English release announced for January 2026
Kyodo Printing Co., Ltd.‘s Kodama Tales Inc. subsidiary announced during “The Legacy of Baki” panel at San Diego Comic-Con panel on Saturday that it will publish Mitei Hattori‘s Smile! (Smiley) manga in English in January 2026.
The company describes the manga:
The story follows Yuushi Kamome, a grieving journalist whose life unravels after the death of his daughter and the disappearance of his wife. When two women from a cult-like group called the Smiling Hearts Society show up at his door with a flyer featuring his missing wife’s smiling face, Yuushi goes undercover to investigate. What begins with a slammed door and a disturbingly joyful scream spirals into a twisted descent filled with manufactured joy, cult manipulation, and psychological torment.
The series ranked second in the “I Want to Deliver It to the World! Top Recommended Manga” category at the second Rakuten Kobo E-book Awards in May 2024.
Hattori launched the series in Nihonbungeisha‘s Weekly Manga Goraku magazine in 2021. The series ended on March 7. Nihonbungeisha shipped the 11th and final compiled book volume on March 28.
The new manga publisher previously teased future titles from Asahi Shimbun Publications, Coamix, Daiwa Shobo, Hero’s Inc., Nihonbungeisha, Shodensha, and Shonengahosha.
Source: Press release
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