Outbreak Company

The year is 20XX, and Shinichi Kanou is a pretty typical otaku: he loves anime, manga, games, and light novels, but his devotion to the two-dimensional hasn't always made him the most popular guy around. What he doesn’t know is that Japan has discovered a portal to another world in the vicinity of Mount Fuji. The people of the Eldant Empire, though, only have eyes for one of Japan’s traditional exports: pop culture. Enter Amutech, a purveyor of “general entertainment” that’s secretly run by the Japanese government. Shinichi lands a job as the company’s general manager. Now he finally has a chance to put his nerd know-how to good use spreading the otaku gospel in the Eldant Empire. And wait... he has to work with a half-elf maid, an empress, AND a female soldier to get the job done?

IS THAT REALLY A SPY?! It's already been a few months since Shinichi came to Eldant, where dragons are commonplace and magic is real. His job is simple: spread otaku culture to the masses of this other world. But of course, things aren't that easy (are they ever?). Eldant is in a state of war, and war includes espionage... so how will Shinichi and company deal with a spy in their midst? Add that to his growing suspicions about his own government's motives, and Shinichi definitely has his hands full. Heavy is the head that wears the otaku crown...

A SOCCER SHOCKER! On the far side of a hyperspace tunnel in Mount Fuji’s “Sea of Trees” lies the Holy Eldant Empire, a fantasy world complete with dragons flying through the sky! Kanou Shinichi is General Manager of Amutech, a company that specializes in bringing otaku culture to other worlds, and he’s finding himself having some... unique personnel problems. Like the fact that his resident artist, Elvia, is a werewolf, so naturally she goes nuts at a certain “special” time of the month. And Brooke the lizardman is... well, he’s basically a lizard, man. Meaning Shinichi can never quite tell what he’s thinking. What to do, what to do? Shinichi’s solution is one only an otaku could come up with: build a little team spirit... through sports! He plans to hold a game in front of the empress herself, but in a world rife with magic, there’s no way things will go quite how he expects. Which side will succeed in this super soccer showdown?!

SHINICHI’S A MAID MAN A passage to another world has been discovered in the “Sea of Trees” near Mount Fuji. That other world is the Holy Eldant Empire, and it’s a full-on fantasy universe, with dragons flying through the sky and everything! The Japanese government, eager to profit from this discovery, secretly sets up a company called Amutech to promote trade by bringing otaku culture to the benighted inhabitants of this land. But wouldn’t you know it, their secret got out! Or anyway, it’s about to. And that’s bad, right? Amutech general manager, former home security guard, and thoroughbred otaku Kanou Shinichi has a solution, and it’s so otaku it hurts: he wants to hold a magical cosplay contest and photo shoot. And in the process, he may be surprised at what he learns about the hidden talents—and the hidden past—of his personal bodyguard, Minori. Shinichi is in for more than he bargained for (again!) in Volume 4 of Outbreak Company!

GONE MISSIN’ On the other side of a wormhole somewhere in Japan is the Holy Eldant Empire, a fantasy world with dragons flying around and everything! Kanou Shinichi is the general manager of Amutech, an interdimensional commerce company created to introduce otaku culture to this new world. But wouldn’t you know it, he’s been kidnapped! The Eldant Empire’s longtime enemy, Bahairam, is behind it—but what’s that? There are political factors at play that mean no one is going to help him?! Shinichi’s loyal maid, Myusel, is determined to rescue her “master” herself. Can she and a small group of volunteers succeed in saving Shinichi? Just what kind of a place is Bahairam, anyway? What could have driven them to this astonishing abduction? And just what tricks does the rescue squad have up its sleeve? We can’t tell you, but you can bet it’ll be otaku to the bone!

THE NEW GIRL IN TOWN On the far side of a mysterious wormhole somewhere in Japan is a fantasy world, and in it, a country called the Holy Eldant Empire. Amutech is a company established to bring otaku culture to the people there (or maybe foist it on them), and now it’s getting a new staff member: Hikaru, who comes in as assistant to the general manager, Kanou Shinichi. She’s also strikingly beautiful, a heckuva communicator, and almost immediately a big hit at both the palace and the school. Eldant will only get even more otaku on her watch, but the beloved cultural export starts to show a dark side, too. At the same time, something is happening in the Eldant Empire, and Shinichi may be in danger (again). What can he do? Anything?!

