Leave it to the manga publishers to shower us with gifts during a period of time I’m having issues updating the website. What a world, right? Upside to recent site issues here at Kuriousity is that it should be working smoother and loading quicker now than before!
The inner workings of Kuriousity is not what drew you to this post though, that would be the five new manga licenses that Viz Media announced late last week:
Happy Marriage?! – Maki Enjouji
August 2013 ($9.99/US, $12.99/CAN), 18+
Magi – Shinobu Ohtaka
August 2013 ($9.99/US, $12.99/CAN)
Midnight Secretary – Tomu Ohmi Tomu
September 2013 ($9.99/US, $12.99/CAN), 18+
Sweet Rein – Sakura Tsukuba
November 2013 ($9.99/US, $12.99/CAN)
Voice Over – Maki Minami
October 2013 ($9.99/US, $12.99/CAN)
All of the titles are being published under Viz’s Shoujo Beat imprint, with the exception of Magi which will be an addition to their long-dormant, Shonen Sunday. I love how the release dates aren’t very far off either, so not too long to wait for what sound like some well worth waiting for titles!
Happy Marriage?! and Midnight Secretary are both titles for mature-readers only, which makes them extra exciting after Viz Media’s previous mature-title, Butterflies, Flowers, wrapped up in 2011. Manga-forbid we should ever see characters talking and participating in sex (kinda) like normal people, right?
Magi is the title I’m most excited for however, since I’ve just recently started following the anime adaptation on Crunchyroll. The story follows a number of characters across a culturally rich landscape, but predominantly it focuses on a boy named Aladdin, a young but powerful magic user born with the destiny to choose a candidate to become King. Alongside him travels his faithful genie, a man named Ali Baba and a tough-as-nails woman named Morgiana. Together they survive dangerous dungeons, political perils and mystical mysteries. Very good times!
Happy Marriage?! is about a woman who agrees to an arranged marriage in order to help her Father. She went in thinking there was a way out, but her new husband-to-be isn’t so willing to let it go. I’m assuming there’s a bit more to it than that, and that it doesn’t play out as potentially sinister as the plot suggests… Much more cheery sounding is Voice Over, which follows a young woman recently accepted into a voice acting academy as she trains, admires and perseveres her way through a world of students, idols and naysayers.
The stories suddenly get a little weirder with the last two. Midnight Secretary is about a female secretary who is exceptional at her job so she isn’t phased when she’s assigned to the managing director of a large company. However then she discovers he’s actually… a vampire! Assume numerous complications here. Lastly in Sweet Rein, a woman who doesn’t wish to spend Christmas alone goes out on a walk only to bump into a man who tells her she is actually a Santa Claus and he’s her trusty reindeer. Say what?
I’m eager to read all these titles after learning about them – with exception though of Happy Marriage?! which hasn’t piqued my interest with its synopsis – so this was an exceptionally exciting batch of titles. Magi I want from experience with the anime, Voice Over sounds great for its unique premise and the other two sound so silly that I have to read them.
You can read more details on the licenses via Viz Media’s press release.
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