Even without getting an official global release, Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara is one of the most popular mangas of all time. The series has over 100 million copies in circulation, something only 23 manga in history have accomplished. The manga debuted in 2006 and has been serialized in Weekly Young Jump magazine ever since. Global fans have been awaiting an English volume ever since, and their request has finally been heard. On February 7th, 2025, the official X account of Viz confirmed the first volume will be released in Fall 2025. In another post, just before the announcement, Viz said they would be making an announcement for their most fan-requested title ever, and they were right.
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Kingdom’s manga has a wide global fanbase, waiting for nearly two decades to own an official English volume. After the official announcement, Shonen Jump editor Rae First confirms his role as Kingdom’s editor. Rae is an editor for the English Shonen Jump and Viz manga services for titles such as Ichi the Witch, Dragon Ball Super, Akane-Banashi, and more. As a major fan of the Kingdom manga, he shares his excitement over the latest announcement.
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Kingdom’s Editor Shares Thoughts on the English Translation
After the latest announcement, Rae shared on his X account, “After 10 years editing manga and asking and asking and asking I can say I am the English editor of Kingdom. And this is probably not a surprise to anyone who has known that I haven’t shut up about it as a fan on here forever. More in my replies.”
He also shares more information on the title, “We will be using the Chinese names of the characters and 7 kingdoms and anything relevant to the history. I started Kingdom when I was studying this in college as part of my original major. My goal is to remain faithful to the manga and the history.”
Additionally, he talks about his love for the series since it’s his favorite manga, “Remember that I am both the editor and a huge fan of the series and the editor. I’ve been reading it longer than I’ve worked at Viz as well as watching the anime and the movies. I know the series very well.”
The editor also reveals that the translator is Nate Collins, the main letterer is Rina Mapa, while the secondary letterer is Thom Kilcourse. The team has already started working on this historic project. Kingdom is set during the Warring States period in China following follows a young orphan, Xin. He spends his days practicing swordsmanship with his brother, Hyou. However, when tragedy strikes, he meets Sei, the rightful heir to the throne, who has been chased out of the palace by his stepbrother.
Although the duo starts on a rather unpleasant note in Kingdom, Xin decides to protect Sei due to his brother Hyou. The duo join hands and set out on their quest to accomplish their individual dreams. The path ahead is full of trials and bloodshed as Xin climbs all the way to the rank of a general is already an impossible dream.
Story confirmed via Kingdom editor Rae First on X.
