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Rei Hiroe: '341 Sentōdan Manga Will Continue if it Sells'

The first compiled book volume of Rei Hiroe's 341 Sentōdan (341 RMR Battlegroup) manga contained an afterword where Hiroe wrote that the manga will have a continuation "if it sells."

He added he began suffering from depression in 2010, and was unable to draw at the time. He had thought that he would have to give up on drawing and the industry entirely, until he was asked to be part of the original planning and character designs for the 2017 Re:CREATORS anime series. At the same time, he began his personal "rehabilitation" by only drawing manga when the urge to draw came to him, and continued like that for a while, but eventually "lapsed back to his old ways."

Hiroe explained that it was surprisingly hard to create a simple war story, and that it would be usual to add monsters, magics, or sci-fi elements to the setting, but this is something that he would not be satisfied with. He added he is drawing the manga due to his own interests. He ends with a plea for like-minded individuals to buy the manga so that he can continue it.

The manga centers on Ermina Shaumach, a noble girl in the Mordanian Empire who existed as far from war as one could be, but nevertheless found herself leading a cavalry commander of a battlegroup in the Mordanian army. Her first taste of war was a vast conflict that involved great powers.

Hiroe launched the manga in Shogakukan's Monthly Shonen Sunday magazine in June 2019.

Hiroe launched the Black Lagoon manga in Monthly Sunday GX in 2002. Shogakukan published the manga's 12th volume in August 2021. Viz Media publishes the manga in North America, and it released the 12th volume in August 2022. The manga has gone on hiatus and returned multiple times since 2010.

Black Lagoon's first spinoff manga is titled Black Lagoon: Sōji-ya Sawyer - Kaitai! Gore Gore Musume (Black Lagoon: Sawyer the Cleaner - Dismemberment! Gore Gore Girl). Tatsuhiro Ida draws the manga, and it launched in Monthly Sunday GX in September 2019. Hajime Yamamura launched a second spinoff manga in Shogakukan's Monthly Sunday GX in April 2022.

Madhouse adapted the manga into two television anime series in 2006, and the Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail OVA in 2010. Geneon released both series on DVD in North America in 2007-2008, and Funimation re-released the series on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in 2012, and again in 2015.

Hiroe was also the original creator for the Re:CREATORS television anime series. He also provided the original character designs, and wrote and oversaw the scripts for the series. The 22-episode anime premiered in April 2017.

Source: 341 Sentōdan volume 1