Hiro Mashima is Starting a new manga!

Key takeaways from Hiro Mashima new manga news:

1. Hiro Mashima, the author of Fairy Tail and Edens Zero, is starting a new manga called Dead Rock, which will be a short-term serialization in the Monthly Shonen Magazine starting in August 2023.
2. Dead Rock is set in Dead Rock Academy, an institution that trains the next ruler of the underworld, and follows the story of Yakuto, a young demon protagonist.
3. Despite Mashima already working on two ongoing manga series, Dead Rock’s addition to his workload raises concerns about his ability to manage multiple projects, but fans hope for an entertaining story from the renowned manga artist.

Hiro Mashima is a well-known name to people who are relatively deep into mangas. It may not be a familiar name like Oda or Miura (for most people) but I’d say it is a tier or two below that. We all know his most famous work though, Fairy Tail.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve watched it or not, you have definitely at least heard of Fairy Tail if you’ve been around in the community for any amount of time. Yes, Fairy Tail has its issues but it is for the most part, pretty enjoyable. And that s why it is famous.

So, the author of Fairy Tail and Edens Zero, Hiro Mashima is starting a new manga called Dead Rock. Let’s take a look at everything we know about it so far.

What do we know about Dead Rock?

The July 2023 issue of the Monthly Shonen Magazine announced that the manga, Dead Rock will be sterilized in the magazine’s next issue. The August issue of the Monthly Shonen Magazine comes out on 7th July and Dead Rock Chapter 1 will be serialized in that issue. Mashima later confirmed that the manga would be a short-term serialization.

As for the plot, the story will take place in the titular Dead Rock Academy. It is an academy meant to train the next ruler of the underworld, the Demon King. Our protagonist is Yakuto, a young demon who has enrolled in the academy.

Now that all the news is covered, let’s move on to

My Thoughts

Now, this manga comes at a very interesting time. Hiro Mashima is currently already working on 2 mangas: Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest and Edens Zero. So I’d imagine adding a 3rd one to the list would be quite hectic. He did say that Dead Rock will be a short-term serialization but in terms of a monthly serialization, even a whole year of serialization is just 12 chapters. So even if it is a short-term project, Mashima will have to work on it for several months at the very least. I really hope he can manage all that and does not fall ill because of it.

As for the manga itself, it sounds similar to Misfit of the Demon King Academy on paper. I say ‘on paper’ because the execution of the plot will likely be drastically different. I wonder if we will see the usual Mashima staples in this manga too. Mashima likes to reuse his character designs in different settings. Edens Zero MC looks very similar to Natsu for instance. The Dead Rock MC looks like he will follow the pattern as well.

Conclusion

That is all for now. Let me know what you think in the comments. Dead Rock could potentially be rather entertaining. Hiro Mashima may not always write a cohesive story but he knows how to make the story entertaining. With that said, I will take my leave here. See ya!

Also, please check out my comprehensive guide of Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World right here before leaving!