Welcome to Hachi Report, a monthly newsletter breaking down recent developments in the manga and manhwa world! Thanks to the efforts of our hardworking delivery fox Hachi, we have all the information you need about upcoming comics, new and notable events, and backstage publisher maneuvering. This month: the Eisner award winners, an Independent Manga Alliance, and manga artist Inio Asano’s thoughts on generative AI.
Licensing Highlights
My Neighbor Yokai
Writer/Artist: noho
Publisher: Ink Pop
Debut: April 13, 2027
Synopsis: Welcome to a town where people and yokai, spirits and monsters, live together in harmony! When Buchio the cat suddenly becomes a talking cat spirit, he decides to learn more about the yokai that are his neighbors and master his new powers.
Meanwhile, gradeschooler Mutsumi begins training to help at the local shrine. It’s not easy, but it doesn’t hurt that it means she gets to spend a little more time with her neighbor Jiro, the kind crow-man who performs rituals at the shrine.
As Buchio and Mutsumi learn more about their town they discover not all Yokai are nice. One might even be connected to Mutsumi’s missing father…
The Pitch: This is the source material for the anime series Tonari no Yokai-san, which found quite a following when it aired in 2024. Check this out for a nice mix of sweet, spooky, and heart-wrenching.
The Sword of Paros
Writer: Kaoru Kurimoto
Artist: Yumiko Igarashi
Publisher: Manga Mavericks Books
Debut: April 2027
Synopsis: The legends that speak of the Sword of Paros say that it can bestow either prosperity or ruin on its kingdom…depending on the heart of its wielder.
The kingdom’s current princess, the beautiful yet resentful Elminia, laments being treated as a soulless tool simply for being born in a woman’s body.
Accompanied by Count Yulias, Elminia rides as far away from the kingdom’s politics as possible. One day, Elminia meets a beautiful young girl named Fiona, and their lives and the kingdom are changed forever.
The Pitch: It’s rare to see classic shojo manga make the jump into the English language market these days, so I’m happy to see Manga Mavericks Books making the effort! The artist, Yumiko Igarashi, is best known for the series Candy Candy.
Historié
Writer/Artist: Hitoshi Iwaaki
Publisher: Kodansha
Debut: Spring 2027
Synopsis: After shocking the world with Parasyte, Hitoshi Iwaaki returned with a series he’d been aching to tackle since before his professional manga debut. A historical epic set in ancient times, Historié tells the story of Eumenes, a young man with quick wits and a vast destiny to fulfill. In time, he’ll become a famed army commander and personal secretary to Alexander the Great. But the road to glory is fraught with danger.
The Pitch: While readers know and love Iwaaki for Parasyte, he’s actually been working on Historié for far longer now. I never expected to see this one in English! I’m glad it’s coming, though.
Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix Deluxe Edition
Writer/Artist: Osamu Tezuka
Publisher: Kodansha
Debut: Spring 2027
Synopsis: From the premiere of Astro Boy on television in 1963 to the release of Buddha, Princess Knight, Dororo, Black Jack, and other English editions in the 21st century, Americans have become familiar with the vast breadth of Osamu Tezuka’s stunning career, over which he produced more than 150,000 pages of comics.
Yet the most conspicuous omission from Tezuka’s English catalog has long been the series he considered his magnum opus, one he worked on and reworked from the 1950s until his death in 1989: Phoenix. Known as Hi no tori (“firebird”) in Japanese, this meta-series—inspired by Tezuka’s omnivorous appetite for Asian folklore, American science fiction, Russian ballet and animation, and anything he he found fascinating—leaps through extremes of time and space, encompassing exciting action and experimental suspense, stark philosophy and intimate drama.
Tying it all together are the recurring “actors” of Tezuka’s “Star System”; themes of mortality, legacy, love, and ego; and the titular bird herself: at times a mythical being living in a volcano, at others a spiritual presence in deep space, always a mystery.
This new Kodansha edition features the acclaimed original translation, commissioned during Tezuka’s lifetime by his production company, from Dadakai—a collective consisting of Jared Cook, Shinji Sakamoto, and Frederik L. Schodt, the inaugural inductee of the American Manga Awards Hall of Fame. This translation was previously published by Viz Media from 2002–2008 but is long out of print, and Schodt and Cook themselves have returned to assist in updating it for this edition.
