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Archive for the Licensing Category

Digital Manga Adds Wild Honey and Tender Hearts to 2012 License List

Kuriousity may have some posting lulls but Digital Manga hasn’t hit one yet, announcing another two new titles destined for print. Both titles were announced on DMP’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Wild Honey – Sei Takenaka (June)
Tender Hearts – Konomi Shikishiro (Project-H)

Both of the titles are one-shots with no specific release dates announced yet, though Digital Manga did say readers can expect Tender Hearts in Spring 2013. This will be the first time either artist has been published by DMP.

Via their Project-H account, a representative also stated: “…the new website is almost ready so please be patient while we run the final tests. Thank you!”. The Project-H website has had temporary placeholder pages since they launched back in July 2011. They also added that consumers can expect to see some release dates for their titles announced over the past couple of months.


Love & Sex on the Job – DMP Announces Three New Print Licenses

DMP Licenses for March 16 2012

Digital Manga Publishing kicked off the recent weekend with another three new manga licenses – when will their licensing streak end!? Not a complaint, mind you.

Their three new licenses are:

Love Makes Everything Right – Sanae Rokuya (BL)
Hot & Steamy – Hiroshi Itaba (Project-H)
Love on the Job (Vols. 1-3) – Harumi Chihiro (Project-H)

All three titles are by creators Digital Manga has previously licensed works from. DMP has previously published Sanae Rokuya’s boys’ love titles Red and King of Debt, while Harumi Chihiro’s better known Velvet Kiss was announced back in November. Hiroshi Itaba’s Three P, another one-short story, was one of Project-H’s launch books. All three new titles are scheduled for print release but there are no dates yet as to when they’ll be published.

Love Makes Everything Right – a oneshot BL – is an office romance where a man finds his new job has landed him at the receiving end of sexual harassment. You can see a few preview pages over at it’s Amazon.jp listing. DMP’s newest multi-volume series and hentai addition, Love on the Job, is of a more consensual-from-the-get-go nature. It follows a young man and woman who each land their dream jobs. When they realize  they’ve been hired at rival companies, however, they need to keep their romantic relationship a secret or risk losing everything they have.

Of these new books, I’m most looking forward to Love on the Job. The plot sounds ripe for entertainment and drama while Harumi Chihiro has a really nice looking art style.

In additional DMP related news, boys’ love light novel fans will be happy to see volume seven of Ai no Kusabi is now available for pre-order on Amazon (US/CAN). The previous volume of the series was released back in July 2009. It’s been quite a wait so enjoy the return, Ai no Kusabi readers!


Love for Loveless and the Orphaned: Viz Media to Release 07-Ghost

Viz Media Licenses 07-Ghost, Plans Loveless Omnibus

A listing on the Simon and Schuster website sent Twitter in a mini-buzz late this week with word that Viz Media had licensed Yuki Amemiya/Yukino Ichihara’s 07-Ghost. ANN confirmed the news with Viz yesterday so rejoice 07-Ghost fans!

07-Ghost is a story about an orphan gifted with magical powers who is enrolled as a student in a military-run academy until he discovers his father’s killers are there. The series was originally released by the now defunct GoComi who were only able to publish the first few volumes before dropping out in late 2009. Viz Media’s first volume is currently listed at $9.99/US with a November 2012 release date for volume one, and January 2013 for volume two.

I’ve since sold my volumes of GoComi’s 07-Ghost because it just didn’t interest me very much. I’m still sort of bummed about that fact because of how much I like the author’s illustration work and character designs. The story, unfortunately, just didn’t click with me. It’s been a few years now so maybe I’ll find it more to my liking starting over – we shall see!

Another listing on the Simon and Schuster website also revealed an upcoming omnibus edition of Yun Kouga’s Loveless. Viz Media originally announced the license at New York Comic Con 2011 but had only stated plans to release the series in single volume books starting where Tokyopop had left off (volume nine). The new listing shows the start of 2-in-1 omnibus edition kicking off from the series’ beginning. The first part is listed for $14.99/US and set to come  out October 2012.

This new Loveless edition is great news for readers (and potential new fans) who didn’t have a chance to pick up Tokyopop’s volumes one to eight, while still pleasing those who did with the go ahead on volume nine+ in single format. Kudos to Viz Media for the dual release option!


Cute Guys and Cats – DMP Licenses Three New Titles for Fall

DMP Licenses Secret Thorns and Start With a Happy Ending

With barely a breather between them, Digital Manga has announced another three new licenses to be released this fall:

Secret Thorns – Kikuko Kikyua (June)
Start With a Happy Ending – Risa Motoyama (DMP)
The Hentai Prince And The Stony Cat (Vol.01) – Okomeken / So Sagara / Kantoku (DMP)

Secret Thorns and Start With A Happy Ending were both announced via Digital Manga’s social media accounts and their website’s blogThe Hentai Prince And The Stony Cat was listed admist the string of new titles in their recently e-mailed Digital Manga Newsletter.

