News
Ghost in the Shell Spinoff Manga Rojikomanga to End
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The June issue of Kodansha's Monthly Young Magazine is reporting on Wednesday that Masayuki Yamamoto will end his Rojikomanga in the magazine's July issue, which Kodansha will publish on June 20. Yamamoto notes that it will be the first time in 15 years that he will not be drawing a serialized manga series.
Yamamoto (Gatapishi-Sha de Ikou!!, Heaven's Drive, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Tachikoma na Hibi) launched Rojikomanga in Monthly Young Magazine in 2013 as a spinoff of the Ghost in the Shell: Arise anime. The manga is set in "Arise Village," the space spontaneously created in the lingering memories of the Rojikoma's servers.
In this spinoff story, "Motoko" is a super-genius hacker who got lost in this space. Rojiko is a clumsy, eyeglasses-wearing girl, while Komako is an older, powerful girl with a "nice body." When Motoko finds herself in a pinch, Rojiko and Komako combine and transform into a Rojikoma.
A 26-episode mini program called Kōkaku Kidōtai Nyumon Arise (Ghost in the Shell Introduction Arise) premiered on TV Tokyo in January 2014, featuring characters from Rojikomanga. Miyuki Sawashiro voiced both Rojiko and Komako, while Maaya Sakamoto voiced a version of Ghost in the Shell: Arise's main character Motoko Kusanagi.
Ghost in the Shell: Arise was originally a four-part anime series, helmed by Kazuchika Kise at Production I.G and written by Tow Ubukata, that premiered in Japanese theaters from July 2013 to September 2014. Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell manga inspired the video anime. Funimation released the series' first two episodes in North America in a Blu-ray Disc/DVD combo last October.
A TV broadcast of the anime, titled Ghost in the Shell: Arise Alternative Architecture, recompiles the series' four existing episodes, and will feature two new episodes to tie the series with the upcoming Kōkaku Kidōtai Shin Gekijō-ban (Ghost in the Shell: New Movie) opening in Japan on June 20. Ghost in the Shell: Arise Alternative Architecture premiered in Japan on April 5.
