Licenses Left in Limbo
Manga
Series which were officially licensed by an English publisher, but were ultimately left incomplete (or not even released). This isn't a very comprehensive list (and older licenses are probably underrepresented), but I aimed to have a variety of examples across different publishers.
Thanks to ertiis for suggestions!
& let me know if there's an error or any suggestions of what to add.
*doesn't include fully released series that went out of print, or series that were published as compilations (ex. Oishinbo, Golgo 13), or license rescues
Potential series: Freezing
Thanks to ertiis for suggestions!
& let me know if there's an error or any suggestions of what to add.
*doesn't include fully released series that went out of print, or series that were published as compilations (ex. Oishinbo, Golgo 13), or license rescues
Potential series: Freezing
Novel, 10 vol, 2013
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Yen Press left us with a one hit wonder by releasing only the first novel in 2017.
https://yenpress.com/titles/9780316559805-sound-euphonium-light-novel-welcome-to-the-kitauji-high-school-concert-band
https://yenpress.com/titles/9780316559805-sound-euphonium-light-novel-welcome-to-the-kitauji-high-school-concert-band
Light Novel, 10 vol, 1996
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Author:7
Scholastic licensed Balsa's adventures, but only gave us two of them :(
https://scholastic.co.in/en/book/moribito-guardian-spirit
https://scholastic.co.in/en/book/moribito-guardian-spirit
Manga, 77 vol, 2003
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VIZ is pretty good at not dropping things these days (iirc), but fans have never seemed to let the cancelling of Gintama go.
https://www.viz.com/gin-tama
https://www.viz.com/gin-tama
Manga, 33 vol, 2001
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Author Raiku Makoto sued Shogakukan and then left to Kodansha, ending VIZ's license with 25 out of 33 volumes released.
Manga, 45 vol, 1997
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VIZ's alternative to not dropping something is this; it is actually still licensed, but is in a different sort of limbo. With VIZ releasing only one volume a year, the final volume is set to release in 2037. In that time you could realistically learn Japanese to read the series and still have time to spare.
https://www.viz.com/kaze-hikaru
https://www.viz.com/kaze-hikaru
Manga, 12 vol, 2018
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VIZ got 2 volumes out before the author got himself arrested and the series cancelled. VIZ stopped the license in response and Manga Plus didn't publish the final chapter. It was also nuked in Japan with Shueisha stopping all distribution.
https://www.viz.com/blog/posts/act-age-is-canceled
https://www.viz.com/blog/posts/act-age-is-canceled
Manga, ? vol, 2016
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Similarly, VIZ cancelled the license of the Kenshin sequel when the author got arrested. The series only suffered a brief hiatus in Japan.
Manga, 5 vol, 2014
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Quite a few series were dropped as MangaBox slowly winded down its English output. Amongst the most egregious cases was Tokyo Genji Monogatari, in which all but the final chapter was translated. Thankfully, scanlators came to the rescue.
Manga, 2 vol, 2014
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An identical case as Tokyo Genji Monogatari, MangaBox left Minamission stranded on its penultimate chapter. Unlike Genji, no one has yet provided closure.
Manga, 8 vol, 2014
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Holiday Love was one of the series MangaBox stuck out with till the end, but even after 100 chapters, they still called it quits, around 10 chapters away from the finale. "Gomi-Chan's Trash Scans" came to the rescue.
Manga, 10 vol, 2004
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Double trouble ~ Digital Manga Publishing tried publishing this full colour anthology, yet only managed to get out the first 3 volumes. Udon thought to give it a shot but only managed two more.
Manga, 8 vol, 2003
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Previously published by Del Rey, Udon relicensed this one alongside Rose of Versailles in 2015. They somehow only ended up releasing the latter, though it took them 5 years to even start. Perhaps in another 5 years, this will come out too, as they now and then acknowledge that they're still working on it. That's Udon for you.
