Indonesian comics publisher Elex Media Komputindo has revealed a list of new manga titles that are planned to be released in 2021. Posted on Twitter on 10 December, the list includes Jujutsu Kaisen, Kanojo Okarashimasu: Rent-A-Girlfriend, A Man and His Cat, Radiant, Shaman King, Mashima HERO’S, Q.E.D. iff, Aoharu x Kikanjuu, Teasing Master Takagi, One Piece 500 Quiz Book, Jurnal Mukai Usagido, Ano Natsu -1959-, MAO, Youkai Gakkou no Sensei Hajimemashita!, Tale of Kaguya, Ou no Kemono, Star & Dust -Don’t worry, Be Happy!-, Fairy Tail: City Hero, 100 Days Left!!, Isshuukan Friends, Takane no Hana nara Ochitekoi, Modokidomo, Actor Wannabe Endo-kun, Futaribocchi, and Hana to Shinobi. Further, Elex Media’s editors of comics have also added that this list is not exhaustive, as there are more licenses still in process.

In Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen, anger, hate, resentment, shame and other negative emotions form negative energy called Curse, which can bring disaster in the world. Yuji Itadori is a student who has extraordinary athletic and physical abilities, who gets bonded with the strogest curse Sukuna while saving his fellow club mates. Itadori’s life then changed as he becomes a student at a school that trains Curse exterminators. The manga is serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump and has been collected into 14 volumes at the time of this writing. An anime adaptation began airing in October 2020.

Elex Media confirmed they have licensed the manga in February 2020 when the editors have received the first volume to be translated. It has also been confirmed to be printed on book paper.

Reiji Miyajima’s Kanojo Okarishimasu: Rent-A-Girlfriend tells the story of Kazuya Kinoshita, who tries a rental girlfriend service app after being dumped by his girlfriend. Through that app, he meets Chizuru Ichinosewho would be his girlfriend for a certain period. Things become complicated when Chizuru meets Kazuya’s grandmother, who is also treated in the same hospital as Chizuru’s grandmother. Moreover, it turns out that they actually go to the same university and live in the same apartment. Serialized since 2017 in Weekly Shounen Magazine, the manga has been collected into 18 volumes at the time of this writing. An anime series aired in 2020 with a second season planned.

Elex Media had first teased Kanojo Okarashimasu: Rent-A-Girlfriend in June. The manga has been confirmed to be released under Elex Media’s mature comics label Level Comics, and is projected to be released around February 2021.

Umi Sakurai’s A Man and His Cat (Ojisama to Neko) tells about a widower named Kanda who adopts and starts living togetehr with an unwanted large cat from an animal shelter. It was originally self-published on Twitter and Pixiv before getting picked up by Square Enix’s Monthly Shonen Gangan. It has been collected into five volumes at the time of this writing.

Elex Media teased A Man and His Cat in September and confirmed it will be released with book paper.

Tony Valente’s Radiant tells about a world where monsters called Nemeses fall from the sky. People who survived their attacks become cursed, but also gain ability to use magic and known as Sorcerers. The main character, Seth, is a young Sorcerer who aspires to end the Nemeses threat. The series is published in France by Ankama since 2013 and in Japan by Asukashinsha since 2015, with 14 volumes have been released in France at the time of this writing. The series had anime adaptation that ran for two seasons on NHK Educational TV between 2018 to 2020.

Elex Media confirmed in October 2020 that Radiant will be released with book paper and that the series is translated from the French editions.

Hiroyuki Takei’s Shaman King follows a shaman named Yoh Asakura, who takes part in the Shaman Fight held every 500 years to become the Shaman King who is able to contact the Great Spirit. The series was originally serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump between 1998 and 2004 and was collected in 32 volumes. In 2017, Kodansha acquired Shaman King from Shueisha, re-releasing the series with 35 volumes with “true ending” and new cover arts from Takei. The series has been adapted into anime in 2001, and a new anime adaptation is scheduled to air starting from April 2021.

Elex Media negotiated the rights for Kodansha’s edition of Shaman King in October 2020. The publisher intends to release the books in 2-in-1 omnibus format with book paper, with plans to also license the series’ spin-offs.

Mashima HERO’S is a crossover of Hiro Mashima’s Rave, Fairy Tail, and Edens Zero. It was serialized in Monthly Shonen Magazine in 2019 and collected into one volume.

