Manga creator Saburo Nagai is set to launch a brand-new boys-love series titled Iei ga Nai! (translated literally as There's No Deceased Portrait!) on Shinchosha's digital platform Kurage Bunch.
Nagai is best known for the acclaimed manga Smells Like Green Spirit, which ran in Fusion Product's Comic Be magazine between 2011 and 2012. Known for its empathetic portrayal of youth and identity in rural Japan, the manga inspired a spinoff title, Shintan Kairō, and received an English print release via Kodansha USA. Its narrative resonance also led to a live-action television series adaptation in September 2024, followed by a theatrical compilation movie in June 2025.
A New Chapter for Saburo Nagai
Beyond Smells Like Green Spirit, Nagai's bibliography includes Boys, Be Ambitious! (Shōnen yo, Taishi toka Iroiro Idake), which was published in English by SuBLime in 2013. The debut of Iei ga Nai! marks the author's latest return to serialization on Kurage Bunch.
