# Subaru and Subaru
**Subaru and Subaru** (*Subaru to Subaru*; 昴と彗星) is a Japanese street-racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It is a sequel to Shigeno's previous series *MF Ghost*, which itself followed *[Initial D](https://www.edgepedia.org/initial-d)*, and it began serialization in Kodansha's *Weekly Young Magazine* on July 22, 2025[1](https://us.oricon-group.com/news/4880/). The series is officially positioned as a continuation of the "fastest on public roads" saga begun with *Initial D*, merging the worlds of *Initial D* and *MF Ghost* into one[1](https://us.oricon-group.com/news/4880/) • [2](https://kmanga.kodansha.com/title/10664/episode/361036).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author | Shuichi Shigeno, creator of *Initial D* (1995–2013) and *MF Ghost*[1](https://us.oricon-group.com/news/4880/) |
| Japanese title | 昴と彗星 (*Subaru to Subaru*), published by Kodansha[2](https://kmanga.kodansha.com/title/10664/episode/361036) |
| Serial debut | *Weekly Young Magazine* issue #34, July 22, 2025[1](https://us.oricon-group.com/news/4880/) |
| Premise | Set one year after Kanata Rivington dominated the MFG street racing circuit; two new drivers, both named Subaru, enter the event[2](https://kmanga.kodansha.com/title/10664/episode/361036) |
| Main characters | Subaru Sato of Gunma Prefecture (Subaru BRZ ZD8) and Subaru Kudo of Kanagawa (Toyota GR86)[2](https://kmanga.kodansha.com/title/10664/episode/361036) |
| English release | Serialized in English on Kodansha's K Manga app; *Subaru and Subaru 1* in print from Kodansha Comics, April 6, 2027[3](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/845134/subaru-and-subaru-1-by-shuichi-shigeno/9798900740614/) • [4](https://tsuzuku.blog/news/k-manga-expands-library-with-subaru-and-subaru-si-land) |
## Premise and characters
The story opens one year after Kanata Rivington, Takumi Fujiwara's student, dominated Japan's MFG street racing circuit in *MF Ghost*. Two new drivers enter the MFG Freshman Series: Subaru Sato, from [Gunma Prefecture](https://www.edgepedia.org/gunma-prefecture), and Subaru Kudo, from Kanagawa[2](https://kmanga.kodansha.com/title/10664/episode/361036).
**Subaru Sato (佐藤昴)** is the Gunma-side protagonist, a female driver who admires Kanata and races a Subaru BRZ (ZD8). She is a former junior karting champion at Akina Kartland and joins the Dream Project driver-development program after high school[5](https://nevix.com/t/subaru-to-subaru-01kbwmex29bx6r14q0rset6t3r?lang=en) • [6](https://mangapedia.com/%E6%98%B4%E3%81%A8%E5%BD%97%E6%98%9F-zww83aobx). In the story she meets Bunta Fujiwara, Takumi's father, who becomes her mentor[1](https://us.oricon-group.com/news/4880/). Her given name 昴 is the [Japanese name](https://www.edgepedia.org/japanese-name) of the Pleiades star cluster, the origin of the Subaru brand name[5](https://nevix.com/t/subaru-to-subaru-01kbwmex29bx6r14q0rset6t3r?lang=en).
**Subaru Kudo (工藤彗星)** is the Kanagawa-side protagonist, a young man racing a [Toyota GR86](https://www.edgepedia.org/toyota-gr86) who is backed by Ogata, Kanata Rivington's former mechanic[6](https://mangapedia.com/%E6%98%B4%E3%81%A8%E5%BD%97%E6%98%9F-zww83aobx) • [7](https://subaru-and-subaru.fandom.com/wiki/Subaru_Kudo). His given name is written 彗星, which normally reads "suisei" (comet); Shigeno chose the less common reading "Subaru"[7](https://subaru-and-subaru.fandom.com/wiki/Subaru_Kudo). The two share the pronunciation of their names and drive sibling cars from the same Toyota–Subaru joint platform, the BRZ and the GR86[5](https://nevix.com/t/subaru-to-subaru-01kbwmex29bx6r14q0rset6t3r?lang=en). The two are written as contrasting drivers: Sato an intuitive, aggressive "sensation" type, Kudo a cautious, analytical one[6](https://mangapedia.com/%E6%98%B4%E3%81%A8%E5%BD%97%E6%98%9F-zww83aobx).