Manga, 12 vol, 1991
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Another series already published (by VIZ in the early 2000s), Udon tried to bring this back in print with some glorious deluxe editions which would have included sub-stories Klein and Tales as well, yet they only managed 4 out of 15 volumes. Later, the digital service Manga Planet announced in 2020 that they acquired it, yet nothing has come out of that yet.
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-07-04/manga-planet-licenses-kia-asamiya-silent-mobius-manga/.161323
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-07-04/manga-planet-licenses-kia-asamiya-silent-mobius-manga/.161323
Manga, 18 vol, 1997
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Dark Horse left fans endlessly waiting when they were unable to release the last 4 volumes of Eden.
https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/10-924/Eden-Volume-1-Its-an-Endless-World-TPB
https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/10-924/Eden-Volume-1-Its-an-Endless-World-TPB
Manga, 24 vol, 1996
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Dark Horse only got about halfway through this series before leaving it in limbo, similar to Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. However while they have been rereleasing Kurosagi in omnibus format, Psycho hasn't had similar treatment.
https://digital.darkhorse.com/series/178/mpd-psycho
https://digital.darkhorse.com/series/178/mpd-psycho
Manga, 12 vol, 2014
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Dark Horse's last release of Eromanga Sensei was in 2019...
https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/3003-254/Eromanga-Sensei-Volume-1-TPB
https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/3003-254/Eromanga-Sensei-Volume-1-TPB
Manga, 14 vol, 2010
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... as is the same for Fate/Zero. You never know with Dark Horse, another volume may silently come out, or not at all.
https://digital.darkhorse.com/series/713/fatezero
https://digital.darkhorse.com/series/713/fatezero
Manhwa, ? vol, 2009
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This sci-fi epic had only its first two seasons published by Webtoon...
https://www.webtoons.com/en/sf/knight-run/list?title_no=67
https://www.webtoons.com/en/sf/knight-run/list?title_no=67
Manhwa, 18 vol, 2012
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and the exact same goes for Lessa. Scanlators have come to the rescue for both series.
https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/lessa/list?title_no=89
https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/lessa-2/list?title_no=507
https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/lessa/list?title_no=89
https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/lessa-2/list?title_no=507
Manhwa, 2 vol, 2005
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Webtoon published long running comedy series Midnight Rhapsody, Penguin Loves Mev, and The Sound of Your Heart, and marked them as complete. What they didn't say was that they were abridged releases which skipped hundreds of chapters.
https://www.webtoons.com/en/slice-of-life/midnight-rhapsody/list?title_no=116
https://www.webtoons.com/en/slice-of-life/midnight-rhapsody-season2/list?title_no=365
https://www.webtoons.com/en/slice-of-life/midnight-rhapsody/list?title_no=116
https://www.webtoons.com/en/slice-of-life/midnight-rhapsody-season2/list?title_no=365
Manhwa, ? vol, 2013
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Another dropped series from Webtoon, who stuck out with it for 5/6 seasons. If Naver ratings are anything to go by, perhaps this was for the better. Other similarly dropped series are Aura from Another Planet, Sidekicks, and Supernatural Investigation Department.
https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/new-normal-class-8/list?title_no=100
https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/new-normal-class-8/list?title_no=100
Manhwa, ? vol, 2019
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Though they tend to have a better track record with their more recent licenses, Webtoon published only the first season of #Killstagram and (after some time) marked the series as complete, ignoring the second season entirely.
https://www.webtoons.com/en/thriller/killstagram/list?title_no=1971
https://www.webtoons.com/en/thriller/killstagram/list?title_no=1971
Light Novel, 19 vol, 2013
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Sol Press released 5 novels before completely imploding, leaving this (amongst other series) in limbo.
Light Novel, 12 vol, 2003
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Seven Seas was too early to the light novel game. Their lineup did so poorly that they scrapped the entire thing, releasing only 2 novels of Shinigami no Ballad...
https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/ballad-of-a-shinigami/
https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/ballad-of-a-shinigami/
Light Novel, 5 vol, 2004
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...and poor Vamp was a license that was never released. The Amazon listings are still up though.
