A lost Kirby manga may be coming to North America after 25 years in the form of Kirby: Manga Mania. VIZ Media has put out several different Nintendo-based manga series, but its latest project just might be its most exciting yet. Dream Land has classic stories to tell that will be new to audiences outside of Japan.
Kirby first appeared in the 1992 game Kirby's Dream Land. Since then, Kirby has become one of Nintendo's most popular and recognizable characters. Kirby has starred in an anime series, Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, and has been the focus of numerous manga series. These manga series have predominantly only been released in Japan - until now.
Kirby: Manga Mania Volume 1 will be the first Kirby manga to ever release in North America. There have been many different mangas starring the character released in Japan and now North American readers will have a chance to read one. The longest-running Kirby series in Japan and one of the most popular for the character (roughly translated) is Kirby of the Stars: The Story of Dedede Who Lives in Pupupu. This series, written by Hirokazu Hikawa, spanned 25 volumes from 1995 to 2006. The volume being released by VIZ in June is also listed as being written by Hirokazu Hikawa, and so far all signs point to this being a localization of the long-awaited series.
In 2020, VIZ released Super Mario: Manga Mania, which collected stories from the 1991 manga series Super Mario-Kun, written and illustrated by Yukio Sawada. This Kirby volume shares the same subtitle, which seems to indicate that it will be a similar collection of previously published comics. The summary for Kirby: Manga Mania is as follows:
Jump into Dream Land with Kirby and gobble up some fun! Everyone’s favorite pink puff teams up with his friends to keep arch-frenemy King Dedede in line. Fans of all ages can enjoy this collection of classic Kirby comics—just take a deep breath and hop on in!
This isn't the first announcement that VIZ has made about releasing a Kirby manga series, though it is the first that will most likely come to fruition since pre-orders are already available. Back in 2010, a separate Kirby volume was supposed to release from VIZ, but in 2011 this was said to be scrapped. A Kirby manga for North America had not been mentioned again until fall of 2020. Now, it looks like this series is finally going to happen.
It has been 26 years since the most popular Kirby series began to publish and 15 years since it concluded. The wait has certainly been long enough, especially with Kirby being one of Nintendo's most popular and enduring characters. Given the major milestones and celebrations that Nintendo is commemorating, this is a fantastic time to release more stories for fans to enjoy. Hopefully this won't be the only volume and followers will be able to look forward to more Nintendo manga releases in the near future. Kirby: Manga Mania Volume 1 is slated for release on June 8, 2021.