Arina Tanemura’s shoujo manga series originally began as a serialized story in the girl’s magazine Ribon. However, Full Moon o Sagashite quickly found a growing audience and an animated series went into full production. Covering 52 episodes with high weekly ratings, the TV series managed to catch up and even finish the storyline before the final manga was printed. Following 12-year-old Mitsuki Koyama, it’s easy to think she’s just another regular elementary school girl dreaming of being a j-pop idol. Yet Mitsuki has throat cancer and her dream will be unfilled if she has her vocal cords operated on. In come two shinigami who decide to help the girl fulfill her dream of becoming an idol before the cancer takes her life within a year. Viz Media brings Full Moon O Sagashite: Full Moon Debuts!, the second volume in their on-going Shojo Beat series, to the American audience. (more…)