Kino's Journey Light Novel Duo Launch New Supernatural Novel Series
Kadokawa's Dengeki Bunko imprint announced on Friday that Kino's Journey light novel duo writer Keiichi Sigsawa and illustrator Kouhaku Kuroboshi will launch a new light novel series titled Drifted ~John Smith no Edo Hyōryū Kitan~ (Drifted ~Strange Tale of John Smith's Drifting in Edo~). The first volume of the new series will ship on November 10.
◤時雨沢恵一＆黒星紅白による新シリーズがスタート！ 書影解禁！◢ これは一人の男の漂流（ドリフト）の物語。 忍者や妖怪、異能力者と組んで"仕事"をこなす彼が見る真実とは――。 11月10日発売 『ドリフテッド Ⅰ ～ジョン・スミスの江戸漂流奇譚～』 著 時雨沢恵一（@sigsawa） イラスト 黒星紅白（@kuroboshi） #ドリフテッド
— 電撃文庫 (@bunko_dengeki) October 9, 2026
The story centers on a man who wanders aimlessly, and the truths he witnesses, as he joins forces with ninjas, supernatural yōkai entities, and preternatural-powered beings to carry out his "jobs."
Sigsawa began serializing Kino's Journey in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki HP magazine in 2000, and Kadokawa shipped the 24th volume in September 2025. The novel series inspired a 13-episode anime in 2003, followed by movies in 2005 and 2007. A remake television anime premiered in 2017. Sigsawa also published a spinoff series of the novels titled Gakuen Kino about Kino as a high school girl from 2006 to 2021. A manga adaptation of Gakuen Kino launched in Dengeki G's Festival! Comic magazine in 2010. The manga ended with its third compiled book volume in June 2012.
Iruka Shiomiya launched the first manga adaptation of the light novel series in Kodansha's Shonen Magazine Edge in March 2017.
Yen Press recently announced on Friday that it has licensed the original novel series. Tokyopop published the beginning of the novel series in North America. ADV Films released the television anime adaptation. Sentai Filmworks rereleased the anime on DVD in June 2017.
Sigsawa and artist Hayato Asaki recently launched the Kemono-tachi no Peregrinatio (Peregrinatio Bestiarum or The Beasts' Wandering) manga on Shogakukan's Weekly CoroCoro Comic online magazine on July 17. This is the first original manga written by Sigsawa.
Source: Dengeki Bunko's X/Twitter account
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