Manchuria Opium Squad Anime: Where the Manga Stands

Yes, Manchuria Opium Squad is getting an anime. The adaptation was announced in October 2026, and Pony Canyon has confirmed the project is in the works. A first visual has been revealed, but the studio, staff, voice cast, format and release date have not been confirmed. The manga is still running: it resumed on October 5, 2026 with a new artist, Tsurushima, after the original artist, Shikako, died in November 2025.

This guide is spoiler-careful. It sticks to the premise and publication history, and it points you to Kodansha's official channels for the story itself. If you are new to the medium, our guide to what manga actually is is a useful companion.

The short answer: an anime is coming, but few details are confirmed

The anime was announced in early October 2026, with Pony Canyon confirming the project. Only a first visual has appeared so far. Studio, staff, voice cast, format and release date had not been confirmed at the time of writing, so any rumour about them should be treated as just that.

The official website and social media accounts are expected to reveal production details later. Until then, the sensible approach is to wait for those announcements rather than trust second-hand guesses.

Meanwhile the manga carries on. Serialisation resumed on October 5, 2026, with Tsurushima taking over the art after the original artist died in November 2025.

What the manga is about

Manchuria Opium Squad is written by Tsukasa Monma and illustrated by Shikako. Kodansha publishes it, and it is listed under crime, historical and suspense. It is a seinen series, aimed at an older readership.

The setting is Manchukuo during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Isamu Higata is sent to serve the Kwantung branch of the Imperial Japanese Army. After his mother contracts plague, he uses his botanical and chemical knowledge to make money from opioids. Early on he loses sight in his right eye on the battlefield, and he later turns to illegal opium production to save his sick mother. These are the story's opening events, and the rest is best discovered in the official editions.

The supporting cast reflects the criminal world around him. Li Hua, for example, is described as a former member of the Green Gang. The English blurb for volume one describes sinister gangs and an oppressive state, which gives a fair sense of the tone.

How the series was serialised and published

The series began on Kodansha's Comic Days platform on April 9, 2020, and the first volume followed on August 11, 2020. On September 18, 2021 it moved to the seinen magazine Weekly Young Magazine. As of November 2025, 22 volumes had been released in Japan.

English-language readers have an official route. Kodansha USA began publishing the volumes digitally on September 10, 2024, and its English volume list runs to 14 volumes up to September 8, 2026. If you are weighing up where to begin with a series like this, our list of series to start with may help you place it.

The manga has also drawn award attention. It was nominated for the 47th Kodansha Manga Award in 2023, in the general category, and for the 70th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2024.

The artist change and what editors have said

In October 2025 the manga announced it would move to an irregular release schedule to protect the artist's health. On December 22, 2025, editors announced that Shikako had died on November 8, 2025, from choroidal melanoma.

Editors said the artist wanted someone to complete the series, and Young Magazine staff said they would respect that wish. The series then went on a short hiatus and resumed on October 5, 2026, with Tsurushima announced as the new artist.

Little is confirmed about Tsurushima's background in the pages checked for this article, so it is not covered here. For readers new to the form, how panels and page layout shape a story is a good way to notice what a change of artist does to a series.

What to watch for next

The first details to look for are the anime's studio, director, staff and cast, none of which had been announced in the pages checked. Whether it will be a television series or another format is also unconfirmed.

For manga readers, the key thing to watch is how the new artist's chapters are received.

Reports put circulation at 3.5 million copies, which suggests a wide readership. That figure appears in a single report, so treat it as approximate. If the adaptation draws you in, more manga worth reading can fill the wait.

What is still uncertain

Shikako's death is dated November 8, 2025 in the editors' announcement. One other page gives only December 2025, which appears to refer to when the news was reported, so the November date is the one to use.

The exact current chapter total is not confirmed, because the sources checked differ and none gives a current count. Full press-release wording and any premiere date for the anime were also not available to check.

Some details, including the story's opening events, rest on a small number of pages. For the latest confirmed facts, check the official Kodansha channels and the anime's official website once it goes live.