The art draws on a new restoration published in Japan in 2020, intended to replicate the visuals of Phoenix precisely as it would have appeared to Japanese readers experiencing it for the first time in COM, Tezuka’s seinen manga magazine, in the 1960s. This edition features recreations of two–, three–, and four-color art treatments that were forgotten for decades, with new lettering from master letterer and font designer Sara Linsley, wrapped in a cloth cover with screenprinted and foil-stamped trade dress.
The Pitch: It’s Phoenix, one of the greatest works by “God of Manga” Osamu Tezuka. What else is there to say? While I’m nervous about how this release is adjusting the original 2020 restoration, I trust the production team attached.
Hero Company
Writer/Artist: Kazuhiko Shimamoto
Publisher: Manga Mavericks Books
Debut: June 2027
Synopsis: At a time where heroism has become no different than any other day at the office, one young man stands for the people…
The year is 20XX, and a global recession has swept through the lands. One company, however, has seemingly remained unaffected by the sinking economy. Namely, Hero Company Inc.! They’re an organization that works by night to protect the lives of ordinary civilians…as long as their missions remain within tight profit margins and fit within their strict business guidelines.
Enter Ginga Amano, a passionate rookie who still holds strong to the ideals of heroism despite them being completely at odds with the strict office culture that’s come to dominate the field. He dreams of following in his father’s footsteps at Hero Company Inc., but can he truly uphold his sense of justice when reality demands that he ignore the people’s pleas to make it to his interview on time?
Find out in this exciting chronicle of the adventures and struggles of the Hero Company! Illustrated by legendary artist Kazuhiko Shimamoto and filled with his unique brand of polished artwork and hot-blooded storytelling!
The Pitch: While the live action adaptation of Shimamoto’s manga series Blue Blazes has a cult following abroad, Hero Company will be the first comics work by the artist to be published in English. If you’re a fan of absurd, over-the-top action and melodrama, this may be the series for you!
Ultraman by Kazuo Umezz–The Classic Manga Collection
Writer/Artist: Kazuo Umezz
Publisher: Seven Seas
Debut: July 2027
Synopsis: Serialized with the 1966 TV broadcast, the classic sci-fi hit Ultraman by Kazuo Umezz: The Classic Manga Collection features fierce battles with series-popular kaiju and pieces from the original release. Celebrate the 60th anniversary of this fantastic adaptation of everyone’s favorite sci-fi hero by legendary horror author, Kazuo Umezz (The Drifting Classroom, Reptilia)!
The Pitch: Ultraman has always had a horror streak, and there’s no-one better to traumatize young Ultraman fans than Kazuo Umezz.
Ikoku Nikki
Writer/Artist: Tomoko Yamashita
Publisher: Inklore
Debut: Summer 2027
Synopsis: Nominated for the Manga Taisho Award and Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, this beloved manga follows reclusive novelist Makio, who finds her world changed when she takes in her orphaned teenage niece, Asa. The series was recently adapted into the anime Ikoku Nikki: Journal with Witch, winning the prestigious 63rd Galaxy Award Encouragement Prize and Galaxy Monthly Award – TV Category (March 2026) in the television category.
The Pitch: Journal with Witch! Journal with Witch!!! If you loved the anime adaptation from this winter, the manga is just as good, and has plenty of great material the anime didn’t have room for. Hands down one of my favorite series of the past few years.
Lady Hokusai
Writer/Artist: Hinako Sugiura
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Debut: Fall 2027
Synopsis: Set in Japan’s Edo period, this incredibly cartooned feat of historical fiction follows the famed artist’s most talented daughter O-Ei as she works in his studio as his apprentice.
The Pitch: I saw the anime adaptation of this series, directed by Keiichi Hara, at a museum some years ago in Washington DC. I’m excited to see what Hara tweaked, and how Sugiura’s original stands up as commentary on art history.
Miss Forensics
Writer/Artist: Jiu Nuan Chun Shen
Publisher: Seven Seas
Debut: 2027
Synopsis: The highly requested baihe/Chinese Girls’ Love novel finally makes its official English debut! A suspenseful, romantic thriller about a forensic doctor and the cold detective she works with. Volume 1 will be released for the first time in the English language in 2027 in single large-trim editions as part of the Seven Seas Baihe label. Ebook editions will also be available on digital platforms.
