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Kodansha Licenses 6 New Manga, Acquires Saiyuki, Chobits, Clover

Anime News Network's coverage of Anime Expo 2019 is sponsored by Yen Press.

Kodansha Comics announced at it and Vertical's Anime Expo panel on Saturday that it has licensed the Beyond the Clouds - La Fillette tombée du ciel French comic, as well as the Knight of the Ice, Rent-A-Girlfriend, Sue and Tai-chan, Sweat and Soap, Something's Wrong With Us, Yuzu the Pet Vet, and Saiyuki manga.

The company also announced that it will publish CLAMP's Chobits and Clover manga to its Kodansha Classics line. Additionally, Kodansha Comics announced that it will debut the Saint Young Men, Farewell, My Dear Cramer, Living-Room Matsunaga-san, and Perfect World manga in print. Saint Young Men will debut in print "just in time for Christmas." Farewell, My Dear Cramer, Living-Room Matsunaga-san, and Perfect World will debut in print in 2020.

Nicke's Beyond the Clouds - La Fillette tombée du ciel will debut in English in 2020. Kodansha Comics describes the comic:

In the Yellow City, factory smoke clouds the sky. Young Theo has never left the city or seen the stars. He's always dreamed of adventure, but eventually he has to face reality and start working at the Chikuwa Repair Shop. Then, everything changes when he finds a little girl with a single wing — an injured angel who's lost her memory! Perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli and Final Fantasy, enter the poetic world of Beyond the Clouds!

Nicke launched the comic last year. The comic has a planned anime project collaboration with GONZO. Éditions Ki-oon, the comic's publisher in France, streamed an announcement video for the project in June 2018.

Yayoi Ogawa's Knight of the Ice (Ginban Kishi) will debut in English in 2020. Kodansha Comics describes the manga:

Chitose, a regular, hardworking woman who writes for the health magazine SASSO, is childhood friends with famed figure skater Kokoro Kijinami. In the public eye and on the ice, Kokoro is a gallant, flawless knight, but behind his glittery costumes and breathtaking spins lies a secret: He's actually a hopeless romantic otaku who can only land his quad jumps when Chitose is on hand to recite a spell from his favorite magical girl anime!

Ogawa launched the romantic comedy manga in Kodansha's Kiss magazine in September 2012, and ended it in June 2017. Kodansha published 11 compiled book volumes for the manga.

Tokyopop published Ogawa's previous Kimi wa Pet manga in North America under the name Tramps Like Us. ComiXology added the manga to its service last month. The manga was previously adapted into a 10-episode live-action television series in Japan in 2003 starring Koyuki as Sumire and Jun Matsumoto as Momo. The manga also inspired a 2011 live-action Korean film starring Jang Geun-suk and Kim Ha-neul. A new Japanese new live-action television series adaptation debuted in 2017.

Reiji Miyajima's Rent-A-Girlfriend (Kanojo, Okarishimasu) will debut in English in 2020. Kodansha Comics describes the manga:

In Japan, the lonely have a new way out — online services that rent out dads, children, even girlfriends! When Kazuya's true love dumps him, he's just desperate enough to try it, and he's shocked at how cute and sweet his rental girlfriend turns out to be. But she wants to keep their "relationship" a secret, and there's a complication... she goes to his university... and their grandmothers are in the same home... and they live next door to each other?! And Kazuya finds out she's not nearly as nice in "real life"..

Miyajima launched the manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine in July 2017, and Kodansha published the manga's 10th volume on May 17.

Kanata Konami's Sue and Tai-chan (Sue to Tai-chan) manga will debut in English in 2020. Kodansha Comics describes the manga:

Sue is an aging housecat who's looking forward to living out her life in peace... but her plans change when the mischievous black tomcat Tai-chan enters the picture! Hey! Sue never signed up to be a catsitter!

Konami launched the manga in Kodansha's Be-Love magazine in January 2017. Kodansha published the manga's third volume on May 13.

