Now that Veil vol 3 by Kotteri is available from @udonentertainment.bsky.social / @mangasplaining.bsky.social extra, Chris wrote up a short history of how we got this manga series out in English & why it’s been tricky to get your hands on the latest volumes…
open.substack.com/pub/mangaspl...
Manga artist Kyuri Yamada, creator of sci-fi series “AI no Odenshi” (The Gene of AI) will be a guest speaker at “Gene of Creativity: Mapping the Future of Manga and Technology” in San Francisco on March 27, from 6-8:30 pm.
Register to attend:
www.usajapan.org/event/gene-o...
Manga artist Kyuri Yamada, creator of sci-fi series “AI no Odenshi” (The Gene of AI) will be a guest speaker at “Gene of Creativity: Mapping the Future of Manga and Technology” in San Francisco on March 27, from 6-8:30 pm.
Register to attend:
www.usajapan.org/event/gene-o...
Congratulations to MINT MANGA / @sevenseasentertainment.com creator Itaru Kinoshita @kurinosukeboy.bsky.social for “Dinosaur Sanctuary” placing 8th in the 2026 Anime Japan “Manga We Want to See Animated” survey!
Total votes: 222,758
Thank you for your support!
anime-japan.jp/activities/a...
before sharing information
1) read the article
2) examine your source (what else has the reporter done? are they real? what else is on the website?)
3) check whether any other outlets are reporting on it
ESPECIALLY IF
- it makes you feel something
- it confirms something you already believe
"The Mind Parasite", an indie graphic novel by Sung Goo Won, aka Time Alice (also animator, and collaborator of Peter Chung).
Crowdfunding campaign in South Korea >> tumblbug.com/timealice
If you're traveling to Tokyo for Anime Japan at the end of March 2026 and want to explore biz opportunities with more Japanese companies/publishers, consider signing up for IMART
Tokyo - There's a networking event + 3 days of meetings opportunities in Ikebukuro.
imart.tokyo/global-busin...
And now the truth can be told.
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Finally
* The Romance Manga Afficionado - one of the most loyal readers who show their support in many ways. For them LOVE BULLET. For the modern romance reader it has action, complex storyline and a littl ebit of forbidden romance. "One of our most demanded licenses."
#comicspro26
The Battle Shounen Kid will like Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, which will be the next big thing out of Korea and another LitRPG type title. "It's the Korean Dungeon Crawler Carl." Anime has been announced but release date unknown.
ORV will indeed be a big title.
* The Horror Manga Die-Hard - owns every Junji Ito book.
For them, how about Animan? Okay disturbing content warning!!! It is not for the faint of heart. Good for people who liked "Beaneath the Trees" but didn't think it was gory enough.
#comicspro26
The Next Archetype from Yen Press (sorry I missed the first two slides of readers - VERY good!)
The Art and Community Graphic Novel Reader: maybe they will like I Love Amy, girls love manhwa.
De Vera is back to talk about Manga Reader Archetypes!
* The Battle Shounen Kids - they go hard #comicspro26
De Vera goes through some archetypes and how they can engage with Yen manga:
The Gritty and Hardboiled Reader - maybe they will be interested in Battle Royale. Early Aughts nostalgia!
The Literary Graphic Novel Reader: maybe they will like A Witches Life in Mongol
#comicspro26
And now Yen Press with a big presentation. Mark de Vera updates retailers on the difficulty they have getting information about Yen books. They are available now through Hachette, however....yesterday it was hinted they might be available through Lunar?
Things in motion....
Square Enix is up with Morgan Perry, with a big push for Daemons of the Shadow Realm by Full Metal Alchemist's Hiromu Arakawa - and why not it's Arakawa! A series with strong story that makes for easy onboarding. #comicspro26
Kodansha presents a very detailed marketing campaign for their big release this year. Lots of applause from the retailers. This was a hit!
They are also wearing matching tops, maybe big new trend for publishing? #comicspro26
Kirkman talks about manga's success with the manga to anime pipeline - with Invincible an American series is doing the same thing. It adapts the comics very closely. All the streamers are excited about Adult Animation.
#comicspro26
From Sho-Pro:
“Regarding future publications of American comics, there are no plans to release any new books as of today.”
“We will continue to sell other American comics, including DC Comics and the MARVEL Ultraman series, except for those for which the contract has expired.”
They're closing with the announcement of their biggest retailer sale ever, and it has immediately caused every retailer in the room to bring out their phone and take pictures of the screen.
That's how you know retailers are feeling it.
Kodansha's might be the funniest presentation yet, and the announcements are causing genuine hooting and hollering and laughter in a very positive way.
They're also out of time so they are speed running to an insane degree.
It's making it even funnier.
The Kodansha team is rolling through some exciting classics they're bringing back in new forms, including new collections of Ashita no Joe, a BECK Omnibus, a deluxe collection of Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack, and more. This has impressed!
Taking a food break!
Also, Gachiakuta Vol. 1 is leading the way so far for all manga in 2026.
Also also, this is hilarious.
Apparently manga as a channel rebounded in 2024 and then its growth accelerated in 2025, growing by 10% year-over-year, with Kodansha's year growing even faster than the rest led by Blue Lock.
Up next is Kodansha, who are wearing Team Manga jerseys, which, I'm not going to lie, I love.
Posted on Sho-Pro’s Twitter acct today:
“Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions will be terminating its publishing agreement with U.S. Marvel Comics
as of March 31, 2026.”
Sho-Pro is the primary publisher of Marvel and DC comics in Japanese, both classic & recent series.
books.shopro.co.jp?categories=m...
Compared to anime, Japan’s live action feature films have had limited success in N. America. At best, only 2-3 films from Japan get theatrical release in US. JP films do better on the international film festival circuit, but only 3-5 films/year are in competition @ Cannes, Venice
Chieko Murata: “the Japan film industry is old-fashioned.” The career and creative opportunities in film production in Japan make it a less attractive career option for young people, who end up wanting to work in manga, anime, or game development instead.
Chieko Murata talking with Yasushi Maruyama at Stanford University
Chieko Murata on her college, professional experiences in US: “i went to Cal State Northridge to study film production. In Japan, there’s no academic programs for film study, only art schools.” She interned at Warner Brothers, worked at NHK in Japan, and Sundance Institute (Film festival), in US
“Kokuho” producer Chieko Murata
“Kokuho” movie poster
The 2nd speaker at “Global Expansion of JP film and anime” at Stanford University today was Chieko Murata from @myriagon_jp, producer of “Kokuho,” an award-winning feature film about the world of kabuki. It’s in theaters now from @GKIDSfilms
gkids.com/films/kokuho/
Yosuke Kodaka, Aniplex USA: “(anime) localization starts from the beginning of content creation in JP - we work with producers, re: issues (that might be sensitive for overseas audiences), like history, politics, gender. But we try to not affect the creative process too much.”