The Pitch: Sure it’s soapy, but Miss Forensics is as famous in baihe circles as Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is within the danmei world. Glad to see Seven Seas taking a chance on a big series like this!
Department Store Waltz
Writer/Artist: Hiromi Matsuo
Publisher: Udon Entertainment
Debut: Not yet announced
The Pitch: I’m including this one due to the enthusiastic recommendation of a friend. If you enjoy ultra-luxurious illustrations of clothing and 20th century department stores, this may be your book! Hopefully Udon publishes this one sooner rather than later.
Breaking News
Eisners Award Purgatory Funeral Cakes, Manga’s First Century, “Blood Harvest”
The Eisner Awards at San Diego Comic Con typically recognize artists, writers and series that are part of the direct market (serialized issue by issue) in the United States. That said, per Comics Beat, a handful of manga and manhwa-affiliated works won awards this year. The manhwa series Purgatory Funeral Cakes by Sanho won for Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia. Akira Volumes 1-5 Hardcover Collection won Best Archival Collection/Project – Comic Books, while Andrea Horbinski won Best Academic/Scholarly Work for her book Manga’s First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905-1989. Additionally, Akira Toriyama was inducted to the Voter’s Choice Hall of Fame.
“Blood Harvest,” a short story included in Shintaro Kago’s collection Brain Damage, won Best Short Story. While its translator Zack Davisson did not attend the Eisners this year, he did post a speech online that he would have read had he gone. “For years people thought Shintaro Kago’s work was unprintable in the US,” Davisson wrote. “But for someone whose work defines the ‘erotic grotesque’ we now know that there are not only readers, but enthusiastic ones…cheers to all the perverts out there! We’re gonna make more.”
Billy Bat, Chainsaw Man – The Movie and Others Nominated for Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards, named for Mad founder Harvey Kurtzman, announced its 2026 nominees on July 7th. Nominees for Best Manga include Urasawa and Nagasaki’s Billy Bat, Tsuge’s He Rolled Me Up Like a Grilled Squid, Yamashita’s Land, Takano’s Miss Ruki, Ichiro’s My Gorilla Family, and Rintaro’s My Life in 24 Frames Per Second. Several manga adaptations were also nominated for Best Adaptation of Comic Book/Graphic Novel, including Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, My Hero Academia — Final Season, and the second season of live-action One Piece. (Your Letter, adapted from the webtoon of the same name, was also nominated for this award.)
Nap Comix by Rachael Smith, which is serialized on WEBTOON, was nominated for Digital Book of the Year. Good Old-Fashioned Korean Spirit by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada (who previously did Banned Book Club) was nominated for Best Young Adult Book. No manga or webtoon was nominated for Book of the Year, although Stop Hibari-kun!! fans may recognize its publisher Peow2 attached to Linnea Sterte’s Book of the Year nominee A Garden of Spheres.
Varun Gupta, Harrison Doan Form Independent Manga Alliance
At San Diego Comic Con, Manga Mavericks Books CEO Varun Gupta announced at his panel that he and Mahjong Pros head Harrison Doan are forming an Independent Manga Alliance together with other small manga presses. The Manga Mavericks Bluesky feed reads, “IMA will assist manga creators and indie manga publishers by providing distribution, marketing, and sales support!” The Independent Manga Alliance Bluesky feed also says that the organization’s “core focus is manga that creators/publishers want to release in English.”
Current participants include Manga Mavericks Books, its partners Strict Algorithm LLC and Red String, mahjong manga publisher Mahjong Pros, and the online manga site B!JuKu. The organization’s website includes a link to a form for other small publishers (as well as artists, writers, booksellers, etc.) to register interest. It also includes a schedule of upcoming appearances for featured publishers as well as a promise of other resources, although nothing is available as of yet.
