Review: AN INCURABLE CASE OF LOVE Volume 1

AN INCURABLE CASE OF LOVE, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Maki Enjoji
TRANSLATION: JN Productions
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0931-1; paperback (October 2019); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Dokomade mo is a “josei” manga (comics for adult women) from Maki Enjoji, creator of the Happy Marriage?! manga.  “Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Dokomade mo” was serialized in the Japanese magazine, Petit Comic, from February 2016 to January 2019.  VIZ Media is publishing an English-language version of “Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Dokomade mo” in a graphic novel series, entitled An Incurable Case of Love.

An Incurable Case of Love, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) introduces Nanase Sakura.  Five years ago, she witnessed a handsome and charming doctor save a stranger’s life.  Inspired by this mystery physician, Nanase trains to become a nurse.  On her first day as a new nurse, Nanase meets the doctor again.

However, Dr. Kairi Tendo turns out to be nothing like the man she imagined or remembered him to be.  He is so harsh and blunt, especially with her, that Nanase nicknames him “Dark Lord.”  But, of course, there is more to him than she realizes.

The An Incurable Case of Love manga is not a typical “Shojo Beat” romance manga.  For one thing, it has a “mature” rating and is a “josei” manga, and secondly, the romantic lead characters are both adults with serious adult responsibilities.

An Incurable Case of Love Graphic Novel Volume 1 is also the first time that I have read a manga set largely in a hospital and focusing on a nurse and a doctor.  I have enjoyed romantic manga starring people who worked in the food industry, in the banking industry, and in the entertainment industry.  I have enjoyed love stories featuring aliens, magical girls, and vampires, to name a few supernatural types.  But no medical personnel, as far as I can remember.

An Incurable Case of Love also focuses on two characters badly at odds with one another.  Nurse Nanase and Dr. Tendo clash so much that them getting together might take some willing suspension of disbelief.  The hospital setting also presents sick and dying patients... yikes!  JN Productions translation ably mixes the drama and the couple's sparring, and Inori Fukuda Trant's lettering captures the frequent shifts in mood.  So this first volume is an interesting read.

I am curious about An Incurable Case of Love; this first volume is not great, but it does have potential.  I think this series is certainly worth two reads; by then, I'll have an idea how strong this series is going to be.

7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: EVERYONE'S GETTING MARRIED Volume 1

EVERYONE’S GETTING MARRIED, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Izumi Miyazono
TRANSLATION: Katherine Schilling
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8715-8; paperback (June 2016); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Everyone's Getting Married is a manga from creator Izumi Miyazono.  Published under VIZ Media's “Shojo Beat” imprint, Everyone's Getting Married is a josei manga (comics for adult women).

Everyone's Getting Married, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) introduces 24-year-old Asuka Takanashi.  She is a successful career woman with an old-fashioned dream.  Asuka wants to get married and become a housewife.  She thinks that she is getting close to that dream, as she has been dating her boyfriend, 30-year-old Kouichi, for five years.  However, Kouichi abruptly breaks up with Asuka to pursue his own career goals.

At a get-together with some friends, Asuka encounters 28-year-old Ryu Nanami, a popular newscaster for the PTV network.  She finds herself attracted to the rumored womanizer, but Ryu says that he'd rather die than get married.

[This volume includes the bonus story, “The Melancholy of Nanaryu.”]

The Everyone's Getting Married manga is one of those manga that pits a man and woman at odds and/or with different personalities against one another.  In real life, such romances are destined to failure, sooner or later, even if they become a couple and get married (Cynical!).

Everyone's Getting Married Volume 1 offers a star-crossed pair that are destined to come together.  The narrative simply offers creator Izumi Miyazono a chance to show how skilled she is at bringing them together while maximizing the tension in order to keep the readers interested.  I am certainly interested in following the long and narrow rocky road to Asuka and Ryo's eventually union.

