Manga Mavericks Books Announces Two New Manga Series At Animé Los Angeles 2026

During Animé Los Angeles, publisher Manga Mavericks Books announced Divine Messengers And Demonic Guardians and Vegetable Sandwich will be printed in English in the North American market. The newly licensed titles announced during Manga Mavericks’ panel at Animé Los Angeles will be added to their catalog later this year.

The adventure mystery series Divine Messengers And Demonic Guardians comes from indie manga creator duo Koukoku Brothers. Manga Mavericks Books intends to release the series in English as a digital-first title in April 2026, with a print release to be determined at a later date. The first volume of 1980’s inspired action comedy Vegetable Sandwich by Banjo Saitou is scheduled for release in both print and digital formats in September 2026. 

Divine Messengers And Demonic Guardians, Vol. 1 – Digital SRP: $2.99, 76 pages, eISBN: 9781968054311 ∙

For Readers 13+, Available April 2026 (Digital)

What lurks beneath?

The land is split between a heavenly realm where angels dwell and a lower realm made of wastelands. A band of angels is chosen to journey to the lower realm as an envoy from heaven, but the lower realm is fraught with danger. Luckily, they have masked demonic bodyguards to protect them. The two sides have a purely transactional relationship until one angel, Dori, curiously peeks under a demon guard’s mask, only to find that demons have feelings, dreams, desires, and the same visage as the angels. 

Could the demons they have been told not to fraternize with have more in common with them than they thought? And if so, what is preventing them from creating relationships in the first place and why? As their journey commences, they find that the danger of the lower realm may come from a source close to them…

On the upcoming English release of Divine Messengers and Demonic Guardians, the Koukoku Brothers Takenami (writer) and Yoshino (illustrator) said: 

To have our manga Divine Messengers and Demonic Guardians introduced to the world here at Animé Los Angeles is a great honor! The theme of the manga is children experiencing personal growth and going on exciting adventures while befriending people of different cultures. We’re sure readers will be on the edge of their seats as they anticipate what mysteries will come next as they turn the pages! Our name “Koukoku” means “large bird”, so we’d like to invite you to soar on a flight of fancy into a new land of adventure via this story!

Vegetable Sandwich, Vol. 1 – Print SRP: $14.99 / Digital SRP: $6.99, 192 pages, ISBN: 9781968054366 

For Readers 13+, Available September 2026    

High school student Tsukushi has got the look of a thug, but he has one pressing issue: he’s a weakling through and through.

Sure, he has the earnestness to learn, but that can only take a person so far. Warabi, on the other hand, is a crazy strong elementary school student, but doesn’t have anyone she considers a friend. A chance encounter with a lion escaping from a zoo brings the two together, where they realize, despite their myriad of differences, they have plenty in common too. If anyone can be a student in the pursuit of strength, can anyone also be a    teacher?

With art inspired by 80s shonen manga, this is a vegetable you’ll not only want to enjoy first but all the way till the last bite!

Okinawan creator Banjo Saitou provided the following message to share:

I’m extremely honored that my manga Vegetable Sandwich will be published in English, as it’s been a dream of mine to have my manga translated into English and read by overseas fans. This is so awesome! Vegetable Sandwich is a manga I wrote when I wasn’t as accomplished as I am now, so there are a few parts that aren’t as polished as my current work. Still, I hope that it’s the kind of manga that readers can relax and enjoy without thinking too much about it, and it’d bring me so much happiness if it brings just a bit of levity to readers’ daily lives.