ABLAZE Publishing has made a new addition to its manga line, and it’s a departure from their earlier licenses: Magical Beast Sherbert is a shojo manga based on a furry blue character who befriends a Japanese girl and grants her magic powers. The manga, written by Rai☆ with art by Mochiusagi, will be available in 2023.

The Sherbert character was created by the Japanese company K-Line, which makes fur costumes, and live-action videos starring the character are already running on the “Sherbert Shenanigans!” YouTube channel. The manga series was crowdfunded on Kickstarter last year and garnered almost $35,000 in pledges from 293 backers; it is adapted from a 52-episode anime that is currently being developed by the anime studio ZEXCS (Diabolik Lovers, Final Approach).

In the manga, Sherbert is an alien from a parallel world who wants to be a hero but isn’t really sure how. When he is attacked by creatures known as Kuuka, his magic powers awaken, and he transports himself and the Kuuka to Tokyo. There he meets Erika Togawa, an 11-year-old girl, who saves him from a monster and gains the ability to become a magical girl, with powers based on Sherbert’s DNA, which combines that of rabbits, deer, and dragons.