Viz Announces Mature Shojo Titles — Close Enough to Josei?

Happy Marriage

I don’t want to start a genre debate, since those can easily and quickly become tedious, but I’m hoping that the two shojo titles (manga for girls) Viz announced with a mature rating come close enough to josei (manga for women) as to scratch that itch.

It’s nice to see them spacing out the series launches, too, so it’s not much of an economic hit to sample them. I’m most interested in the first two, what with the workplace setting, although it’ll be interesting to see how Midnight Secretary deals with the vampire elements. That’s so overplayed these days that it could be inadvertently quite funny.

I’m also curious about how Voice Over!: Seiyuu Academy will show the voice acting profession. It looks relatively girly, so the focus might be on the romance instead. Sweet Rein, on the other hand, looks hilarious just for showing how Japan has adopted and changed Christmas holiday mythology. She’s a Santa Claus? Like it’s a job description?

Happy Marriage

Here’s the information they provided on four shojo titles coming out in late summer and fall. All are priced at $9.99 US.

Happy Marriage?!
M rating, due August 6

In order to help her father, Chiwa Takanashi agrees to an arranged marriage with the company president Hokuto Mamiya — a man she doesn’t know — at the request of Hokuto’s grandfather. Chiwa believes the arrangement isn’t binding, but her new partner seems to think otherwise. Can two strangers living together find their way to a happy marriage?!

Midnight Secretary

Midnight Secretary
M rating, due September 3

Kaya Satozuka is a brilliant secretary who excels at her job, which is why she doesn’t bat an eye when she’s assigned to be personal secretary to Kyohei Touma, the very difficult managing director of Touma Foods. It doesn’t faze her when her new boss seems determined to make her fail, and she even manages to take it in stride when she discovers the secret behind his prickly behavior… he’s a vampire! But while Kaya easily adapts to late nights and keeping a schedule of his “dinner dates,” will her ultra-competence help when Kyohei’s smoldering gaze starts turning her way?!

Voice Over!: Seiyuu Academy

Voice Over!: Seiyuu Academy
T rating, due October 1

Hime Kino’s dream is to one day perform voice acting like her hero, Sakura Aoyama, from the Lovely Blazer anime. So getting accepted to the prestigious Hiragi Academy’s voice actor department is the first step in the right direction! But on her first day of class she meets Sakura’s grouchy son, Senri, who tells Hime that her voice is awful and Lovely Blazers is stupid. Hime will not let that stand unchallenged. She’ll show everyone that she IS a voice-acting princess, whether they like it or not!!

Sweet Rein

Sweet Rein
T+ rating, due November 5

Sad at the thought of spending Christmas alone, Kurumi goes out for a walk. While she’s crossing the street, a boy bumps into her and a rein suddenly appears that binds them together. The overjoyed boy tells her she’s his master, and that she’s a Santa Claus. Kurumi dismisses him as a crazy person, but then he transforms into a reindeer?!



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