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Makoto Kobayashi, Minoru Furuya Launch New Series For Evening Magazine's 15th Anniversary

This year's third issue of Kodansha's bi-weekly Evening magazine (issue cover pictured at right) revealed on Tuesday that Makoto Kobayashi (What's Michael?, Judo Bu Monogatari) and Minoru Furuya (Himizu, Ping Pong Club) are launching new manga in the magazine for its 15th anniversary.

Evening is celebrating its 15th anniversary by launching "If"ning (a play on the katanaka used to spell "Evening") manga that tell "what if" stories. Kobayashi's manga will depict what would happen if the protagonist of his Judo Bu Monogatari manga was a woman. Furuya's manga will be a new series depicting what would happen if Furuya, who has only published manga in Young Magazine, draws a manga for another magazine. Kobayashi's manga will start this summer, and Furuya's manga will start this spring.

The 11-volume Judo Bu Monogatari series (pictured at left) ran from 1985-1991, and it inspired a two-episode OVA in 1991. Dark Horse Comics released part of Kobayashi's What's Michael? manga in English. The manga also inspired two OVA series and a TV anime series.

Furuya's Himizu was adapted into an award-winning live-action film directed by Sion Sono in 2011. Furuya's Ping Pong Club manga received an anime adaptation in 1995, which was later released in North America by Central Park Media. His Himeanōru manga is inspiring a live-action film adaptation that will open on May 28.

Shigeyuki Fukumitsu and Kōta Matsuda are also launching new manga in Evening that are not part of the 15th anniversary "If"ning event. Fukumitsu's new manga, titled Tsuma ni Ai Suru 66 no Hōhō (66 Ways to Love a Wife), will debut in the seventh issue of Evening. Matsuda is drawing the new tentatively titled Hiroshi Senki manga, and Kurou Ooma (Occultrick novels) is writing the story.

A live-action film adaptation of Fukumitsu's Seikatsu (Life) manga series will open in Japan in May.