Seven Seas Entertainment has made a flurry of new manga announcements lately, including the launch of a new imprint, Steamship, which will publish adult romance manga for adult women.
The publisher announces new manga licenses every Wednesday. Here are this week's new titles:
Les Miserables, a faithful adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel, by Takahiro Arai. Arai is the creator of the manga adaptation of Darren Shan’s
Cirque Du Freak (see “
Yen Acquires ‘Cirque du Freak’ Manga”) and
Detective Conan: Zero’s Tea Time, which is being adapted into an anime that will run on Netflix (see “
Netflix Announces New Anime, Live Action Titles”).
Les Miserables was published as eight volumes in Japan; Seven Seas will publish it as four large-trim two-in-one omnibuses. The first volume is slated for December and will have an MSRP of $19.99.
Die Even More Valiantly, a supernatural samurai story by Yu Aida, the creator of Gunslinger Girl (see “
‘Gunslinger Girl’ Sequel to Funimation”). The story is set in the 19th century, at the end of the Edo Period, when the samurai were abolished. Haruyasu, a former samurai, yearns for death, but after an assassination goes awry, he becomes intrigued with the target’s bodyguard, a young woman with healing powers. This is a new series that just started last year; Seven Seas will publish the first volume in October with an MSRP of $15.99.
Barbarities, by Tsuta Suzuki, a Boys Love series about a viscount and a bodyguard, with a look inspired by Renaissance Europe. Suzuki is also the creator of
A Strange and Mystifying Story, a BL series that is published by SuBLime, and the writer of the comedy manga
Heaven’s Design Team, which is published by Kodansha Comics. Barbarities is complete in four volumes; Seven Seas will publish the first volume in January 2023 with an MSRP of $14.99.
Qualia the Purple, a yuri sci-fi/romance manga series and light novel by Hisamitsu Ueo and Sirou Tsunasima. The lead character, Yukari, has purple eyes and sees everyone as robots; this means she can evaluate their personalities and physical abilities as if they were parts of a machine. She uses her skill to help the police solve cases, but most people are turned off by it, so she has just one friend, Gaku. When a mysterious organization recruits Yukari, Gaku follows along. The light novel is complete in a single volume, and Seven Seas will release it in November with an MSRP of $14.99. The three-volume manga series will be published as a single three-in-one omnibus in June 2023 with an MSRP of $21.99.
Seven Seas also recently announced a new manga imprint, Steamship, which will feature sexy romances for women. The first four titles announced are
GAME: Between the Suits by Mai Nishikata;
I’ll Never Be Your Crown Princess! by Saki Tsukigami, Natsu Kuroki, and Enn Tsutamori;
Ladies on Top by NEJIGANAMETA; and
Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts by Tohko Tsukinaga.
“We’ve long had our eye on this under-served audience,” Sales & Marketing Manager Lianne Sentar said in the official announcement. “As shojo and josei readers grow older, many of them crave more risque romance to spice up their bookshelves. Romance novel fans in the West have a broad selection of options, so we’re bringing that same philosophy to the manga section: if ladies want it hot, look for the Steamship logo.”
