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The name Yuu Watase sounded familiar as I started to read Arata The Legend. The latest manga out from Mrs. Watase and Viz Media. Turns out she’s only created some of my favorite Manga stories ever. She’s created: Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, Ceres, The Celestial Legend, and Absolute Boyfriend. Mrs. Watase is known for her shojo roots and the way she draws her bishōnen men (beautiful male characters). The beautiful male characters are usually pretty innocent and get tested very early in the series to find out who they really are.

In Arata The Legend, the ruling princess is about to retire. In order for that to happen a girl from the Hime clan has to take over for her. The problem is that in over 30 years there has not been a female born to the Hime clan. Arata is urged to cross dress because when he was born, the grandmother put that he was a girl on his birth certificate. I don’t want to spoil the story, but Arata finds himself fighting for his life and in a weird twist ends up changing places with a future date Arata. Now each of them have to fend for themselves in their new world. I have to say that future Arata has a more difficult time ahead of him because people want him dead.

At times this title was a little hard to read. Some of the bigger actions were on two pages, but only the top. It was a bit confusing for me to know how to read that page. But overall this title is fun, interesting and has me totally hooked. The characters are not only interesting, but you sympathize with them and their situation very quickly. They are endearing not because they are the hero, but because they are put in these rough situations and have to be brave.

The artwork is beautiful and typical Yuu Watase. This manga is rated T for teens and I think any shojo manga reader should definitely pick this up!

This time we have vampires, ghosts, crime drama and teenage angst awaiting us. I won’t hold back – so what’s in store?

VIZ Signature releases include:

Children of the sea, Vol. 1 (available now) and Vol. 2 (available December 15, pictured – top right)

Rated ‘T+’ For Older Teens – $14.99 US / $17.50 CAN each

When Ruka was younger, she saw a ghost in the water at the aquarium where her dad works. Now she feels drawn toward the aquarium and the two mysterious boys she meets there, Umi and Sora. They were raised by dugongs and hear the same strange calls from the sea as she does. Ruka’s dad and the other adults who work at the aquarium are only distantly aware of what the children are experiencing as they get caught up in the mystery of the worldwide disappearance of the oceans’ fish. CHILDREN OF THE SEA is a surreal and riveting aquatic adventure from Daisuke Igarashi. Igarashi was given the Award of Excellence by the Japan Cartoonists Association in 2009.

GOGO Monster

Rated ‘T’ For Teens – $27.99 US / $36.00 CAN

Third grader Yuki Tachibana lives in two worlds. In one world, he is a loner ridiculed by his classmates and reprimanded by his teachers for telling stories of supernatural beings that only he can see. In the other world, the supernatural beings vie for power with malevolent spirits who bring chaos into the school, the students’ lives, and even nature itself.

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD!, Vols. 1-2

Rated ‘T+’ For Older Teens – $12.99 US / $16.00 CAN each

A poignant 2-volume collection of intersecting vignettes depicting twenty-something angst, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD! explores the various ways that modern life can be at once ridiculous and sublime, terrible and precious, wasted and celebrated. In Volume 1, what begins with a college dropout bored of her mediocre routine soon becomes a fantastic series of stories about the unexpected ways that different lives intersect. Filled with magical realism in the face of the cold reality of daily modern life, at their core these stories are about young people discovering something precious amidst the chaos of existence. Volume 2 continues to explore similar themes including the cruelty of childhood, the delusion of adulthood, the endurance of death and how people find a way to remain resolute and laugh in the face of reality.

SHONEN SUNDAY, SHONEN JUMP, SHONEN JUMP ADVANCED and SHONEN JUMP FICTON goodies include:

RIN-NE, Vol. 1

Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens – $9.99 US / $12.99 CAN

RIN-NE is the brand new series from celebrated manga creator Rumiko Takahashi (INUYASHA). As a child Sakura Mamiya mysteriously disappeared in the woods behind her grandma’s home. She returned whole and healthy, but since then she has had the power to see ghosts. Now a teenager, she just wishes the ghosts would leave her alone! At school, the desk next to Sakura’s has been empty since the start of the school year, then one day her always-absent classmate shows up, and he’s far more than what he seems!

