Seven Seas has announced several rounds of new licenses, including a deluxe adaptation of a classic series better known to English-language fans as an anime than a manga, a slice-of-life story that has been on English-language readers’ want lists for years, and a new entry in the burgeoning yakuza genre. Read on for details!

Spriggan, by Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa, an action-adventure story involving spies and ancient artifacts that is being adapted into a Netflix series (see “Netflix Goes Deep”); it was made into an anime film in 1998 that was licensed by ADV. Takashige is also the creator of Until Death Do Us Part, which was published by Yen Press (see “Yen Has ‘Haruhi,’ ‘Soul Eater,’ Spin-Offs”), and Minagawa was the artist for Project Arms, licensed by Viz in 2002 (see “Viz Gets Spirited Away Manga Rights”). Spriggan ran in Shonen Sunday magazine in Japan and was briefly licensed by Viz in the late 1990s under the name Striker; Viz serialized it in its MangaVIZion anthology and released three volumes. The series, which was also adapted as a PlayStation game, was originally 11 volumes, but Seven Seas is going the deluxe omnibus route, collecting it into four hardcover volumes. The first volume, which is 600 pages long, will go on sale in August with an MSRP of $29.99.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, by Hitoshi Ashinano, also known as Yokohama Shopping Log, is a series that already has an English-language following; it was briefly published digitally in English but is not currently available, and parts of it have also been adapted into anime. It’s a slice-of-post-apocalyptic-life story about a comely android who runs a coffee shop, rides around on a motor scooter, and is quite cheerful, all things considered. The series, which ran from 1994 to 2006 in Japan, won a Seiun science fiction award for best manga. Seven Seas will publish the 14-volume series as five oversized volumes, with the first due out in August with an MSRP of $24.99.

Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii, by Asuka Konishi, is a romantic crime drama about the granddaughter of a Yakuza (organized crime) family leader who is betrothed to the grandson of a rival leader as a condition of a truce between the two families. The new fiancé seems like a nice guy at first but soon shows a disturbing dark side. Konishi is the creator of Haru’s Curse, which we picked as one of the best manga of 2021 (see “10 Best Manga of 2021”). The first volume of Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii is scheduled for November release with an MSRP of $14.99.

MoMo -the blood taker-, by Akira Sugito, is a supernatural murder mystery about a hard-boiled detective investigating a series of gory killings who is stalked a silver-haired female vampire starts. It’s a bloody tale of conspiracy, monsters, and revenge, and Seven Seas will publish the first volume in August with an MSRP of $13.99. 

Cats and Sugar Bowls is a collection of short yuri romance stories that range from sweet to spicy. The single volume includes nine stories, and Seven Seas will publish it in September with an MSRP of $14.99.

I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me, by Kousuke Yasuda, is a romantic comedy about a girl who is trying to catch the eye of the boy who sits next to her in class with a series of desperate and often ridiculous measures. Of course, he has some feelings of his own, but he’s playing his cards close to the vest. The first volume will be published in November with an MSRP of $13.99.

Hunting in Another World with My Elf Wife, by Jupiter Studio and Kaltoma, puts a couple of twists on the isekai formula. Hunter Shin Nakajima dies while rescuing a child from a wild animal and is reincarnated, along with his Remington Model 870 shotgun, into a fantasy world where the prey is a lot harder to track and kill than in his native Hokkaido. Fortunately he falls in with a friendly female elf who also happens to be a skilled hunter, and they pool their resources to become a premier hunting couple. Seven Seas will publish the first volume in October with an MSRP of $13.99.

My [Repair] Skill Became a Versatile Cheat, So I Think I’ll Open a Weapon Shop, by Ginga Hoshikawa, Yukimi Enoki, and Nemusuke, is a dungeon fantasy story about an adventurer whose skill is not very good for fighting, but after he uses it to escape from a dungeon and levels up, he realizes he can open a weapons shop and outfit other warriors rather than risking his neck on the front lines. The first volume is slated for August release with an MSRP of $12.99.

Lazy Dungeon Master, by Supana Onikage, Nanaroku, and Youta, is another isekai tale, this one about a guy who just wants to get some sleep but instead is yanked away to be a dungeon master. If he fails, he dies, but the only help he gets is from a beautiful but not very helpful female creature. The first volume is scheduled for September and will have an MSRP of $13.99.

Kijin Gentosho, by Motoo Nakanishi and Yu Satomi, starts in the feudal period with a feudal warrior who travels through time as he hunts the demon who threatens the priestess in his mountain village. Seven Seas has licensed both the light novel and the manga; the series is being made into an anime. The first volume of the light novels will be published in December with an MSRP of $14.99; the first volume of the manga is scheduled for January 2023 with an MSRP of $13.99.

Seven Seas also announced it has licensed the light novel series The Case Files of Jeweler Richard; they started publishing the manga last year (see “Seven Seas Licenses ‘Case Files of Jeweler Richard’ Manga”) and it was one of our pick hits (see “Manga Pick Hits – February 2022”). The anime is currently running on Crunchyroll. The first volume of the light novel series is scheduled for September and will have an MSRP of $14.99.

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