Kondansha Announce 12 New Licenses for Spring 2022

Island in a Puddle

Synopsis: The tiny apartment where Minato lives may as well be an isolated island in the middle of the ocean. Despite still being in elementary school, it falls on his shoulders to care for his little sister Nagisa, who never stops asking when their mother will make one of her infrequent visits home.

On one of those visits, their mother takes them to an amusement park, only to give Minato some cash and leave them on a Ferris wheel… but as the wheel reaches the top, lightning strikes, and, instead of his sister, Minato sees the corpse of a woman… and, reflected in the glass looking back at him, an unfamiliar and menacing face!

Island in a Puddle is a new manga series by Kei Sanbe (Erased, For the Kid I Saw in My Dreams).

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse

Synopsis: The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse is the sequel story to The Seven Deadly Sins manga and it is created by Nakaba Suzuki.

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

A Galaxy Next Door

Synopsis: Since his parents died, manga artist Ichiro has barely scraped by, forced to support his two younger siblings on just a middle school education. He doesn’t even have time to learn how to use a computer, which forces him to keep wrestling with pen and paper. When his art assistants quit to strike out on their own, on top of juggling deadlines, family, and the constant fear of losing his job, Ichiro feel close to a total breakdown.

But then a new assistant pops into Ichiro’s life, and his prospects immediately start to brighten! She’s an incredible artist, she always finishes on time, and she’s beautiful, to boot! But she also seems to know an awful lot about him, and, soon, she makes a confession that bends Ichiro’s mind beyond the confines of Earth.

A Galaxy Next Door is a new manga series by Gido Amagakure (Sweetness & Lightning).

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

Phantom of the Idol

Synopsis: Yuuya, one half of the boy pop duo ZINGS, may be the laziest performer in the Japanese music industry. His partner is out there giving 110% every night (and, thankfully, he’s quite popular), but Yuuya’s half-assed, sloppy dancing, and his frankly hostile attitude toward the audience, has the fans hating him and his agent looking for any excuse to cut him loose. The career of a pop idol just isn’t the path of easy leisure and adulation Yuuya expected.

After a particularly lifeless concert appearance, Yuuya meets a girl backstage. She’s dressed to the nines in a colorful outfit, she’s full of vim and vigor, and all she wants from life is to perform. There’s just one problem: She’s been dead for a year. This is the ghost of Asahi Mogami, the beloved singer whose time on the stage was tragically cut short, unless... If ghosts are real, is spirit possession really that much of a stretch?

Phantom of the Idol is a new manga series by Hijiki Isoflavone.

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

Welcome Back, Alice

Synopsis: Yohei, Kei and Yui are childhood friends and things get complicated when Yohei witnesses Kei and Yui in an intimate moment. But when Kei unexpectedly moves away and returns a few years later to reunite in high school, he seems to be a bit different.

Welcome Back, Alice is a new manga series by Shuzo Oshimi (Blood on the Tracks).

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

Wondance

Synopsis: A boy named Kaboku sees a girl named Wanda dance, and suddenly burns with a need to join in. With its thrilling scenes of Japanese hip-hop dance and quirky, charming characters, this is a new, inspirational manga for fans of coming-of-age stories like Blue Period and Your Lie in April. Get up and join the Wandance! Kaboku has always just gone with the flow, marching in step to the drumbeat of the expectations of those around him: parents, school, plans for the future. It feels predictable, safe, and… empty.

But one night, Kaboku’s at school late, and he happens on a girl alone, moving wildly, turning a blank space of concrete into a canvas. This is Hikari Wanda, a member of the hip-hop dance club. Kaboku is immediately smitten, but the road to stepping out of his shell is a long one. The club is almost entirely girls, and they’re all, well, way better than him. What’s ahead is unknown, and that’s terrifying, but it also means, for the first time in Kaboku’s life… a taste of freedom.

Wondance is a new manga series by Coffee.

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

Devil Ecstasy

Synopsis: Noboru Kusakabe is an 18-year-old virgin college student who developed a trauma for big breasts. Desperately wanting to lose his virginity, Noboru and his friend discover a mysterious brothel called “Devil Ecstasy”. Although he was nervous about his first experience, Noboru is thrilled by a beautiful girl with small breasts named Meruru who holds a scary secret about the brothel!

Devil Ecstasy is a new manga series by Shuzo Oshimi (Blood on the Tracks).

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

Blackguard

Synopsis: The world is suddenly overrun by monsters called “shojo” and anyone who is bit by one is infected with a mysterious virus, which turns them into the same being. To defeat the shojo, humans live in “aerial cities” and formed units called “guards”. Nanao Minami, also known as the Blackguard, fights but without regard for his own life. What is his motivation and why does he want to die so readily?

Blackguard is a new manga series by Ryo Hanada (Devils Line).

Sensei’s Pious Lie

Synopsis: Misuzu Hara is a 24-year-old high school teacher. Her peaceful days of instructing her students begin to change with the advent of her friend Minako’s fiancé, Hayafuji. What happened between them?

Sensei’s Pious Lie is a new manga series by Akane Torikai.

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

AKIRA: Art of Wall

Synopsis: Reproduction of an art project inspired by AKIRA and carried out with the involvement of the original creator, Katsuhiro Otomo.

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

Tezuka New Omnibus Editions – Apollo’s Song, Princess Knight, Ode to Kirihito

Synopsis: Three Osamu Tezuka titles, Apollo’s Song, Princess Knight, Ode to Kirihito, are back in print in an all new omnibus format with new covers created by designer Peter Mendulsund.

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD

The Shining Sea

Synopsis: A young woman who attempted suicide by drowning has lost her memory. Her lover, a young man, is on a pelagic tuna fishing boat. What happened between them?

The Shining Sea is a manga series by Koji Suzuki (creator of the Ring series)

Release Date: Spring 2022, TBD