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Yūji Takemura, Kurano Each Launch New Manga, Ushijima the Loan Shark Gets New Spinoff by Youichi
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
Shogakukan's Yawaraka Spirits website revealed on March 7 three new manga that will start serializations this spring.
Yūsuke Ochiai and Yūji Takemura will launch the Gūzō Senbatsu Game (Idol Selection Game) manga on March 14. Ochiai is credited for the original story, and Takemura is drawing the manga.
The "idol death game" manga's story is set in an unprecedented era of idol wars, where some idols have drifted away from the stage for different reasons. They are given another chance to shine on stage when 527 idols are invited to "THE FINAL" idol audition. They gather at a venue and put their lives on the line to stand on the stage again.
Takemura's Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Tsuki-gatari manga with authors Nobuhiko Horie and Tetsuo Hara inspired a television anime adaptation in 2013. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan.
Kurano will launch the Teito no Kakushimiko (The Imperial Capital's Hidden Shrine Maiden) manga on March 18. The manga is an adaptation of Ichiha Hiiragi's light novel series of the same title.
The story centers on Ruri Takizawa, the daughter of a long-established clan of diviners. After her parents die in an accident, the family gets overtaken and Ruri spends her days working as a servant. With a great desire to escape her miserable life, Ruri is willing to be used even as a tool for a political marriage. However, her matchmaking sessions continue to fail, with her father's spirit always staying by her side. Until she meets Izumi Toshida, who claims to be a sorcerer, but cannot see spirits. Izumi seems suspicious, but he could be a good opportunity for Ruri to leave her situation.
Shogakukan published the original light novel series' first volume with illustration by Jō in May 2023, and the second volume in March 2024.
Kurano launched the I Cross-Dressed for the IRL Meetup (Josō Shite Off Kai ni Sanka Shite Mita.) manga on pixiv Comic in December 2020. The manga ended in its fifth and final compiled book volume in November 2022. Kodansha USA Publishing licensed the manga and released the third volume in English on February 25.
Youichi will launch a new spinoff manga of Shohei Manabe's Ushijima the Loan Shark manga titled Namerikawa-Gumi Yakuza Meshi (Namerikawa Group's Yakuza Meals) on March 24.
The spinoff manga centers on the meals of the Namerikawa yakuza group led by Hidenobu Namerikawa, his sworn younger brothers Kajio and Tobita, and their apprentice Chūbō. What do they eat in their peaceful yakuza days, and what do they eat in tense situations?
Yū Hayato launched the ongoing Yamikin Ushijima-kun Nikumamushi Densetsu (Ushijima the Loan Shark: The Legend of Nikumamushi) spinoff manga on Yawaraka Spirits in February 2017. Shogakukan published the manga's 22nd volume on November 28.
Dōdō Yamazaki launched the Yamikin Ushijima-kun Gaiden: Ramen Namerikawa-san (Ushijima the Loan Shark Side Story: Ramen Namerikawa) spinoff manga also on Yawaraka Spirits in December 2017. The manga ended in its fifth volume in May 2019.
Yamazaki launched the ongoing Shōnen-in Ushijima-kun (Ushijima-kun in Penal School) spinoff manga on Shogakukan's Manga ONE app in January 2023. Shogakukan published the manga's fifth volume on December 26.
Manabe launched the main Ushijima the Loan Shark manga in Weekly Big Comic Spirits in 2004, and ended the series in March 2019. The manga's 46th and final volume shipped in May 2019.
The manga inspired a three-season live-action series, four live-action films, and a spinoff live-action series.
Source: Yawaraka Spirits
