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The French Revolution is a time ripe for storytelling. There is drama, action, and extensive use of a guillotine to solve a nation’s problems. However, among all the books, movies, and musicals about the subject, few stories about the French Revolution have been quite as stylish as Shin-ichi Sakamoto’s Innocent series. The first half of the manga was released back in 2023 and now Dark Horse has licensed the second half, Innocent Rogue, for release in Fall 2025.

Innocent followed Charles-Henri Sanson, an executioner at the dawn of the French Revolution who dreams of a world without capital punishment. It is a unique take on the period and garnered multiple award nominations when it was first released back in 2013 in Japan. Innocent Rogue, which is set for release in October 2025 by Dark Horse, follows Charles-Henri’s sister Marie-Joseph as she seeks to avenge her slain lover. Not only does she intend to expose his killer to the world but she is hellbent on dismantling the indifferent society that led to his murder.

There is a wonderful contrast between the two siblings. While Charles-Henri Sanson is determined to end the bloodshed that has become his family’s legacy, Marie-Joseph is driven to commit whatever violence she must in the pursuit of justice. It is a beautifully balanced tale that will finally be released in full in the US.

Just like its predecessor, Innocent Rogue will be released in a three-in-one omnibus format, each having three volumes of the original manga. The first volume of Innocent Rogue will be released in October 2025 as a 608-page volume for $29.99. Future release dates for the rest of the series haven’t been announced yet.

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

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