## Place in the series
The manga continues the public-road-racing universe Shigeno built over three decades. *Initial D*, which ran in *Weekly Young Magazine* from 1995 to 2013, followed Takumi Fujiwara driving his father's [Toyota AE86](https://www.edgepedia.org/toyota-ae86); *MF Ghost*, serialized from 2017 to 2025, followed Kanata Rivington in the MFG circuit[8](https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2396938/full/). *Subaru and Subaru* debuted on July 22, 2025, almost 30 years after *Initial D* premiered on July 17, 1995, and shortly after *MF Ghost* concluded in February 2025[9](https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/initial-d-shuichi-shigeno-subaru-and-subaru/) • [8](https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2396938/full/).
Shigeno, born in 1958 in Niigata Prefecture, debuted as a manga artist in 1981 and won the Kodansha Manga Award in 1985 for *Baribari Densetsu*[10](https://magazine.yanmaga.jp/c/Subaru_and_Subaru/).
## Promotion and release
The launch was backed by an unusually large print campaign. On June 6, 2025, the morning editions of The Asahi Shimbun and The Yomiuri Shimbun carried split-page ads that joined to form a single illustration, Shigeno's first new illustration in 11.5 years, showing Takumi Fujiwara, Keisuke Takahashi, and Ryosuke Takahashi with their Toyota AE86 and Mazda RX-7s[9](https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/initial-d-shuichi-shigeno-subaru-and-subaru/) • [1](https://us.oricon-group.com/news/4880/). A Gunma edition of the ad showed Bunta Fujiwara beside a VA-generation Subaru WRX STI, and eight more regional editions reproduced famous *Initial D* battles in the prefectures where they took place, for nine regional versions in total[1](https://us.oricon-group.com/news/4880/).
The series was added to Kodansha's English-language K Manga app on August 24, 2025, among the magazine's 45th-anniversary releases[4](https://tsuzuku.blog/news/k-manga-expands-library-with-subaru-and-subaru-si-land). The Japanese edition is published as *Yanmaga KC Special* paperbacks of 192 pages each; volume 2 followed on March 6, 2026, and volume 3 on July 6, 2026, with volume 4 scheduled for November 6, 2026[10](https://magazine.yanmaga.jp/c/Subaru_and_Subaru/) • [11](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/comic/products/0000424981) • [12](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/titles/1000049762). [Penguin Random House](https://www.edgepedia.org/penguin-random-house) lists *Subaru and Subaru 1* as a Kodansha Comics paperback at $14.99, available April 6, 2027[3](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/845134/subaru-and-subaru-1-by-shuichi-shigeno/9798900740614/).
## Reception
Japanese reader-review platforms have received the first volumes with an average rating of 3.8 out of 5 across 24 reviews on Comic Seymour[13](https://www.cmoa.jp/title/340311/).
## References
1. [Shuichi Shigeno Launches New Manga "Subaru and Subaru" in July, Japan Anime News powered by ORICON NEWS](https://us.oricon-group.com/news/4880/)
2. [Subaru and Subaru, CHAPTER 8 THE "COMET", K MANGA (Kodansha)](https://kmanga.kodansha.com/title/10664/episode/361036)
3. [Subaru and Subaru 1 by Shuichi Shigeno, Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/845134/subaru-and-subaru-1-by-shuichi-shigeno/9798900740614/)
4. [K Manga Expands Library with Subaru and Subaru, Si Land, Tsuzuku](https://tsuzuku.blog/news/k-manga-expands-library-with-subaru-and-subaru-si-land)
5. [Subaru to Subaru, Nevix](https://nevix.com/t/subaru-to-subaru-01kbwmex29bx6r14q0rset6t3r?lang=en)
6. [昴と彗星（漫画）, Manga Pedia](https://mangapedia.com/%E6%98%B4%E3%81%A8%E5%BD%97%E6%98%9F-zww83aobx)
7. [Subaru Kudo, Subaru and Subaru Wiki (Fandom)](https://subaru-and-subaru.fandom.com/wiki/Subaru_Kudo)
8. [『頭文字D』シリーズ新連載『昴と彗星』開始, ORICON NEWS](https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2396938/full/)
9. [Initial D creator to debut Subaru-centric manga set in the Fujiwara universe, Japanese Nostalgic Car](https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/initial-d-shuichi-shigeno-subaru-and-subaru/)
10. [昴と彗星｜ヤングマガジン公式サイト (Kodansha)](https://magazine.yanmaga.jp/c/Subaru_and_Subaru/)
11. [『昴と彗星（２）』, Kodansha](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/comic/products/0000424981)
12. [『昴と彗星』既刊・関連作品一覧, Kodansha](https://www.kodansha.co.jp/titles/1000049762)
13. [昴と彗星（１）レビュー, コミックシーモア](https://www.cmoa.jp/title/340311/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Comics and sequential art › Comic-book series and issues › Japanese shōnen and seinen manga › Action and adventure manga*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license