The clean storytelling matches the clean illustrations and the result is breezy graphical storytelling.  In some places, clean and crystal clear means dull, but overall, the Azuka and Ryo's situation is just too tantalizing to ignore.  I must qualify this review by saying that I am a sucker for shojo manga, especially when the shojo is sho'nuff on the josei side.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: OOKU: The Inner Chambers Volume 11

OOKU: THE INNER CHAMBERS, VOL. 11
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Fumi Yoshinaga
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Akemi Wegmüller
LETTERER: Monlisa De Asis
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7979-5; paperback (November 2015); Rated “M” for “Mature”
232pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers is an alternate history and romance manga created by Fumi Yoshinaga.  The series presents an alternative version of Japan’s history in which a strange disease, called the Redface Pox, begins to kill young men and boys  in the 1600s.

The male population falls to about one-fourth of the female population, and men eventually become protected as precious “seed bearers.”  Japan becomes a matriarchal society, with women taking on the roles traditionally held by men, including the role of Shogun.  This story focuses on life at Edo Castle and is set inside its Inner Chambers, a sort of harem filled with men who serve the female Shogun.

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 11 (Chapters 44 to 47) opens early in the reign of the 11th shogun, Lord Ienari, the first male shogun in 150 years.  Tokugawa Harusada has schemed for many years to make her son, Tokugawa Ienari, shogun, but she is the one who truly holds the reigns of power.  Ienari is merely a “studhorse,” pleasuring the now female-dominated Inner Chambers.  However, Ienari has been reading “The Chronicle of a Dying Day,” and he dreams of a better future for his country.

Meanwhile, after being thrown out of Edo Castle, former Inner Chamber men, Kuroki Ryojun and Ihei, operate an infirmary together.  Kuroki, an assistant to the late Aonuma, who found a way to cure the Redface Pox, experiences a great change in his life.  Now, he must rediscover his former mentor's miracle.

Is it okay if I still continue to admire the Ōoku: The Inner Chambers manga?  I have asked this question before because, for a long time, this manga seemed to focus on something different with each volume.  That annoyed me, and I thought that meant the narrative was problematic.  Instead of giving it a negative review, I found myself enjoying Ōoku.  I had to accept the series for what it was and not for what I thought it should be.  My very reservations seemed to suggest that this was an exceptional comic book.

At times, Ōoku is a character drama, historical fiction, historical drama, alternate-world fantasy (or science fiction), soap opera, backstairs drama, or royal drama – depending upon the volume I read.  Just go with it, Leroy.

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers Volume 11 embraces it all.  In the chapters that comprise this volume, creator Fumi Yoshinaga fashions humanity for her characters and then, begins an excavation of their personalities, motivations, psych profiles, and desires.  Why do people do what they do the way they do it?  Who knows?  It seems like a deeply held secret, even to the creator of such complex and winning characters.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Spell of Desire: Witches With Problems

I read Spell of Desire, Vol. 4

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

Spell of Desire: Incubus Block

I read Spell of Desire, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Review: HAPPY MARRIAGE?! Volume 10

HAPPY MARRIAGE?!, VOL. 10
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Maki Enjoji
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
EDITOR/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Nancy Thislethwaite
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5943-8; paperback (January 2015); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Happy Marriage?! is the longest manga series (to date) produced by mangaka Maki Enjoji.  It debuted in the Japanese josei manga magazine, Petit Comic.  VIZ Media published an English-language version of the series for North America.

Happy Marriage?! focuses on Chiwa Takanashi.  She is a young woman who never had any girlish fantasies about courtship and marriage, but she found herself in an unlikely scenario.  The 22-year-old married a total stranger in order to get her father out of debt!  Chiwa's husband, 28-year-old Hokuto Mamiya, was the President and CEO of Mamiya Commerce.  Their marriage, for a time, was a secret, with only Hokuto’s personal assistant, Taeko Soma, knowing of the union’s true nature.  Two years later, Chiwa and Hokuto are trying to be a real married couple.

As Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 10 (Chapters 37 to 39 to Final Chapter) opens, Chiwa recovers from the would she received when she tried to protect Hokuto from a savage knife attack.  Even after that, she still cannot reveal to Hokuto the letter she received from her his now-deceased father, Seiji Mamiya, that revealed a secret.

Her reticence will not stop the turmoil within the Mamiya family.  Hokuto will learn a shocking truth about his mother, Yoko Miura, and about himself.  The revelations could ruin Chiwa and Hokuto's marriage.

I am not happy about saying goodbye to the Happy Marriage?! manga.  However, I must accept that Happy Marriage?! Volume 10 is the final volume of this series that I have come to really enjoy reading.

