VIZ MEDIA MARKS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SHOJO BEAT IMPRINT





Celebrate 10 Years Of Shojo Manga In North America With First-Ever U.S. Appearance Of KAMISAMA KISS Creator Along With Convention Exclusives And Upcoming Shojo Manga Series Debuts

San Francisco, CA, May 15, 2015 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, prepares to celebrate a special milestone with shojo manga fans and a special guest this summer. The company’s Shojo Beat imprint marks its 10th Anniversary and celebrates many more years of great shojo manga to come with a host of activities, creator appearances and special promotions taking place at upcoming major summertime conventions including Anime Expo, San Diego Comic-Con and Otakon.





VIZ Media is proud to announce that it will partner with the 2015 Anime Expo to present the first-ever appearance in the U.S. of Julietta Suzuki, the famed creator of KAMISAMA KISS, at the annual July event held in Los Angeles, CA. Scheduling and event information about her personal appearance will be released soon. KAMISAMA KISS is published by Shojo Beat. Fans also can check Shojo Beat’s social media channels for additional information in coming weeks:









Julietta Suzuki's debut manga Hoshi ni Naru Hi (The Day One Becomes a Star) appeared in the 2004 Hana to Yume Plus. Her other books include Akuma to Dolce (The Devil and Sweets), Karakuri Odette, and Kamisama Kiss (Kamisama Hajimemashita), which is published by VIZ Media.





Manga readers also can look forward to the upcoming launch beginning this summer of a wide variety of brand new series from the Shojo Beat imprint that will be available in print as well as digitally from VIZManga.com and the VIZ MANGA App as well as from the Nook, Kindle, Kobo, comiXology, iBooks and GooglePlay stores.





The new series include the gender-swapping hijinks of SO CUTE IT HURTS!!, paranormal drama THE DEMON PRINCE OF MOMOCHI HOUSE; the tale of an overachieving student with a double life in MAID-SAMA!, the story of a haunted high school in QQ SWEEPER, a woman’s determination to seize her chance at love and fame in IDOL DREAMS, the death-wish vampire comedy BLOODY MARY, and heartwarming romance in HONEY SO SWEET.





“VIZ Media helped pioneer the shojo manga genre in North America and also has played a pivotal role in bringing shojo content to scores of other readers around the world,” says Nancy Thistlethwaite, Senior Editor, Shojo Beat. “Since launching the Shojo Beat imprint in 2005, the genre’s popularity has grown substantially with groundbreaking series such as VAMPIRE KNIGHT, THE GENTLEMEN'S ALLIANCE CROSS, BLACK BIRD, and OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB. We look forward to fans celebrating 10 great years of shojo manga with us this year!”





Shojo Beat’s milestone anniversary commemorations take place this summer at Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con, where VIZ Media will present in-booth displays of shikishi (special Japanese art boards) featuring original artwork by a host of well-known manga creators that were created specially for the imprint’s 10th anniversary. An exclusive Shojo Beat calendar featuring artwork from various popular manga series will be given away at the VIZ Media booth at these conventions along with exclusive collectable items imported from Japan. And stay tuned for other special shojo-focused promotions, sales and fan events at these shows, as well as upcoming events held around Otakon.





Don’t miss these forthcoming Shojo Beat releases:





SO CUTE IT HURTS!!, Vol. 1· Rated ‘T’ for Teens·

Print MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN; Digital MSRP: $6.99 (U.S. / CAN)· Available June 2nd!

In this highly anticipated new series by Go Ikeyamada, the Kobayashi twins, Mego and Mitsuru, were named after historical figures, but only Mego has grown up with a taste for history. So when Mitsuru is in danger of losing his weekends to extra history classes, he convinces his sister to swap clothes with him and ace his tests! After all, how hard can it be for them to play each other?





THE DEMON PRINCE OF MOMOCHI HOUSE, Vol. 1· Rated ‘T’ for Teens·

Print MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN; Digital MSRP: $6.99 (U.S. / CAN)· Available July 7th!

On her sixteenth birthday, orphan Himari Momochi inherits her ancestral estate that she’s never seen. Momochi House exists on the barrier between the human and spiritual realms, and Himari is meant to act as guardian between the two worlds. But on the day she moves in, she finds three handsome squatters already living in the house, and one seems to have already taken over her role! Catch this paranormal drama by renowned creator, Aya Shouoto (KISS OF THE ROSE PRINCESS).





MAID-SAMA!, (2-in-1 Omnibus Edition)· Rated ‘T’ for Teens·

Print MSRP: $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN; Digital MSRP: $10.99 (U.S. / CAN)· Available August 4th!

As if being class president of a predominantly male high school isn’t hard enough, Misaki Ayuzawa has a major secret – she works at a maid café after school! How is she supposed to keep her image of being ultra-smart, strong and overachieving intact once school heartthrob Takumi Usui discovers her double life?! MAID-SAMA is created by Hiro Fujiwara.





Also catch these new 2015 Fall/Winter titles:





QQ SWEEPER, Vol. 1· Rated ‘T’ for Teens·

Print MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN; Digital MSRP: $6.99 (U.S. / CAN)· Available October 6th!

In this new series by Kyousuke Motomi (creator of BEAST MASTER and DENGEKI DAISY), Kyutaro Horikita, the tall, dark and handsome cleaning expert of Kurokado High, meets a sleeping maiden at the school: transfer student Fumi Nishioka! Fumi’s going to learn how to rid the school of nasty spirits with Kyutaro’s help, and her heart will surprisingly be “cleansed” too…!





IDOL DREAMS, Vol. 1· Rated ‘T’ for Teens·

Print MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN; Digital MSRP: $6.99 (U.S. / CAN)· Available November 3rd!

At age 31, office worker Chikage Deguchi feels she missed her chances at love and success. When word gets out that she’s a virgin, Chikage is humiliated and wishes she could turn back time to when she was still young and popular. She takes an experimental drug that changes her appearance back to when she was 15. Now Chikage is determined to pursue everything she missed out on all those years ago –including becoming a star! IDOL DREAMS is the new series by acclaimed shojo manga creator Arina Tanemura ( FULL MOON, THE GENTLEMAN’S ALLIANCE CROSS, I.O.N, TIME STRANGER KYOKO, SAKURA HIME, and PHANTOM THIEF JEANNE).





BLOODY MARY, Vol. 1· Rated ‘T’ for Teens·

Print MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN; Digital MSRP: $6.99 (U.S. / CAN)· Available December 1st!

Catch a heart-pounding tale of an unorthodox allegiance by creator Akaza Samamiya. “Bloody” Mary, a vampire with a death wish, has spent the past 400 years chasing down a modern-day exorcist named Maria who is thought to have inherited “The Blood of Maria” and is the only one who can kill Mary. To Mary’s dismay, Maria doesn’t know how to kill vampires. Desperate to die, Mary agrees to become Maria’s bodyguard until Maria can find a way to kill him.





HONEY SO SWEET, Vol. 1· Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens·

Print MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN; Digital MSRP: $6.99 (U.S. / CAN)· Available January 5th, 2016!

HONEY SO SWEET, by new manga artist Amu Meguro, i s a heartwarming story about love that begins out of an act of kindness. Little did Nao Kogure realize back in middle school that when she left an umbrella and a box of bandages in the rain for injured delinquent Taiga Onise that she would meet him again in high school. Nao wants nothing to do with the gruff and frightening Taiga, but he suddenly presents her with a huge bouquet of flowers and asks her to date him – with marriage in mind! Is Taiga really so scary, or is he a sweetheart in disguise?





For more information on Shojo Beat manga titles published by VIZ Media, please visit ShojoBeat.com





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