Inori's Homunculus Tears Yuri Novel Gets Manga by Ayster, Dokico
German publisher Dokico announced on Saturday that Ayster will draw a manga adaptation of author Inori's Homunculus Tears: Alchemy for the Brokenhearted (Homunculus no Namida ~Kietai Kimi e no Renkinjutsu~) novel. Dokico will begin releasing the manga in German, English, and Japanese simultaneously in January 2027.
【announcement】 Inori-senseis “Homunculus Tears: Alchemy for the Brokenhearted” is getting a manga adaptation by Ayster-sensei (@Ayster_ )! Follow the manga adaptation published by Dokico starting in January 2027. Simultaneously release in english, german and japanese. To celebrate the release, we also received a small message and illustration from Ayster-sensei, we would like to share with you.
— HomTears (@HomTears) October 10, 2026
Inori offered the following statement regarding the manga adaptation:
“Homunculus Tears: Alchemy for the Brokenhearted” is getting a manga adaptation! Though the previous plans for it had to be canceled, the project has been restructured and is officially moving forward. [...]
I wrote this novel for my teenage self, who didn't believe she had a place in life, and for all those who have ever felt the same. It's a dear story to me, and although there have been many twists and turns, I have found an artist who understands its painful yet caring nature. I hope Ayster-sensei's Maha and Ruri will keep you company on a cold, lonely night, and I hope you're as excited about this adaptation as I am.
Ayster offered the following statement regarding the manga adaptation:
I'm honored to be drawing the manga adaptation of Homunculus Tears! I'll do my best to bring Maha and Ruri's story to life! Thank you for your support!
The announcement notes that there was an earlier announcement for a manga adaptation of the novel, which originally had Nata Ōkura and Kadokawa working on it, but the project fell through.
Inori self-published the original novel digitally in Japanese in April 2025, as well as in English in May 2025. Sekai Edition published the novel in Spanish, and Dokico handled the German release. Kevin Ishizaka worked on the novel's English translation. AONOSHIMO drew the illustration for the novel.
Inori describes the novel:
Amid a prolonged conflict between humans and demons, humanity stands on the brink.
The protagonist, Maha, is a powerful human alchemist fighting on the frontlines. One day, however, Maha's mother, Diriyah—who is also an engineer—announces that she has achieved a breakthrough by successfully creating a “Homunculus” through the use of alchemy.
According to Diriyah, with the Homunculus to stand in and fight, humanity can triumph over the demons without further sacrifice of human lives.
Paying little heed to the rejoicing troops, Maha—who has only ever found purpose on the battlefield—is shaken by the prospect of losing the only meaning in life she has ever known.“If I'm not even expected to fight… What exactly am I supposed to do?”
This is a story about overcoming the despair of having never wanted to be born.
Dokico announced on June 25 earlier this year that it will release its first original light novel series titled Poison for the Moon, Medicine for the Night—An Assassin Who Longs for Death and a Vampire Marked for Death (Tsuki ni Doku, Yoru ni Kusuri: Shinitai Ansatsusha to, Shi wo Nozomareru Kyūketsuki), under the company's Yurico project, with the first volume scheduled for release digitally worldwide in December. Inori is writing the story with illustration by Komizuki.
AONOSHIMO launched a manga adaptation of the novel series in Ichijinsha's Comic Yuri Hime magazine in June 2020, where it is currently ongoing. Ichijinsha published the manga's 12th compiled book volume on April 17. Seven Seas Entertainment is also publishing the manga in English.
The series inspired a television anime adaptation that premiered in October 2023. Crunchyroll streamed the anime.
Inori launched the series' sequel titled I'm in Love with the Villainess: Come on and Notice Me Already (Furimukinasai, Watakushi ni!) with its first volume on January 26. Hanagata returned as the illustrator for the novel. The novel focuses on Rae and Claire's daughter Aleah. Seven Seas will release the novel in English in January 2027.
Inori launched a spinoff story titled Heimin no Kuse ni Namaikina! on Shōsetsuka ni Narō in May 2021, and ended it in October 2021. GL Bunko released the story in a digital novel volume in February 2022. Seven Seas Entertainment also released the novel spinoff with the title I'm in Love with the Villainess Spin-Off: She's so Cheeky for a Commoner.
Source: Press release
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.