Kodansha Comics brings Lily Hoshino’s latest shoujo manga “Kigurumi Guardians” in time for readers to pick up during the Halloween Season.

Nothing could prepare young Haaka Sasakura when a strange mascot character starts living with her due to a special “experiment” from her school. While everyone easily gets used to Ginger’s presence, Haaka knows there’s a catch to having this house guest. When her crush, school president Chigaya Kagami asks to meet with her, another surprise comes in the form of two other students with their own Kigurumi partners. She learns that the three pairs will be the newest team of protectors from the evil Puppet Guild from another realm that wants to gain control over humanity by separating people’s hearts from their bodies. While she slowly gets acclimated with her new duties, she still flusters over the fact that the Kigurumis’s human form can be unlocked with a kiss from their partner. However, there’s no time to waste over those feelings when her foes can appear at a moment’s notice.

Hoshino definitely puts a new twist to the shoujo-action genre by putting one of the most popular types of Japanese costumes in the limelight. While some Western fans would think of the pajama-like character jumpers, Hoshino chooses to use the full-size mascot costumes. While there’s the squishy cuteness of the kigurumis, she still shows her stylish flair with Puppet Guild outfits similar to the ones she made for the anime series “Mawaru Penguindrum.” Leading lady Haaka is more like Zakuro from “Otome Yokai Zakuro” than Himari from “Penguindrum with her energetic personality. Fans of Hoshino’s work will find various aspects from some of these other stories including her BL ones, but they all mix into this unique series.

To check out more information and to read an online preview, visit Kodansha Comics’s site. Crunchyroll has all 13 episodes of “Otome Yokai Zakuro” available for streaming while Sentai Filmworks has “Penguindrum” available in DVD format. Both Yen Press and Digital Manga Publishing have a number of Hoshino’s BL books in English.