ACF 566: New literary manga Library Wars: Love and War due June 1st, 2010

A LOVE OF BOOKS AND READING INSPIRES A GIRL
TO STAND AGAINST CENSORSHIP IN NEW MANGA SERIES
LIBRARY WARS: LOVE AND WAR

New Shojo Adventure Follows A Young Recruit In The Library Defense Forces As She Protects The Right To Read

VIZ Media will bring a new literary manga adventure to North American readers with the release of LIBRARY WARS: LOVE & WAR on June 1st. The series, with story and art by Kiiro Yumi and based on the original concept by Hiro Arikawa, will be published under the Shojo Beat imprint, is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

In the near future, the federal government creates a special committee to rid society of books it deems unsuitable. But the libraries vow to protect their collections, and with the help of local governments, form a military group to defend themselves – the Library Defense Forces!

In the opening volume, Iku Kasahara has dreamed of joining the LDF ever since one of its soldiers stepped in to protect her favorite book from being confiscated in a bookstore when she was younger. But now that she's finally a recruit, she's finding her dream job to be a bit of a nightmare. Especially since her hard-hearted drill instructor seems to have it in for her!

“Manga lovers will root for the cute librarians in this fun new series that also addresses some important issues like liberty, freedom of speech and censorship,” says Candice Uyloan, Director, Consumer Marketing, VIZ Media. “LIBRARY WARS is based on a collection of novels also written by Hiro Arikawa that were extremely popular in Japan, selling more than one million copies. Fans will definitely want to add this adventure to their summer reading lists!”

Hiro Arikawa won the 10th Dengeki Novel Prize for her work Shio no Machi: Wish on My Precious in 2003 and debuted with the same novel in 2004. Arikawa is probably best known for the LIBRARY WARS series and also her trilogy about Japan’s military Self Defense Forces, Jieitai Sanbusaku (The SDF Trilogy), which consists of In the Sky, The Bottom of the Sea, and City of Salt.

Kiiro Yumi won the 42nd LaLa magazine Manga Grand Prix Fresh Debut award for her manga Little Billy's Depression. Her latest series, LIBRARY WARS: LOVE & WAR is currently featured in Japan’s LaLa magazine.

For more information on this title and other shojo titles from VIZ Media, visit www.shojobeat.com.