No, GamingAngels hasn’t branched out into bringing you real estate sale news – not just yet anyway. However, our friends at VIZ have let us know about a new manga series that could see you imagining a new life in a new home – in space!

Saturn Apartments DOSEI MANSION © 2006 Hisae IWAOKA/Shogakukan

Intrigued? Well, here is what you can expect if you pick this manga up:

Far in the future, humankind has evacuated Earth in order to preserve it. Humans now reside in a gigantic structure that forms a ring around the earth, 35,000 kilometers up in the sky. The society of the Ring System is strictly stratified: the higher the floor, the greater the status. Mitsu, the lowly son of a window washer, has just graduated. Five years after his father disappears and is assumed dead, Mitsu takes on his father’s occupation. As he struggles with the transition to working life, Mitsu’s job treats him to an outsider’s view into the living-room dioramas of the Saturn Apartments.

The series is written by Hisae Iwaoka, and has been featured in Japan’s IKKI magazine. The manga will be published under the VIZ Signature imprint in the US as part of the companies partnership with IKKI.

Daniel Gillespie, Editor, VIZ Media:

“SATURN APARTMENTS delivers a brilliant vision of a future where Earth is just beyond the grasp of humanity,” says Daniel. “As Mitsu endeavors to become an adult, he treats us to touching insights on working life, dreams and ambitions, class tension, the value of community and family, and the perplexing loneliness that occurs when people are forced to live on top of one another. It’s a poignant metaphor for urban life, drawn with stunning intricacy and irresistible cuteness.”

If you’d like to get a peek at the release, you can visit www.SigIKKI.com where they have it up on their site for you. But if you’re already convinced that you would like this manga, keep an eye out on May 8th.

SATURN APARTMENTS is rated “T” for Teens, and will cost around $12.99US or $16.99CAN. If you like you can find a copy of the manga at our RightStuf or Amazon stores!