Young Magazine to distribute English version to the US

It has been announced that a special English edition of Kodansha's manga magazine Young Magazine, aimed at the US market, called Young Magazine USA, will be released in August to commemorate the 45th anniversary of its founding. It will feature works by Shuichi Shigeno of Initial D , with his new work Subaru and Subaru, as well as works by Shuzo Oshimi, the creator of Flowers of Evil and Trail of Blood, and Masaaki Nakayama, the creator of Seeds of Anxiety and Aftereffects Radio. The cover will be an original drawing by Masamune Shirow in the Shell, and there will also be a special feature of Kengo Hanazawa's Under Ninja.

The special extra edition will be distributed at the "ANIME NYC 2025" event to be held in New York on August 21 (local time) and at 17 Kinokuniya bookstores in the United States. It will be released for free on the official X and special website, and teaser videos will be distributed on social media.

A reader-participation general election campaign will also be held. 16 of the 19 works will be eligible, and readers can vote on X) or a special website. The five works that receive the most support will be serialized simultaneously in Japan and the US in "Young Magazine" and the manga app "KMANGA."

Editor-in-chief of the magazine, Shiraki Hidemi, explained the background to publishing the special extra issue, saying, "With the demand for manga on the rise worldwide in recent years, we wanted to deliver the depth and appeal of seinen manga, especially, to more people. As Young Magazine has brought to the world masterpieces such as 'AKIRA' and 'Ghost in the Shell,' we also want to create the next 'AKIRA.' This year marks the 45th anniversary of the publication, so we have decided to realize this extra issue for North America as part of the commemoration projects. Currently, shonen manga is mainstream in overseas markets, but we would like to convey the possibilities of seinen manga, which includes themes and expressions that cannot be fully depicted in shonen manga, to readers in North America, our largest overseas market."

"The Japanese version of Young Magazine is characterized by many works that deal with provocative themes such as assassins and drugs, but this special issue for North America is placed emphasis on genres such as science fiction and dark fantasy. While maintaining Young Magazine's identity as a 'magazine for outsiders,' we have put together a selection of works that can be resonated with on a more international scale. We are aiming for a lineup that will resonate with the global market in terms of the breadth of its worldview and themes."