Q.E.D. iff is the continuation of Motohiro Katou’s Q.E.D. manga in Shounen Magazine R, after the cancellation of Shounen Magazine Plus where the first manga series was serialized. The main character is Sou Touma, a boy who has graduated from MIT at a young age, but decided to enroll in high school in Japan to know what it feels to be a high school student. In Japan, he often gets involved to investigate cases together with his friend, and athletic girl named Kana Mizuhara. The first manga series is collected into 50 volumes, while Q.E.D. iff is still ongoing and has been collected into 16 volumes at the time of this writing.

Elex Media confirmed in September 2020 that the translation for Q.E.D. iff had been ongoing. Previously, Elex Media had also published the first Q.E.D.manga series.

NAOE’s Aoharu x Kikanjuu tells about Hotaru Tachibana, a crossdressing girl with strong sense of justice who gets introduced to survival games by a host named Masamune Matsuoka. It was serialized in Square Enix’s GFantasy and finished with 18 volumes. An anime adaptation aired in 2015.

Soichiro Yamamoto’s Teasing Master Takagi tells of a girl named Takagi who enjoys teasing Nishikata, the boy she likes who sits next to her. Nishikata repeatedly tries to get back at Takagi with his own pranks, but Takagi always manages to outwit him. Yamamoto began serialization of Takagi-san in Shogakukan’s Monthly Shonen Sunday Mini in June 2012 before it moved to Monthly Shonen Sunday in July 2016, with 14 volumes have been released at the time of this writing.

Elex Media’s editors had first teased Teasing Master Takagi in September 2020, with the cover design for the first volume of the manga has been approved in December, and also confirms that the book will be printed on book paper. In 2020, Elex Media has also published Soichiro Yamamoto’s short story collection, Love Letter.

One Piece 500 Quiz Book is the official quiz book of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece. Elex Media publishes One Piece in Indonesia.

Hisa Takano’s Jurnal Mukai Usagido (Mukai Usagidou Nikki) tells the story of a rental bookshop named “Mukai Usagido” that lends out books about ghost stories and tales about demons despite being censored in the Meiji era. This manga was serialized in Shinchosha’s Comic @Bunch and has been completed in eight volumes.

Elex Media had first announced Jurnal Mukai Usagido in February 2020 along with another Shinchosha title Gokushufudo, which has been released in August 2020. In October 2020, a sneak peak of the Indonesian translation has also been posted on Twitter by the editors.

Ashibi Fukui’s Ano Natsu -1959- tells about Houmiya High School’s ace pitcher Natsu Haigou, who gets sent back in time to 1959, the year his grandfather lead the school to win Koushien for the first time. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shounen Sunday in 2019 and finished in three volumes.

Elex Media had teased the manga in October 2020 and it is considered for non-book paper release.

Described as “a strange romance between a boy and girl who meet by fate” set in a “land where two worlds intersect,” Rumiko Takahashi’s MAO follows Nanoka Kiba, a middle school girl who had a near-death experience eight years before in a road cave-in that killed her parents. When she is passing through an abandoned shopping center near the location of the cave-in, she seems to be transported to place that looks like Taisho era Japan and meets a mysterious boy named Mao after she is attacked by a supernatural creature. The manga began serialization in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shounen Sunday in May 2019, and has been collected into six volumes at the time of this writing.

Elex Media had confirmed that the Japanese volumes of MAO had been received to be translated in October 2020. Previously, Elex Media had also published Takahashi’s Inuyasha and Rinne.

Mai Tanaka’s Youkai Gakkou no Sensei Hajimemashita! tells about Haruaki, a cowardly teacher who gets to teach at a school for monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures. It is serialized in Square Enix’s GFantasy and has been collected into ten volumes at the time of this writing.

Tale of Kaguya (Kaguyaden) is Chiho Saito’s new take on the classic tale set in the Heian era. The main character, Tsukuyomi, is a girl who disguises herself as a man to look for the truth of a massacre on the night of full moon that killed her brother. The manga is serialized in Shogakukan’s Flowers magazine since 2018 and has been collected into 6 volumes at the time of this writing.

Elex Media had first teased Tale of Kaguya in October 2020, and in December has posted a sneak peek of the Indonesian translation of the first volume with planned release on the first week of January. The sneak peek also confirms that the books will not use book paper and retail for IDR 28,000 (about US$ 2).

Rei Toma’s Ou no Kemono is set in the same world as Dawn of the Arcana. In this world, there are half-human, half-beast people called “Ajin” who are oppressed by humans. In Ou no Kemono, an Ajin girl named Rangetsu had her brother taken to be the servant of Prince Tenyo, where he died because of violent royal intrigue. In order to avenge her brother, Rangetsu disguises herself as a man and becomes the Prince’s servant. Ou no Kemono is seriealized in Shogakukan’s Cheese! magazine since 2019 and has been collected into five volumes as of this writing.

