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Naoki Urasawa's Asadora! Manga Returns in May (Updated)
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
This year's 12th issue of Shogakukan's Weekly Big Comic Spirits magazine revealed on Monday that Naoki Urasawa's Renzoku Manga Shōsetsu Asadora! (Serial Manga Novel Asadora!) manga will return in the magazine's 19th issue on April 8.
Urasawa published the final chapter of the manga's "first arc" in January in the magazine's ninth issue, and the manga went on hiatus starting in the 10th issue.
Urasawa (Yawara!, Master Keaton, 20th Century Boys, Pluto) launched the manga in the same magazine in October. The manga is Urasawa's first new series for the magazine since 21st Century Boys ended 11 years ago.
Notably, the manga is also the first of Urasawa's works to have a digital version (Shogakukan publishes the digital version through the digital version of Weekly Big Comic Spirits). Asadora! follows a woman from the postwar period to the present who lives a poor but sturdy life.
Viz Media has published Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, 21st Century Boys, Monster, and Pluto manga. Monster inspired a television anime series in 2004-2005, and 20th Century Boys inspired a live-action trilogy film adaptation in 2008-2009. Additionally, his Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl manga inspired an anime series in 1989-1992, an anime film in 1992, and an anime special in 1996. An anime project based on Pluto is in the works.
Viz Media also published Urasawa, Hokusei Katushika, and Takashi Nagasaki's Master Keaton manga in English. The series inspired a television anime adaptation in 1998, and an original video anime (OVA) continuation in 2004.
An exhibition of Urasawa's work is currently being held in Los Angeles until March 28, and Urasawa himself held a talk at the event on January 23.
Update: The magazine's 15th issue is now announcing on March 11 that the manga will return in the 23rd issue on May 7 instead of the 19th issue on April 8. Source: Weekly Big Comic Spirits issue 15
Source: Weekly Big Comic Spirits issue 12
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history