This past Tuesday, manga publisher Seven Seas teased on social media about an upcoming license reveal. Seven Seas license reveals are hands down my favorites, but this time they cleverly noted that there were “no clues this time for you to dissect our license choice,” although they were gracious enough to mention that “…this manga has not been (re) animated yet.”
Turns out the license (and clever hints) were for the fan-favorite horror comedy Franken Fran! An eight volume series by Katsuhisa Kigitsu, Franken Fran was originally serialized in seinen magazine Champion Red. I first heard about this series back in 2011, thanks to a license request post from the now defunct Manga Curmudgeon; I’ve definitely heard of this series referred to as darker version of Black Jack. Jason Thompson over at ANN also focused on the series pre-license in a 2013 of House of 1000 Manga column.
Also just in time for the announcement, Justin over at Organization Anti-Social Geniuses touches base with Lissa Pattillo on what exactly prompted the long awaited license, including the increased interest in “monster girls.” The series will be released in four 2-volume omnibuses, with the first due out in January 2016. More of the press release below:
Somewhere, out in the sticks of rural Japan, there is a mysterious manor that is home to the greatest surgeon who ever lived. But when the surgeon goes missing, his reanimated daughter, Fran, takes up the family profession, and despite her Frankenstein-like ways, cares deeply for her patients and holds steadfast to the Hippocratic Oath. Fran’s creed? “All lives must be saved, no matter the cost!”
Readers will join Fran, her twisted sister Veronica, and the rest of her monstrous entourage in a gruesomely hilarious tale that would put Mary Shelley to shame! Because for Franken Fran, the ends always justify the means, no matter what ungodly creations emerge from her lab.
“Franken Fran is one of our most requested licenses of all time,” said Seven Seas publisher Jason DeAngelis. “We already have such a passionate fanbase for monster girls—like for our bestselling series, Monster Musume—so Franken Fran is a great fit. It really pushes the envelope as both a horror and comedy.”
The post Seven Seas Gets Spooky in April with License of Franken Fran appeared first on Manga Connection.
