Kodansha USA has announced several new manga licenses during a panel at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, which are all slated to be released in Spring 2026. Some of the new manga licenses include DRAGON CIRCUS, Whoever You Are, I Love You, and Chi’s Sweet France, among other titles.
In addition, the publisher also announced new premium manga releases of Witch Hat Atelier, Attack on Titan, and BLUE LOCK.
The company also provided an update on its Kodansha Print Club program. Second volumes of Blade Girl, Teppu, and Love, That’s an Understatement will be available to purchase online and through select physical retailers on August 5, 2025. Pre-orders will begin as soon as next week for several major retailers and bookstores.
Here are the details on Kodansha USA’s newest licenses and releases:
Manga
DRAGON CIRCUS
Story: Eiichi Shimizu
Art: Tomohiro Shimoguchi
Release Date: Spring 2026
Synopsis:
On the fateful day the dragons first appeared, Dr. Abe’s beloved died in the initial onslaught. Now he has created an android in his own image: the DS-08 “Shikigami,” part of the NUN (New United Nations)’s top secret project to counter this monstrous invasion. In addition to the Shikigami, this team of “Dragonslayers” is comprised of members of the many races that have up till now lived in obscurity: elves, dwarves, witches, vampires, and more… As the team assembles to fight off the massive and mysterious creatures that now menace humanity, however, one member stands apart from the rest: Momo Agatsuma, the young daughter of an NUN scientist and ace pilot par excellence. Together this motley crew must fend off the greatest threat the world has ever faced…!
Stella Must Die
Story: Yasunori Mitsunaga
Art: Ine Ohtaka
Release Date: Spring 2026
Synopsis:
After losing her father, the king of Hillvalley, Princess Stella is thrown into the middle of a succession crisis. Her stepsister Illusia wastes no time in trying to assassinate Stella and seize the throne, but all her attempts mysteriously go awry. Little does anyone know that the young princess has a hidden protector…in the most unlikely of places!
Magical Karina
Story and Art: Coyuri Tono
Release Date: Spring 2026
Synopsis:
Just this morning, Karina was sitting at the breakfast table, cleaning up the miso soup her grandmother dropped on the floor. Now, she’s being called out to class to go to the hospital and see her grandma’s body…with a piece of seaweed still stuck to her uniform. She still finds time to make it to her hourly job at a family restaurant, but on the way home, she sees a glittering, elephant-like creature floating in the sky… And a teenage boy appears to push her out of the way of its attack! Death is stalking Karina’s town in a form that only she can see, and this boy gives her two choices: Die or transform and fight! She can scarcely follow what he’s saying, but her clothes do change, and the staff she finds herself holding has enough heft to do some serious damage… But is there space in Karina’s life for getting revenge for her grandma and fighting magical monsters when she’s already stretched to her limit?
Whoever You Are, I Love You
Story and Art: Keiku Hagiwara
Release Date: Spring 2026
Synopsis:
Despite being unmarried at 32, Yuki Sato is happy—she enjoys temping as a greeter, and more importantly, she’s engaged to a handsome, successful man she met on a dating app…until Shun Majima walks into her life and blows it up.
Does her fiancé seem too good to be true because he is? And was he really involved in the death of Shun’s brother? As Yuki’s life slowly starts to unravel, she finds herself drawn into the seedy underbelly of Tokyo, caught in a web of lies and manipulation. She and Shun join forces to uncover the truth, but will they be able to do so before it’s too late…?
That’s Not Love
Story and Art: Peko Watanabe
Release Date: Spring 2026
Synopsis:
Forty-year-old Akane attends the opening of a new art exhibit by her former cram school teacher, Mr. Imai, who has now become a sculptor. Akane notices that Mr. Imai’s new sculpture bears a striking resemblance to her middle school best friend, Yukari, who she remembers suddenly transferred out of the school. It even has a distinct scar that Yukari shared with Akane privately. Wondering what this could mean, Akane reaches out to her old friend, and learns that there was something else going on when they were children that she only partly understood. Was Yukari just a muse? Or something with more upsetting implications?
Lonely Deaths Lie Thick as Snow
Story: Hajime Inoryu
Art: Shota Ito
Release Date: Spring 2026
Synopsis:
A routine call regarding a burglary at an empty mansion leads cocky young police detective Jin Saeki to a gruesome and shocking discovery. The corpses of 13 children, along with the presence of a strange symbol, spur a manhunt for Juzo Haikawa, the mysterious absentee owner of the house. So begins an investigation (and an obsession) that will take Jin all over Japan and into the darkest recesses of both the past and the human soul.
Cat-Life Balance
Story and Art: Akari Otokawa
Release Date: Spring 2026
Synopsis:
Everyone at work loves Mamoru, because Mamoru never says no. Replacing lightbulbs, carrying boxes, taking over an impossible client from a retiring colleague… He’ll do it all, and it’s earned him the nickname “Prince of the Office.” This glittering extrovert’s opposite at work is Kurone, a quiet woman in another department who soaks up her boss’s senseless mood swings with a blank stoicism. After one particularly long day, Mamoru is thrilled to be walking home alone, sipping a beer (because all his colleagues went drinking and left him to work overtime), when he encounters something strange: The usually glum Kurone is in the park, gleefully playing with stray cats. This secret seems silly, but it brings Kurone joy. It’s the start of an unlikely relationship that will lead Mamoru to start reflecting on his life and who he really wants to share it with. Is work really all there is, or can he strike a balance with the help of these fluffy new friends — and a human who might become something more?
Chi’s Sweet France
Story: Konami Kanata
Art: Catherine Bouvier
Release Date: Spring 2026
Synopsis:
A coda that picks up exactly where the main series left off: with Chi & Family in Paris.
Chi & her human family have moved to Paris but, even before the boxes are unpacked, relocate to ‘burbs just so the cat may still venture outdoors.
Premium Editions
Witch Hat Atelier: Grimoire Edition
Story and Art: Kamome Shirahama
Release Date: Spring 2026
This deluxe hardcover edition includes the first three volumes of the Witch Hat Atelier manga series. The new Grimoire Edition will be published in a large gold-foiled hardcover of nearly 600 premium printed pages each, including color pages and exclusive bonus content.
Synopsis:
In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream…until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem!
Blue Lock Omnibus
Story: Muneyuki Kaneshiro
Art: Yusuke Nomura
Release Date: Spring 2026
A new 3-in-1 omnibus edition featuring sculpted embossed covers.
Synopsis:
A mad young coach gathers soccer players from across the country to compete in a series of bizarre challenges in a high-tech colosseum he calls Blue Lock. It’s a no-balls-barred battle to become Japan’s next top striker, in this Squid Game–meets–World Cup manga, now a global hit anime with two explosive seasons!
Attack on Titan Definitive Hardcover Collection
Story and Art: Hajime Isayama
Release Date: Spring 2026
A massive new deluxe edition that includes three volumes in one hardcover book, featuring faux leather cover, gold foil stamping, library-style binding, and color pages not included in the Japanese edition.
Synopsis:
For eons, humans ruled the natural world. But a century ago, everything changed when the Titans appeared. Giant, grotesque parodies of the human form, these monsters consumed all but a few thousand human beings, who took refuge behind giant walls. Today, the threat of the Titans is a distant memory, and a boy named Eren yearns to explore the world beyond the wall. But what began as a childish dream will become an all-too-real nightmare when a Titan finally knocks a hole in the wall, and humanity is once again on the brink of extinction.
Source: press release
