Not only is Anime Expo one of the biggest anime conventions in the world, but its animation offerings are also rounded out by an equally robust slate of manga programming and announcements. With two major publishers announcing both original manga slates as well as updates and new editions of iconic series, Square Enix and Viz have some can’t-miss content for fans of manga.
Square Enix Announces New Collector’s Edition of ‘Soul Eater Not!’ for 2024
While Square Enix is known for their legendary status in the world of video games, they also have an expanding publishing division for both original manga content as well as adaptations and new editions of their various IP. At the Anime Expo panel for their manga and books, Square Enix announced a big definitive edition of one of their biggest properties—the premium “Perfect Edition” of Soul Eater Not!
Soul Eater Not! is an inventive spinoff of the larger Soul Eater mythos, created by the original mangaka Atsushi Ohkubo. While the main Soul Eater series focuses on human students with exceptional fantastical powers, Soul Eater Not! focuses on the everyday lives of less magical students who merely want to master their supernatural talents enough to live normal lives. While the original run of the Soul Eater Not! manga was collected in five parts, Square Enix’s new edition is summed up into three larger volumes. The new edition is set to update the translations in addition to offering original cover artwork by Atsushi Ohkubo himself. The new edition is tentatively set to launch on July 23, 2024.
In addition to Soul Eater Not!: The Perfect Edition, Square Enix’s other announced manga titles for 2024 include The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Smoking Behind the Supermarket With You, The Villainess’s Guide to (Not) Falling in Love, Victoria’s Electric Coffin, Mobsters in Love, and Just Like Mona Lisa.
Viz Hypes New Naruto One-Shot Release Date, Shippuden Blu-Ray, and 2023 Slate
Viz Media offered a strong slate of manga projects unveiled at the show as well. Foremost of their unveilings was the promotion of a one-off spinoff manga of Naruto, written and drawn by original creator Masahi Kishimoto, which is set to be released later this month on July 17. A spinoff based around Minato, the one-off is also the first collaboration between Kishimoto and legendary manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in years. In addition to the new spinoff manga, Viz’s Naruto presence also included a definitive Blu-Ray of the first 27 episodes of Naruto: Shippuden.
Other releases for Viz’s fall manga slate include Akane-Banashi, Heart Gear, Blade Moon Princess, and a deluxe box set of the first 11 volumes of Chainsaw Man.