I don't want to spoil anything, but I will admit that there are some some explosive revelations and that there are some character revelations that are worse than some readers my have expected.  I can say that Happy Marriage?! has a happy ending.  It has a celebratory last chapter that will remind readers why this typical shojo soap opera romance manages to be something different and also something especially lovable.

Readers looking for shojo/josei romantic drama will be happy with the Shojo Beat title, Happy Marriage?!

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Happy Marriage: Michelle Heartless?

I read Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 9

I posted a review at ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Spell of Desire: Enter the Black Witch Coven

I read Spell of Desire, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Review: MIDNIGHT SECRETARY Volume 7

MIDNIGHT SECRETARY, VOL. 7
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Tomu Ohmi
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: JN Productions
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5950-6; paperback (September 2014); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Midnights Secretary Volume 7 is the final volume of the series.  Created by Tomu Ohmi, Midnight Secretary focuses on a human female, Kaya Satozuka, and a vampire male,  Kyohei Tohma.

Kaya Satozuka prides herself on being an excellent secretary and a consummate professional at Tohma Corp., a tableware manufacturer.  When she was 22-years-old, Kaya was reassigned to the office of the company’s difficult Managing Director, Kyohei Tohma.  Kaya did not worry about her hard-to-please new boss; then, she discovered that Kyohei was a vampire.  Now, 23-years old, Kaya works full time at Lakes Venture Capital (LVC), a new investment company started by Kyohei.

As Midnight Secretary, Vol. 7 (Chapters 31 to 33 to Final Chapter) opens, Kyohei is banished from the vampire clan because he refuses to renounce his love for Kaya.  However, it is dangerous to be a lone vampire outside the clan, cut off from the vampires' power, influence, and protection.  He even loses access to blood substitutes.

Kaya is determined to support Kyohei through this difficult time, even if it means arranging “dinner dates” for him.  A “dinner date” is a woman who has sex with Kyohei and also gives him blood.  Can Kaya really accept that?  Will she be able to accept the big change in their relationship and an even bigger change in both their lives.

[This volume includes a bonus story, “Special Feature: Midnight Butler” and the extra, “Nekomata Today.”]

The Midnight Secretary manga is an intriguing shojo vampire manga, although it is also silly and playful, at times.  I will miss it, as it is ending sooner than I expected.  As this is the final volume of the series, creator Tomu Ohmi offers two big surprises and even a few small ones.  Some have been previously teased, and some are obvious, considering that this is a romance manga.  [Hint: think Twilight.]

At times, Midnight Secretary has been melodramatic, a bit dark, even edgy, and sometimes comedic.  This final volume is all sentiment and warm cocoa.  Ohmi leaves behind the potential of the series self-contained mythology and the intrigue presented by the internal and external politics of the vampire clan, especially where it concerns Kyohei.  Still, Midnight Secretary had some good moments, and while I doubt that it will be memorable, I can be an entertaining read.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Manga Review: SPELL OF DESIRE Volume 1

SPELL OF DESIRE, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Tomu Ohmi
TRANSLATION: JN Productions
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane
LETTERS: Monalisa de Asis
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6775-4; paperback (August 2014); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Tomu Ohmi is a female mangaka who made her debut in 2000.  VIZ Media is currently publishing the English-language version of her series, Midnight Secretary.  The San Francisco-based publisher is also making her most recent series, Spell of Desire, available to North American readers.

Spell of Desire focuses on Kaoruko “Koko” Mochizuki owns and operates an herb shop in a small seaside town in Japan.  One day, a mysterious man dressed in black walks into the Moon Witch Herb Shop and introduces himself as Kaname Hibiki.  Kaname tells Kaoruko that she is actually a witch and that he has arrived to help her control the power that is awakening in her.

Spell of Desire, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) opens with the arrival of Kaname.  He is bringing shocking news about Koko and her mother and grandmother.  He says that he is a “Knight.”  He tells her about being the target of humans and demons alike.  And now her customers think that Kaoruko finally has a boyfriend.  Kaoruko wants to reject Kaname, but then, he steals a kiss…

It is worth comparing the Spell of Desire manga to Midnight Secretary, the previous manga produced by Spell of Desire creator, Tomu Ohmi.  Midnight Secretary is by turns sweet and silly and also dark and mysterious.  Its scenario is playful, which belies the danger inherent in some characters.