Elex Media had first teased Ou no Kemono in October 2020. The publisher had also previously published Toma’s Dawn of the Arcana and The Water Dragon’s Bride.

Kaori Hoshiya’s Star & Dust -Don’t worry, Be Happy!- (Hoshi to Kuzu) tells about Anzu, a poor but ambitious girl who sought to be the student council president as a stepping stone for her future, but lost the position to popular guy Yamabuki, and has to settle to being the vice president instead. The series is serialized in Shueisha’s Bessatsu Margaret in 2015 and finished in four volumes.

Elex Media had teased Star & Dust in July 2020, when editing of the first volume had finished.

Fairy Tail: City Hero is a spin-off of Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail featuring the main series’ casts as police officers. The manga is drawn by Ushio Ando and serialized in Kodansha’s Magazine Pocket, ending with four volumes.

Elex Media also publishes Fairy Tail and its spin-offs Happy Adventure and 100 Years Quest.

Kokone Nata’s 100 Days Left!! (Hyakunichikan!!) tells about Shuto, a high school boy who has to take care of a five year old girl named Chiho for three months while his parents and the Chiho’s mother travel abroad together. The manga was serialized in Shueisha’s Tonari no Young Jump website and finished in 4 volumes.

Elex Media first teased 100 Days Left!! in mid-October 2020, and confirmed later that month that translation, editing, and cover designs for all volumes of the manga have been pending for approval from the Japanese publisher, though the books will not be released simultaneously. It has also been confirmed that the book will be printed on book paper and sneak peek of the Indonesian translation has been posted in early December.

Matcha Hazuki’s Isshuukan Friends (One Week Friends) tells about a boy named Yuuki Hase, who befriends his estranged classmate Kaori Fujimiya, a girl who loses memories of her friends every Monday. The manga was serialized in Square Enix’s Gangan Joker magazine between 2012 to 2015 and finished in seven volumes. The anime adaptation of the manga aired in 2014, and a live action film was released in 2017.

Elex Media teased Isshuukan Friends in early December.

Ayano Natsume’s Takane no Hana nara Ochitekoi is a 4-panel manga about Kouta Shiraishi, the hottest guy in school who who makes every girl fall for him, and Kaori Kurokawa, the school’s top beauty who often acts like prince charming towards others by instinct, making even Shiraishi charmed by her. The series is serialized in Square Enix’s Gangan Online and ends in two volumes.

Nana Aokawa’s Modokidomo is a school comedy about Rokujo, a timid boy who makes himself to look and act like a yankii in high school to make people leave him alone, and Motoki, a yankii in junior high school who makes herself to look and act like an honor student in high school because of her parents ask her to change. The series is serialized in Square Enix’s Gangan Online and ends in two volumes.

Kuroto’s Actor Wannabe Endou-kun (Engi Mon Endou-kun) is a comedy about Endou, who dreams of becoming a Hollywood star and practices his acting with anyone around. It is serialized in Square Enix’s Gangan Online and ends in two volumes.

Akemi Yoshimura’s Futaribocchi tells about a woman named Yachiyo who rescued a cat drifting in a river, but a man who claims to be bound to the cat appears when the cat yawns. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan’s Flowers magazine and finished in four volumes.

Elex Media had teased Futaribocchi in October 2020 with a description of the story and sample pages from the manga.

Narumi Hasegaki’s Hana to Shinobi is a master x servant love story about Benio Kasugami, the sheltered daughter of the richest family in Japan who got a handsome playboy named Tamaki Kageshita assigned to be her bodyguard. The series was serialized in Kodansha’s Nakayoshi magazine in 2015 and has finished with four volumes.

Elex Media has teased Hana to Shinobi in October 2020 when all four volumes have been received to be translated.

Elex Media Komputindo is a comics publisher under the Kompas-Gramedia Group. The publisher releases licensed foreign comics, including manga, and also Indonesian comics. Since 2005, Elex Media also published comics that intended for adult audiences under the new imprint called Level Comics.

DISCLAIMER: the availability of books at bookstores / agents may differ from the planned schedule, especially for regions outside of Java island To obtain accurate information regarding the availability of the book, it is advised to contact the Customer Service of your stores of choice for confirmation. For Gramedia bookstores, the contact numbers can be obtained via email customercare@gramedia.com.

The Indonesian Anime Times

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