Tokyopop will launch seven new Japanese manga titles in April and May, 2006. The April title with the strongest potential is probably Chibi Vampire, a five volume series by Yuna Kagesaki with an associated anime (titled Karin, also the Japanese title of the manga). It tells the story of a vampire girl who has a unique problem--instead of needing blood once a month, she gives her victim hers. Also up for April launches are Yubisaki Milk Tea, a four-volume series in which a cross-dresser discovers who loves him; Magical x Miracle, a four-volume series by Yuzu Mizutani about a girl at a wizard school; and X-Kai, a two volume hard-boiled romance.
In May, the strongest launch is probably Rozen Maiden, which Tokyopop publisher Mike Kiley identified as one of Tokyopop's 06 launches with the greatest potential (see 'Interview with Tokyopop Publisher Mike Kiley, Part 3'). The four-volume series is by Peach Pit, a manga studio collective that also created the successful series DearS. The story is of a boy that orders a doll online that comes to life. The other May releases are Shrine of the Morning Mist, a four volume series by Hiroki Ukawa, about a boy whose left eye can see into the spirit world; and +ANIMA, a ten-volume series by Natsumi Mukai about a world in which some people (ANIMA) have animal characteristics.
