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Exclusive: Kodansha USA Licenses Twilight Out of Focus: Long Take Manga
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda

Kodansha USA Publishing describes Twilight Out of Focus 5: Long Take Part 1:
Winter is coming for roommates-turned-lovers Mao and Hisashi, bringing with it a whole slew of unexpected challenges and a noted cooling in their relationship that makes Mao wonder if the foundation they've built really is as strong as it once seemed. To make matters worse, this period of transition before their final year of high school has also shaken up the one constant Mao had always relied on: film. Weighed down by such uncertainty, will the two manage to find something solid to see them through a season of darkness, or will the curtain fall on their romance for good?
Kodansha USA Publishing describes Twilight Out of Focus 6: Long Take Part 2:
Amidst the anxieties of preparing for his final year in high school, film club cameraman Mao plucks up his courage and asks his boyfriend Hisashi to take a big step forward in their relationship. But what seemed like a great idea at first leads to a whole series of other questions that leave Mao at a loss and the two at a crossroads. And just when they most need some quality time together, Mao and Hisashi are forced to split up for a school field trip that threatens to disrupt their connection—and attracts unexpected attention from a clandestine figure lurking in the shadows.
The manga series launched in Kodansha's Honey Milk digital BL magazine in 2019, and the compiled book volume debuted in June that same year. Kodansha USA Publishing released the manga digitally in March 2022, and physically in May 2023.
The second work in the series, a spinoff story titled Twilight Out of Focus 2: Afterimages in Slow Motion (Zanzō Slow Motion), shipped in Japan in July 2020. Kodansha USA published the manga last July.
The original story continues in the series' third manga Twilight Out of Focus 3: Overlap (Tasogare Outfocus overlap), which released in Japan in August 2020. Kodansha USA published the manga last September.
The fourth manga, Twilight Out of Focus 4: The Evening Monologues (Yoiyoi Monologue) featuring a different story, shipped in Japan in June 2021. Kodansha USA published the manga in English on December 19.
Twilight Out of Focus 5: Long Take Part 1 (Tasogare Outfocus long take 1), the fifth manga in the series, shipped in Japan in July 2023. The sequel and sixth manga in the series, Twilight Out of Focus 6: Long Take Part 2 (Tasogare Outfocus long take 2), shipped in Japan on May 14.
The manga series is inspiring a television anime that will premiere on July 4.
Source: Email correspondence