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Historical Firefighter Novel Hikuidori's Manga Launches on April 24
posted on by Anita Tai
This year's 18th issue of Akita Publishing's Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine announced on Thursday that Shinobu Seguchi's Hikuidori Ushūboro Tobigumi (Fire-Eating Bird: Ushū Brigade in Worn-Out Clothes) manga adaptation of Shōgo Imamura's Hikuidori historical novel manga will launch in the magazine's combined 21st and 22nd issue on April 24.

The anime adaptation is slated for winter 2026.
Imamura launched the Ushūboro Tobigumi novel series with the Hikuidori story in 2017. Shodensha has published 12 volumes of the novel, and a volume of spinoff short story collection, which released in 2022. The novel won in the sixth Yoshikawa Eiji Bunko Award in 2021.
Imamura also wrote the 2022 Ikusagami (Last Samurai Standing) novels. Katsumi Tatsuzawa launched the novels' manga adaptation in Kodansha's Morning magazine in 2022. Kodansha USA Publishing licensed the manga. Netflix is producing a live-action series based on Imamura's novels also titled Last Samurai Standing, slated for release in November.
Source: Weekly Shōnen Champion 18th issue