Kobato. (こばと。) premiered in Monthly Sunday Gene-X in January 2005. Seven chapters were released under the title of Kobato.(Kari) (こばと。(仮) Kobato. ("Temporary title")), but the series was put on hiatus in late 2005. It returned to publication in Newtype magazine's November 2006 Japanese edition; the story has subsequently been restarted at an earlier point in the original timeline. The story features a mysterious young girl, Hanato Kobato, who works in a local kindergarten. The first volume of the manga was released by Kadokawa Shoten on December 26, 2007.