Tokyopop has announced the launch of six new manga series in June. All will be published in Tokyopop's 'authentic' right to left $9.95 trade paperback format. The Kindaichi Case Files has the strongest pedigree. After the manga's appearance in Weekly Shounen Magazine, it spawned two feature films and a full-season anime TV series. The series features a teen sleuth who uses magic and ingenuity to solve mysteries involving occult themes.
Under the Glass Moon is a supernatural soap opera a la Charmed. It features a Dark Wizard, his ex, and his brother, and their involvement with a mother/daughter pair of witches and a fire spirit.
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Gravitation continues Tokyopop's pushing of the boundaries of manga genres in the U.S. It's another shonen-ai title, this time about a rock star who gets involved with a romance writer. Tokyopop is reporting very good buzz on this title. And a Tokyopop spokesperson told us that sell-in of Tokyopop's other shonen-ai titles (which have solicited but not shipped, see 'Tokyopop Announces Four New Manga Series') has been 'amazing.'
Pet Shop of Horrors, by Mari Akino, takes place in a store in a smoke-filled alley in Chinatown, where Count D sells Love and Dreams in the form of magical creatures that come with an exclusive contract. There are four stories per volume.
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Brain Powerd is by Yoshiyuki Tomino, creator of Gundam. A science fiction story with a living alien Brain Powerd mecha piloted by a UN agent, this title is the only one of the six with an anime in release in the States -- Bandai has already released several volumes as Brain Powered.