Kodansha Kicks Off the New Year with Fall 2026 New Print Licenses
Kodansha Announces Final Round of New Print Manga Licenses for Fall 2026
Kodansha kicks off the new year by revealing new print manga licenses set to debut in Fall 2026. From now until Friday, January 9, 2026, each day unveils a new batch of print licenses, so be sure to return to this post to get the latest information on what’s coming to print from Kodansha this Fall.
Each new series set to debut in Fall 2026 will be available for purchase at physical and online book stores like Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon, and more, while digital editions will be available upon release across all our participating vendors, including Bookwalker, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play, Nook, Kobo, MyAnimeList, and more! Fans can also purchase and read all Kodansha digital manga directly on uat.kodansha.us/.
See below for details on each new series announced for the Fall.
ROMANCE & COMEDY:
Kiss or Die Trying!
By Den Mitao
JP Title: どうせ死ぬならキスしたい!
Debut Date: Fall 2026
Kanemaru, an inveterate serial dater, takes an interest in Liu, a transfer student at his college who works at his favorite Chinese eatery. But just as Kanemaru works up the courage to ask out Liu, they’re suddenly attacked by a gang of kidnappers! Each and every time things start to heat up between the two, a wild and unpredictable predicament just so happens to get in the way… Strap in for a madcap BL about a couple the universe itself is determined to keep apart—even if it means they have to die!
Rated: 16+
Fan/Girl x Call/Boy
By Kotora Aoshima
JP Title: デリヲの推しごと
Debut Date: Fall 2026
Sakurako, a shut-in and an obsessive fan of ero-ge (erotic fantasy games) hires a call-boy, Fuji, to try and experience the feelings of her favorite game character. Things go awry when a clumsy stumble causes the carefully-hidden otaku-ware and an erotic game on the TV to unpause—revealing Sakurako’s ulterior motives. But it turns out that Fuji is a fan of the same game—so they end up spending the night playing games instead. The two keep in touch, and Saurako is able to find the courage to go outside, if it means spending more time with Fuji (and fangirling out at a game-themed cafe!). This fun and funny love story is perfect for fans of Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku and Sweat and Soap!
Rated: 16+
Rainy Day Serenade Omnibus
By Haruka Kawachi
JP Title: 涙雨とセレナーデ
Debut Date: Fall 2026
One of the most-requested Kodansha manga of all time finally arrives in English! From the creator of Natsuyuki Rendezvous comes an exciting timeslip romance in which a modern high school girl masquerades as her lookalike in the early 20th century while navigating a complicated web of familial ties and intrigue.
On rainy days, Hina has dreams about her younger self playing with a mysterious boy in a garden she’s never seen before—until, by chance, she stumbles upon the place. There’s a young man there, Takaaki, who mistakes Hina for his fiancée Hinako. He whisks her back to what he thinks is her home, where Hina’s doppelganger is waiting, and Hina realizes this isn’t the Tokyo she left behind but Japan in the year 1907! Is this all a dream or something much stranger?
Each premium paperback contains two parts, nearly 400 pages of manga.
Rated: 13+
Mr. Vamp Is a Vampire
By Dorothy Odoroo
JP Title: 万府先生は吸血鬼
Debut Date: Fall 2026
A hilarious farce with rivalries, misunderstandings, and one beautiful monster. An elegant vampire thinks he’s hiding in plain sight as a high school teacher—but his secret identity isn’t fooling anyone, and his students love being taught by a suave bloodsucker.
“Mr. Vamp,” an immortal vampire, has had a number of careers over his long life. To mix things up, he’s now working as a history teacher in a high school in Japan. He thinks he’s got everyone fooled into believing he’s just an ordinary mortal, but due to a lack of effort on his part when it comes to truly blending in, the students and teachers all realize his true nature (but still humor him by going along with the fiction). Hijinks ensue!
Rated: 13+
PREMIUM & NEW EDITIONS:
Black Jack Deluxe Edition
By Osamu Tezuka
Debut Date: Fall 2026
This three-part reissue collects, in oversized format, selected stories from the original series. Volume 1 will contain those the creator did in color. Volumes 2 & 3 will cover the creator’s own best-of selection.
Rated: 16+
Blue Lock Full Color Selection
By Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura
JP Title: ブルーロック ＦＵＬＬ ＣＯＬＯＲ ＳＥＬＥＣＴＩＯＮ
Debut Date: Fall 2026
Blue Lock’s most thrilling soccer moments in brilliant color! Each volume of this series contains the greatest chapters centered on a fan-favorite character from the global smash hit soccer manga Blue Lock, meticulously colorized and coming to you in a comics trade–sized paperback, plus a new, bonus character profile section. Vol. 1 focuses on Yoichi Isagi, Vol. 2 on Seishiro Nagi, and Vol. 3 on Michael Kaiser—just in time for the World Cup!
Rated: 16+
THRILLER & FANTASY:
AIDOL
By Kazu Inabe, Yu Kuraishi and Ku Tanaka
JP Title: 電人Ｎ
Debut Date: Fall 2026
In this dark showbiz thriller manga, a sick fan of a mediocre idol singer becomes a monstrous presence possessing the electrical grid. He wields his strange new powers mercilessly to make his stan a success—whether she likes it or not. It’s Death Note meets Perfect Blue in a tense, horrific mystery featuring Final Destination–style kills against a toxic celebrity backdrop, from the creators of Fort of Apocalypse and Starving Anonymous.
Each omnibus volume contains two parts, almost 400 pages of manga. A complete story in three books perfect for fans of Dragon Head, PTSD Radio, and Homunculus.
Rated: 18+
NakiNagi
By Keigo Maki
JP Title: ナキナギ
Debut Date: Fall 2026
A quiet witch meets a girl in love. Nakika was once a feared witch of the deep sea, but has started a life on the surface to learn about “human emotions.” Nagisa is a naive romantic and Nakika’s best friend—and although she might not always understand Nagisa’s infatuation, her compassion for Nagisa is deeper than the Pacific Ocean! Using her magical powers to support Nagisa’s quest for love deepens Nakika’s understanding of the human world—but it also strengthens her ties to the land and to Nagisa herself. Follow the 1000% wholesome story of a girl in love and her watchful guardian!
Rated: 13+
ALL – AGES:
Say Hello to Mr. Wallaby!
By Marume Goshika
JP Title: きょうもあしたも蕨井先生
Debut Date: Fall 2026
One day, a Japanese professor on a field expedition to Australia has the surprise of a lifetime when a wallaby suddenly falls on him from the trees above. The wallaby is slightly put out (as he explains quite calmly) because, you see, he was distracted while reading a book about one of his favorite subjects—bushido. He’s a bit of an otaku and has always dreamed of going to Japan. The professor is instantly charmed, of course, and whisks Mr. Wallaby off to Japan. Mr. Wallaby, inspired by the professor, says he also wants to become a teacher…
Rated: 8+
Return tomorrow for even more new print license announcements from Kodansha or follow our social media channels X, Instagram, Facebook and Bluesky to find out when new licenses are announced this week.