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While creators like Tukinobu Tatsu (DanDaDan) and Tatsuki Fujimoto (Chainsaw Man) get the brunt of the praise for their work, there is usually a whole team of editors and assistants around them making sure that they hit deadlines and have the best possible manga out there. One editor at Shueisha and Shonen Jump, who has been part of the success of three of the best-selling manga of all time, is branching out on his own, confirming that he is setting up his own manga publishing department.

Shihei Lin has worked with Shueisha for more than a decade and was the editor behind Chainsaw Man, DanDaDan, and Spy x Family for the various Shonen Jump imprints in which those series appeared. In 2022, he stepped down as a full-time Shueisha employee and began working as a freelance editor. While he was still in charge of those high-profile titles, he was setting up his own company, Mix Green.

On April 17, Shihei Lin announced that Mix Green now has a manga editorial department and is currently accepting new submissions from authors. These titles would be published through a new platform that is still in development. The allure for new authors is obvious; Shihei Lin guided three separate mangaka to becoming best-sellers and, free from the demands of working with a corporate giant like Shueisha, he can (hopefully) do it again.

The news is important for fans of the aforementioned series. While Chainsaw Man has ended its manga run, both Spy x Family and DanDaDan are currently ongoing, and it isn’t clear if Shihei Lin will continue to serve as editor for them. Shueisha seemed to have no problem with him working as a freelancer since leaving the company in 2022, but will that agreement continue now that he’s set up what seems to be a direct competitor? That is a question that will have a huge impact on two massive Shonen Jump titles.

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

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