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New on Shoujo Shelves – February 2016

February 1, 2016

It’s the month of love, and it looks like the shoujo manga selection this month is stacking up plenty of romantic tales to delve into. Ouran HS Host Club mangaka’s new series, Behind the Scenes!, and Konami Konata’s new cat series, Fuku Fuku Kitten Tales, begin this month. Let’s see what other shoujo and josei manga are coming out or continuing in the month of February:

Cover	Publisher	Title, Description and Release Date
		Ani-Imo, vol. 6 There’s no straddling the fence now – Youta has gone all the way over, head over heels, to embracing his feelings for Hikaru. But now that he’s willing to see Hikaru not as his sister but as a lover, Hikaru seems to have slammed on the brakes! No kissing, no touching, and no… Could it be that Hikaru is the one unsure of her feelings now? Or is she gearing up to take their relationship in an entirely new direction…?! Story and art by Haruko Kurumatani. Release Date: 2/23/16
		Are You Alice?, vol. 11 Having fled Lewis Carroll’s destruction of their world, the remaining characters of Wonderland hole up in Caterpillar Alley. Now that the story has a new villain, this group of enemies-turned-allies must conceive a plan to put a stop to Carroll for good. But while they’re plotting, Carroll is getting ever closer to the Alice he seeks – the “real” Alice. Story by Ai Ninomiya and art by Ikumi Katagiri. Release Date: 2/23/16
		Behind the Scenes, vol. 1 New Series Ranmaru Kurisu comes from a family of hardy, rough-and-tumble fisher folk, and he sticks out at home like a delicate, artistic sore thumb. It’s given him a raging inferiority complex and a permanently pessimistic outlook. Now that he’s in college, he’s hoping to find a sense of belonging. But after a whole life of being left out, does he even know how to fit in?! It’s two months into Ranmaru’s college career, and if he’s learned one thing, it’s that he’s really uncomfortable around other people. But when he stumbles into a zombie mob attack, he’s forced out of his comfort zone in the most dramatic way possible! Of course it’s just a movie shoot, but when he wakes up from his ignoble faint, he’s been whisked away behind the scenes with the Art Squad! Could this group of weirdoes be what Ranmaru’s been looking for all his life?! Story and art by Bisco Hatori. Release Date: 2/2/16
		Fairy Tail Blue Mistral, vol. 2 Wendy Marvell is only 12 years old, but she’s already a powerful wizard! At the Dragon Valley, Wendy successfully completed her first mission, saving Nanalu’s townspeople with a little help from her Fairy Tail friends. On the way home, Wendy gets separated from Natsu and the crew and wanders into a castle terrorized by a monster…and now she’s trapped inside! But Wendy’s an experienced dragon slayer wizard and a talented member of Fairy Tail. Everything will be okay…right? Story by Hiro Mashima and Art by Rui Watanabe. Release Date: 2/23/16
		Fuku Fuku Kitten Tales, vol. 1 New Series Stray kitty, FukuFuku, has been adopted into the home of a widowed grandmother and the two quickly begin to develop a relationship viewed through the kitten’s eyes. Story and art by Konami Kanata. Release Date: 2/23/16
		Inu X Boku SS, vol. 10 The threat of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons has driven the residents of Ayakashi Hall to take refuge at their family homes – whether they’d like to or not. But when they’re apart, the situation seems even more hopeless, and one by one the group reassembles at the place that brought them together. Whatever the future holds, they will face it with a united front! Story and art by Cocoa Fujiwara. Release Date: 2/23/16
		Kamisama Kiss, vol. 20 It’s the third day of the school trip, and it looks like Nanami and her friends will finally get a chance to enjoy Okinawa. However, Mikage pops up with a shinshi assignment for Tomoe – deliver a gift to the local shrine maiden. But the simple errand has complicated consequences as Tomoe is forced to face Nanami’s mortality and the seeming impossibility of a yokai and a human living together happily ever after. Story and art by Julietta Suzuki. Release Date: 2/2/16
		Kiss Him, Not Me!, vol. 3 Hi! It’s Kae here! Recently, I made a new friend. Her name is Shima and she’s the most handsome girl I’ve ever met in my life! …And guess what else? She also happens to be one of my favorite doujin authors ever! I mean, how much cooler can you get?! But it doesn’t stop there — she invited me over to her house and the most unbelievable thing happened!! It looks like the boys have some tough competition. Let’s see if they can keep up… Story and art by JUNKO. Release Date: 2/2/16
		LDK, vol. 3 Having acknowledged her own feelings for Shusei, Aoi must now muster the courage to tell him that she likes him. But with Shusei’s popularity, will she be able to do anything before someone else snatches him up? Luckily, Shusei’s older brother comes into the picture and comes up with a way to light the flame of romance in Shusei’s heart, but his older brother’s unconventional plan may take things too far… Story and art by Ayu Watanabe. Release Date: 2/23/16
		Love at Fourteen, vol. 5 On the heels of the sports festival comes the biggest middle school event yet – the school field trip! But before Kazuki and Kanata can worry about keeping up appearances in Kyoto, they’ll have to pass their midterms. Unfortunately, Kazuki’s math skills don’t stand up to his mature, model-student appearance, so when he finds himself in a mathematical midterm pinch, he asks for a favor from none other than… Shiki-san?! Story and art by Fuka Mizutani. Release Date: 2/23/16
		Maid-sama!, Omnibus 5&6 Misaki gets involved in her friend Sakura’s love life when she’s invited along to meet Sakura’s favorite band. But when Sakura’s crush is more interested in Misaki than Sakura herself, it’s up to Usui to intervene! And when the heir to a restaurant conglomerate makes an offer to buy the maid café, how far will Misaki go to save it?! Find out in volumes 5-6 of Maid-Sama! Story and art by Hiro Fujiwara. Release Date: 2/2/16
		QQ Sweeper, vol. 2 Fumi’s image keeps overlapping with that of Fuyu, Kyutaro’s childhood crush, who remains in his thoughts to this day. Meanwhile, Fumi starts to work as a Sweeper with Kyutaro’s family, but she struggles with keeping her past a secret. Has Fumi finally found a place to call home or will her cursed past catch up to her? Find out in volume 2 of QQ Sweeper! Story and art by Kyousuke Motomi. Release Date: 2/2/16
		Say I Love You, vol. 12 Inspired by Mei, Yamato has decided to pursue a career as a photographer. But no matter how much he practices, he can’t help but feel that something is missing. Mei notices that something’s been off with Yamato lately and goes to an unexpected source for help… Meanwhile, Rin has an exciting date with Kai at Land, while Len tries to make friends on his own. Having always been in his sister’s shadow, Len has his doubts, but it seems that he may have had a real friend all along. Story and art by Kanae Hazuki. Release Date: 2/23/16
		So Cute It Hurts, vol. 5 Things between Megumu and Aoi couldn’t be better! They’re even managing to navigate Aoi’s need to stay two feet away from women, and they go on some cute dates. But her twin brother Mitsuru’s love life isn’t going as smoothly. He’s fallen head over heels for Aoi’s sister Shino, but it looks like Shino’s heart belongs to someone else. Mitsuru’s used to fighting, but will he figure out how to fight for love?! Find out in volume 5 of So Cute it Hurts!! Story and art by Go Ikeyamada. Release Date: 2/2/16

My wallet hurts I’ve shelled out so much on manga this month! So many good series to pick from. In case you’re interested Rightstuf.com is having a Viz Media sale for the next couple days.