Taiyo Matsumoto is back in Big Comic Original, and this one is already looking like a proper manga-nerd radar ping.
Shogakukan’s Big Comic Original magazine launched Nanbanjin — translated as Foreign Outsider — in its ninth issue on April 20. The new manga is a collaboration between Matsumoto, the legendary creator behind Ping Pong, Tekkonkinkreet, Sunny, and Cats of the Louvre, and French comic artist Cyril Pedrosa.
That pairing alone is enough to make this project interesting. Matsumoto has always had a very loose, emotionally raw, almost sketchbook-like visual rhythm, while Pedrosa comes from the European comics world, where page composition and painterly mood often hit very differently from mainstream manga. So yes, this is not your usual “new historical series dropped” announcement — this is two comic cultures meeting on the page.
What Nanbanjin is about
Nanbanjin is set in the late Muromachi period, around the final stretch of the Ashikaga shogunate before Japan slides into the Sengoku era. The story begins on Tanegashima, where a huge man washes ashore and is helped by Shōbē, an elderly former fisherman.
The earlier announcement for the manga placed the story specifically in 1543, the year Portuguese arrivals reached Tanegashima and introduced matchlock firearms to Japan. That moment became a major turning point for Japanese warfare, with early Japanese matchlocks later commonly associated with the name “tanegashima.”
For SEA anime and manga fans, especially those who are into samurai games and Sengoku-era stories, this setting is very familiar territory — but the angle here feels more grounded than power-fantasy. Instead of just focusing on warlords and battlefield hype, Nanbanjin seems interested in first contact, cultural collision, and the human weirdness of outsiders arriving at the edge of a changing Japan.
Why Malaysian readers should care
If you only follow big shonen titles, this might sound niche. But bro, Matsumoto is one of those creators whose work tends to stick with you. Ping Pong is a sports manga, yes, but it is also about ego, friendship, talent, and burnout. Sunny takes childhood memory and turns it into something quietly devastating. Tekkonkinkreet became a 2006 anime film and still has that cult status among fans who like their anime messy, stylish, and emotional.
This is the type of manga that could appeal to Malaysian readers who enjoy more mature, art-driven stories — the same crowd that checks out seinen titles, indie comics, festival animation, or anything with a strong creator signature. And because this is a Japanese-French collaboration, it also has a good chance of attracting attention beyond the usual manga bubble.
There is also already extra material tied to the project. A two-volume supplementary release launched in France in January, collecting early manga pages and behind-the-scenes production material. One volume focuses on Pedrosa, while the other focuses on Matsumoto. That is a very European comics kind of move, and honestly quite cool for readers who like seeing how the work is built, not just the final chapters.
Matsumoto’s recent run
Matsumoto’s previous Big Comic Original series, Tokyo These Days, ran from June 2019 to June 2023 and was collected into three volumes by Shogakukan. Viz Media has been releasing it in English, with the third volume published in September 2024. The manga also picked up serious recognition, winning the Graphic Novel/Comics category at the LA Times Book Prize and the Eisner Award category for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia.
Meanwhile, Sunny is also getting an animated film from dwarf studios, with completion planned for 2029.
No English release for Nanbanjin has been announced in the provided report, so Malaysian fans will need to keep an eye on Shogakukan, Viz, or other international manga channels. But with Matsumoto’s reputation and Pedrosa’s involvement, this is definitely one to watch.
Source: Anime News Network