On February 5th 2002, writer NisiOisiN and artist Take released NisiOisiN's debut novel, Zaregoto, Book 1: The Kubikiri Cycle, after winning the Mephisto Prize for unpublished genre works (the winners are published by Kodansha). The pair would go on to created Katanagatari, and NisiOisiN would write the otaku-favorite Monogatari series. In honor of the occasion, Take posted a piece of tribute art, put on the celebratory flowers.

Decapitation: Kubikiri Cycle (Zaregoto Series) was released in North America by Vertical on January 24th.

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.