Written by: Ollie Kaplan
Manga titles have been dominating the North American book sale’s charts for several years. Although the English-language market is still dominated by North American industry stalwarts like VIZ Media and TOKYOPOP, a number of new manga publishers — as well as imprints at major publishers, like PHR’s Inklore — have exploded onto the scene. First announced last week, there is another startup manga publisher tackling the North American market: Mahjong Pros, a mahjong set company based in Sheridan, Wyoming, now expanding into publishing, revealed via press release its first quartet of manga titles and teased more licensing deals and announcements in the pipeline.
Leading the debut lineup is Crybaby Mermaid – Illustrated Memoir of Yuumi Uotani by Yoshiki Suda (story) and Mio Junta (art), an intimate memoir about the titular Yuumi Uotani, a professional mahjong player from Niigata, Japan who turned pro in 2008 through the Professional Mahjong League, and went on to win the M-League 2019-20 MVP Award. Uotani’s identity is built around speed and mentality at the table, with the title referring to her nickname, the “Swiftest Mermaid,” a nod to both Uotani’s fast, aggressive playing style and her surname, which contains the character for fish. The memoir describes the uncertain early years of Uotani’s career, offering an intimate look at the quiet, relentless work of learning to believe you belong.
Details about the full debut lineup follow below:
Crybaby Mermaid – Illustrated Memoir of Yuumi Uotani
Story by Yoshiki Suda
Art by Mio Junta
Crybaby Mermaid: Illustrated Memoir of Yumi Uotani is about the quiet difficulty of continuing when doubt never fully disappears. It follows Yumi Uotani, a professional mahjong player, through the uncertain early years of a public career, where each setback lingers, each success feels temporary, and the question of whether she truly belongs never quite goes away.
Rather than a story of sudden breakthrough, the story focuses on the emotional weight of performance: the pressure of expectations, the anxiety that follows setbacks, and the quiet effort required to continue despite uncertainty. Uotani’s progress unfolds through everyday moments of practice, reflection, and gradual change, presenting achievement as something built over time rather than defined by sudden success.
Rendered in a restrained visual style that lingers on expression and silence, this is a portrait of a working life built in increments, and of the fragile, ongoing work of learning to stand in a role that still feels uncertain. Together, Suda and Junta create a character-driven account of how confidence develops slowly, and how a professional identity emerges through endurance, self-awareness, and time.
Crybaby Mermaid – Illustrated Memoir of Yuumi Uotani releases on April 28.
Reform with No Wasted Draws: The Legend of Koizumy, Vol. 1
Story and art by Hideki Ohwada
In The Legend of Koizumi, manga artist Hideki Ohwada reimagines international politics as a series of direct confrontations in which diplomacy gives way to decisive action. Global crises are settled through high-stakes mahjong, turning geopolitical conflict into a test of judgment, nerve, and national resolve.
At the center is former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, portrayed with unwavering composure and a refusal to yield. Around him, real political figures appear as adversaries in escalating encounters where the stakes quickly move from negotiation to survival. Each confrontation raises the risk, forcing leaders to act under pressure as retreat becomes politically unthinkable.
Ohwada pushes events far beyond realism while presenting them with complete seriousness. The scale grows extreme, but the emotional logic remains familiar: positions harden, reputations are on the line, and escalation follows when neither side can afford to back down. The intensity is deliberate. Escalation is the engine of the story.
Mahjong provides the framework for these confrontations, reducing global crisis to a visible contest of will. The result is a work of political satire that treats leadership as performance under pressure and conflict as a struggle driven by pride, resolve, and the cost of retreat.
Vol. 1 of Reform with No Wasted Draws: The Legend of Koizumy releases on May 5.
Getter Robo High
Story by Bingo Morihashi
Art by Drill Jill
When a technologically advanced civilization rises from the ocean and conventional weapons fail, three pilots are assigned to operate an experimental machine powered by Getter Rays. Their opponents do not rely on force alone. Each battle is designed to disrupt judgment, break coordination, and push them into mistakes made under pressure.
Written by Bingo Morihashi and illustrated by Drill Jill, Getter Robo High centers on conflict shaped by uncertainty. Decisions must be made quickly and with incomplete information. Hesitation, misreading an opponent, or acting too aggressively can change the outcome without warning.
As the fighting continues, the threat becomes less predictable, and the stakes grow beyond what the pilots expected. The strain of responsibility and isolation begins to affect how they think, how they trust each other, and how much risk they are willing to take.
Drawn in dense, high-contrast black and white, the artwork creates a constant sense of compression and urgency, keeping the action close and immediate. In the darker tradition of Getter Robo, escalation comes through sudden reversals and mounting risk. The story focuses on what sustained pressure does to people when every decision carries consequences.
Getter Robo High releases on May 30.
Vermilion Stella – Illustrated Memoir of Arisa Date
Story and art by Ayato Sasakura
Arisa Date steps into the national spotlight as a professional mahjong player with a reputation already decided for her. She is seen as a face chosen for attention, someone placed there to be watched rather than believed. Every appearance is public. Every mistake travels farther than the work behind it.
Illustrated by Ayato Sasakura, Vermilion Stella is a memoir about the private cost of being judged in public. It follows the strain of continuing when doubt surrounds you, the isolation of working while your failures are expected, and the quiet discipline required to return again and again while the world waits for confirmation that you do not belong.
There is no sudden turning point, no speech or reinvention that changes everything at once. Instead, the story unfolds through time, as small results accumulate and perception begins to shift almost imperceptibly.
At its heart, this is a story about living inside someone else’s version of you and the long, patient work of becoming visible as you are.
Vermilion Stella – Illustrated Memoir of Arisa Date releases on June 30.
Mahjong Pros titles are available in the digital format for $9.99 and in print for $15.99 at leading retailers including Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Walmart, and Amazon. The titles are also available for pre-order at: https://mahjongpros.com.
For more information, follow Mahjong Pros online:
Source: Majohng Pros
