PR: Shojo Beat To Release New Sakura Tsukuba Title

YOROSHIKU・MASTER © Sakura Tsukuba
2005/HAKUSENSHA, Inc.

VIZ MEDIA GETS IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW SHOJO MANGA SERIES SWEET REIN

A Girl Takes On The Role Of Santa Claus With A Cute Boy Who Also Happens To Be An Enchanted Reindeer In A New Magical Romance

San Francisco, CA, November 1, 2013 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga & anime in North America, delivers a nod towards Christmas with the release of SWEET REIN Volume 1 on November 5^th. The new manga (graphic novel) fantasy series by creator Sakura Tsukuba arrives from the Shojo Beat imprint in time for the start of holiday season, is rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

SWEET REIN Vol. 1 will also debut digitally on the same day for $6.99 (U.S / CAN) from VIZManga.com and for digital download through the VIZ MANGA App for the Apple iPad^®, iPhone^® and iPod^® touch, Android-powered smart phones. The title will also be available for purchase through the iBook, Kindle, NOOK, and Kobo stores.

Sad at the thought of spending Christmas alone, Kurumi Sagara 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?!

License Line: A Sixth Sense

What is License Line? Put simply, it's a semi-regular feature on Nagareboshi Reviews in which yours truly posts about a certain anime/manga series that truly, desperately needs to be licensed and put on my shelves ASAP - from the obscure but well-deserving manga to the stream worthy but not yet DVD licensed anime.

I will always have a huge soft spot in my heart for the shoujo genre, despite the fact that 80% is pretty much the same story with different faces attached to it. So when a shoujo manga decides to step out of the usual tropes and is amazing, how can I not take notice? This is how I felt when I read Sakura Tsukaba's Land of the Blindfolded (Mekakushi no Kuni/目隠しの国), a supernatural shoujo manga of heartbreaking proportions concerning the lives of young people with the heavy responsibilities of supernatural gifts weighing on their shoulders during one of the most precarious and dangerous years of their lives: high school.

In the story of Land of the Blindfolded, when Outsuka Kanade touches someone - whether it is their hand or face, accidentally or on purpose, she can sometimes see into that person's future. Naturally, this gift isn't so wonderful when you see disaster looming on the horizon and, being someone like Kanade, tries to stop it despite all odds being against you. Transfer student Naitou Arou has a similar gift, except that when his touch activates, it gives him a glimpse into that person's past. Joining them is Naitou Arou, who has far more control over his own powers to the point that he can turn it off and on at will. 

Together, they try to navigate living with these abilities and the responsibilities they carry while also dealing with their own feelings for each other. Hey, I told you it was a shoujo manga.