Viz announced two major new shoujo manga series at Anime Weekend Atlanta.  Viz editor Carl Horn confirmed the acquisition of Angel Sanctuary and Hana Zakari No Kimitachi E (known as 'Hana-Kimi') on the Anime on DVD message boards and announced that the two titles would debut in the spring of 2004 on a bimonthly schedule. 

Both series are lengthy -- at least 20 volumes so far -- and quite addictive.  Yuki Kaori's Angel Sanctuary features her superb artwork and a complicated storyline with a protagonist who, as angel, rebels against God and is reincarnated as a human boy beset with numerous problems, including a crush on his sister.

In contrast to the fantasy elements in Angel Sanctuary, most of the action in Hana-Kimi takes place in an all-male boarding school, which has been infiltrated by a young girl, who has a crush on the school's top athlete, a high jumper.  There are lots of 'bishonen' (beautiful boy) characters in Hana-Kimi as well as some yaoi activity focusing on the school's doctor, who is one of the most interesting homosexual characters in manga.

Both Angel Sanctuary and Hana-Kimi have already attracted considerable attention here in the States.  Central Park Media has released the Angel Sanctuary anime on DVD, and much of the Hana-Kimi manga cycle has been translated and published on the Web.  Given the burgeoning sales of shoujo manga in the bookstore market, it appears that Viz has acquired two titles with considerable potential.  Japanese language editions of both Angel Sanctuary and Hana-Kimi have done quite well here in the States, which is always a good sign.