There’s been lots of speculation about Kodansha’s silence on their plans to publish in North America since it was first announced back in July 2008. Rumours of a cease in their plans due to America’s economic issues seemed to make sense, but still, it was only a matter of time before something new turned up. Could that time be now?
Amazon.ca has listings for Akira (Vol. 01), Akira (Vol. 02) and Ghost in the Shell (Vol. 01), all listed under ‘Kodansha Comics’ as the publisher. Both these titles have been previously released by Dark Horse. Second editions of both Ghost In The Shell and Akira were released by Dark Horse in 2004, both sporting slightly higher page numbers than these Kodansha Comics listings.
Credit where credit is due to Andre and AnimeVice who were quicker on the draw posting this than I. Though in doing so Andre’s new blog: Geekery with Andre, has been discovered. Happy to see it, Andre! Loved your posts over at LiveJournal.
So what do these listings foretell? Who knows at this point exactly, but may it be the start of rereleases to come. Why? Because I’m now on 24/7 Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon watch. Kodansha, you’ve been warned.
Edit: Quick-to-action Gia of AnimeVice has already made contact with Dark Horse’s Marketing Coordinator:
“Marketing Coordinator Aaron Colter informed that while he couldn’t comment on any license expiration, he could confirm that Dark Horse wouldn’t be publishing either of those titles in the future, so if Kodansha says they’re reprinting them, then they probably are.”
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