The world of games and manga often intertwine more than you may expect; as one of the most potent and enduring examples, Yu-Gi-Oh was a serialised comic strip in manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump before it was an anime and then became a fully fledged game in its own right.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has the subject of numerous manga strips over the years since it first emerged in 1993, particularly as it is, to use the classic Alphaville song title, rather big in Japan.
Though many Western games struggle to break through to the mainstream in Japan, that’s not the case with MTG, which is the second largest market for the game in the world.
Though several settings and characters from the game have made it into manga form, including, appropriately, Kamigawa Neon Dynasty (the manga tie-in for which can be read for free on Wizards of the Coast’s website, here), pictured above most of the MTG manga adaptations have not been officially translated into English.
That includes the retelling of classic MTG saga, The Brothers’ War, published in manga form as Magic: The Gathering: Urza and Mishra, way back in 2000.
That’s all set to change, as Viz Media, who’ve been at the forefront of translating and publishing manga in the West since the 80s, are exporting a beloved MTG-related series outside of Japan for the very first time.
You’ll note there that I’ve specified Magic The Gathering related, and that’s because the typically (at least for a manga!) bombastically titled ‘Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga’ isn’t actually set within the MTG multiverse at all.
Rather, it’s a story about high school rivals who bond thanks to Magic: The Gathering.
The synopsis (thanks, Wikipedia!) reveals that the story stars Hajime Kanou, a devoted MTG fan who plays the game every day with his classmates. The popular and academically successful Emi Sawatari often mocks Hajime and his friends for playing the game, but harbours a secret: she’s also an excellent MTG player.
When Hajime discovers Emi playing MTG at a local store, their relationship is forever changed.
Set during the earlier days of MTG, in 1998, Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated is now up to a jaw-dropping 14 volumes in its native Japan, having first begun back in May 2019.
Viz Media have announced that the English translation of the first volume will be arriving in stores in the fourth quarter of 2024, and, perhaps most excitingly for actual players and collectors of Magic: The Gathering, it’ll be packaged with an exclusive MTG promo card too!
Though we don’t yet have any further details on what the card looks like or a firm release date for this first volume of Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated, we will of course be keeping a close eye on further announcements from Viz Media, and will share more details as and when they’re revealed!
