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Crunchyroll Releases Ajin, Koe no Katachi, Arslan Manga

Media distribution service Crunchyroll announced on Friday that it will release the Ajin - Demi-Human, A Silent Voice - Koe no Katachi, and The Heroic Legend of Arslan manga series as Kodansha publishes them in Japan. These manga will be available at 3:00 a.m. ET on Saturday for the website's all-access and manga members worldwide, except for those in Algeria, Lebanon, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Morocco, Switzerland, and Japan.

In the story of Gamon Sakurai's Ajin - Demi-Human, immortals first appeared on the battlefields of Africa 17 years ago. Later, rare, unknown new immortal lifeforms began appearing among humans, and they became known as "Ajin" (demi-humans). Just before summer vacation, a Japanese high school student is instantly killed in a traffic accident on his way home from school. However, he is revived, and a price is placed on his head. Thus begins a boy's life on the run from all of humankind.

Crunchyroll will release the first two chapters of this manga on Saturday, and then add more chapters until it can release the latest chapters as they are published in Japan. Sakurai launched Ajin in Kodansha's Good! Afternoon magazine in 2012, and Kodansha has published three compiled volumes in Japan so far. Vertical is also publishing this manga in print in North America.

Crunchyroll describes the story of Yoshitoki Ōima's A Silent Voice - Koe no Katachi:

I wish we had never met. I wish we could meet once again.

A boy who can hear, Shoya Ishida, and a transfer student who can't, Shoko Nishimiya. One fateful day, the two meet, and Shoya leads the class in bullying Shoko. But before long, the class shifts its target from Shoko to Shoya. Years later, Shoya feels strongly that he must see Shoko once again.

Oima herself adds, “People living in isolation. I wrote this story out of a desire to write about people living distant, isolated lives. Nothing would make me happier than if you all read my story.” She began the manga as a one-shot in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine in 2011, and then turned the story into a full series in the main Shonen Magazine last August. Kodansha is publishing the third volume this month, and the three volumes have 700,000 copies in circulation. Crunchyroll will release all the chapters published thus far on Saturday, with the latest chapter debuting as it is published in Japan on April 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist, Silver Spoon) launched her adaptation of Yoshiki Tanaka's The Heroic Legend of Arslan (Arslan Senki) novel series in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine last July. Central Park Media describes the story in the earlier 1991-93 original video anime adaptation:

As an unnaturally heavy mist descends on the battlefield, King Andragoras and his most valued officers confer among the bodies of dead and dying soldiers. When Daryoon, a young but highly skilled officer, voices his reluctance to send men into battle under these conditions, the king, unstable and enraged, banishes him.

Now, Daryoon's new mission is to insure the safety of the King's only son, Prince Arislan. Daryoon and Prince Arislan set off on a quest of their own, but they can't succeed alone. They must convince both the Lord Narsus and his companion, the archer Elam, to join them in their quest to somehow help the soldiers win the war.

Now a group of only six they must somehow overcome an enemy of 300,000 soldiers! These unlikely soldiers have fate on their side, so anything can happen!

Crunchyroll will release all the chapters published thus far on Saturday, with the latest chapter debuting as it is published in Japan on April 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Kodansha will publish the first compiled book volume on April 9, and Kodansha USA is publishing this manga in print in North America. Tanaka also wrote Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Sohryuden - Legend of the Dragon Kings, and Tytania — all of which inspired anime.