Manga Mavericks Licenses Koukoku Brothers' Divine Messengers and Demonic Guardians, Banjo Saitou's Vegetable Sandwich Manga

Manga Mavericks Books, the new publishing division of the Manga Mavericks website and podcast, announced two new licensed titles during its panel at Anime Los Angeles on Saturday.

Manga Mavericks will release both series in 2026.

Title: Divine Messengers and Demonic Guardians volume 1
Creator: Koukoku Brothers
Release Date: April 2026 (digital)
Summary: 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…

The duo Koukoku Brothers said regarding the English release:

“Hello everyone, we’re the KOUKOKU BROTHERS, Takenami (writer) and Yoshino (illustrator).
We’re a manga artist duo!

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!

Thanks so much!

The manga is an ongoing indie series that is sold at independent comic markets in Japan such as COMITIA. Manga Mavericks Books will release the series as a digital-first title, with a print release to be determined at a later date.

Title: Vegetable Sandwich volume 1
Creator: Banjo Saitou
Release Date: September 2026 (digital and print)
Summary: 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!

Saitou said regarding the English release:

Nice to meet you!

I’m Banjo Saitou and I live in Okinawa, Japan.

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.

I look forward to seeing readers’ impressions!

Two Virgins published the manga in two volumes in Japan. Manga Mavericks Books will release the series at A5 (5.83″ x 8.27″) size.

Source: Press release