When a Manga’s Hand Changes: Manchuria Opium Squad Returns October 5

Sometimes the biggest art news is not a premiere. It is a promise kept.

Anime News Network reports that *Manchuria Opium Squad* (story by Tsukasa Monma, art originally by Shikako) will resume in issue 45 of Kodansha’s *Weekly Young Magazine*, shipping October 5, 2026. The series continues with successor artist Tsurushima, a former senior colleague of Shikako from their shared time as assistants on Yasuhisa Hara’s *Kingdom*.

The human part (handle with care)

Shikako died on November 8, 2025, from choroidal melanoma. Before dying, Shikako expressed hope that an artist from the *Kingdom* manga circle would take over the artwork. Hara publicly commended Tsurushima’s resolve in succeeding that wish. The magazine’s editorial note, as summarized by ANN, credits the restart to many people: Shikako’s family, Tsurushima, writer Monma’s desire to see the story through, assistants, and readers who waited.

How the handoff works on the page

Resumption begins with two chapters. Chapter 216 is 12 pages (originally planned at 16). Shikako completed 11 pages; Monma arranged a 12th page without characters; assistants drew the background. From chapter 217, Tsurushima’s art takes over. That is an unusually transparent accounting of a creative transition, and it deserves to be read with respect rather than gossip energy.

The series began on Comic Days (2020 to 2021) before moving to *Weekly Young Magazine*. Volume 22 shipped in November 2025. English readers can find the series on Kodansha’s K MANGA app.

Why this is a Creative Writing post on Art Life

Because craft succession is part of art history, not only museum estates and unfinished canvases. Comics make the handoff visible week by week. A new artist inheriting a late friend’s pages is about lineage, labor, and love of the work. October 5 is not a hype date. It is a continuation date.

If you read, read kindly. If you create, notice how communities carry each other’s unfinished sentences.

Primary source: Anime News Network