Spell of Desire seems like something I’ve read countless times before.  While Midnight Secretary manages to be different as vampire fiction, Spell of Desire scenario of the Knight-without-shining-armor rescuing the magical-novice-damsel seems a bit soft.  The best scenes are the ones featuring Kaname’s familiars, Dragon and Unicorn.  Like Midnight Secretary, I think Spell of Desire will start to differentiate itself in the second and third volumes.  Meanwhile, Spell of Desire Volume 1 has beautiful art, but the magic does not crackle.  Still, Fans of Tomu Ohmi may want to try Spell of Desire.

B-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Midnight Secretary: Having a Baby

I read Midnight Secretary, Vol. 6

I posted a review at ComicBookBin, which is calling for donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

Midnight Secretary: The Mysterious Marika

I read Midnight Secretary, Vol. 4

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Happy Marriage: Consumation

I read Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 4

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Ooku: Japan Goes Dutch

I read Ôoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 9 (Ooku: The Inner Chambers)

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

Midnight Secretary: Moonlighting

I read Midnight Secretary, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Happy Marriage?!: Is it All Right if I Stay by Your Side?

I read Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Ooku: Ieshige the Oaf

I read Ôoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 8 (Ooku: The Inner Chambers)

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

Review: HAPPY MARRIAGE?! Volume 2

HAPPY MARRIAGE?!, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Maki Enjoji
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
EDITOR/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Nancy Thislethwaite
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5935-3; paperback (October 2013); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

After debuting with Fu•Junai (Wicked Pure Love), manga creator Maki Enjoji created four more series.  That fourth series is Happy Marriage?!.

Happy Marriage?! focuses on 22-year-old Chiwa Takanashi.  In order to get her father out of debt, Chiwa enters into a marriage.  Her husband is 28-year-old Hokuto Mamiya, the President and CEO of Mamiya Commerce.  The two live a secret life together, with only Hokuto’s personal assistant, Taeko Soma, knowing of the marriage.  To complicate things, Chiwa works in the same office as her husband.

As Happy Marriage?!, Vol. 2 opens, Chiwa worries that Hokuto is cheating on her.  She shares her concerns with the company’s hot new recruit, Yu Yamagi, but tells the young man that she is seeking advice for a friend.  Meanwhile, paparazzi catch Hokuto in the company of hot actress, Yukana Kishi.

Chiwa gets a little closer to Yu than she expected, which captures Hokuto’s attention.  Then, Chiwa is reunited with an old college friend, 26-year-old Shingo Sakuraba, the director of small startup business.  Is this another sign that the terms of the marriage contract are the only things keeping Chiwa and Hokuto together?

Early in my reading, I grew bored with the Happy Marriage?! manga.  Chiwa Takanashi’s fretting and doubting just became repetitive – real fast.  However, I started to notice that one of Happy Marriage?!’s hooks is the clever way creator Maki Enjoji gives her characters a penchant for misunderstanding everything and everyone.

This series is like a comedy of errors in which the characters are just self-centered, self-absorbed, and clueless enough to spite themselves.  A little effort and a little honesty would bring them closer to what they want, if not outright get it for them.  Pretty soon, I found myself laughing and enjoying Happy Marriage?!  It is not a great work, but it is an effective romantic comedy and drama about misunderstanding and misdirection.  Sometimes, it’s just fun to watch the characters clown themselves.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: OOKU: THE INNER CHAMBERS, VOL. 7

OOKU: THE INNER CHAMBERS, VOL. 7
VIZ MEDIA

CARTOONIST: Fumi Yoshinaga
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Akemi Wegmüller
LETTERER: Monlisa De Asis
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4220-1; paperback; Rated “M” for “Mature”
224pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN

Fumi Yoshinaga is the prolific female Japanese graphic novelist and mangaka known for her comics in the shojo and shonen-ai genres. She has created such manga as The Moon and the Sandals and Antique Bakery.