HOLY SHORT STORY COLLECTION, SHINICHI! A mysterious “hole” connects Japan to a fantasy world called the Holy Eldant Empire. The company Amutech was set up to spread otaku culture in this new land... but the employees are going on vacation. It’s a trip to a nearby lake to help burn up Minori’s accrued vacation days! That means swimsuits! Swimsuits for everyone! And you know where that leads, right…?! It’s all fun and games until—wait, does that cloud look weird to you? It almost looks like someone… taking aim at them?! But that’s not all, no sir! In this volume, we’ve got your stories about more assassins and surprise attacks (we think), about Minori-san’s, uh, propensities exploding onto the scene, about Myusel’s long-kept secrets... Strap yourself in, because a short story collection means s#!t can get as crazy as we want! Wait, where does this even fit in the canon?!

HOW DO YOU FIGURE? To everyone’s surprise, Japan turns out to be connected to a fantasy world called the Holy Eldant Empire via a mysterious warp hole. The Japanese government sets up a company called Amutech to facilitate cultural exchange with their new neighbors by creating a fresh market for otaku culture. Lately, magically-animated figures have been all the rage in the empire. Combined with some incredible stuff he sees at a dwarven workshop, Shinichi resolves to develop a brand-new, uber-otaku technology the likes of which Eldant has never seen, all for the Empress, Petralka. Meanwhile, the world’s elves and dwarves must confront a new danger!

So you’ve got the Eldant Empire, a fantasy world somehow connected to Japan by a mysterious “hole.” And you’ve got Kanou Shinichi, general manager of Amutech, a company whose whole purpose is to promote cultural exchange with this new land—using otaku stuff! Shinichi’s father is a master at churning out popular light novels, but then word reaches Shinichi that his dad’s series has been put on indefinite hiatus. Shinichi may have kept his family at arm’s length in his days as a shut-in, but he can’t ignore this, and makes plans for a visit home. His Eldant friends, worried that this is another ploy on the part of the Japanese government, convince the JSDF to let them send Myusel and Elvia along as bodyguards. Call it the first Eldant embassy to Japan—and they have a lot to learn. An unexpected interloper, a series of accidents, and more international [interdimensional?] intrigue are waiting in the wings for Shinichi and his friends!

*CAN* YOU GO HOME AGAIN? So you’ve got the Eldant Empire, a fantasy world somehow connected to Japan by a mysterious “hole.” And you’ve got Kanou Shinichi, general manager of Amutech, a company whose whole purpose is to promote cultural exchange with this new land—using otaku stuff! Shinichi’s father is a master at churning out popular light novels, but when something happens to him, Shinichi rushes home. His Eldant friends, worried this is another ploy by the Japanese government, send Myusel and Elvia with him—and the Empress Petralka sneaks along for good measure. The Big Three—America, China, and Russia—know something’s up in Japan. That’s why the kids’ sightseeing jaunt to Akihabara turns into a war zone. That’s how Minori gets captured by the Russians. And that’s why Shinichi’s house is surrounded by a mysterious armed squadron. Can Shinichi and his friends rescue Minori and get back to Eldant, or does their journey end here?!

THE BAHAIRAMANIAN CONNECTION On the other side of a wormhole connected to Japan is a fantasy world called the Holy Eldant Empire. A guy named Shinichi is the general manager of Amutech, a company established to foster cultural exchange – otaku culture, that is! It seems strange things are afoot in the neighboring country of Bahairam, which once abducted Shinichi – and now his former kidnappers, Amatena and her subordinate Clara, want to take refuge in Eldant. (Oh, and Amatena just happens to be Elvia’s sister.) Shinichi and the others have been secretly keeping in touch with Amatena and Clara, and are happy to help. But it so happens that just at that moment, cameras have become all the rage at the school Amutech runs. Can they keep their new visitors a secret from all those camera eyes? What about from the deadly pursuers who come from Bahairam to get the runaways back?!

MY FAIR… LAD? On the other side of a wormhole connected to Japan is a fantasy world called the Holy Eldant Empire. A guy named Shinichi is the General Manager of Amutech, a company established to foster cultural exchange—otaku culture, that is! And soon Shinichi will need to be not just the purveyor of consumable entertainments, but the savior of the whole Eldant Empire. Wait, what?! It all starts with the arrival of one Prince Rubert, ambassador from one of Eldant’s allies. He’s, like, a super hunk, and no sooner has he arrived than he drops a total bombshell that leaves the entire imperial court in an uproar. And that's not all: it turns out Rubert and Garius go way back. In fact, in their schoolboy days, they were awfully close, if you know what we mean. (Minori sure does, and it’s making her head explode!) The whole thing's on the train to crazy town... but can the Eldant Empire really afford to have Shinichi play conductor?!

