Handling such a painful loss in the industry isn’t easy, but fulfilling an artist’s final wishes is always the noblest tribute. Issue #45 of Kodansha’s Weekly Young Magazine brought bittersweet but impactful news: the acclaimed manga Manshuu Ahen Squad (Manchuria Opium Squad) will get its own anime adaptation, airing on television as the work by Tsukasa Monma officially resumes publication.

The anime news comes with the manga’s return to the magazine with a double issue featuring chapters 216 and 217. This comeback marks a special milestone for the franchise, as the series was on hiatus after the original illustrator, Shikako, sadly passed away in November 2025 from choroidal melanoma, a rare eye cancer. Before his passing, the artist made it clear he wanted someone else to take over and finish the story—a wish the publisher and creative team fully respected.

For the visual continuation, illustrator Tsurushima took over as the new main artist starting with chapter 217. The artist has an impressive background, having worked as a senior assistant on the manga Kingdom alongside Yasuhisa Hara. Meanwhile, chapter 216 serves as an emotional farewell, containing the last 11 pages Shikako completed before his death, while the final page was organized by writer Tsukasa Monma and the assistants who supported the author for years.

Manshuu Ahen Squad is a historical and suspense manga series written by Tsukasa Monma and originally illustrated by Shikako. It began serialization on Kodansha’s digital Comic Days service in April 2020, later moving to Weekly Young Magazine in September 2021, accumulating over 22 compiled volumes published to date.

The story is set in 1937 and follows Isamu Higata, a Japanese soldier sent to the Japanese-controlled puppet state of Manchukuo. After losing his right eye in combat, Isamu is relegated to an agricultural facility where he suffers constant abuse from his superiors. Everything changes drastically when he discovers a forgotten poppy crop, the raw material for opium. Desperate for money to pay for his seriously ill mother’s medical treatment, the young man decides to get involved in producing this illicit substance, triggering a chain of consequences that will forever change his fate and the region’s.

What do you think of this anime adaptation announcement and the new illustrator taking over to continue the series’ legacy?