Manga Mavericks Books announced two new English-language manga licenses during its Anime NYC 2026 panel: Yohei Sajita’s sci-fi action manga MIDNIGHT ROBOT and Akahachi’s boys’ love series ARAI-KUN & HARUMA-SENPAI. The publisher also shared an update on its upcoming English release of The Sword of Paros.
MIDNIGHT ROBOT Volume 1 is scheduled for a simultaneous print and digital release in May 2027. The 236-page volume will be priced at $19.99 in print and $6.99 digitally, with a recommended age of 13 and above.
Sajita originally began MIDNIGHT ROBOT as a self-published manga in 2015. Hayakawa Publishing later began serializing it through its Hayacomi web manga platform in 2024. The manga uses a red-and-black two-color palette, which Manga Mavericks Books will preserve in its A5-sized English edition. According to the publisher, the release will also mark the series’ first print edition anywhere in the world.
Boys and girls, it’s time to get in the robot!
Fumiko Daidouji has become used to her dad not being in her life, until he suddenly returns home with a gift: a screw lodged into her cranium! He claims it’s to protect her from a secret, nameless organization, and not surprisingly, she figures her Dad has a screw loose himself.
However, the organization is very real – and they want Fumiko’s screw to summon a giant robot! Dragged against her will into a battle to save the world, Fumiko quickly realizes that her once ordinary life is gone. Now, she faces world destruction, a parallel cosmos, and the midnight robot that connects them all.
The second license, ARAI-KUN & HARUMA-SENPAI, will launch digitally in December 2026, followed by its print edition in June 2027. The 152-page release will cost $6.99 digitally and $14.99 in print.
Haruma Ohara is the charming, athletic upperclassman. Ao Arai is the adorably shy, chubby underclassman. Simply a match made…in an elevator?
A chance encounter in an elevator between a rushed introvert and a charismatic jock grows into a fluffy, slow-burn love story. The introverted Arai is swept up in the charm of the extroverted Haruma, and before he knows it, they’ve exchanged contact information and keep running into each other all over campus. It’s clear to everyone that Haruma’s crush is immediate, but how long will it take for Arai to notice his own feelings?
Akahachi has also created works including A BUSINESSMAN AND A DRIVER, COUPLES, and TONARI NO LUNCH.
The Sword of Paros Color Pages Being Restored
Manga Mavericks Books also provided an update on its English edition of The Sword of Paros. With permission from Fairbell Inc. and artist Yumiko Igarashi, the publisher is recovering and restoring color artwork from the manga’s original serialization in Monthly Asuka between 1986 and 1987.
Several pages have already been recovered, but the publisher is still looking for copies of the June, August, and November 1986 issues, along with the January and February 1987 issues of Monthly Asuka.
Anyone who provides a lead that directly results in Manga Mavericks Books obtaining one of the missing issues by September 15, 2026 will receive a name credit in the English edition of The Sword of Paros and a complimentary copy upon release.
Print pre-orders for MIDNIGHT ROBOT, ARAI-KUN & HARUMA-SENPAI, and The Sword of Paros are currently available through the publisher’s store.
Source: Press Release
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