There is always something new to discover Anime exhibitionand this year manga publishers brought their A-game. Dark Horse, Square Enix Manga and Books, KodanshaInklore, and more debuted a ton of new manga translations for both new and existing properties. Here are some of the best manga announced at Anime Expo 2026.
Deva Zan Second Edition by Yoshitaka Amano
Release date: March-April 2027
Publisher: The Dark Horse
Description: “The Twelve Generals in Japanese Buddhism Juni Jinsho— He stood guard over space at the points of the zodiac. But now they are gone, and nothing stands between us and the forces of darkness except the memoryless samurai Deva Zan. To restore order to existence, he must find not only his fighting skills, but companions who can cross the boundaries of time and space – to join him in a battle that will stretch from the fields of ancient Japan to the streets of modern New York City – and to dimensions beyond human comprehension!
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Dear Fate By Kazushige Nojima
Release date: January 28, 2027
Publisher: Square Enix Manga and Books
Description: “The life stories of Aerith Gainsborough and Tifa Lockhart that lead to the main narrative of Final Fantasy VII continue in this sequel to the global hit novel. Traces of Two Pasts.
Tifa struggles with painful memories of Nibelheim while trying to both survive in Seventh Heaven and avoid the Turks’ investigation into the Avalanche. Aerith finds herself a place to sell flowers in Midgar, all the while wondering and worrying about the absence of someone so dear to her. And an angel flies from the fallen church, sparking a reunion in the slums of Sector 7 that will set the wheels of fate in motion.
This volume also contains a bonus short story set during Cloud’s time as a Shinra soldier.”
By Tomoko Yamashita
Release date: Summer 2027
Publisher: Inklore
Description: better known as Journal with witch In English, “this cute manga follows Makio, an arrogant novelist who dies when he marries his orphaned teenage niece, Asa.” This is the first English print edition Ikoku Nikki.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam Define By Hiroyuki Kitazume and SUNRISE
Release date: TBA
Publisher: Yen Press
Description: “Once the enemy’s most iconic figure in the previous war, Tsar Aznable is now a Federation soldier under a different name. When the theft of a new Gundam leads him to cross paths with a Newtype boy named Kamille, their meeting sparks a conflict between the anti-government AEUG and the brutality of the Federation…”
Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix Deluxe Edition By Osamu Tezuka
Release date: March 16, 2027
Publisher: Kodansha
Description: “From the premiere It was broadcast on television in 1963 Buddha, Prince Knight, Dororo, Black Jackand other English publications in the 21st century, Americans were introduced to the vast expanse of Osamu Tezuka’s amazing career, which produced more than 150,000 pages of comics.
However, the most notable omission from Tezuka’s English-language catalog has long been the series he considered his greatest work on and reworked from the 1950s until his death in 1989: Phoenix. known as hello no (“firebird”) in Japanese, inspired by Tezuka’s omnivorous appetite for Asian folklore, American science fiction, Russian ballet and animation, and all that he admired, this meta-series spans extreme leaps of time and space, encompassing thrilling action, experimental suspense, physiological dramas, and captivating drama.
What ties it all together is the recurring “cast” of Tezuka’s “Star System”; themes of death, inheritance, love and ego; and the titular bird itself: sometimes a mythical creature living in a volcano, sometimes a spiritual being in deep space, always a mystery.
This new Kodansha edition features the acclaimed original translation commissioned by Tezuka’s production company during his lifetime from Dadakai, the collective of Jared Cook, Shinji Sakamoto, and Frederick L. Schodt, the first inductees of the American Manga Awards Hall of Fame. This translation was previously published by Viz Media from 2002-2008, but is long out of print, and Schodt and Cook themselves have returned to help update it for this edition.
The art uses a new restoration that was published in Japan in 2020 and is designed to replicate the visuals. Phoenix as it appears to Japanese readers experiencing it for the first time COMTezuka’s seinen manga magazine, 1960s. In this edition, recreations of decades-forgotten two-, three-, and four-color artworks are screen-printed with new typefaces by master letter and typeface designer Sarah Linsley, and wrapped in cloth with a foil-stamped trade dress.
The Witch’s Hat Workshop: Special Stories by Jun Esaka; Created and supervised by Kamome Shirahama
Release date: Spring 2027
Publisher: Kodansha
Description: Witch hat workshop manga series. Every page is filled with adventure as Olruggio encounters a mysterious magical creature, hides among the apprentices who serve the silver dragon, and Moralis, the knights!”
io9 is ready at Anime Expo 2026. We’ll bring you updates on all the biggest panels, screenings and announcements, as well as exclusive one-on-one interviews with the people behind some of the best and most popular anime around. You can check out io9’s Anime Expo coverage here.
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