This year’s 45th issue of Kodansha‘s Young Magazine revealed on Monday that it is launching a second issue of Young Magazine USA, a special edition of the magazine for the U.S. The staff is again looking for Japanese manga creators who want their story published for overseas readers. Interested applicants must submit a storyboard for a chapter as well as three sample manuscript pages by December 13. The staff is looking for stories themed around an outcast who is overlooked by society and has issues fitting in.

Kodansha had teased in November 2025 that it was preparing a second issue of Young Magazine USA.

The first Young Magazine US special issue commemorated the magazine’s 45th anniversary. The 1,044-page magazine had 18 new series from Japanese artists, as well as the first chapter of Kengo Hanazawa‘s Under Ninja manga, and Shūichi Shigeno‘s (Initial D, MF Ghost) new manga Subaru and Subaru. The magazine also featured a cover illustration by Ghost in the Shell creator Masamune Shirow.

The magazine’s special issue was distributed for free to attendees at Anime NYC in August 2025, and was distributed at specific Kinokuniya locations from August to November 2025.

The titles are available to read on the magazine’s official website, which launched in August 2025. Digital reading and distribution platform GlobalComix also released the special issue for free. Azuki (now Omoi) also released the issue for free for all users, which was available until last December.

The top five winners of the magazine’s reader poll campaign are guaranteed serialization on Kodansha‘s K MANGA app. The winners also get serialized in Japan in Monthly Young Magazine and/or YanMaga Web, serializing at the same time on K MANGA.

Winning titles include Still You, Godmother, The Knight of Blasphemy, The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers, and Fascination. Additional titles getting that have earned seraliziations include To Dusk and Twilight, Boys Run the Riot -In Transition-, Protocol Ryugu, and The Last Terran.

Source: Young Magazine issue 45

Crunchyroll revealed on Monday that it will begin streaming a same-day English dub for the television anime of Gyōmuyōmochi‘s manga adaptation of Asa Rokushima‘s Tsuihō Sareta Cheat Fuyo Majutsushi wa Kimamana Second Life o Ōka Suru. (The Laid-Off Cheat-Granting Mage Enjoys a New Life or Chi-Fuyo for short) novels on Tuesday.

The English dub stars:

The dub staff includes:

The anime will premiere on TV Tokyo and its affiliates on Tuesday at 24:00 (effectively, Wednesday at midnight), and on AT-X on Thursday. Crunchyroll will stream the anime as it airs in Japan.

Shochiku describes the anime:

Rein, an enchanter who strengthens equipment with his magic, is suddenly expelled from his guild, simply because every piece of gear in the guild has already been enhanced enough. Outraged by the absurd treatment, Rein decides to take back the enormous amount of mana he had poured into their equipment. When he casually channels it into a random copper sword, it transforms into a cheat-level weapon with 10,000 enhancement points!

With zero combat experience but armed with magic that can turn anything into overpowered gear, this enchanter sets off to enjoy a new, carefree life as an adventurer! In a world where magic and science intertwine, wild humor meets layered character drama, fueling nonstop fan theories and generating major buzz long before the anime was even announced.

Shū Honma (Ya Boy Kongming!, Mayonaka Punch, Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 “Sisters”) is directing the anime at P.A. Works. Yōko Yonaiyama (Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk, mono, Ya Boy Kongming!) is in charge of the series scripts. Tadahito Kiyosawa is designing the characters, with Masami Gohda as the sub-character designer. Both Kiyosawa and Gohda also serve as chief animation directors.

Rokushima began serializing the original story in the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in January 2021, and is still updating the story. Kodansha published the first print volume of the novels with illustrations by kisui in January 2022, and the second volume shipped in October 2022.

Gyōmuyōmochi launched the manga adaptation in Kodansha‘s Shōnen Magazine R in November 2021, and moved the manga to Kodansha‘s Comic Days app in March 2023 after Shōnen Magazine R ended publication. Kodansha released the manga’s 21st compiled book volume on August 7. Kodansha‘s K MANGA service is releasing the manga digitally in English.

Source: Crunchyroll (Liam Dempsey)

MediaOCD announced on Monday a sales agreement with the Independent Manga Alliance to sell physical editions of titles from publishers Mahjong Pros and Manga Mavericks Books on the MediaOCD online store.

Manga currently available on MediaOCD‘s website from Manga Mavericks Books include ALTERNATIVE[SELF LINER NOTE], First Time in Taiwan: A Delicious Adventure, FISHGOD, Great Metal God, Horon of the Closed Country, Princess Da Huang & Other Tales, The Pipe Machine, Vegetable Sandwich, and Zigoku’s Foreman.

The Manga Mavericks website and podcast established the Manga Mavericks Books publishing division in April 2025 to license, localize, and distribute works worldwide from indie creators in Japan.

Manga Mavericks announced in July the Independent Manga Alliance, an industry association and joint venture between Manga Mavericks CEO Varun Gupta and Mahjong Pros head of partnerships and licensing Harrison Doan. The venture aims to provide distribution, marketing, and sales support to independent creators and small publishers, linking them to partner publishers and distributors located in the United States or globally. The founding members of the Independent Manga Alliance are Manga Mavericks Books, Mahjong Pros, Strict Algorithm LLC, Red String Manga, and Curation Entertainment Partners Inc.

Manga Mavericks Books entered a distribution deal with Pathway Book Service and with Gazelle Book Services Ltd for Europe last February. Pathway is handling comprehensive book fulfillment, warehousing, and retail distribution for Manga Mavericks Books.

Mahjong set company Mahjong Pros‘ Mahjong Pros Publishing imprint focuses on licensing, localizing, and distributing mahjong-themed manga and textbooks. The company announced its Mahjong Pros Publishing imprint in June 2025.

Source: Press release