Mayu Shinjo and Shogakukan Go Separate Ways

Mayu Shinjo is a popular shojo mangaka whose work regularly appear on Sho-comi. Some of her popular works include Love Celeb, Kaikan Phrase, and Haou Airen.

On May 23rd, manga artist Mayu Shinjo announced on her blog her plan to leave Shogakukan after her current serialization ends. Below is a summary-excerpt of Mayu Shinjo's blog post:

Mayu Shinjo will be leaving Shogakukan, where she has worked for the past 14 years, and go on to walk the road of a "free" manga artist.

I'm planning on doing different works for various magazines, works that aren't restricted by the framework of a mangaka. I just want to challenge myself to do different things, so performing and singing aren't out of the question. Don't worry, in the end I'm still a manga artist, but I think gaining these experiences will be good for me. Right now I can't reveal too much details, but more information will become available in the future.

Even though this is a bit selfish, I think I can do this just once without betraying my real feelings. If I am to continue with all kinds of serializations, I won't have the time and energy to do what I want to do. I just want to let everyone know that after my current manga ends, I will temporarily stop being a mangaka, and enter a "preparation period" and then a "recharge period."

Of course, there are still many things I want to draw, so who knows when I will come back and challenge myself to draw again. I would like to thank all my readers for supporting me, I will definitely be back in the future, please wait for my return.