Handling
such a painful loss within the industry is not easy, but fulfilling an artist's
last wishes will always be the noblest tribute. The 45th edition of Kodansha's Weekly
Young Magazine brought with it bittersweet but shocking news: the acclaimed
manga Manshuu Ahen Squad (Manchuria Opium Squad) will make the
leap to television with its own anime adaptation, at the same time that the
work written by Tsukasa Monma officially resumes its publication.
The news of
the anime comes accompanied by the return of the manga to the magazine with a
double installment composed of chapters 216 and 217. This return marks a very
special milestone within the franchise, as the work was put on hiatus after the
unfortunate death of the original illustrator, Shikako, which occurred in
November 2025 due to choroidal melanoma, a rare type of eye cancer. Before his
departure, the artist made clear his desire for someone else to take over to
conclude the story, a wish that the publisher and the creative team decided to
respect to the letter.
To continue
with the visual section, illustrator Tsurushima assumed the role of new main
artist from chapter 217. The artist has an outstanding previous career having
worked as a senior assistant on the manga Kingdom with Yasuhisa Hara.
For its part, chapter 216 represents an emotional farewell, as it contains the
last 11 pages that Shikako managed to complete in life, while the final page
was organized by screenwriter Tsukasa Monma together with the team of
assistants who accompanied the author for years.
Manshuu
Ahen Squad is a
historical and suspenseful manga series written by Tsukasa Monma and
originally illustrated by Shikako. The work began serialization on
Kodansha's Comic Days digital service in April 2020, and later moved to the
pages of Weekly Young Magazine in September 2021, managing to accumulate
more than 22 compilation volumes published to date.
The plot is
set in the year 1937 and follows the story of Isamu Higata, a Japanese soldier
sent to the puppet state of Manchukuo controlled by Japan. After losing the
vision in his right eye during combat, Isamu is relegated to an agricultural
facility where he is constantly abused by his superiors. Everything changes
drastically when he discovers in a forgotten corner a poppy crop, the raw
material for the production of opium. Desperate to get money to pay for the
medical treatment of his seriously ill mother, the young man decides to delve
into the production of this illicit substance, triggering a spiral of consequences
that will forever transform his destiny and that of the entire region.
