The official website of screenwriter Sō Kuramoto‘s foundation Kuramoto Sō Kaiwai announced on Monday that he died on September 18 due to multiple organ failure. He was 91. 

A private funeral service with only close relatives in attendance was held in accordance with the family’s wishes. A memorial service will be held on November 3 at the Furano Theatre Factory in Hokkaido. More details of the memorial service will be revealed at a later date. 

Screenwriter, playwright, and director Kuramoto (real name Kaoru Yamaya) was born in Tokyo in 1935. He joined Nippon Broadcasting System in 1959, after graduating from University of Tokyo. After leaving the company in 1963, he became an independent screenwriter, and started using the pen name Sō Kuramoto. 

His notable works include the original story of the 1975 drama series Zenryaku Ofukuro-sama (Dear Mother), screenplay of the 1980 drama series Sayonara Oryū-san (Goodbye, Oryū-san), and original story and screenplay of the drama series Kita no Kuni kara (From the North Country), which aired from 1981 to 1982, among others. Kuramoto also wrote the screenplay for the 2024 film Umi no Chinmoku (The Silence of the Sea), which had been in development for 60 years.

In anime, Kuramoto wrote the script for the 1964 series Zero-sen Hayato, along with Akira Kōno and Tomio Sagisu. 

Sources: Kuramoto Sō Kaiwai foundation’s website, livedoor News

The official X (formerly Twitter) account for writer Tsukasa Monma and the late artist Shikako‘s Manchuria Opium Squad manga announced on Monday that the manga will resume in this year’s 45th issue of Kodansha‘s Weekly Young Magazine, which will ship on October 5. The manga will continue serialization with Shikako‘s successor, manga artist Tsurushima, who was their senior colleague while working as assistant for Yasuhisa Hara‘s Kingdom manga.

Hara also shared the announcement on his X/Twitter account. Hara stated that Shikako expressed before they died the hope that an artist from the Kingdom man ga would take over the artwork for Manchuria Opium Squad. Hara commended Tsurushima for their resolve to succeed Shikako and continue drawing the manga’s art.  

Manchuria Opium Squad will resume on October 5 with two chapters. The 12-page chapter 216 was originally planned to be 16 pages long. Shikako was able to complete 11 pages before they died. Monma arranged the 12th page, which does not feature any characters, and the assistant(s) who had been supporting Shikako drew the background. From chapter 217, the manga will take a new step with art by Tsurushima.

Weekly Young Magazine‘s editorial department stated in the announcement that the manga’s resumption is made possible by the thoughts and dedicated efforts of many people including Shikako‘s family; Tsurushima, who respected a friend’s final wish and took over the manga’s art; writer Monma, who expressed their desire to continue the manga’s story up to its conclusion; the assistants who provided production support; and the readers who believed and waited for the manga’s return.

Monma and Shikako serialized the manga on Kodansha‘s Comic Days service from April 2020 to September 2021. The manga moved to Kodansha‘s Weekly Young Magazine in September 2021, with its 43rd issue of 2021. Kodansha shipped the 22nd compiled book volume in November 2025.

Kodansha publishes the series in English on the K MANGA app. 

Shikako died on November 8, 2025 due to choroidal melanoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in the eye. The artist wanted someone to complete the manga series in their place, and the Weekly Young Magazine staff stated then that they would respect Shikako‘s wishes. 

Writer Ryūki Ōnuma and Tsurushima launched the Shikyuuji: Kōkō Kyūji ni Asu wanai manga in Young Magazine in June 2023. The series then moved to Kodansha‘s YanMaga Web manga site in December 2023, where it ended in January 2024. Tsurushima most recently drew the Gokuaku Tensei (Extremely Evil Reincarnation) manga, which ended with its fourth volume that Kodansha shipped on July 17.

Sources: Manchuria Opium Squad manga’s X/Twitter account, Oricon News