Inio Asano Speaks on Mujina into the Deep, Generative AI
Per Automaton, manga artist Inio Asano (Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction) said on the talk show WEEKLY OCHAI that one of the reasons he had put his newest series Mujina into the Deep on hold was because of societal attitudes towards the use of generative AI. He says, according to Automaton’s translation: “Right now, publishers are not in a position where they can overtly say that they allow AI use…mangaka are not allowed to use AI. But using AI actually drives up the quality by a mile. So doesn’t that mean it would be best to not draw the manga now? Maybe they suddenly lift the ban [on AI] next year, so it might be better to start drawing after that happens.”
Asano previously discussed his approach on an episode of CGWORLD, where he explained that the backgrounds of his newest series Mujina into the Deep (as well as Dead Dead Demon’s) were inspired by video game environment design. “I build the parts in Blender first,” he said, “then assemble them in Unreal Engine, and I mass-produce buildings that way.” He goes on to say that while he was working on the background being discussed “when AI wasn’t quite there yet…recently it’s gotten easier with AI.” As an example, he used an AI generated photo of a woman as a background for a sign, for which “there’s no way to supply all the images from scratch.”
Previously, Asano manually adjusted photographs to create hyper-detailed backgrounds for his work. The contrast between realism and fantasy is essential to his earlier comics like Nijigahara Holograph and Goodnight Punpun. Still, the best environments indicate character, and relying on sprawling 3D worlds risks losing that lived-in quality unless the artist pays close attention. Perhaps that’s why Asano (according to Anime News Network) spent a month creating a 3D model of a town for a one-shot manga he hadn’t even started drawing yet. I get why he would want shortcuts to make up for the workload; but then, why follow such an excessive and painstaking method to begin with?
Marvel and WEBTOON Collaborate on New Vertical Strip Comics
At San Diego Comic Con (per a WEBTOON press release), Marvel and WEBTOON announced three new series “created exclusively for WEBTOON and designed specifically for the platform’s vertical-scroll format.” These include Tony’s Girl, written by CRC Payne and drawn by StarBite, which reimagines Tony Stark’s story as a teenage enemy-to-lovers romance; That Time Deadpool Fell Into WEBTOON…and Found The Longest Title of All Time!!!, written by Ucheomaaa and drawn by Annie Huang, in which everybody’s favorite (?) fourth-wall-breaking hero must battle through a multiverse of WEBTOON cliches in order to return home; and X-Men Korea, led by Studio LICO, starring a Korean student named Yeong-seo Go at the Hoseok Academy for the Gifted.
These three series pull on existing WEBTOON talent. Studio LICO for instance has led several projects for the company, including the popular web novel adaptation Return of the Blossoming Blade. Most notable to me is the involvement of CRC Payne and StarBite, the creators of the extraordinarily successful Wayne Family Adventures: a slice-of-life series made for DC, rather than Marvel. While it wasn’t necessarily a series for me, the creative team absolutely understood the strengths of vertical strip comics, which has me hopeful Tony’s Girl will be worth checking out rather than just a novelty production.
Marvel previously experimented with vertical strip comics via its Infinity Comics brand, which it founded in 2021. Several of these series were original works, such as It’s Jeff! and the GLAAD Media Award-winning Avengers Academy: Marvel’s Voices. Most of what Marvel has uploaded to WEBTOON so far, though, have been reformatted versions of existing print comics. If the company wants to succeed on WEBTOON, it should be channeling the ghost of Avengers Academy instead of force-feeding its readers Ultimate Spider-Man panel by panel.
Hachi Snacks
- For All the Fujoshi Unite, Merve blogged about the upcoming adaptation of The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All.
- For Anime Trending, William Moo interviewed manga artist Battan.
- For SKTCHD, David Harper wrote about Keigo Shinzo’s growth as an artist.
- For The Japan Times, Kris Kosaka discussed Studio Ghibli’s transformative adaptations of existing works.
- For Anime News Network, Kalai Chik covered Witch Hat Atelier artist Kamome Shirahama’s conversation with Owl House showrunner Dana Terrace at Anime Expo.
- For Anime Feminist, Chiaki Mitama reviewed NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE, “a show that isn’t for you.”
ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out these Yatta-Tachi articles:
- August 2026 Manga, Manhwa, Light Novel, & Book Releases
- August 2026 BL / Yaoi Manga, Manhwa, Manhua, Danmei, & Light Novel Releases in Print
- Disability Pride Month Manga Recommendation List
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