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers (The Shogun’s Harem) is her current series and began publication in 2005. This alternate-Earth story is set in Japan and imagines a strange new disease, called the Redface Pox, which kills young men and boys. The male population begins to fall in the 1600s to about one-fourth of the female population. Men eventually become protected as precious “seed bearers,” and women take on the roles traditionally held by men, including the role of Shogun. This story focuses on life at Edo Castle and is set inside its Inner Chambers, a sort of harem filled with men who serve the female Shogun.

Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 7 (Chapters 23-26) opens with the death of (Tokugawa) Lord Yoshimichi. Her demise signals that various domain lords (daimyo) are jockeying to position themselves as the next shogun. Ietsugu, the daughter of Ienobu, the previous shogun, is only five-year-old and is also sickly and not expected to live long.

Ietsugu’s protector. Manabe Akifusa, believes Lord Yoshimune, lord of the Kii domain, is plotting to be the next shogun. However, Sir Gekko-In, Ienobu’s concubine and Ietsugu’s father, and his supporters in the Inner Chambers are standing in Yoshimune’s way. Ejima Shinzaburo, Groom of the Bedchamber and Senior Chamberlain of the Inner Chambers, will be the key to whether Yoshimune’s gets her way or not.

Also, a new shogun wonders if Japan is the only place that has been stricken by the Redface Pox. If so, does a lack of men capable of being warriors make Japan vulnerable to outside attack?

The seventh volume of the Ōoku: The Inner Chambers manga arrives over a year after the sixth volume was published. Creator Fumi Yoshinaga inserts enough captions and exposition to explain the characters and situations to him readers familiar with the series get familiar with this section in the narrative. New readers will need a little more context.

Early in the series, Ōoku examined gender roles in a society where male dominance suddenly became a thing of the past, a necessity after a plague had wiped out a significant portion of the male population. In fact, the plague continues to hang over the narrative. One of the most interesting things about this series is how Yoshinaga imagines what role reversal might look like in 17th and 18th century Japan. In a sort of alternate history/science fiction way, the Redface Pox plague can be used to explain Japan’s “closed country” police which began in the mid-1600s and lasted until the arrival of the United States Navy forced the country open in 1854.

Whatever themes and philosophies Yoshinaga wishes to explore here, she does through character drama and palace intrigue. Considering that this series has depicted brutal murder and assault, I can honestly say that what is in Vol. 7 is the most intense character drama yet in this story. I’m not naïve about the world, but I was astounded by the extent to which the characters playing in Chapters 23 to 26 were willing to go to get what they wanted. There is a real-world verisimilitude here that gives me the chills. I think readers will be interested to know that Fumi Yoshinaga never holds back here. Ōoku: The Inner Chambers is drama writ out entirely in capitol letters.

A+

VIZ Media Launches New Josei Title

Press release from VIZ Media:

VIZ MEDIA RELEASES NEW SHOJO MANGA SERIES BUTTERFLIES, FLOWERS

Zany Comedy About Office Romance And Social Class Introduces The ‘Josei’ Genre Of Manga Aimed At Older Female Readers

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies has announced the North American debut on December 1st of BUTTERFLIES, FLOWERS, a new manga series that takes place against a backdrop of office romance and social class. BUTTERFLIES, FLOWERS, published under the Shojo Beat imprint, is rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences will be available December 1st with a MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

Choko Kuze is the sensible daughter of a venerable family who went bankrupt. She joins a real estate company as an entry-level office worker, but her eccentric boss is harder on her than anyone else in the company! After hearing him inadvertently call her "milady," she realizes he was the young servant boy she knew as a child. At work he's a tyrant, but after hours he insists on treating her like a lady of the nobility. Is romance even possible for a couple locked in such a crazy role reversal?

“BUTTERFLIES, FLOWERS is a josei manga, a comic aimed primarily at female readers over the age of 18,” says Candice Uyloan, Director Brand Marketing, VIZ Media. “Readers familiar with the genre will enjoy this lighthearted story that is often funny and more than a bit sexy. As shojo manga readers mature and their interests expand, we are delighted to be able to offer titles that are aimed at a grown up audience. We look forward to readers discovering this zany romantic comedy.”

BUTTERFLIES, FLOWERS was created by Yuki Yoshihara. She debuted in 1988 with Chanel no Sasayaki which appeared in the pages Betsucomi magazine. Yoshihara is also the creator of numerous josei manga series including Darling wa Namamono ni Tsuki and Itadakimasu. [END]