Abrams ComicArts’ dedicated manga imprint, Kana, announced on Friday that it has licensed Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Kensuke Nishida’s popular supernatural horror manga, Jagaan. The first volume of the 14-volume series is slated for release in English in September 2026.
This acquisition marks another significant addition to Kana’s growing catalog, focusing on mature and diverse manga titles for the U.S. market.
About Jagaan: A Dive into Dark Desires and Body Horror
Jagaan centers on Shintarō Jagasaki, a disenchanted police officer living a mundane life with a girlfriend and a seemingly predetermined path toward marriage. His ordinary existence is shattered when a mysterious monster appears on a train, granting him the unsettling ability to manifest a gun from his right hand.
The supernatural horror manga delves into themes of suppressed desires and societal frustrations. Jagasaki, partially infected by “fright worms,” gains destructive powers by embodying his darkest urges. He is thrust into a world of grotesque violence, forced to combat others who have also transformed into monstrous “fractured humans,” each embodying their own twisted desires. The series is known for its intense body horror, visceral artwork, and psychological depth, often drawing comparisons to titles like Gantz, Parasyte, and Tokyo Ghoul.
The Creative Minds Behind Jagaan
Muneyuki Kaneshiro: The Acclaimed Writer
Muneyuki Kaneshiro is a prolific Japanese manga writer known for crafting thrilling plots and complex characters. He debuted as a manga artist in 2011 with As the Gods Will, which was adapted into a live-action film. Kaneshiro is also widely recognized for the ongoing sports manga Blue Lock, which he writes with Yusuke Nomura, and which won the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2021. Other notable works by Kaneshiro include Billion Dogs, Invisible Joe, and Grashros.
Kensuke Nishida: The Dynamic Artist
Kensuke Nishida is the artist behind Jagaan‘s distinctive and detailed visual style. His artwork is crucial in conveying the manga’s themes of psychological decay and the blurring lines between humanity and monstrosity. Nishida previously worked on the I Am a Hero in Nagasaki spinoff manga, connected to Kengo Hanazawa’s I am a Hero series.
Kana Imprint’s Vision for English Manga
Kana is a relatively new imprint from Abrams ComicArts, launched with the explicit goal of bringing translated manga series to the U.S. market, specifically targeting adult audiences. The imprint aims to publish 40-60 paperback titles annually, including ongoing series. Rodolphe Lachat, Vice President and Publisher of Abrams ComicArts, helms the Kana imprint, which intends to publish works focusing on “more emotionally mature subjects, characters whose ages are older, or genres that are not usually suitable for children,” including horror and thrillers.
Kana distinguishes itself by committing to authenticity in its releases, often incorporating elements like dust jackets, color pages, and high-quality paper, inspired by Japanese publishing traditions. The imprint’s strategy is to celebrate the art of manga rather than solely chase trends. While sharing a name with the French-language manga publisher Kana, the U.S. imprint is editorially distinct, though both are owned by the Belgian media conglomerate Média-Participations.
The licensing of Jagaan further solidifies Kana’s dedication to offering a diverse range of mature manga, following other notable acquisitions such as Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s Billy Bat manga. The release of Jagaan Volume 1 is eagerly anticipated by fans of supernatural horror and psychological thrillers.
