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Bokurano's Last Volume to Bundle Unpublished Spinoff
posted on by Egan Loo
The 11th and final volume of Mohiro Kitoh's Bokurano manga will ship in Japan on December 26, and the volume's limited first edition will bundle a pamphlet with a previously unpublished "Special Edition" spinoff story.
Kitoh ended the main Bokurano manga story after five years in Shogakukan's Monthly Ikki magazine this past June, but the magazine had announced that it would publish the "Bokurano Tokubetsu-hen" one-shot spinoff in July. The one-shot story is not related to the main manga storyline, but features the same characters in a "what-if" situation. However, Kitoh reported in two blog entries in July that Shogakukan would not publish the spinoff in either book or magazine form. Shogakukan has since decided to include the "Bokurano Tokubetsu-hen: Kitoh Mohiro to Ashi Star" spinoff in the last book volume's limited first edition.
The wraparound jacket band on the final book volume will also include a quote from Hideaki Anno, the director of the Evangelion franchise. Kitoh contributed some design work to Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha), the second film in Anno and Khara's four-part theatrical remake of Gainax's Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series.
The North American publisher Viz Media revealed in May that it is releasing the main Bokurano manga in its new online English version of Ikki magazine. The first English book volume will ship next February. Bokurano tells the story of 15 children who unsuspectedly agree to test a real-life robot battle — in which the ironic price of victory is death.
The Bokurano manga inspired Gonzo's 2007 television anime series by the same name, although director Hiroyuki Morita acknowledged that he disliked the original manga and changed the story with the permission of Kitoh. Kitoh also created the Shadow Star Narutaru and Vendemiaire no Tsubasa manga. Dark Horse Comics released Shadow Star in North America. Kitoh launched a new series called Nanikamo Chigattemasu ka? in Kodansha's Good! Afternoon magazine last month, and Kodansha's Evening magazine announced that Kitoh will launch a cycling manga called Noririn this winter.
Source: Comic Natalie
