FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
1) What is Be Beautiful?
Be Beautiful is a brand new graphic novel imprint from A18 Corporation. Be Beautiful books are devoted to romance stories written and beautifully illustrated by women for women readers 18 years of age and older. Be Beautiful books offer romantic fantasy similar to traditional romance novels. Be Beautiful titles are published in a right-to-left page presentation as the creators originally intended.
2) What does the character in the Be Beautiful logo signify?
In Japanese, this character is pronounced as ["Be"] and means "beauty" or "aestheticism." As Be Beautiful books focus on the depiction of impossibly beautiful men, we thought it would be appropriate to use this particular character for our logo.
3) What is Yaoi?
 ''Yaoi is a Japanese publishing genre that encompasses manga, novels and short stories produced by female artists and writers for the enjoyment of female readers," as Ms. Jeanne Johnson has eloquently described on the official Yaoi-Con website (www.yaoicon.com).
A distinctive element of Yaoi is its focus on the diverse interpretations of the "pure love" concept. Be Beautiful graphic novels explore the joys and wonders of love and relationships with dignity, intelligence, and respect regardless of gender.
Another element of Yaoi is the beautiful depiction of the male protagonists. Characters in Yaoi are impossibly beautiful men, who represent the epitome of male beauty as imagined by some of the most talented and gifted artists of our time. The alluring artwork alone justifies the purchase of the book.
4) Where did the genre of Yaoi originate?
After years of success with shoujo manga (graphic novels intended for girls in junior high and high school), Japanese female artists and writers began to explore new romantic relationships, characters, and situations from a woman's point of view.
The genre exploded in Japan, and we at A18 Corporation are proud to be at the forefront of this exciting new market.
5) Who is the audience for Be Beautiful?
Be Beautiful is for intelligent, creative, and open-minded women looking for short interludes of romantic escape. These readers may include college students, professionals, online gamers, and avid readers of fantasy graphic novels.
6) Will Be Beautiful only carry Yaoi manga?
Be Beautiful is a label dedicated to providing mature, intelligent and sophisticated female readers with short interludes of romantic escape. While our initial launch products have only included Yaoi manga, we have plans to expand our catalog to include anime, and non-Yaoi manga titles as well. Be Beautiful is a label "for women, by women", and we intend to build our catalog around this core philosophy.
7) Could you please publish [title]?
We are always looking for suggestions from our fans. While we constantly receive emails from fans suggesting various Yaoi titles, the best way to get your voice heard is by participating in our Demographics Survey (www.bebeautifulmanga.com/survey). We review the results of this survey on a regular basis, so you can be assured that your two cents will be heard, and considered seriously.
8) When is [title] going to be released? What other titles will you be publishing next year?
We endeavor to announce our new releases as early as possible. This will generally take place 5 to 12 months before the street date. Furthermore, we are currently in the process of adding an "Upcoming Releases" section to our website, where readers will be able to get an overview of our release schedule.
9) I have noticed that Be Beautiful's version of [title] is different from the original Japanese version. Why is this so?
Our fundamental philosophy is to keep our products as true and accurate to the original publication as possible. When we face issues prohibiting us from doing so, we consult the original author to ensure that our English versions retain the creator's artistic intent.
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