New Del Rey Licenses include Sohyruden

The North American publisher Del Rey announced at its Comic-Con International panel that it has acquired licenses for the Negima, Orange Planet, and Yokai Doctor manga. It also licensed the Sohryuden novel inspiration for the Sohryuden - Legend of the Dragon Kings anime, and will release a CLAMP in America retrospective book.

For me personally, I'm extremely excited at the Sohryuden license announcement. It's great to see some old classics resurface and finally come to the U.S. via the anime's original source. After all these years, Sohryuden has held a timeless spot in my all time favorite titles. It's been more than a decade since I saw the anime, and almost 2 decades since the manga and novel was released in Japan. I am hoping Del Rey's release will include illustrations from Yoshitaka Amano.

The story features four divine Dragon representing 4 kingdoms - north, south, east and west. The brothers are reborn in the modern world, complete with supernatural powers and the ability to become the Dragons they descended from. They are content to live ordinary lives until evil creatures come to attack them.

It becomes the mission of the four brothers to defeat the "Four Sisters", four girls from America and the descendants of the "Bulls", before they use their control over technology and the economy to take over the world. However, as this battle begins, the four brothers must also find their place in the world as they flee from the destructive will of the "Bulls".