INUYASHA (VIZBIG), Vol. 1

Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens – $17.99 US / $24.00 CAN

Rumiko Takahashi’s epic manga adventure INUYASHA is given an omnibus VIZBIG treatment that combines the first three volumes of the smash hit series. Pulled back in time to Japan’s ancient past, Japanese high school girl Kagome finds her destiny linked to a dog-like half-demon named Inuyasha, who remembers Kagome’s previous incarnation as the woman who killed him – and to the Shikon Jewel, or “Jewel of Four Souls,” which can fulfill the greatest dreams of any man or monster. Now Kagome and Inuyasha must work together to search for the scattered shards of the jewel before everyone’s nightmares are given the power they need to come true.

YU-GI-OH! r, Vol. 1 (available now) and Vol. 2 (available December 1)

Rated ‘T’ for Teens – $9.99 US / $12.99 CAN

YU-GI-OH! R is the shocking sequel to Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelist and the prequel to Yu-Gi-Oh!: Millennium World. When the follower of an old enemy returns to take revenge, Yugi Mutou must duel to save a friend’s life. But can he overcome the power of the three “Jashin,” the terrifying Evil God Cards? Bonus trading card in the first print run.

TEGAMI BACHI: LETTER BEE, Vol. 1

Rated ‘T’ for Teens – $7.99 US / $9.50 CAN

In a land of perpetual night, your heart is your light. In this imaginative steampunk adventure, Amberground is locked in darkness. A man-made star casts only a dim light over the land. The pitch-black wilderness is infested with Gaichuu—colossal insects with metal exoskeletons. The Gaichuu make travel between the cities of Amberground extremely dangerous. But thankfully the Letter Bees, a brave corps of messengers, risk their lives in order to keep the hearts of Amberground connected.

ROSARIO+VAMPIRE, Vol. 10

Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens – $9.99 US / $12.99 CAN

All around teenager Tsukune can’t get accepted to any high school, save one… but on his first day, he finds the rest of the rest of the student body doesn’t appear average in the least. Best of all, the cutest girl on campus can’t wait to fling her arms around his neck! Wait a sec’ – are those her teeth around his neck too? Tsukune’s going to have one heck of a hickey when he gets home from Monster Hugh! But does he have a chance in hell of raising his grades at a school where turf war isn’t between jocks and nerds, but between vampires and werewolves?

DEATH NOTE: L change the WorLd Novel

$19.99 US / $24.00 CAN

DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd introduces the unwritten chapter of DEATH NOTE and reveals how the legendary detective “L” (Kenichi Matsuyama) spends the final 23 days of his life. The story begins as L takes on the “Kira” case, in which countless criminals are dying under mysterious circumstances. L successfully solves the case and stops Kira, but only after sacrificing his life, leaving himself with only 23 days left to live. For his final case, L faces down a bio-terrorist group trying to wipe out humanity with a deadly virus ten times more potent than Ebola. As L tries to formulate an antidote with a scientist, he must also save the lives of two children who have no one else to turn to. The DEATH NOTE novel features the same format as the original Japanese printing with a hardcover and clear acetate jacket with metallic ink.

Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, VIZ Media:

“We’re offering up the best of the best just in time for the holidays,” says Gonzalo. “There are new series from manga heavyweights like Taiyo Matsumoto with GOGO Monster, and Rumiko Takahashi with her newest creation, RIN-NE and many more. For new and familiar fans alike, or perhaps for ones who simply love good stories with exquisite art, any of these titles will make an especially unique gift to fit almost any budget this year.”

If you need more information on any of these items, make a visit to www.Viz.com.