Vertical publishes Chi's Sweet Home manga, and the company released the 12th volume in November 2015. The company is rereleasing the series in three-in-one omnibus format, and the fourth volume shipped in December 2016. The manga inspired two 2D television anime series in 2008 and 2009. Crunchyroll streamed the second television anime series, titled Chi's New Address, in various countries as it aired in Japan. Discotek Media licensed both seasons and released them on DVD. The manga also inspired the Chi's Sweet Adventure 3D CG anime in 2016, and a second season in 2018.

Vertical also released the two volumes of Konami's FukuFuku: Kitten Tales manga.

Kintetsu Yamada's Sweat and Soap (Ase to Sekken) manga will debut in English in 2020. Kodansha Comics describes the manga:

Yae's living her dream, working at the toiletry maker Lilia Drop. Little do her coworkers know, the reason she loves the company so much is that she's ashamed of her body odor, and their soap is the only thing that does the trick. So when the company's lead product developer, a perfuming genius, approaches her in the lobby and wonders what “that smell” is, she's terrified... but could it be... that he likes it? And, even more surprising to Yae... does she like him?

Yamada launched the manga in Kodansha's D Morning magazine in 2018, and Kodansha published the manga's third compiled book volume on April 23. Kodansha will publish the fourth volume on July 23.

Natsumi Ando's Something's Wrong With Us (Watashi-tachi wa Dōka Shiteiru) will debut in English in 2020. Kodansha Comics describes the manga:

From the creator of Kitchen Princess and Arisa, this suspense story about a man and woman who are connected by the world of traditional Japanese sweets will have readers dying to know what happens next. Perfect for fans of shojo with an edge!

Ando launched the manga in Kodansha's Be-Love magazine in December 2016. Kodansha published the manga's ninth volume on April 12.

Kodansha Comics has published Ando's Arisa, Let's Dance a Waltz (Waltz no Ojikan), and Kitchen Princess manga in North America. Tokyopop previously published Ando's Zodiac P.I. manga, and Del Rey published her Wild @ Heart manga. Del Rey had also previously published part of Arisa and Kitchen Princess.

Mingo Itō's Yuzu the Pet Vet (Yuzu no Dōbutsu Karte - Kochira Wan Nyan Dōbutsu Byōin) will debut in English in 2020. Kodansha Comics describes the manga:

When young Yuzu's mother is hospitalized, she has to move in with her uncle, who runs an animal clinic. Yuzu's always been scared of animals, but an encounter with a boy and his dog turns fear into a desire to learn, and before she knows it, a whole new world has opened up. Perfect for aspiring pet vets of all ages!

Itō launched the manga in Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine in 2016, and ended the manga last November. Kodansha published the manga's seventh and final volume on February 6. Itō launched a sequel manga titled Yuzu no Dōbutsu Karte: Chiisana Jūi - Kochira Wan Nyan Dōbutsu Byōin in Nakayoshi last December, and Kodansha published that manga's first volume on June 6.

Kodansha Comics will re-release Kazuya Minekura's Saiyuki manga in 400-page hardcover volumes with new translations, beginning in 2020. Kodansha Comics describes the manga:

Genjo is a Buddhist priest in the city of Shangri-La, which is being ravaged by yokai spirits that have fallen out of balance with the natural order. His superiors send him on a journey far to the west to save the city. His companions are three yokai with human souls.

The classic manga and anime franchise returns!

Tokyopop previously published all nine volumes of the manga from 2004 to 2005. The manga has also spawned the Saiyuki Gaiden and Saiyuki Ibun manga spinoffs, as well as three television anime series, an anime film, and three OVA series. The Saiyuki Reload Blast sequel manga launched in Comic Zero Sum in 2009, but Minekura slowed down her publication of the manga in 2013 due to her health.

The Saiyuki Reload Blast anime premiered in July 2017. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired, and Funimation offered a simuldub.

Source: Kodansha Comics' Anime Expo panel, Email correspondence