Yen Press had a busy weekend in London. The publisher rolled out a wave of new license announcements yesterday while its team was at MCM London Comic Con, covering light novels, manga, BL, and audiobooks. The list includes a new Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie volume, the manga version of a hit Japanese horror novel, a deluxe edition of a psychological thriller, and an audiobook tied to Mamoru Hosoda's latest film.
Here is a rundown of everything Yen Press announced, along with what each series is about.
New Light Novels
Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie: Extra Round! is a bonus volume for fans of the series. It collects short stories set after the original story, plus an alternate branch. In "Oscar's Route," Cecilia and Oscar's next year at Vleugel Academy is interrupted by an invitation to a princess's wedding in a neighboring country, only for the bride to threaten to call it off because she has a crush on Oscar. "Gilbert's Route" imagines what would have happened if Cecilia had fallen for Gilbert instead. After the events of Volume 3, Gilbert leaves the Sylvie family for his biological family, and Cecilia has to go incognito at a masquerade tied to the Prosper Kingdom's underworld to win him back. Yen Press billed it as "TWO TIMES THE HAPPILY EVER AFTERS!"
And Thus, the Wizard Noi Garene Became a Bride 100 Years Later is a fantasy romance with a big twist. Noi Garene is the greatest wizard in the Kingdom of Ethria, so when the Demon Lord's vessel turns out to be an orphaned boy, she takes him in, names him Kaldia, and raises him as her apprentice. She sacrifices her life to save him when the Demon Lord's emergence finally comes, and then wakes up a hundred years later to a man who looks just like Kaldia proposing to her.
New Manga Series
About a Place in the Kinki Region is the manga version of Sesuji's "found-footage" horror novel, which became a phenomenon in Japan and was adapted into a live-action film last year. The story follows a man searching for his friend, an occult magazine editor who vanished while researching strange stories about one area in the Kinki Region. As he pieces together old articles, odd fan mail, and forum posts, a disturbing picture comes into focus.
Secret: Homicide Edition brings back Yoshiki Tonogai's psychological horror manga in a new deluxe omnibus. Six survivors of a bus accident are told that three murderers are hiding among them, and the killers have one week to answer for their crimes before the evidence goes to the police.
My Yandere Girlfriend Hiding in the Dungeon Kills Me Over and Over Again follows Kiska, who is falsely accused and banished to the deepest part of a high-level dungeon. Just before a monster finishes him off, he gains a skill called "Save and Reset," which gives him a way to turn things around.
My Childhood Friend Meows Under the Skirt is set in Miyake, the town with the most cats in Japan. Cat-loving Ichika wants to reconnect with her estranged childhood friend Maki after they end up in the same class, and a magical cat's curse changes their relationship.
New BL Titles
Two BL series round out the manga side. Summer Boy Blues follows Atsushi and Michiru, who reunite during the summer of their high school entrance exams after an embarrassing first time together left their relationship in ruins. Is the Hot-Voiced Streamer Into Me?! stars Sora Hoshino, a college student who unwinds by listening to a BL roleplay ASMR streamer named Sojiro, until Sojiro asks to meet in person and Sora gets a big surprise at the meeting spot.
New Audiobooks
Yen Press is also adding two audiobooks. Scarlet is the novel tied to Hosoda's 2025 animated film. Princess Scarlet fails in her revenge against her uncle Claudius, who seized the throne and executed her father, and wakes in a land of the dead filled with fallen soldiers from across time. There she meets Hijiri, a nurse from present-day Japan, and the two set out together.
'Cause I'm Freedom! follows Faye Leonheart, a 17-year-old sword prodigy and heir to the mightiest warrior clan, who returns from her training pilgrimage with a magical machine gun. Her family disowns her, so she sets off to study ancient technology called overgear and explore the world's ruins.
Release dates and formats for each title are listed on Yen Press's official site.
Which of these new Yen Press licenses are you picking up first, the Cross-Dressing Villainess Cecilia Sylvie extra volume or the About a Place in the Kinki Region manga?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.