sense, being at a comic con and all, but it’s also very little information and news compared to what Kodansha is offering. With that in mind, if you’re interested in what Viz Media brought, definitely check out this thread from MangaAlerts on their announcements. As for what Kodansha brought, well, let’s get right to it.
GAEA-TIMA the Gigantis
KENT (Story & Art)
A gigantic monster devastates a small, seaside town. Ten years later, the resilient community has emerged as a tourist destination, when the monster, known as GAEA-TIMA, returns. Miyako, a local hero and survivor of the first attack, pushes to find a scientific solution to the problem of the giant creatures known as “gigantis.” But is humanity capable of responding to violence with anything except more violence?
Kodansha
While I have my qualms with the mangaka’s previous work Colorless, it’s hard to say that what I’ve seen of GAEA-TIMA isn’t outstanding. The level of visual quality remains impressive, their unique spin on an broader genre continues to do well, and the story seems to have a considerable amount of life in it this time around.
Thoughts: A no brainer purchase for fans of Kaiju media.
Tune in to Midnight Heart
Masakuni Igarashi (Story & Art)
At the end of a difficult day, the haughty but purehearted rich kid Arisu found his only solace in the voice of another girl his age, who hosted a livestream under the pseudonym “Apollo.” Then, one day, the broadcasts stopped. Arisu has dedicated the years since then to finding Apollo’s true identity, and he’s narrowed it down to one particular high school. He transfers in as a student and figures it’ll be a cinch—but then discovers it could be any of the girls in the broadcasting club! And the real Apollo isn’t talking for reasons of her own! These four girls have no use for Arisu’s personality, but they each harbor dreams of using their voices to build a career, and they sure could use his money… Can the blunt and blustering Arisu buy his way into the club’s good graces, and find the real girl attached to his dream voice?
Kodansha
Igarashi is a tried and true mangaka that can carry themselves quite well. Despite not having Senryuu Girl in English (which has an anime), Tune Into The Midnight Heart is certainly poised to be quite a palatable introduction to their work.
Thoughts: As romcom centered around voices and voice acting, it’s a great chance to try something new.
Shout Loud, My Heart
Rayri Youga (Story & Art)
College student Gen, a guitarist for the rock band Eve, meets a man named Mike while playing at one of his gigs. Mike’s the kind of person who has no trouble saying what’s on his mind, and Gen soon finds himself captivated by the smooth talker’s voice. The next day, the two meet again when they realize they go to the same college. Be it on stage or just during casual conversation, Gen finds himself more and more captivated by Mike’s voice, and the more time the two spend together, the more Gen realizes it’s more than just Mike’s voice he’s attracted to…
Kodansha
Another BL manga of boys and music? It’s hard to say that the theme is under-explored in the medium, but it’s also hard to say that it’s one that hosts much of any poor quality works. Staying within the bounds of a tight and single volume, Youga rightfully experiments with their appeal as a brand-new mangaka.
Thoughts: Bringing a delightful grunge and edge, Shout Loud, My Heart will certainly capture a few readers.
Roar: A Star of The Abyss
Ai Okaue (Story & Art)
Misato had a perfect childhood, with parents who loved her and a home on an idyllic island in Japan’s inland sea. But then a TV show starts shooting in town. Misato’s cast as an extra, and in an instant, her life is turned on its head. A woman appears claiming to be her real mother, and before she knows it Misato is living in a lavish mansion surrounded by greedy schemers of all stripes. The curtain rises on the story of a rising star who plunges into an abyss—where the only sustenance is vengeance!
Kodansha
Huh, performance manga is really in high demand as of late, isn’t it? Though, it’s sort of hard to deny Okaue entry to the English physical market. After all, they’ve been around for a few years with Kodansha’s digital release of Guilty (also a TV Drama). Of course, it’s hardly surprising that Kodansha would start with licensing their most recent (and popular) manga.
Thoughts: A great license that will certainly scratch that itch.
Issak
Shinji Makari (Story), DOUBLE-S (Art)
The year is A.D. 1620. Europe is riven with the conflagrations that will grow into the Thirty Years War. Catholic and Protestant forces clash across battlefields ruled by sword and gunpowder alike, and mercenaries of every stripe ply their trade. Among them is Issak, a lone Japanese warrior wielding a matchlock gun of strange design, on a sworn mission to find and kill the man who murdered his master and fled Japan for the other side of the world.
Kodansha
Phew, there’s been quite a few people clamoring for this title to make it print (cough cough Kingdom, anyone?). Picking a wonderfully unique era of world history to hone in on, Issak doubles(s) down on impressive art and a strong story to create a work that will be hard to ignore now that it’s in print.
Thoughts: The easiest manga purchase for history buffs in a good while.
All in all, Kodansha continues to show off an intentional degree of breadth in their licenses as they aim to cover several bases with what they bring to English print. Similarly, their priority that sees titles enter print rather than reside in digital jail for eternity is easy to see, what with only a single digital title being announced. It’s a really good set of announcements for the publisher that has been so heavily clowned and memed on for their prior habits with new manga licenses. It’s such an about face that they’ve become the face of manga licenses this year. Titles and works that speak to the maturity of the market, it’s very big news that a Japanese-owned publisher is this bold and confident in a market they previously approached with a far more shrewd nature.
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