THE ARMOR THEY FALL... On the other side of a wormhole connected to Japan is a fantasy world called the Holy Eldant Empire. Shinichi, your average otaku, is General Manager of Amutech, a company established to foster cultural exchange (otaku culture, that is!) with said fantasy world. The whole setup seems pretty sweet, until Shinichi finds himself caught up in the Eldant Empire’s plan to develop a new weapon! In order to resist the mind-control magic the Kingdom of Zwelberich is so good at, the knight Garius digs deep in the forgotten chambers of Eldant Castle and brings forth something that hasn’t been seen in ages: the Forbidden Armor. He takes it to Shinichi’s mansion to get his opinion, but wouldn’t you know it? Myusel, Elvia, and Petralka all manage to get in trouble with the armor and call down the very worst of curses! Shinichi has seen a lot of craziness in his time in Eldant, but never anything quite like this! Can he possibly cope—let alone make things right? And hold on a second… Doesn’t that Forbidden Armor look strangely familiar?

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE SHINICHI? On the other side of a wormhole connected to Japan is a fantasy world called the Holy Eldant Empire. A guy named Shinichi is the general manager of Amutech, a company established to foster cultural exchange there—otaku culture, that is! Lately, Shinichi has gone back to his old shut-in ways because—well, if you’d been through what he has, wouldn’t you? Minori’s trying everything she can to get him to come out of his cave, but in the meantime, the world outside the mansion is… under existential threat?! Shinichi’s not the only one with a tale to tell, though: everyone’s favorite cross-dresser Hikaru and the lizardman couple Brooke and Cerise also feature in the second Outbreak Company short story collection!

IT’S THE END OF THE OF THE (OTHER) WORLD AS WE KNOW IT On the other side of a wormhole connected to Japan is a fantasy world called the Holy Eldant Empire. The Empire isn’t on the best of terms with the neighboring Kingdom of Bahairam, where there’s just been a major disaster. Amatena and Clara, of the Baharamanian army, are right in the middle of it all when who should they run into but Myusel’s mother, Falmelle! With her Foreseeing Eye, she makes a prediction: “Bring Shinichi here, and things will be resolved!” That’s how Kanou Shinichi, General Manager of the otaku-goods business Amutech, finds himself heading for Bahairam once again, this time with his friends in tow. But the fate of the entire enchanted world might be riding on him! Is this going to be his final fantasy?!

YOIO! (YOU ONLY ISEKAI ONCE!) Connected to Japan via wormhole, the Holy Eldant Empire exists in a parallel fantasy world, where Shinichi has been spending his time as an otaku evangelist. He’s learned that this world is actually a far-future version of our own, and now it turns out instability in the wormhole might threaten the ability to go to modern Japan and back: everyone who’s been sent here could find themselves stranded on an island floating in time. Shinichi and his friends are instructed to leave the other world behind, but Shinichi’s heart is here, and it won’t be so easy for him. As if that wasn’t enough to worry about, he suddenly finds himself confronted with a major threat to both his world and this one… or is that this world and his one? Wait, which world is which? The point is, everyone’s in a lot of trouble! And wait… What’s this about a final countdown? Huh?

DECISIONS, DECISIONS The nation of Japan is connected via wormhole to a place called the Holy Eldant Empire in a parallel fantasy world. It had been Japan’s little (or big) secret, but after an aircraft carrier got caught in the time slip, the Americans know about it, too. The Americans have an extralegal idea for how to get their hands on the extraordinary technology of the Eldant Empire—and their target is Petralka! Can Shinichi and his friends stand against the modern world’s most powerful military force? What waits beyond this final battle? Welcome to the final installment of Outbreak Company!

HER MAJESTY’S A PRETTY NICE GIRL Did we call Volume 18 “the final installment of Outbreak Company”? Oops! Boy, are our faces red. Anyway, the wormhole is closed, but that just means Shinichi and his friends can focus on their new lives in Eldant. For example, settling down with Myusel...until a certain absolute monarch declares she wants to marry our protagonist too! Shinichi isn’t the only one with a relationship to work out, either—there might just be sparks between Hikaru and Elvia, but will this seed of love blossom into a true inter-time-linear otaku romantic saga?! Meanwhile, Minori is busy...well, being Minori, which can only mean...something. No matter what happens, one thing’s for certain: for Shinichi, nothing ever quite goes according to keikaku!* (*That means plan.)