Kodansha USA announced a slate of new manga print licenses for release throughout Fall 2026 during a panel at New York Comic Con 2025.
Some of the new print licenses include the Shirow Masamune: Artworks in the Shell art book, several Cells at Work! spinoff books, a Gachiakuta manga box set, and many more titles.
Here are the details:
Manga
Cells at Work! Picture Books
Story and Art: Kumi Makimura
Original Work: Akane Shimizu
Release Date: Fall 2026
Titles in the series:
- • Cells at Work! Picture Book 1: The Great Bacteria Vs. White Blood Cell Battle!
- • Cells at Work! Picture Book 2: The Dastardly Duo of Flu and Food Poisoning!
- • Cells at Work! Picture Book 3: I’m Not Scared of Shots!
- • Cells at Work! Picture Book 4: Just a Cold? Just a Bump?
- • Cells at Work! Picture Book 5: Busy, Busy Gut Bug Buddies!
Description:
The mega-hit anime and best-selling manga is now an edutainment picture book series! Red Blood Cell, White Blood Cell (Neutrophil), and their team guide young readers on an exciting behind the scenes exploration of all the hard work going on to keep the human body healthy. Adorable characters, diagrams, and simple language help make the scientific adventure fun.
Cells at Work! Cat
Original Story: Choco Aozora
Art: Meku Kaire
Supervision: Akane Shimizu
Release Date: Fall 2026
Synopsis:
Red Blood Cell, White Blood Cell (Neutrophil), and their team put on their cat ears as they work, day and night to fight the invaders big and small to make sure these feline friends are happy, healthy, purring machines! Explore the action taking place inside a cat’s body, in Cells at Work! style, while also seeing the perspective from the humans who provide a home and tender loving care.
YuM Cat
Story and Art: Shirimoto
Release Date: Fall 2026
Synopsis:
YuM Cat (Nmeneko) is a cat who just wants to enjoy the yummier things in life. But some things that look tasty can be deceiving, and sometimes you need to get a little creative to satiate a craving! Thankfully, YuM Cat’s got a trusty sidekick to help with the trickier slices of life!
This full-color, mostly wordless manga, based on the popular mascot character created by illustrator Shirimoto, which gained popularity on X (Twitter), was recently adapted into a short-form anime series starring Han Megumi and Hiro Shimono.
When a Dragon Calls
Original Story: Sachiko Kashiwaba
Art: Renji Asai
Character Design: Miho Satake
Release Date: Fall 2026
Synopsis:
Ten-year-old Mia lives with her aunt in the poor, secluded, so-called “Criminals’ Village” where the only way out is to be called by a dragon and carried off to a new life. One day, the unassuming Mia is chosen for this honor and whisked away on dragon-back to the royal palace, a dazzling world filled with witches, dragon-riding knights, and a centuries-long curse she must somehow find a way to lift.
Erin the Beast Player
Original story: Nahoko Uehashi
Art: Itoe Takemoto
Release Date: Fall 2026
Coming to print for the first time in all-new omnibus editions. The series was first licensed in in April 2024.
Synopsis:
Erin loves her modest but happy life with her mother, a gifted beast doctor who cares for the fearsome giant serpents that the kingdom’s warriors ride into battle. But their world is turned upside down when the entire stable of the prized serpents dies overnight, and Erin’s mother is saddled with the blame. Before she knows it, ten-year-old Erin is cast off in a faraway land where she must learn to survive with only her mother’s words and the kindness of strangers to guide her.
My Husband is a Doomsday Weapon.
Story: Yuki Amemiya
Art: Yukino Ichihara
Release Date: Fall 2026
Synopsis:
A young scientist working to restore a civilization destroyed centuries ago by cataclysmic war unearths a devastatingly powerful doomsday weapon—which saves her from a marauding robot, then promptly transforms into human guise, identifying her as its new master. Thanks to the input from a romance novel, this handsome anthropomorphic weapon dedicates itself body and soul to our heroine, who in turn realizes that this may be the answer to her total inability to interact with human men…
You Might As Well Be the One
Story and Art: Megumu Seto
Release Date: Fall 2026
Synopsis:
“I want you to never stop smiling.” Ichika, a college student, just wants to have a normal romance for once, yet because of her flashy appearance, she is often misunderstood. Not ready to give up on a romantic encounter, Ichika joins a drinking party and meets a kind boy named Kosei. They immediately click and Ichika has a great time talking to him about their mutual interests and other things, and she finds herself falling for him after he tells her that he likes her for who she is. However, he has a secret…?!
A Love Too Captivating
Story and Art: Mia Sorahana
Release Date: Fall 2026
Synopsis:
Misuzu never goes looking for fights—they just always come to him. But when he sees the local punks trying to start trouble with his classmate, honor-student Kitahara, he can’t help himself from stepping in. Ever since, Kitahara has been following Misuzu everywhere, trying to get to know this so-called bully who is actually much sweeter than he seems. All Misuzu wants is to be left alone…at first. But soon, something begins to blossom between the two—something that may just prove too captivating to resist.
Comeback After Fate
Story and Art: Anji Seina
Release Date: Fall 2026
Synopsis:
Eli’s boy band VINKS has just made their big debut—and as the youngest in the group, far from having everything handed to him as an alpha, he has to work twice as hard! One day, he participates in a session with Lee Suyoung from the top-ranked, all-alpha group α-code. For Eli, a longtime fan, it’s a dream come true. But what’s this sweet smell coming from Suyoung? Before he knows it, Eli’s mouth is heading for Suyoung’s nape… It’s only one month until α-code’s big comeback. What will they do, now that Eli knows Suyoung’s secret?
Premium Art Book
Shirow Masamune: Artworks in the Shell
Art: Shirow Masamune
Release Date: Fall 2026
Description:
Artworks in the Shell is the capstone to any collection focused on Shirow Masamune, covering his more than 40-year career from Dominion and The Ghost in the Shell through Appleseed, Intron Depot, and more!
At 288 pages and nearly a foot long, this hardcover collection is the most spectacular presentation ever of the stunning range of Shirow’s color works, tracing his techniques from all-analog through dozens of early digital tools up to the present day. Assembled for a blockbuster career retrospective exhibition in Tokyo last year, this exhaustive collection of color work by Japan’s master of cyberpunk includes dozens of rare, uncollected pieces, including two exquisite double-folded gatefold artworks.
Box Set
Gachiakuta Dumpster Box Set
Story and Art: Kei Urana
Graffiti Design by Hideyoshi Ando
Release Date: Fall 2026
Volumes 1-10 of the original manga in a graffiti-covered, dumpster-shaped box set. A cotton tote bag bonus item is included.
Synopsis:
A young boy is framed for murder and cast off the edge of a floating city into the abyss, where he grapples with the monsters that the elite high above would rather forget. The more the rich glitter, the higher the price paid by the poor…
Source: press release
