Kodansha announced the popular manga magazine Young Magazine will celebrate its 45th anniversary by releasing it to readers in US. A special edition of Young Magazine will be released with 19 new manga series geared towards American manga fans.
Young Magazine centers around the concept of “UN-filtered MANGA,” featuring sci-fi, dark horror, and cyberpunk stories that portray ordinary human beings in extraordinary circumstances. With the American launch of Young Magazine, new titles will be unveiled by legendary manga creators like Shuzo Oshimi (The Flowers of Evil and Blood on the Tracks), Masaaki Nakayama (Fuan no Tane and PTSD Radio), and Shuichi Shigeno (Initial D and MF Ghost). Kengo Hanazawa’s UNDER NINJA manga will also be included in Young Magazine.
What’s more, there will be a fan voting event inside the magazine where readers can choose their favorites from among 16 eligible manga titles. The winning manga will be serialized on Kodansha’s official manga app, K MANGA. The vote will be held on the official website and official X (formerly Twitter) account until November 10, with final results will be revealed on December 15.
Featured Manga Titles
- Eligible for voting
- BOYS RUN THE RIOT – IN TRANSITION – by Keito Gaku
- Fasciation by OUGA
- Godmother by Rin Shimokawa
- GOUMA The Blade that Slaughters Gods by Hiroki Ishizawa
- Into the Dark by Anri Morikuma
- Is My Love Strange? by Hikari Azuma
- KIKIKAIKAI by Kyuri Yamada
- Pregnant by Denchi Matsumoto (story) and Keita Nishijima (art)
- PROJECT METALLIA by Yukito Iwai
- Protocol Ryugu by Daisaku Tsuru
- Still You by Kami Nishio
- The Graveyard Shift by Yoshimi Sato
- The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers by Daisuke Itabashi
- The Knight of Blasphemy by Ray Kindo
- THE LAST TERRAN by Hiroshi Takashige (story) and Tatsumi Hitomoji (art)
- To Dusk and Twilight by Robico
- Featured additional titles
- ME AND BOB DYLAN (AND MY FATHER) by Shuzo Oshimi
- The Silent Forest by Masaaki Nakayama
- Subaru and Subaru by Shuichi Shigeno
- UNDER NINJA by Kengo Hanazawa
“For our selection, we held an open call and received submissions from over 100 manga creators, said Young Magazine editor in chief Hidemi Shiraki. “Ultimately, 19 titles were carefully selected for your enjoyment. We hope to introduce the potential of Seinen manga—which explores themes and ideas beyond the scope of Shonen—to more readers in North America, the largest manga audience outside of Japan. Immerse yourself in a deeper reading experience through complex themes and rich world-building that push beyond the boundaries of Shonen manga.”
The special edition of Young Magazine contains over 1,044 pages of content, and it will be distributed for free to Anime NYC 2025 attendees at the Kinobuniya booth from August 21 to 24. Additionally, there will be discussion events and autograph sessions with Hanazawa and Dragon Head creator Minetaro Mochizuki at Anime NYC 2025 on August 24.
Young Magazine will also be available at participating Kinokuniya locations for a limited time from August 21 to November 10, along with mini-autograph boards. Further, fans may read all the new content on the official X account and official website. There will also be special videos for each of the featured 16 manga series, along with a summary video that provides an overview. Lastly, the official X account will also host a campaign with prizes, and participants enter by posting about the manga they voted for.
