Digital Manga, which in partnership with Dark Horse Comics has released some of the most popular manga titles of the past year including Trigun, Hellsing, and Berserk, has ambitious plans to broaden the scope of manga releases in America by launching a line of Edu-Manga titles in 2005.  Published by Kodansha in Japan, the Edu-Manga are biographies in graphic novel form narrated by popular manga characters such as Astro Boy.  The first five titles Digital Manga plans on releasing here in the States include manga biographies of Helen Keller, Albert Einstein, Mother Theresa, Beethoven, and Anne Frank.

In addition to the Edu-Manga releases, Digital Manga is also planning a 2005 release for a series of manga titles based on the Japanese TV series Project X.  Project X is an inspirational series which follows the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurs with good ideas, who thanks to perseverance and good luck finally manage to break through and achieve financial and personal success.  Typical subjects of this 'reality' manga series include the founders of the Japanese 7-11 convenience store chain, who eventually became so successful they were able to purchase their American parent company, or the inventor of the 'cup of noodles' convenience food, or the designer of the original Datsun 240 Z.

In 2005 Digital Manga is also planning to release Bambi and the Pink Gun, a manga series with a distinct 'alternative' art style, which is visually closer to books published by Fantagraphics than it is to a typical manga releases.  Considering all three new Digital Manga initiatives, it is apparent that the company is looking to expand the audience for manga in America by expanding the choices in style and subject matter available to consumers here in the States.