Minekura releases Saiyuki Ibun ahead of Blast

Manga creator Kazuya Minekura has launched her Saiyuki Ibun historical adventure series in the 11th issue of Ichijinsha's Zero Sum Ward magazine on Wednesday. According to Minekura in a July 16 blog entry, Saiyuki Ibun recounts how a man grew up to become the pivotal character Kômyô, years before the first Saiyuki storyline.

Minekura had stated in a May 2 blog entry that her next series will be the final act of Saiyuki. However she had since downplayed that statement in a later July 12 entry. In that entry, she said that she will launch a series called Saiyuki Reload Blast in Monthly Comic Zero-Sum magazine in December. Monthly Comic Zero-Sum magazine is another Ichijinsha publication; it had serialized the Saiyuki Reload manga until its end in June. -- more news from ANN