During Anime NYC 2025, Seven Seas announced some exciting news for danmei fans at their industry panel on August 22. They revealed their license for the danmei novel series Panguan: The Twelfth Gate [Twitter/X, Bluesky], as well as audiobooks for three of their currently releasing danmei series (Legend of Exorcism [Twitter/X, Bluesky], Riverbay Road Men’s Dormitory [Twitter/X, Bluesky], and Astrolabe Rebirth [Twitter/X, Bluesky]).
Panguan: The Twelfth Gate: Mystery, Reincarnation, and Romance
Panguan: The Twelfth Gate (判官) is a danmei novel series by Mu Su Li. It was originally serialized on jjwxc starting in 2020, where it ran for 117 chapters (plus 6 Extras). It has inspired an audio drama adaptation. The series is set in the same universe as two of the author’s other danmei works, Three Hundred Years of Longing and Copper Coins; both of which are also being released in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.
Seven Seas provides the following series pitch in their press release:
A modern-day, supernatural danmei (Boys’ Love) story about a man without a soul and the one determined to save him at all costs. From the same world as Three Hundred Years of Longing: Bu Jian Shang Xian San Bai Nan and Copper Coins: Tong Qian Kan Shi!
No artist or translators have been officially revealed for the series. However, TinySaltTranslations, who released a popular fan translation of Panguan, disclosed via their blog that they and XiA would be the translators on the project. This news was warmly received by series fans.
Fei Tian Audiobook Extravaganza: Legend of Exorcism, Riverbay Road Men’s Dormitory, and Astrolabe Rebirth
Seven Seas makes their debut in the world of danmei audiobooks with a selection of three works from the popular author Fei Tian Ye Xiang: Legend of Exorcism, Riverbay Road Men’s Dormitory, and Astrolabe Rebirth. These each cover a different genre (respectively: cultivation fantasy/xianxia, modern day slice-of-life, and futuristic sci-fi), making sure that there’s a little something for all tastes available.
The publisher also announced audiobooks for another of their Chinese licenses (Love Between Fairy and Devil [Twitter/X, Bluesky]), as well as the Chinese-inspired Japanese light novel series The Twelve Kingdoms [Twitter/X, Bluesky]. They already have a growing audio library for their Japanese light novels under the imprint Siren, and seem to have been preparing for a danmei audiobook push for some time. In October 2024, Yang Su (There’s Something Wrong with the Chief) mentioned on their Weibo that Seven Seas had also bought the rights to produce an audiobook when they secured the rights to publish their work in English print.
Seven Seas’ announcement indicates the audiobooks will be available “soon,” so it will be interesting to see who will be the first to the danmei audiobook market: Seven Seas, or TokyoPop; whose audiobook for The Wizard is set to be released in October 2025. Audiobooks are an enormously popular market in the NA region, and danmei’s debut in the format is sure to be warmly received by old readers and new listeners alike.
Legend of Exorcism
Legend of Exorcism: Tianbao Fuyao Lu (天宝伏妖录) is a danmei novel series written by Arise Zhang (Fei Tian Ye Xiang). It was originally serialized on JJWXC starting in 2017, where it ran for 221 chapters. The series has an audio drama, a manhua adaptation, and a donghua adaptation.
Chronologically, Legend of Exorcism is the second book in the Exorcism universe after Dinghai Fusheng Records.
Seven Seas provides the following series synopsis:
Hongjun has lived his whole life in the mystical Taihang Mountains, a haven for yao: spirits with powerful magical abilities. A half-yao himself, he knows little of the human world until the day the ruler of the mountain instructs him to conceal his identity and journey to the mortal realm. There, he is to join the Department of Exorcism in the capital of Chang’an.
Upon arrival, Hongjun finds himself under the command of Li Jinglong, a down-on-his-luck general with no spiritual abilities of his own. Along with his fellow exorcists—a group of enigmatic young men with uncanny talents—Hongjun and Li Jinglong must work together to protect Chang’an from the evil yao that lurk in its darkest corners. But greater machinations are afoot in the capital…and in order to confront them, Hongjun will have to reveal all of himself to Li Jinglong.
Riverbay Road Men’s Dormitory
Riverbay Road Men’s Dormitory (江灣路七號男子宿舍) is a danmei novel series written by Arise Zhang (also known as Fei Tian Ye Xiang). It was originally serialized on Kadokado starting in March 2024, where it ran for 50 chapters.
Seven Seas provides the following series synopsis:
Multimillionaire movie director Zhang Yuwen has it all—fame, fortune, and a successful career. But what he really craves is to create a novel he can call true art. Passionate about this dream, he abandons the film industry to pursue writing full-time, only to hit an unexpected roadblock: his characters feel flat, lacking the authenticity he longs for. The problem? Zhang Yuwen has spent most of his life alone and hasn’t had much real-world interaction to draw from.
As a single gay man with a luxurious villa full of empty rooms, Zhang Yuwen comes up with an unconventional solution. Why not rent those rooms out to other gay men and use them as inspiration for his novel’s characters? Enter his four new roommates: Yan Jun, a single father; Chen Hong, a fitness coach; Zheng Weize, a shy young livestreamer; and Chang Jinxing, a playboy and aspiring photographer. Each brings their own unique story and quirks, giving Zhang Yuwen the perfect opportunity to study real people up close.
But as Zhang Yuwen dives deeper into their lives, one question remains: can these very different men manage to coexist long enough for him to finish his masterpiece? Or will the chaos of living together become the real story?
Astrolabe Rebirth
Astrolabe Rebirth (星盤重啟) is a danmei novel series written by Arise Zhang, also known as Fei Tian Ye Xiang. It was originally serialized on JJWXC starting in 2014, where it ran for 19 chapters. The series has an audio drama, and the rights to a live-action adaptation have been sold.
Seven Seas provides the following series synopsis:
In the fractured world of the Astrolabe, where humans are but shadows of their former selves, the City of Steel is ruled by androids and their man-made deity, Father. Humanity lives on the brink of annihilation, and A-Ka, a young slave shackled by oppression, clings to a fragile hope of escaping to a legendary land across the sea.
When A-Ka crosses paths with Heishi, a mysterious raven-haired man awakened after thousands of years, his life is upended. Bound by destiny and an unspoken connection, the two become unlikely allies as they’re swept into a cataclysmic war between clones and androids. As ancient prophecies unravel, the fragile bond between A-Ka and Heishi may hold the key to salvation—or doom.
Source: Seven Seas (Twitter/X [1, 2, 3, 4], Bluesky [1, 2, 3, 4])
