Manga launched new arc on Thursday following hiatus, move to Bushiroad
The official Twitter account for Kore Yamazaki‘s The Ancient Magus Bride announced on Thursday that Bushiroad is using AI translation by Mantra to release the manga simultaneously in English and Japanese for its return from hiatus. Mantra is also providing AI translation services for simultaneous English releases of Yamazaki’s Ghost and Witch manga. In addition, the companies plan to add simultaneous releases in Simplified Chinese starting in May.
© Kore Yamazaki, Bushiroad
The Ancient Magus Bride launched its new arc “Shishigari” (Beast Hunting, previously announced with the title “Kemono”) on Thursday.
Both The Ancient Magus Bride and Ghost and Witch went on hiatus on March 12 earlier this year. Bushiroad announced on December 1 that both manga would move to Bushiroad Works’ Comic Growl (formerly Comic Bushiroad Web) manga website. Ghost and Witch is resuming on Friday.
© Kore Yamazaki, Mag Garden
Yamazaki launched the The Ancient Magus Bride manga in Mag Garden‘s Monthly Comic Blade magazine in 2013, but the magazine ceased publication in September 2014. The manga then moved to the publisher’s Monthly Comic Garden magazine. Yamazaki ended the manga’s “Gakuin” (College) arc as the manga went on hiatus. Bushiroad will publish the manga’s 20th compiled book volume in April 2024 with both a regular and first print limited edition with included drama CD. Bushiroad will also reprint the manga’s short story collection.
Yamazaki launched Ghost and Witch on the Manga Doa app in September 2021. The manga’s first volume shipped on March 10. Bushiroad will publish the manga’s second volume in April 2024.
Seven Seas Entertainment is releasing the The Ancient Magus Bride manga in English. Seven Seas is also releasing several spinoff manga and supplement books in the series.
The main manga’s first animated adaptation was the The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Those Awaiting a Star OVA in 2017, followed by the first television anime season that premiered in Japan in 2017, the three-episode The Ancient Magus’ Bride – The Boy from the West and the Knight of the Blue Storm OAD from 2021 to 2022, and then the second television anime season that premiered on April 6. The second season’s second half premiered on October 5.
Industry analyst and reporter Tadashi Sudo revealed on his Animation Business Journal blog earlier this month that Bushiroad Works is paying IG Port (the parent company of Mag Garden) 200 million yen (about US$1.36 million) in compensation for the dissolution of Yamazaki’s contract with IG Port. Sudo also stated that Kyōhei Shinpuku, who was the editor in charge of Mag Garden for many years, left IG Port in July 2023 and is now the representative director of Bushiroad Works. Sudo speculated Shinpuku’s move to Bushiroad Works had an influence on Yamazaki’s move to Bushiroad Works
Sources: The Ancient Magus’ Bride manga‘s Twitter account, press release
