Manga adapts fantasy light novels that inspired 2015 anime

North American manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment announced on Monday that it has licensed Shinichirou Nariie's manga adaptation of Takumi Hiiragiboshi's Absolute Duo light novel series. The first volume is slated to ship on August 29.

Seven Seas describes the story:

To avenge the death of his younger sister, Tor Kokonoe enters the prestigious Koryo Academy, a high school dedicated to training its students to wield Blaze—individualized weapons that are manifestations of one's soul. While the future of a student is often determined by the form their weapon takes, Tor is an Irregular, whose Blaze appears as a shield instead of a melee weapon. How can Tor possibly learn to use his defensive abilities to fight effectively? That's when the Duo system comes in, a program where students are paired up as battle mates, classmates and roommates. Tor's is paired with a silver-haired girl from Scandinavia named Julie Sigtuna, who possesses a power the likes of which has never been seen, and shares his thirst for revenge.

Nariie launched the ongoing manga adaptation in Monthly Comic Alive magazine in July 2013, and it is serialized irregularly. Kadokawa shipped the third compiled volume in March 2015. Hiiragi-Boshi launched the original light novel series with art by Yū Asaba in 2012. Tōru Oikawa drew a spinoff manga titled Absolute Duo Tea Party .

The series inspired an anime adaptation in 2015. Funimation streamed the series as it aired and released the series on home video in North America.