Yen Presshas licensed threenew light novel and manga series, as well as the launch of an audiobook adaptation ofWolf Children: Ame & Yuki. Two light novel titles will be released under the Yen On imprint, while the audiobook will be released under the Yen Audio imprint.
The announcement of the new licenses were revealed ahead of Yen Press’industry panelat San Diego Comic-Con on July 24, 2026, where more license acquisitions will be unveiled.
Here are the details on the publisher’s latest titles:
Light Novel
Let’s Begin, a Battle Without the Hero
TSUGUMICHI DOESN’T WANT TO BE A HERO…BUT HE MAY NOT HAVE A CHOICE!
Akane Kohinata is the perfect main character. She saves hundreds of thousands, brings smiles to people’s faces, and never gives up. However, a climactic battle with the cataclysmic cosmic beasts proves to be her last, and with her final breath, she leaves her legacy in the hands of Tsugumichi Takahashi. The only problem is, he’s a helpless shut-in who doesn’t know the first thing about heroics. Does this nobody really have what it takes to inherit Akane’s will? Project zero to hero is now underway!
The Weakling Who Died a Million Times
THE HEROIC TALE OF A NAMELESS LOWLIFE!
Hey there. I’m a goon. Wouldn’t even call myself a bandit or thief—nothing that official. Just one of many desperate folks who’ve sunk really low to survive. Bottom-of-the-barrel guys like me end up following the orders of the strongest scum around. I’m simply another disposable henchman, but I do have a special ability. No matter how many times I die, I respawn into the body of a new ruffian! What a shame. My dream is to become like the adventurers that regularly wipe out me and my fellow goons. I want to help people. It’s not that I want to die but…what’s five or six lives if my death can protect someone’s future?
Manga
The Dragon Prince’s Ill-Mated Betrothal
Original Story:Nanaki Ichinose
Character Design:Noco Sugimachi
Adeline, daughter of an earl, receives an offer of engagement from the Dragonkin Realm on her seventeenth birthday. All Dragonkins must find their “Mate,” and they want her for their third prince. Soon, amid scorn and criticism, she realizes she’s an unwilling participant in a twisted—and deadly—plot. But the story doesn’t end there! 250 years later, history begins to repeat itself with another invitation…and the unknown secrets that lie beyond it.
Audiobook
Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki
Based on Hosoda’sWolf Childrenanime film. Yen Press also releases the novelization and manga adaptation in English.
When Hana falls in love with a young interloper she encounters in her college class, the last thing she expects to learn is that he is part wolf. Instead of rejecting her lover upon learning his secret, she accepts him with open arms. Soon, the couple is expecting their first child, and a cozy picture of family life unfolds. But after what seems like a mere moment of bliss to Hana, the father of her children is tragically taken from her. Life as a single mother is hard in any situation, but when your children walk a fine line between man and beast, the rules of parenting all but go out the window. With no one to turn to, how will Hana survive?
