The manga publishing world has just experienced an earthquake few saw coming, promising to change the game. Publisher Shueisha officially canceled its subcontracting contract with Mix Green, the company founded and led by Shihei Lin, the legendary editor behind driving some of the biggest phenomena on the Shonen Jump+ platform like Chainsaw Man, Spy x Family, and Dandadan.

Through a statement, Shueisha confirmed that its working relationship with Lin ended officially at the end of July 2026. The publications the editor oversaw on the digital platform will be restructured under a new internal team. However, Lin didn’t sit idly by and immediately released an announcement that stunned the industry: creators of several of the most profitable series decided to sign direct contracts with his company to keep him at the helm of their works.

Tatsuya Endo, author of Spy x Family, and Yukinobu Tatsu, the mind behind Dandadan, along with the creators of Centuria and Witchriv, sealed their alliance with Mix Green independently. This move demonstrates the massive weight Lin’s vision has in contemporary story creation, to the point where authors prefer to maintain the creative formula that brought them success rather than submit to the corporate changes of the major publisher.

Shihei Lin’s career easily explains his authors’ blind support. Since joining Shueisha in 2006, Lin showed a privileged eye for spotting raw talent in publications like Jump Square, discovering Tatsuki Fujimoto’s talent and guiding projects like Blue Exorcist and Kono Oto Tomare!. In 2022, he decided to go independent to found Mix Green, maintaining his work with his star authors while preparing new grounds in entertainment. Currently, his firm promotes contests for new talent with high-level juries and even plans to launch its own digital platform to publish content independently.

Shihei Lin is one of the most influential and important editors in modern manga in Japan. Known for his ability to discover groundbreaking stories and support authors in building true global franchises, Lin was the key piece behind the massive success of the Shonen Jump+ platform. His creative vision was fundamental to the consolidation of iconic works that redefined manga consumption worldwide.

What do you think of the unconditional support the authors of Spy x Family and Dandadan gave to their editor?