IDW Licenses Sonic the Hedgehog: The Blade of Courage Manga
The misattributed reviews on the English debut highlight a recurring issue where digital platforms fail to credit the actual creators, potentially undermining the visibility of the original manga artist in a franchise known for multiple contributors.
Key Facts
- IDW Publishing began releasing Sonic the Hedgehog: The Blade of Courage in English through the IDW Comics app on July 29, 2026.
- Yuki Imada launched the manga in Shogakukan's Monthly CoroCoro Comic magazine in June 2025.
- Shogakukan shipped the single compiled book volume on December 26.
- Imada expressed frustration on X after reviews on the app credited Ian Flynn and Tracy Yardley instead of him.
- IDW's Sonic editorial team said the release was made possible through partners at Sega and Shogakukan.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, Animehunch.
IDW Publishing began releasing Yuki Imada's Sonic the Hedgehog: The Blade of Courage manga in English through the IDW Comics app on Wednesday, July 29. The manga, which follows Sonic teaming up with a slow human named Yuta to travel through a jungle and save the world, originally launched in Shogakukan's Monthly CoroCoro Comic magazine in June 2025. Shogakukan shipped the single compiled book volume on December 26. The English release is the first official translation of the series, made possible through partners at Sega and Shogakukan. However, shortly after the debut, Imada expressed frustration on X, sharing a screenshot of the app's review section where several reviews credited other Sonic creators, such as Ian Flynn and Tracy Yardley, instead of Imada. Imada wrote that he drew the art and wrote the story himself, and that he had never felt so insulted. IDW's Sonic editorial team said they were thrilled to bring the official English release to readers, noting fans had been looking forward to Sonic and Yuta's quest to stop Dr. Eggman.
- Imada ended the Shadow the Hedgehog manga in February 2025, and launched it in Monthly CoroCoro Comic in September 2024.
- Imada ended the Mini4King manga, co-created with Hiroyuki Takei, in April 2023.
- The screenshot Imada shared showed one review crediting Ian Flynn for the story and another praising artwork by Tracy Yardley, both of whom did not work on The Blade of Courage.
- Multiple reviews in the screenshot referred broadly to IDW's handling of the Sonic franchise rather than the manga itself.
- Imada's full post read: "(Even though it was supervised) I drew the art and wrote the story myself, so what the hell is this? I was finally excited that people overseas would get to read it, and then this happens... I've never felt so insulted."
- IDW's Sonic editorial team said they were "thrilled" to bring the release to readers "thanks to our partners at Sega and Shogakukan," and that fans had been looking forward to "Sonic and Yuta's quest to stop Dr. Eggman."
- The English release is available alongside IDW's other Sonic the Hedgehog comics, per the editorial team's statement.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.