Kaoru Mori’s A Bride’s Story is getting a new volume — and for the first time, it will arrive under a new publisher. The news was announced alongside the release of the third volume of Mori’s other series, Shirley, which confirmed that A Bride’s Story will continue as Otoyome-Gatari Zoku no 1 (A Bride’s Story Continues 1).
The New Volume
The new book is scheduled to debut in winter and will be released by Yukiwarisō (Hepatica, Inc.), the same publisher behind the third volume of Shirley. It will contain three new chapters running to roughly 80 pages, printed at a larger A4 size — a format that suits Mori’s famously detailed, wide-panel artwork.
One detail worth noting for collectors: the new chapters will not be serialised in a magazine first. Readers will get them collected directly in the volume rather than having to follow them month to month in a print or digital magazine.
What Comes After
Mori plans to publish at least a 16th volume once enough chapters are completed. Kadokawa, the manga’s original publisher, will continue to publish the series digitally from the 16th volume onward, so the shift in publishing does not mean the story leaves its Japanese home entirely.
For context on where the series stands, the 15th compiled volume shipped in Japan in November 2024, and Yen Press released that volume in English in December 2025. A Bride’s Story is released in English by Yen Press.
Why the Publisher Changed
The move has been in the works for a while. In February 2025, the 24th A and B issues of Kadokawa’s Aokishi magazine announced a renewal of the publication, which saw some works continue while others went in a different direction. Both Mori and manga creator Aki Irie were among those who would no longer have their works published in the magazine.
The magazine issues stated at the time that Mori “plans to search for a new form of publication” for her manga, and confirmed that Irie would continue her works in the future. Both A Bride’s Story and Irie’s Go with the Clouds, North by Northwest had moved to Aokishi when the magazine launched, having previously run in Harta.
Mori launched A Bride’s Story in 2008 in Kadokawa’s Fellows!, the magazine that later became Harta. The series, set along the Silk Road in the nineteenth century, became known for its meticulous research into Central Asian cultures, clothing and daily life — the reason its large-format, heavily detailed pages have long been a selling point.
Shirley and Emma Also Return
A Bride’s Story is not the only Mori series getting attention. The third volume of Shirley was the manga’s first new volume in 12 years, and it carried the announcement of the new A Bride’s Story book. It also confirmed that Shirley will get new editions of its first and second volumes, matching the style of the new third volume, including the updated Shirley Medison title.
Mori’s earlier Victorian-era maid manga, Emma, is also set for a planned collector’s edition release.
Why It Matters
A Bride’s Story is a long-running, critically respected series whose releases are far apart and closely tracked by its readership. A new volume is an event on its own, but this one also represents a structural change: a creator moving her flagship work to a new publisher and a new release format after more than a decade and a half with the same stable.
For readers, the practical details are what matter most — three new chapters, roughly 80 pages, a larger printing, and a winter release window. For the industry, it is another example of veteran manga creators reworking where and how their work reaches print as long-standing magazines reshape around them.
It also adds to a run of publishing milestones this year, from long-running series announcing their endings, such as My Tiny Senpai closing with its 14th volume, to publishers expanding their manga slates, like Kadokawa’s manga project with Marvel.
Source: Anime News Network
Featured image: A Bride’s Story (Otoyome-Gatari) manga artwork by Kaoru Mori, via Anime News Network.
