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Kazé US Manga Imprint Plans to Launch With 5-8 Titles in 2027, to Grow to 25-30 Titles Per Year by 2029
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
KAZÉ added it is not only expanding its presence to the U.S., but also to Brazil and Spain in 2027.
As HarperCollins is also the only Western publisher with a presence in Japan, KAZÉ stated it also plans to publish HarperCollins Japan's original IPs, and also plans to publish manhwa, manhua, and original English "manga." The company also plans to target a wide range of genres, and target properties from top manga creators who have not had works published in the U.S. before. KAZÉ added it also plans to publish works from manga creators published from KAZÉ France and Germany.
The imprint also revealed its first title, Saxton Moore and Phillip Johnson's SOL Sistah original English manga. The company describes the title as "Ultraman meets Power Rangers in this Pan-African, kaiju-crushing, teen slice-of-life manga starring Atomika, a goddess-turned-highschooler juggling two very different lives."
KAZÉ stated at the panel the imprint will not use AI translations.
HarperAlley, which publishes the Plus-sized Misadventures in Love! manga in print, is KAZÉ's sister imprint, and KAZÉ plans to draw on the experience of the HarperAlley team.
The KAZÉ team includes vice-president and publisher Andrew Arnold, editors Emilia Sowersby and Josh Sippie, art director Christina Quintero, and assistant designer Mikhail Fernandes.
In July 2025, HarperCollins acquired Crunchyroll's manga publishing operations in France and Germany, returning the Crunchyroll Manga brand to its original name KAZÉ. All ongoing series from Crunchyroll Manga have been continuing without interruption and without changes to their current design. Starting in April 2026 releases now feature the KAZÉ branding.
KAZÉ was founded in France in 1994, and Shogakukan and Shueisha jointly acquired the company in 2009, and integrated it with Viz Media Europe.
Crunchyroll and Viz Media Europe closed the deal for Crunchyroll to become the majority owner of Viz Media Europe Group in December 2019. The companies announced the agreement in September 2019. Viz Media Europe Group comprised Viz Media Europe Group, AV Visionen, Anime Versand, VIZ Media Switzerland, KAZÉ, KAZÉ Manga, Anime on Demand, and Anime Digital Network (in partnership with the Média-Participations subsidiary Citel and Eye See Movies).
HarperCollins' HarperVia imprint released Shion Miura's Run with the Wind (Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru) novel in English in October 2024. HarperVia has previously published such novels as The Tatami Galaxy, The Tatami Time Machine Blues, and Park Seolyeon's A Magical Girl Retires in English. HarperCollins will also release the late Saeko Himuro's Ocean Waves novel in English in March 2027.
Source: KAZÉ US industry panel at Anime NYC (Reuben Baron)
ANN's coverage of Anime NYC 2026 is sponsored by Yen Press. Whether it's light novels, manga, or manhwa, Yen Press has everything you might want to add to your reading shelves! Visit Booth #1701 or YenPress.com for more information!