Light Novel, ? vol, 1998
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Boogiepop was also a casualty of this, though Seven Seas would later do a rerelease (as well as two more novels in the series), but nothing after that.
https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/boogiepop/
https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/boogiepop/
Light Novel, 7 vol, 1988
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A more recent license, Seven Seas released the first record of the Lodoss War in 2018 and then called it a day.
https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/record-of-lodoss-war/
https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/record-of-lodoss-war/
Manhwa, ? vol, 2006
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It's been almost six years since Seven Seas last released a volume of Witch Hunter.
https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/witch-buster/
https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/witch-buster/
Light Novel, ? vol, 2002
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Vertical picked up what Del Rey started, republishing the first two novels of the Zaregoto Series. They then released the third novel in 2019, but nothing else since then.
https://www.vertical-inc.com/books/zaregoto/decapitation.html
https://www.vertical-inc.com/books/zaregoto/decapitation.html
Light Novel, ? vol, 1979
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An ambitious license from Vertical, but they barely made a dent into the saga with just five volumes released (though it was likely a test run that yielded clear results)
https://www.vertical-inc.com/guinsaga/
https://www.vertical-inc.com/guinsaga/
Manga, 14 vol, 2013
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Vertical quietly powered down Ninja Slayer: Machine of Vengeance after getting a good 8 volumes in.
https://www.vertical-inc.com/books/ninjaslayer.html
https://www.vertical-inc.com/books/ninjaslayer.html
Manga, 1 vol, 2014
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Licensed by Kodansha in 2015 but failed to materialize, baby.
Manga, 39 vol, 1999
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GetBackers was a casualty of Kodansha revoking their license from TokyoPop. While similar victims Initial D and Rave Master would be rescued by Kodansha USA, Getbackers didn't have the same fate, but fans would fill the gap anyways.
Manga, 20 vol, 2010
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Silent Manga Audition Community (SMAC) launched an interesting program where they would allow users to vote on any series from Comic Zenon to be translated. Their lineup started with Ikusa no Ko, Arte, and Nobo to Kanojo. It lasted over a year. Those latter two series were later rescued, but this one wasn't.
https://www.manga-audition.com/comic-zenon/ikusa-no-ko-by-tetsuo-hara/
https://www.manga-audition.com/comic-zenon/ikusa-no-ko-by-tetsuo-hara/
Manga, 33 vol, 2001
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The only series to be added to that lineup from the vote was Angel Heart. SMAC would then release a chapter per month. With the series originally being a weekly serialization that was 300+ chapters long, it would have taken 30 odd years to finish translation with that schedule. SMAC only managed 1.
https://www.manga-audition.com/comic-zenon/angel-heart-by-tsukasa-hojo/
https://www.manga-audition.com/comic-zenon/angel-heart-by-tsukasa-hojo/
Manhwa, ? vol, 1998
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Originally released by ICEkunion, Yen Press would absorb the smalltime manhwa publisher and continue the series, stopping just short of the 9th and seemingly final volume.
Manhwa, 3 vol, 2011
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Published in 3 volumes in South Korea, which Yen Press compiled into 2 omnibus volumes. However, the volumes weren't ever a complete collection of the original webtoon in the first place.
https://yenpress.com/series/milkyway-hitchhiking
https://yenpress.com/series/milkyway-hitchhiking
Manhwa, ? vol, 2005
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Tapas released the 30+ chapters that comprised the first season of Blood Ocean and nothing else. They also apparently fully translated its prequel Estancia, but later removed it entirely, while keeping the incomplete Blood Ocean up. Oh well!
https://tapas.io/series/bloodocean/info
https://tapas.io/series/bloodocean/info
Manhua, ? vol, 2014
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Lan Chi suddenly disappeared from the Tapas service one day, taking away the 400+ translated chapters. Here today, gone tomorrow.
