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Young Magazine Announces Lineup of U.S. Special Issue

Kodansha announced on Tuesday more details on the United States print release of its Weekly Young Magazine, which commemorates the magazine's 45th anniversary. The 1,044-page U.S. release will have 19 new series from Japanese artists, as well as Kengo Hanazawa's UNDER NINJA manga. Readers will be able to vote for their favorites among 16 eligible titles, with the winners earning serialization on the K MANGA App. Kodansha did not specify if this "special, premium issue" will be the only issue published, or if there are more issues planned.

The titles which are eligible for voting include:

• Kaito Gaku's BOYS RUN THE RIOT - IN TRANSITION -
• Ouga's Fasciation
• Rin Shimokawa's Godmother
• Hiroki Ishizawa's GOUMA The Blade that Slaughters Gods
• Anri Morikuma's Into the Dark
• Hikari Azuma's Is My Love Strange?
• Kyūri Yamada's KIKIKAIKAI
• Denchi Matsumoto, Keita Nishijima's Pregnant
• Yukito Iwai's PROJECT METALLIA
• Daisaku Tsuru's Protocol Ryugu
• Kami Nishio's Still You
• Yoshimi Sato's The Graveyard Shift
• Daisuke Itabashi's The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers
• Ray Kindo's The Knight of Blasphemy
• Hiroshi Takashige, Tatsumi Hitomoji's THE LAST TERRAN
• Robico's To Dusk and Twilight

The following titles are also available in the U.S. release:

• Shūzō Oshimi's ME AND BOB DYLAN (AND MY FATHER)
• Masaaki Nakayama's The Silent Forest
• Shūichi Shigeno's Subaru and Subaru
• Kengo Hanazawa's UNDER NINJA

The company states the magazine's concept is "UN-filtered MANGA" for adults, which "portray the raw, unfiltered realities of ordinary human beings in extraordinary situations" and will introduce western audiences to the seinen genre.

The special premium issue of the magazine will be distributed for free to attendees at Anime NYC on August 21-24, as well as at specific Kinokuniya locations from August 21 to November 10. The titles will be available to read on the magazine's official website, which will launch on August 21.

The special issue was first announced in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine in October 2024 under the tentative title of Young Magazine USA.

Weekly Young Magazine's first issue shipped on June 16, 1980. The magazine has serialized or currently serializes manga such as Initial D, MF Ghost, Ghost in the Shell, My Home Hero, Under Ninja, Ya Boy Kongming!, and xxxHOLiC.

Update: Added clarification about 20th title Under Ninja. Fixed punctuation.

Source: Press release