Yen Press acquires Kingdom Hearts manga

The Kingdom Hearts manga is finally returning to western shores!

Manga distributor Tokyopop released all four volumes of the original Kingdom Hearts manga, both volumes of Chain of Memories, and the first two Kingdom Hearts II volumes before the company ceased North American operations in 2011. As a result, we never received a complete run of the Kingdom Hearts II manga (which was also put on hiatus until last year by illustrator Shiro Amano), nor was the 358/2 Days manga ever released.

That’s all about to change, according to the Anime News Network. The website reports that Yen Press has obtained the licenses for the Kingdom Hearts manga series, and will release the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix manga (as opposed to the original version) as two omnibuses in May 2013, with Chain of Memories following the month after in one omnibus. Kingdom Hearts II was also obtained and will be released starting in the summer (July and August for the first two volumes, according to Amazon.com’s listings). Square Enix, meanwhile, will publish the sixth volume of Kingdom Hearts II in Japan this May.

What’s even more exciting than this revival–which includes the previously Japan-only Final Mix manga and a full release of Kingdom Hearts II–is the fact that in November 2013, Yen Press will begin publishing the 358/2 Days manga for the first time in North America! In addition, an artbook by Shiro Amano will be released in October.

With new English-language manga on the horizon and the HD 1.5 ReMIX just a few months away (and a 2.5 ReMIX being all but confirmed), it would appear that Square Enix is preparing for something big. Is Kingdom Hearts III waiting in the wings?

This article has been edited to correct the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix publication date from May 2014 (as the Anime News Network originally reported) to May 2013 (according to Amazon.com’s listings), in addition to adding release dates for the Kingdom Hearts II manga and the artbook.


About the Author

John Sotomayor John Sotomayor is a writer from downstate New York. He graduated from university in 2012 with majors in creative writing and Asian studies. John is currently working on a number of creative writing projects (novels, short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics) and is also a published science writer. As a gamer, John enjoys JRPGs, particularly the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises. He also likes dogs, comic books, Joss Whedon shows, and the San Jose Sharks.

Comments