Bushiroad is not slowing down with Cardfight!! Vanguard. The franchise has officially rolled out a brand new manga, Cardfight!! Vanguard Full Fighters, with the series beginning serialisation in the May issue of Shogakukan's Monthly Coro Coro Comics on Wednesday.
This one is illustrated by Makoto Daienbo, who already has Vanguard experience after working on Cardfight!! Vanguard Skyride. That earlier manga started in December 2023, ended on March 13, and later received its fourth compiled volume in July 2025.
The hook for Full Fighters is simple, but quite solid: it follows two completely new protagonists, Asahi Hyuga and Yoru Getsudo, who are both beginners to the Cardfight!! Vanguard card game. The interesting part is how differently they approach it.
Asahi is the easygoing type. He likes games because they let him connect with people, and making friends comes naturally to him. Studying, though, not so much. Yoru is basically the opposite. He is more serious, prefers being alone, and gets his fun from figuring out how to win. So straight away, this looks like a classic personality clash setup, but one that fits a card game series pretty nicely.
For Vanguard fans, especially those who enjoy the franchise when it leans into character dynamics, that is probably the main selling point here. Bushiroad is not just adding another side story. It is introducing fresh faces with a clear contrast in play philosophy, which is usually where good TCG manga gets interesting.
Why should Malaysia and SEA fans care? Easy, bro. Vanguard has always had that overlap between anime crowd and local card shop crowd. Around Southeast Asia, Bushiroad titles still have recognisable pull with TCG players, collectors, and anime fans who grew up following franchise expansions across shows, manga, and game products. A new manga helps keep the brand active between major anime milestones, and it gives newer readers a cleaner entry point instead of forcing them to catch up on years of lore first.
The timing also makes sense because the anime side of the franchise is still busy. The latest TV entry, Cardfight!! Vanguard Divinez Genma Seisen-hen (also known as Cardfight!! Vanguard Divinez Phantom Star Battle Arc), premiered on January 10 and aired its 12th and final episode on April 11. That series was the 10th season of Vanguard's ongoing D Series.
Next, Bushiroad is sending Cardfight!! Vanguard Divinez Unmei Seisen-hen to Japanese theatres on October 2. It is being positioned as the final arc of the DivineZ saga. After that, the franchise already has a completely new TV anime lined up for 2027, which will also mark Vanguard's 15th anniversary.
That bigger picture matters. The current D Series started back in April 2021 with overDress, then kept expanding through will+Dress and multiple Divinez instalments. Bushiroad had originally said the D Series would run for up to nine seasons, but it later confirmed plans for a 10th season and beyond. So yeah, Vanguard is clearly still one of those franchises Bushiroad wants to keep feeding, not just maintain on autopilot.
For now, Full Fighters looks like the next piece in that push, and it could be a fun one if the Asahi-Yoru contrast lands properly. Friendly chaos versus calculated tryhard energy? That combo can definitely work.
Source: Anime News Network