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Hiro Mashima's Dead Rock Manga Goes on Hiatus, Returns With New Arc This Winter
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The June issue of Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine published the final chapter of the "Academy Arc" for Hiro Mashima's DEAD ROCK manga on Thursday. The manga will go on hiatus before returning with a new "Godfall" arc this winter.
Kodansha USA Publishing is releasing the manga in English, and it describes the story:
Welcome to Dead Rock, the underworld's top educational institution! A spot at this training facility for demonic mischief is all the young demon Yakuto has ever wanted, but in Hell, there's no such thing as an easy A. Plenty of Yakuto's fellow prospects won't survive the entrance exam, and even fewer will make it to graduation. So why bother? The prize, for those who survive this death game through perdition, is the world, in the palm of their hand!
Mashima launched the manga in Monthly Shonen Magazine in July 2023. Kodansha published the manga's seventh compiled book volume on Friday. Kodansha USA published the fourth volume in English on February 3.
Mashima ended his Heros crossover manga mini-series in December 2019. The manga launched in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine in October 2019.
Mashima launched his Edens Zero manga in Weekly Shōnen Magazine in June 2018, and ended it in June 2024. Kodansha published the manga's 33rd and fina volume in August 2024. Kodansha USA Publishing released the series simultaneously digitally, and Kodansha released the manga on its K MANGA app. The 33rd English volume shipped in September 2025. The manga's first anime season premiered in Japan in April 2021, and aired for 25 episodes. The second season premiered in April 2023.
Mashima's Fairy Tail manga launched in 2006 and ended in July 2017. The final anime season based on the manga premiered in Japan in October 2018. The anime series ended in September 2019. Crunchyroll and Funimation streamed the anime with English subtitles. Funimation also streamed an English dub.
The manga has inspired two earlier television anime, two anime films, several original video anime projects, and spinoff manga. Kodansha USA Publishing publishes the original manga and a number of its spinoffs in North America.
Atsuo Ueda (Dr. Prisoner, Hajime Shachō Monogatari) launched Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, the official sequel of Fairy Tail, in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket manga app in July 2018. The manga inspired a television anime that premiered in July 2024.
Source: Monthly Shonen Magazine June issue
