Kodansha has announced that it will be launching a special English edition of its Young Magazine in the United States, which celebrates the magazine’s 45th anniversary. The seinen magazine’s first issue was published in Japan on June 16, 1980.
The special edition magazine will be released in the U.S. with 20 new manga series. It will feature a concept called “[UN-filtered MANGA]” which will include “sci-fi, dark horror, and cyberpunk stories for adults that portray the raw, unfiltered realities of ordinary human beings in extraordinary situations.”
Additionally, new titles will be unveiled from several established manga creators to accompany the magazine’s launch in the U.S., including Shuzo Oshimi (The Flowers of Evil, Blood on the Tracks), Masaaki Nakayama (PTSD Radio), and Shuichi Shigeno (Initial D), among others.
There will also be a fan voting event featured inside the magazine, where readers can choose their favorite titles from among 16 eligible works. The winning manga series will be serialized on Kodansha’s K MANGA app service. The vote will be held on the magazine’s official English website (which will launch on August 21, 2025) and official Twitter/X account beginning from August 21, 2025 to November 10, 2025. The results will be available in real time on the official website on December 15, 2025.
The English version of Young Magazine will contain over 1,044 pages of content, and will be distributed for free to attendees of Anime NYC. In addition, there will also be discussion events and autograph sessions with manga creators like Minetaro Mochizuki (Dragon Head) and Kengo Hanazawa (UNDER NINJA) on August 24, 2025. More details will be announced from Anime NYC in the future.
The magazine will also be available at participating Kinokuniya locations for a limited time. Mini autograph boards will be included with the purchase of any work originating from Young Magazine between August 21, 2025 to November 10, 2025 while supplies last. There will also be exclusive in-store decorations at Kinokuniya’s New York City location, starting on August 18, 2025 for a week and special exhibitions featuring reproduced artwork at all stores. More details will be announced on the store’s official Twitter/X account.
The full lineup of titles and creators featured in the English Young Magazine issue include:
Eligible for Voting
- • BOYS RUN THE RIOT – IN TRANSITION — Keito Gaku
- • Fasciation — OUGA
- • Godmother — Rin Shimokawa
- • GOUMA The Blade that Slaughters Gods — Hiroki Ishizawa
- • Into the Dark — Anri Morikuma
- • Is My Love Strange? — Hikari Azuma
- • KIKIKAIKAI — Kyuri Yamada
- • Pregnant — Denchi Matsumoto (Story), Keita Nishijima (Art)
- • PROJECT METALLIA — Yukito Iwai
- • Protocol Ryugu — Daisaku Tsuru
- • Still You — Kami Nishio
- • The Graveyard Shift — Yoshimi Sato
- • The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers — Daisuke Itabashi
- • The Knight of Blasphemy — Ray Kindo
- • THE LAST TERRAN — Hiroshi Takashige (Story), Tatsumi Hitomoji (Art)
- • To Dusk and Twilight — Robico
Featured Additional Titles
- • ME AND BOB DYLAN (AND MY FATHER) — Shuzo Oshimi
- • The Silent Forest — Masaaki Nakayama
- • Subaru and Subaru — Shuichi Shigeno
- • UNDER NINJA — Kengo Hanazawa
Fans can get updates and read new material on the magazine’s Twitter/X account and website, which will feature special videos from each of the 16 new series, as well as a summary video providing an overview for all titles. The Twitter/X account will also host a campaign where participants can win limited prizes by posting about the manga they voted for. More details will be announced later on the platform.
Sources: Email correspondence, press release
