Kodansha Announces Young Magazine Special for the United States
Kodansha's Young Magazine is celebrating its 45th anniversary by announcing a special U.S. edition of the publication. The special edition magazine will feature 19 new manga series "geared towards American manga fans." The concept behind the magazine is "[UN-filtered MANGA]," featuring sci-fi, dark horror, and cyberpunk elements for older audiences.
This special, premium issue of Young Magazine, containing over 1,044 pages of high-quality content, will be distributed for free to attendees of Anime NYC, and it will also be available at participating Kinokuniya locations from August 21 to November 10, 2025.
Hidemi Shiraki, Editor in Chief of Young Magazine, stated that the magazine did an open call and received submissions from over 100 manga creators. "Ultimately, 19 titles were carefully selected for your enjoyment. We hope to introduce the potential of seinen manga—which explores themes and ideas beyond the scope of shonen—to more readers in North America, the largest manga audience outside of Japan."
The U.S. edition of Young Magazine will unveil new titles from creators such as Shuzo Oshimi (author of The Flowers of Evil and Blood on the Tracks), Masaaki Nakayama (author of Fuan no Tane and PTSD Radio), and Shuichi Shigeno (known for Initial D), and showcase UNDER NINJA, currently serialized in Japan. The titles are:
- ME AND BOB DYLAN (AND MY FATHER) by Shuzo Oshimi
- The Silent Forest by Masaaki Nakayama
- Subaru and Subaru by Shuichi Shigeno
- UNDER NINJA by Kengo Hanazawa
Voting Event for New K MANGA Title
The magazine will feature a fan voting event where readers will be able to select their favorites among 16 eligible titles. The winning title will be serialized on Kodansha’s K MANGA app. The vote will be held on the official website and official X/Twitter account, with the results available in real time on the official website. The official X account will feature special videos showing off the 16 titles and host a campaign where fans will be able to win prizes by posting about who they voted for.
The 16 titles competing in the Young Magazine contest are:
- BOYS RUN THE RIOT - IN TRANSITION by Keito Gaku
- Fasciation by OUGA
- Godmother by Rin Shimokawa
- GOUMA The Blade that Slaughters Gods by Hiroki Ishizawa
- Into the Dark by Anri Morikuma
- Is My Love Strange? by Hikari Azuma
- KIKIKAIKAI by Kyuri Yamada
- Pregnant by Denchi Matsumoto (Story) and Keita Nishijima (Art)
- PROJECT METALLIA by Yukito Iwai
- Protocol Ryugu by Daisaku Tsuru
- Still You by Kami Nishio
- The Graveyard Shift by Yoshimi Sato
- The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers by Daisuke Itabashi
- The Knight of Blasphemy by Ray Kindo
- THE LAST TERRAN by Hiroshi Takashige (Story) and Tatsumi Hitomoji (Art)
- To Dusk and Twilight by Robico
Voting for the best title that will win the K MANGA app serialization launches on August 21 and will last until November 10. Winners will be announced on December 15, 2025. The website for voting launches on August 21.
Source: Press Release
©︎ 2025 KODANSHA LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
