This manga is the culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication. Even though I've been working on Azuki in many forms over the years, this is the story in it's purest form, and the most personal to me. It's literally only the first chapter, but I never would have made it even this far without the support of many: Thank you to my family for being my biggest supporters and greatest fans (and for being the first test readers!). Thank you to @Zagabond for believing in me and believing in this vision. The manga would not exist without your trust and support. Can you believe it's been 5 years since we created Azuki? Thank you @MissJess_T, our chief brand officer for being the smartest, most reliable and awesome partner I could ask for through this process. Thank you @febtea. We built the Azuki story together over all these years and it's finally coming to fruition! The thing about the manga that I'm most confident about is the art, and for that I have to thank my long time friends and fellow artists @njoo and jryder. You guys always bring your A game and have elevated the artistic vision for the manga every step of the way. Too many others to shout out, but thank you to @_Tomugi and the Azuki art team for building this universe with me, @sohkiazuki and @celerydotfish for making my art move and look even better, @dash_tokyo_ for help on the jp sound effects, @heyskylark on dev, @dgtlemissions on community, @sadboobs_eth for social, everyone at Azuki supporting along the way and anyone else I missed!

I'm finally going to tell the story of Shao and Azuki as a manga! If you're coming to Anime Expo, swing by the Azuki booth and check out the first chapter! ⛩️ variety.com/2026/global/news… via @variety