The campaign continues as we launch at least one new “digital-first”manga series every week, and in August we kick off 8 new manga series, with some new and classic shojo manga, a manga-to-anime yakuza-to-idol comedy, and 5 (yes) digital-first yaoi manga!
Kodansha Comics’s digital-first manga releases are part of an exciting new initiative begun last year to put a greater diversity of manga series into the market. This month’s series debuts will be available at all of Kodansha Comics’s partner digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, BookWalker, comiXology, Google Play, Kobo, and nook:
Debuts August 7th! My Boy in Blue By Maki Miyoshi
Kako gets tangled up when she lies about her age in order to attend a company-mixer party for singles and ends up totally infatuated with her young local policeman! And it looks like it’s mutual with Kota... until he finds out Kako's still in high school. Read on to see if straight-arrow Kota manages to find a way to do the right thing as our story unfolds in the first volume of this upbeat new romantic comedy from Maki Miyoshi!
Debuts August 14th! Back Street Girls By Jasmine Gyuh
Tough gangland retribution takes a disturbingly bright, shiny turn in this insanely guilty pleasure about 3 yakuzas who, as repayment for their failures, must undergo major surgery and become … a hot female idol trio! So what happens when they become the next big pop sensation!?
Debuts August 28th! Peach Girl by Miwa Ueda
Yes! The complete 18-volume run of Miwa Ueda’s ‘90s shojo megahit Peach Girl is back! Suntans and bleached hair were never quite so problematic, and high school drama was never quite so .... dramatic! This digital reissued edition combines the original Tokyopop run of Peach Girl and Peach Girl: Change of Heart.
... and last but not least! In addition to the print yaoi and yuri manga announcements we made at Anime Expo, we announced five new yaoi titles from Kodansha's Honey Milk imprint for release on August 21! Behold:
Stray Bullet Baby by Kei Ichikawa
Chihiro Murakami works at a film advertising firm and looks up to Kiyoharu Honna, the stylish editor of the trendy magazine his company does business with. He’s cool, his smile is beautiful, and he’s good at his job. But Chihiro hasn’t had a chance yet to get close to him. However, one day he ends up looking after a dead-drunk Honna and goes home with him and … !? A selfish beauty and the man wrapped around his finger.
Keeping His Whims in Check by Pi
Proclaimed handsome elite businessman, Yuto Shinonome, falls in love at first sight with Tamaki, a beauty who’s exactly his type. It hits him like a ton of bricks when he finds out Tamaki is actually a guy!! Nevertheless, Yuto still acts like a kid with a crush and teases Tamaki like there’s no tomorrow … How can perverse Yuto handle love!?
Intertwining Lives by KAZU
Yoshiya thinks it's fate when he's reunited with his first love; however, he learns they can never be together … For middle-aged scriptwriter Makoto and beautiful actor-in-the-making Yuu, it's a chance meeting in which admiration turns to love, and love turns to doubt ...?! A young and heartrending adolescent love story and a bittersweet mature romance. The stories of a group of men who mingle, intertwine, and change.
Key Ring Lock by ymz
Permanent part-timer, Yui, discovers a worn-out man fallen on the street. Unable to leave the strangely charming Toshiki alone, Yui helps him back home and then accepts Toshiki while being manipulated by him. However, when Yui gets up in the morning, he finds himself locked in and unable to leave. “Confinement is my hobby,” says a smiling Toshiki. Is this confinement, or is it … Their sensitive love flickers in the space between the normal and abnormal!
Trap in a Skirt by Puruchome
Androgynous Aoi has a traumatic past that makes it difficult for him to get the true satisfaction he desires. Meanwhile, Aoi's classmate, Takano, the rough class outsider, makes a move on Aoi whenever he has the chance. Aoi doesn't take him seriously in the beginning, however ...
More information about Kodansha Comics’s “digital-first” initiative can be found here.