As the release of their first series, Sidekicks, draws near, Fanboy has now announced their plans to publish an all new shoujo manga, Spellbound: The Magic of Love. This upcoming series is both written and illustrated by Tomoko Taniguchi, whose previous work may be familiar to some of you. CPM Manga has released all six volumes of her shoujo manga Call Me Princess, as well as the first of three volumes of Aquarium. What makes this new series unique, however, is that, while her other domestically released manga were reprints of older series already published in Japan, Spellbound is being created with the US market in mind and will see a domestic release first.

Here's a quick story overview, grabbed from a Spellbound press release recently sent out by Fanboy, followed by a few pieces of sample art from the series:

Ami is your typical Japanese teenager; hip, stylish and more into music, fashion and boys than school and her part-time job. She'd rather spend her afternoon skating, jamming and shopping than studying. But unlike most other teens, Ami also has a secret life. She's a practicing witch! Once given a powerful magic book, Ami has secretly been training in the mystic arts of magic. However, her intentions are not always the most noble as at times she likes to test her spells (and sense of humor) on her friends and cause a little mischief at their expense. However, Ami has yet to master the all important spell of love and win the heart of Hiro, her childhood friend and secret object of affection. But unbeknownst to Ami, Hiro has fallen for the charms of Nicole, the beautiful blonde foreigner who has been hanging around their local haunts recently. What is her interest in Hiro and how will all this affect Ami?

Taniguchi's talent for creating easily identifiable characters and situations through her true-to-life storytelling, combined with the added flavor of a magical girl slant, should make for an interesting mix to say the least.

Fans attending Anime Central 2000 will not only have the opportunity to meet Tomoko Taniguchi, who's scheduled to appear at the convention, but will also get the first taste of Spellbound in the form of an eight page Preview Edition. The preview will later be available in the May 31st issue of Diamond Dateline, a copy of which I'm hoping to get a hold of upon it's release.