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Manga Mavericks Licenses Pipe Machine, Path From Tanuki Temple Manga
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Manga Mavericks Books, the new publishing division of the Manga Mavericks website and podcast, announced new licensed titles during its panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday. Manga Mavericks will release both series digitally and in print. Manga Mavericks will also make both series available early to paid subscribers of the company's Substack newsletter.
Creator: Takuji Umihara
Release Date: March 2026
Summary: Saburo is a normal kid—or at least he tries to be, but the bizarre finds its way to him with alarming precision. First, a weirdo with a samurai haircut clad in just undies is hanging around his town, then his Grandfather builds an honest-to-god time machine that looks like a giant metal smoking pipe. A quick test of the pipe time machine flings the poor boy into the outer realms of space where robots, space captains, and a girl who looks very similar to a friend at home await him. Keep all limbs in the pipe and prepare for a funny, fast-paced, and very bizarre adventure in the Pipe Machine!
Umihara said regarding the English release:
I drew this work both as a study and a means to relive what had excited me about Osamu Tezuka's works as a child. It was at first a means to an end of becoming a pro mangaka, but now the story has grasped me and I can't let it go. Now, Varun Gupta [Manga Mavericks CEO] and Manga Mavericks are going to produce an English version. I really can't express anything but gratitude to them, and I hope that even just a little, American readers enjoy this work.
The ongoing indie manga series currently has six volumes in Japan, and Manga Mavericks will release the series in five volumes at A5 (5.83" x 8.27") size.
Creator: Shinkuro Koma
Release Date: April 2026
Summary: In Kinuta Village, it's the princess who's the hero!
Tanuki are magical creatures that are able to take the shape of humans. In a hidden village of tanuki, tucked away from mankind, lives Princess Kikyo. Bored with her leisurely days in the lap of luxury, she takes her yearning for adventure on the road with a dancer named Yugao. However, the human world isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and Kikyo is going to need more than her wits and scrappiness to survive!
Koma stated regarding the English release:
Greetings to you all attending Comic-Con. I'm Shinkuro Koma. I can't express in words how happy I am that Manga Mavericks is going to publish my work “Path From Tanuki Temple” in English. There aren't many full-color hand-drawn manga out there, and I don't know how it'll compare to digital manga, as there might be some rough spots. However, I hope you'll enjoy the strength and warmth that one can only get from drawing the old-fashioned way. I hope English readers will enjoy and come to love this series.
The ongoing full-color manga series has six volumes in Japan. Manga Mavericks will release the manga in three volumes at B5 (6.9" x 9.8") size.
Source: Press release
