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Previous Ikuhara Collaborators, New Faces Contribute to Sarazanmai Manga Anthology
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Gentosha Comics released a new anthology manga collecting stories set in the world of Kunihiko Ikuhara's Sarazanmai anime series on January 31. The book features cover artwork and a story by original character designer Migi.
Inside are chapters by some of Ikuhara's previous collaborators as well as new faces. Revolutionary Girl Utena manga and character designer Chiho Saitō, Mawaru Penguindrum's Isuzu Shibata, Yuri Kuma Arashi's Lily Hoshino and Akiko Morishima, and Sarazanmai: Reo and Mabu manga artist Misaki Saitoh contributed chapters to the book.
The anthology also includes chapters by Sakuya Amano (Gosick, Konohana Kitan), Akira Kasukabe (Evergreen), Chinatsu Kurahana (Uta no Prince Sama original character design), Asumiko Nakamura (Classmates, Utsubora), pako (Occultic;Nine original character design), Akari Funato (Under the Rose), and Kotetsuko Yamamoto (Mad Cinderella, Tweeting Love Birds).
The 11-episode Sarazanmai anime premiered in April 2019 on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired in Japan. Crunchyroll describes the story:
The setting is Asakusa. One day, second-years in middle school Kazuki Yasaka, Toi Kuji, and Enta Jinnai meet Keppi, a mysterious kappa-like creature, who steals their shirikodama and transforms them into kappas. "To return to your original forms," Keppi tells them, "you must fight the zombies and take the shirikodama from them." Can the boys connect with each other and steal the zombies' shirikodama?! At the same time, something is happening at the police box where Reo Niiboshi and Mabu Akutsu work. This is the story of three boys who can't connect with someone important to them, learning about what it truly means to do so.
Seven Seas Entertainment has licensed Ikuhara and Misaki Saitoh's Sarazanmai: Reo and Mabu manga, and will release the first volume on May 12.
Source: Gentosha Comics via Nijimen
