Kodansha Comics Adds Princess Jellyfish, Real Account, Magatsuki Manga

Also: Noragami switches to monthly release; Fairy Tail gets omnibus release

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Kodansha Comics announced at its panel at Anime Expo on Saturday that it will release Akiko Higashimura's Princess Jellyfish (Kuragehime) manga, Shizumu Watanabe and Okushō'sReal Account manga, and Hoshino Taguchi's Magatsuki manga.

Higashimura's Princess Jellyfish manga inspired a 2010 television anime series that Funimation released in North America.Kodansha Comics describes the story:

Tsukimi, who has loved jellyfish from a young age, resides in Amamizukan, a fangirl-only dorm. One evening at the local pet store, Tsukimi sees a lovely jellyfish in danger, but a beautiful woman comes to the rescue. They go back to Amamizukan together, but this "woman"... is actually a man!

Kodansha Comics will debut the series in February 2016, and the company will publish the manga in large-format 2-in-1 editions. The releases will include color pages and bonus special features. Kodansha Comics' associate director of publishing services Ben Applegate told ANN that the company has the license to the first 12 volumes of the series. The company will then evaluate the title after releasing those 12 volumes (in six 2-in-1 omnibus releases) and will decide whether to continue publishing the title based on sales.

Higashimura launched the manga in Kodansha's Kiss magazine in 2008, and Kodansha publishedthe 15th compiled volume in Japan in January. The manga also inspired a live-action film adaptation that opened in Japan in December 2014.

Manga creator Watanabe (Kono Kanojo wa Fiction desu.) and writer Okushō launched Real Account in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine in the February 2014 issue, but the series thenswitched to Weekly Shōnen Magazine in this year's combined fourth and fifth issue. Kodansha is publishing the fifth compiled volume of the manga in Japan on July 17. Kodansha Comicsdescribes the story:

This tense thriller has a simple premise: “If you reach zero online followers, you die.” Ataru is one of millions of members on the social networking site Real Account. But one day, he and thousands of others wake up inside a virtual world. Here, if you lose the game, you die for real—taking all your followers with you. And if you run out of followers, it's also game over.

Kodansha Comics will debut the manga in March 2016.

Taguchi launched the Magatsuki love comedy manga inKodansha's Monthly Shōnen Sirius magazine in the April 2011 issue, and Kodansha will ship the 10th compiled volume in Japan in August. Kodansha Comicsdescribes the series as follows:

Magatsuki, from creator Hoshino Taguchi, follows 15-year-old Yasuke Arahabaki, who accidentally breaks a sacred mirror in his house's shrine. This accident releases Seoritsuhime, a goddess of misfortune, and triggers a curse that forces them to stay close together or die. To lift the curse, Yasuke must help Seoritsuhime achieve happiness – despite the bad luck she carries with her. It all gets more complicated when Yasuke's childhood friend and mutual crush, Akari Inamori, suddenly becomes the new owner of Yasuke's lost soul. How will Yasuke navigate his new intimacy with Akari and still fulfill his promise to Seoritsuhime?

Kodansha will debut the series in print in February 2016. Crunchyroll is publishing the manga digitally in English as new chapters come out in Japan.

Kodansha Comics also revealed that thanks to "excellent sales," Adachitoka's Noragami: Stray Godmanga will be switching to a monthly release starting in October 2015. The company will release the seventh volume in October, and new volumes will ship each month until the English release catch up to the Japanese release in mid-2016.

The company also revealed at the panel the artwork that will be used for some of the playing cards that it will bundle with the special edition of the 16th volume of Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titanmanga.

Update: Kodansha also revealed that it will release the Fairy Tail manga in an omnibus edition. The first volume, which includes the first five volumes of the series, is slated for September and will retail for US$39.99.

Magatsuki © Hoshino Taguchi/Kodansha, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Princess Jellyfish © Akiko Higashimura/Kodansha, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Real Account © Okushō/Shimizu Watanabe/Kodansha, Ltd. All rights reserved.