A new manga blending Congolese mythology with Japanese craftsmanship is heading to Kodansha—and it’s just the beginning.
U.S.-Japan anime studio N Lite has struck a co-development partnership with publishing giant Kodansha to produce a serialized manga based on their upcoming feature film Mfinda. The manga will debut in Kodansha’s Biblio Sirius Magazine in 2026, serving as a prequel to the film.
The story centers on the sacred forest of spirits and gods rooted in Congolese mythology. Dual protagonists Nasambi and Odi guide readers through origin stories that feed directly into the larger narrative of the feature film.
The manga is written by N Lite founder Christiano Terry, drawn by studio art director Tom Lintern, and created in collaboration with Japanese storyboard artist Koma Warita. N Lite and Kodansha will jointly supervise the creative team across what’s expected to be a multi-volume run.
The feature film brings together heavy hitters: Masao Maruyama (Tokyo Godfathers, co-founder of Madhouse and MAPPA) serves as producer, with Gisaburō Sugii (Touch) directing. The story comes from Terry and Congolese-American artist Patience Lekien.
This is one of the first instances of a major Japanese publishing house co-developing manga from an original IP conceived by a global studio for its flagship local readership. In other words: Kodansha is betting big on Mfinda before the anime even exists.
“The journey of Congolese culture – crossing the Atlantic to reach America and then spanning the Pacific to evolve into anime and manga – is deeply inspiring,” said Keigo Nakama, senior editor of Kodansha’s Sirius editorial department.
The Biblio Sirius serialization is the opening phase of a global rollout designed to build audience reach ahead of the feature’s production. The N Lite–Kodansha deal was brokered by anime consultancy Henshin, Inc.
Source: Variety
