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Manga Creator Kia Asamiya's Eye Cataract Surgeries Slated Over Next 2 Weeks

Manga creator Kia Asamiya gave an update on Monday regarding his planned surgeries for his eye cataracts. He said that the surgery for his right eye will happen this week, followed by the surgery for his left eye next week. If the surgeries go well, he will likely be able to attend his planned events in mid-May.

Asamiya also added that his vision has become so bad that he can no longer count his own fingers, and cannot read messages on LINE and Messenger. When Asamiya first shared that he had eye cataracts earlier this year in February, he said that he had already been seeing double images.

Among the well-wishers who responded to Asamiya with messages of support were fellow artists Masami Ōbari, Hidetaka Tenjin, Kazuchika Kise, and Masahiro Yoshinaga.

Asamiya was scheduled to launch a new manga titled Captain Symphonica (image right) on Takeshobo's Web Comic Gamma website in January, but Asamiya stated that the manga "will probably start at the end of this month." Web Comic Gamma has not released any announcement regarding the manga's launch date.

The "retro future sci-fi action" story revolves around silver-winged spaceship "Blitzen" that protects the peace of the solar system by making use of the sonic star weapon "Symphonica Waffe."

Asamiya ended the Speope! (Space Opera!!) manga with the simultaneous release of the seventh and eighth compiled book volumes on December 26. The manga launched in Shonengahosha's Young King Ours magazine in March 2019.

Asamiya created the Silent Möbius, Steam Detectives, Compiler, and Junk: Record of the Last Hero manga, among others. He provided character designs for the Martian Successor Nadesico anime (which he later adapted into the Nadesico manga), adapted the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace film into a manga, and wrote and drew the Batman: The Child of Dreams comic. Many of his manga have been adapted into anime.

Viz Media published his Silent Möbius and Steam Detectives manga in North America, while CPM Manga published Nadesico, and DrMaster published Junk: Record of the Last Hero. Manga Planet licensed Silent Möbius in July 2020.

Source: Kia Asamiya's X/Twitter account via Hachima Kikō