Manchuria Opium Squad Anime Announced: Everything We Know
Manchuria Opium Squad is getting an anime. The adaptation of Tsukasa Monma and Shikako's crime manga, known in Japan as Manshu Ahen Squad, was announced on October 4, 2026 in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine. An official site and X account opened the same day.
There's no release date, studio or cast yet. Here's what has been confirmed, what the story is about and why the timing matters.
Manchuria Opium Squad at a Glance
- Status: Anime adaptation announced October 4, 2026
- Release date: Not announced
- Studio, staff and cast: Not announced
- Manga: Story by Tsukasa Monma, art by Tsurushima, original art by Shikako
- Magazine: Weekly Young Magazine (Kodansha)
- Circulation: More than 3.5 million copies
- In English: K MANGA
When Does the Manchuria Opium Squad Anime Come Out?#
No date has been given. The announcement confirms only that an anime adaptation is happening.
The format, the studio, the director and the voice cast are all still to come. You can see the news in the anime's announcement post on X.
The First Visual Hints at Work in Progress#
There's no key visual or trailer yet, but the announcement image is more than a logo.
Around the title sit scattered sheets of production art. Some are pencil drawings of the characters. Others are color tests, including a close-up of a woman's face and a shaved-headed young man. There are also photos of what looks like a recording studio.
Taken together, it suggests production is already underway.
What Is Manchuria Opium Squad About?#
Kodansha's description opens with a line from the manga: "Here in Manchuria, the cheapest thing you'll find is a person's life."
It's 1937. Isamu Higata is sent to Manchukuo, the Japan-controlled puppet state in northeast China, to serve in its army. He loses the sight in his right eye in battle and is cast off to a farming facility, where the officers abuse him daily.
Then, in a dusty corner of the grounds, he finds a field of poppies, the raw material for opium. His mother is seriously ill and he needs money. So Isamu decides to make the drug himself, a choice that changes his future and, in time, Manchuria's.
The Manga Returned the Same Day, With a New Artist#
The anime news arrived alongside something fans had been waiting on for almost a year. The manga resumed in the same issue of Weekly Young Magazine.
Shikako, who drew the series from the start, died on November 8, 2025 of choroidal melanoma, a rare cancer of the eye. The artist had wanted someone to finish the story, and the magazine said at the time that it would honor that wish.
The series came back with two chapters. Chapter 216 runs 12 pages, 11 of them completed by Shikako. Monma arranged the last page, and Shikako's assistants drew its background.
From chapter 217, the art is by Tsurushima. Tsurushima was Shikako's senior colleague from their time as assistants on Yasuhisa Hara's Kingdom. The anime's site credits Shikako for the original art.
Where to Read Manchuria Opium Squad#
The manga began on Kodansha's Comic Days service in April 2020 and moved to Weekly Young Magazine in September 2021. Twenty-two volumes are out in Japan, and the series has more than 3.5 million copies in circulation.
In English, Kodansha publishes it on its K MANGA service.
For more upcoming releases, see our upcoming anime hub.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Manchuria Opium Squad getting an anime?
- Yes. The adaptation was announced on October 4, 2026 in Weekly Young Magazine.
- When does the anime come out?
- No release date has been announced. The studio, staff, cast and format haven't been revealed either.
- What is it about?
- A soldier in 1937 Manchukuo who starts producing opium to pay for his seriously ill mother's care.
- Who makes the manga?
- Tsukasa Monma writes it. Shikako drew it until November 2025, and Tsurushima draws it now.
- Can I read it in English?
- Yes, on Kodansha's K MANGA service.
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