We recently found out that the upcoming Dragon Ball Super is getting a manga version to go along with the new anime, but it’s not just the classic Japanese comic for boys that’s back in the spotlight. Kodomo no Omocha (also known as Kodocha and Child’s Toy) was one of the early shojo manga franchises to score a hit with English-reading audiences, and 17 years after the series wrapped up, it’s getting a new chapter next month.

Passionate and well-informed fans will no doubt point out that Kodomo no Omocha had a follow-up of sorts in 2010, when author and artist Miho Obana penned a story in which Kodocha’s bickering lovers Sana and Akito met up with characters from one of her other manga, Honey Bitter. That crossover was titled Deep Clear, though, while Obana’s upcoming project is part of Kodomo no Omocha alone, making this new chapter the first official installment of Kodomo no Omocha since its serialization in Shueisha’s Ribon shojo manga anthology ended in 1998.

▼ The cover of Deep Clear

KO 2

That means Sana and Akito are unlikely to be sharing page space with visitors from outside their own series. Being part of the Kodocha umbrella also suggests the setting will return to the pair’s student days, unlike Deep Clear, which portrayed them as adults.

The new Kodomo no Omocha manga is part of Ribon’s ongoing 60th anniversary celebration and will appear in this year’s September issue, which hits newsstands in Japan on August 3.

Source: Mantan Web via Jin
Insert image: Amazon Japan