The graphic novels in the Love x Love imprint will include girl/boy, boy/boy, and girl/girl stories, with a different logo for each category, and will have an age range of 13+ to 18+. They will include both manga from Japan and manga-inspired graphic novels from Korea, China, and other countries.
Tokyopop is branding the male/female stories as shojo (manga aimed at teen girls) and josei (more mature stories for young women), whether they originate in Japan or not. For instance, Natalia Batista’s Sword Princess Amaltea is included in the Shojo/Josei category. The other categories are described as Boys Love/Yaoi and Girls Love/Yuri, using both the English and the Japanese terms for those genres, and the imprint may include other LGBTQ+ stories as well. While the emphasis is on romance, stories in other genres such as fantasy may be included in the LOVE x LOVE imprint if the focus of the story is romance.
The magazine will debut on March 14, which is White Day in Japan and other Asian countries. (On Valentine’s Day, girls give boys chocolates, and on White Day, the boys return the favor.) The first issue will be free and will feature the first chapters of five LOVE x LOVE books. The currently scheduled lineup, which may change, is Scarlet Soul (shojo), Dekoboko Sugar Days (boys love), RePlay (boys love), Still Sick (girls love), and Breath of Flowers (girls love). After the first issue, the magazine will launch with new content in Fall 2020.
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