Mada Kimi o Miageteru Volume 1 Reveals Its Cover Ahead of a September 9 Release

Mada Kimi o Miageteru (まだ君を見上げてる) by Asahito Akagi has officially revealed the cover of its first collected volume. The artwork was unveiled through the manga's official account on August 28, 2026.

Volume 1 will be published by Kodansha under the Morning KC imprint on September 9, 2026. The cover puts heroine 椿月 front and center, reflecting a story about two adults trying to restart both their lives and their creative ambitions.

> Light spoiler notice: Official Volume 1 promotion openly identifies 椿月 as a widow. This article references that detail without discussing the circumstances surrounding her husband's death in depth.

Quick Summary

• Title: Mada Kimi o Miageteru
• Japanese title: まだ君を見上げてる
• Romanization: Mada Kimi o Miageteru
• Format: Manga
• Creator: Asahito Akagi / 赤城あさひと
• Publisher: Kodansha
• Imprint: Morning KC
• Serialization platform: Comic DAYS
• Status: Ongoing
• Serialization began: April 12, 2026
• Update schedule: New free chapter every other Sunday at noon JST
• First chapter: Permanently available for free
• Latest collected release: Volume 1
• Volume 1 release: September 9, 2026
• Editions: Print and digital
• Print price: ¥792 including tax
• Pages: 176
• ISBN-10: 4065447283
• ISBN-13: 978-4-06-544728-4
• Story direction: Adult romance / creative youth drama
• Protagonist: Keita / 啓太
• Heroine: 椿月
• Keita: Previously pursued a career as a manga artist
• Keita at the beginning: Has given up on that dream and returned to his hometown
• Past relationship: Keita and 椿月 were high-school classmates
• Keita in high school: Often drew quietly in the corner of the classroom
• 椿月: Frequently approached and teased him on a whim
• Reunion: Takes place after they have become adults
• Official description of 椿月: An adult gyaru widow
• Core themes: Starting over, creativity, loss, and old relationships
• Volume 1 cover: Revealed August 28, 2026
• Cover focus: 椿月
• Gamers bonus: Newly drawn four-page booklet

Volume 1 Cover

The First Cover Puts 椿月 Front and Center

The official account revealed the complete Volume 1 design on August 28, less than two weeks before the book reaches stores in Japan.

Its illustration places 椿月 in close-up against a strongly pink visual treatment. The promotional copy also directly introduces her as an “adult gyaru widow,” making her post-high-school circumstances an important part of the first volume's identity.

The artwork will be used for the Morning KC collected edition arriving in September.

Keita Returns Home After His Manga Dream Falls Apart

The story follows Keita, who once loved drawing and hoped to become a professional manga artist.

After that dream fails to work out, he returns to his hometown. There, he unexpectedly reunites with 椿月, a former high-school classmate who used to approach him whenever he sat alone drawing in the classroom.

Having already abandoned manga, Keita gradually finds himself reconnecting with the urge to create through that reunion.

椿月 Is Also Carrying a Difficult Past

Their reunion is not simply a nostalgic meeting between two old classmates.

Comic DAYS initially kept 椿月's circumstances vague, but later official promotion has openly revealed that she lost her husband and is now a widow.

That places Keita's creative failure alongside 椿月's personal loss. Both have changed since high school, even if their spontaneous and occasionally chaotic dynamic still feels familiar.

Serialized on Comic DAYS Since April 2026

Mada Kimi o Miageteru began serialization through Comic DAYS on April 12, 2026.

Kodansha keeps the first chapter permanently free and schedules a new free chapter every other Sunday at noon JST.

Its opening stretch develops from Keita and 椿月's reunion into Keita drawing again, confronting the response to work he puts online, and gradually learning more about the life 椿月 lived after school.

Volume 1 Has 176 Pages and a Gamers Bonus

The physical edition costs ¥792 including tax, runs for 176 pages, and carries ISBN 978-4-06-544728-4.

Game Ad

Happy Endings

Kodansha lists the September 9 release, while Amazon Japan has already opened preorders for the physical book. A digital edition is also scheduled alongside the collected release.

Gamers is offering an additional four-page booklet featuring newly drawn artwork, while supplies last.

Why This Matters

1) The romance starts after youthful dreams have already failed

Keita and 椿月 do not meet as teenagers preparing for the future, but as adults who have already experienced lives that went differently from what they once imagined.

2) Creativity is directly tied to Keita's character arc

His failed attempt to become a manga artist is not just background information. Choosing whether to draw again becomes one of the story's main engines.

3) The first volume brings romance and loss together

椿月's status as a widow gives their reunion considerably more weight than a simple high-school nostalgia story.

Manga Information

Additional confirmed information currently includes:

• the official Japanese title is まだ君を見上げてる
• no official global English title has been announced
• the romanized title used here is Mada Kimi o Miageteru
• Asahito Akagi writes and draws the manga
• serialization began on April 12, 2026
• Comic DAYS is the official serialization platform
• the first chapter remains permanently free
• free updates are scheduled every other Sunday at noon JST
• Volume 1 is published under Morning KC
• its Japanese release date is September 9, 2026
• print and digital editions are planned
• the physical list price is ¥792 including tax
• Volume 1 contains 176 pages
• ISBN-10 is 4065447283
• ISBN-13 is 978-4-06-544728-4
• the Volume 1 cover was unveiled on August 28, 2026
• the cover focuses on heroine 椿月
• current official promotion describes 椿月 as a gyaru widow
• Keita previously dreamed of becoming a manga artist
• he returns home after giving up on that goal
• Keita and 椿月 were classmates in high school
• the story blends romance with creativity and rebuilding one's life
• Gamers is offering a newly drawn four-page booklet
• retailer bonuses are available while supplies last
• the manga can be read through Comic DAYS
• the cover announcement is available through Official X
• series updates are posted through Mada Kimi o Miageteru Official X
• the official release listing is available through the Kodansha September 2026 Comic Calendar
• the bonus preorder is available through Gamers

Closing

Mada Kimi o Miageteru is moving into its next stage after running on Comic DAYS since April, with its first collected cover now revealed and Volume 1 scheduled for September 9, 2026.

The manga remains ongoing, leaving Keita's renewed relationship with drawing and his evolving connection with 椿月 to continue beyond the material collected in the first book.