Kara Dennison
April 24, 2025 
Feeling the need for some vampire vs. werewolf action? Step into the mind of manga artist Akira Kanou. Outsiders is coming this summer from Titan Manga, telling what starts as an all-too-familiar story. What happens when a teenage girl places herself between two paranormal beings at war? Possibly not what you’re expecting!
Join us for a first look at this exciting new title, and be sure to put down your pre-order so you’ll be ready for its June release!
The Story
Outsiders follows in the footsteps of many paranormal dark fantasies before it. Vampires and werewolves roam the streets of modern-day Japan, taking what they need to live. However, humanity will never know… or at least, most of us won’t. As it happens, a teenage girl named Ema is immune to the vampires’ memory-wiping magic. And she doesn’t take kindly to one of these creatures of the night having his way with her sister.
Now she has eyes on both the vampire Tamaki and the werewolf Taiga… and they’re aware of her. Now caught in a centuries-old feud, Ema will have to protect herself and her loved ones while satisfying her curiosity.
The Art
While the story of Outsiders is interesting enough, it’s the art that will really grab readers. Akira Kanou’s art and character design are utterly gorgeous, blending dark fantasy and shoujo elements. While the color covers are obviously stunning, nothing is lost in black and white. These characters are as beautiful in halftones as they are in full color.
What really makes this art work, though, is its fearlessness in turning to darker subject matter. While this is a very beautiful manga, what happens between the pages isn’t always pretty. And those moments are still rendered with detail and care. It’s a beautiful sort of horror—a tonal dissonance that could go terribly wrong, but here goes oh so right.
The Potential
Any manga’s first volume is going to be largely about setup, and Outsiders is no different. The series ran in Kadokawa Shoten’s Asuka magazine from 2021 to 2023. It comes in at a brisk five volumes, but that still leaves a decent bit of setup for Volume 1. Even so, it’s all fast-moving. Ema, both curious by nature and unaffected by vampire magic, is in the thick of things from the very beginning. We get a quick run-down of this world’s vampires and werewolves, but it’s clear there’s more to learn.
With representatives from each camp close to Ema, and mysteries abounding, Outsiders promises an exciting story full of mystery. Dark fantasy readers, especially lovers of vampire fiction, will want this on their shelves.
Outsiders Vol. 1 goes on sale June 17.
