Yen Press Adds Accel World, Übel Blatt, Barakamon Manga

North American publisher Yen Press announced on Friday that it licensed the Accel World, Übel Blatt, and Barakamon manga.

Hiroyuki Aigamo illustrates the manga adaptation of Reki Kawahara's original novel series. The manga launched in ASCII Media Works's Dengeki Bunko Magazine in 2010, and the fifth compiled volume will ship on February 27. ASCII Media Works published the first Accel World light novel volume with illustrations by HIMA in February 2009, and the publisher shipped the 16th novel on February 8. Yen Press announced last August that it licensed the novel series.

The "future teen" story revolves around a bullied middle school boy named Haruyuki. One autumn day in 2046, he has an encounter with Kuroyukihime, the prettiest girl in his school, that changes his life. Through a mysterious piece of software from Kuroyukihime, Haruyuki learns of the existence of the virtual "Accel World." In that moment, the lowest of the "school caste" becomes "Burst Linker," a knight defending a princess.

The light novels inspired a 24-episode television anime series in 2012, and Viz Media is releasing the anime on home video. The anime is also streaming on Viz Media's Neon Alley service.

Square Enix's Young Gangan magazine began serializing Etorouji Shiono's Übel Blatt manga in 2004. In 2011, a side story manga called Übel Blatt Gaiden ran in Young Gangan Big, the spinoff of the Young Gangan. After a two-year hiatus, the main series returned to Big Gangan magazine in 2011. The 15th compiled volume is slated to ship in Japan in March.

The story follows the half-human boy named Koinzell who was sent to battle the Emperor's enemies with the rest of the "Fourteen Lances." Betrayed by his comrades and left for dead, Koinzell goes on a quest for revenge against the Lances who were wrongly proclaimed as the "Seven Heroes."

Satsuki Yoshino launched the Barakamon slice-of-life comedy manga in Square Enix's Gangan Online magazine in 2009. Square Enix released the eighth compiled volume in September. Yoshino launched a spinoff manga, titled Handa-kun, in Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine starting in October.

The slice-of-life comedy manga centers around the ikemen (handsome) 23-year-old calligrapher Seishū Handa, who moves to the remote Gotō Islands off the western coast of Kyushu. Seishū grew up in the city, and the manga chronicles Seishu's interactions with the people of the island, who drive tractors on public roads and don't enter through his front door when they visit. On top of that, Seishū's house becomes a hangout for the island's children.

The manga is also inspiring an anime adaptation.

The first volumes of all three series are slated to ship in North America this fall.