Secret Thorns is a one-shot boys’ love title by the same creator as the book, Entangled Circumstances, that DMP released last year. It’s a romance title set against the backdrop of an editor and author’s turbulent relationship when being lovers is thrown into the equation.

Start With A Happy Ending is a multi-volume series collecting a number of short stories and looks to be one for the cat lovers out there. The main title is about an individual who is reincarnated as a cat with seven days to live and reflect on their life before moving on. The series is only one volume currently but is on-going in Japan.

Tyrant Who Falls In Love (Vol. 08)

Despite its title, The Hentai Prince And The Stony Cat isn’t a hentai (18+) and will be released under the DMP line of books. Its story sounds as bizarre as the title though – it follows a young man who has obvious perverse intent behind everything he does and yet no one seems to acknowledge it. He wants people to see him for who he truly is and stop hiding his true feelings to save face. When a friend recommends a fix, he seeks out a stone cat that he hears can grant wishes. It’s there he meets a girl who wants the ability to actually hide her true self. Quirky, pervy hilarity apparently ensues! A short preview of The Hentai Prince and The Stony Cat can be seen at Amazon.jp.

Other extra tidbits in the newsletter include the license of Hinako Takanaga’s final volume of Tyrant Who Falls In Love (Vol.08) and affirmation that the first twelve volumes of Erementar Gerade will be “using translations adapted from the original English releases” (from Tokyopop), with volumes 13-18 being adapted by the Digital Manga Guild.


DMP Continues Licensing Spree with Honey*Smile and My Good Boy

DMP Licenses Honey*Smile and My Good Boy

Digital Manga is the company that keeps on giving in 2012 so far, announcing another two new licenses recently. This brings them to, I believe, twelve print licenses so far for 2012. That’s quite a bit of momentum!

The first of the recent two was a new Project-H title, My Good Boy. This hentai (18+ only!) title by Youko Ohnami is a one-shot currently scheduled for print but with no exact date currently set. Company reps made note this title will have some minor censoring put in place by the Japanese publisher.

Digital Manga’s second license was announced yesterday evening – Yura Miyazawa’s Honey*Smile. This boys’ love title is also a one-shot with upcoming (undetermined) release dates for both print and digital editions. DMP previously released another one-shot by Yura Miyazawa, Love Syndrome. You can see a few preview pages for Honey*Smile via it’s listing on Amazon.jp.

Niether of DMP’s announcements included plots for these new stories but Honey*Smile does have a synopsis on its Amazon page. For all our sanity’s sake, I’ve opted not to attempt writing about it through only the use of Google Translate (entertaining as that can often be).


Seven Seas Adds Haganai and Mayo Chiki! for Winter Release

Seven Seas Adds Haganai and Mayo Chiki! for Winter Release

The eyes! They stare into my soul! They also command me to let you know that last week Seven Seas sent out a press release announcing two new manga licenses, both due out late this winter in single volume editions:

Mayo Chiki! (Hajime Asano and Niito) – “Kinjiro Sakamachi is a “normal” seventeen-year-old boy who happens to suffer from an abnormal fear of women, otherwise known as gynophobia. His phobia, which surfaces as an occasional nosebleed, has been kept more or less under control…until now. A fateful visit to the school bathroom turns Kinjiro’s world upside down, as he discovers the dashing and popular Konoe Subaru is actually a girl!? What’s worse, the principal’s cruel and domineering daughter, Kanade Suzutsuki, has every reason to keep this secret from leaking out, and makes it her life’s work to torment Kinjiro, while attempting to cure his gynophobia.”

Haganai: I Have No Friends (Yomi Hirasaka and Itachi) – “Recent high school transfer student Hasegawa Kodaka is pathetically inept at making friends. Kodaka is an outcast, with his natural blonde hair which he inherited from his deceased English mother, and his unpleasant, fierce gaze. When he comes across the brash loner Mikazuki Yozorai, who typically chats with her imaginary friend, the two outsiders become the unlikeliest of allies. Realizing they have no hope of a normal social life, the two rejects decide to form a group called “The Neighbor’s Club” in order to make friends and maybe even learn a thing or two about social skills.”

Perfectly timed for the eager, the first volumes of Haganai: I Have No Friends (US) and Mayo Chiki! (US) were added to Amazon for pre-order early this week. The retail website also has listings up for Girl Friends: The Complete Collection (Volume 01 (US) & Volume 02), both of which are listed with just under 500 pages each. Seven Seas announced their license for Girlfriends in November 2011. Seeing their listings reiterates these are some of my most anticipated releases of 2012. It’s going to be a big year for Seven Seas!


SuBLime Licenses Yaya Sakuragi’s Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love

SuBLime

2012 is really shaping up to be the year of adult manga so far, isn’t it? It feels like the bulk of licensing news since the new year began has been mature titles from SuBLime and Digital Manga Publishing, be it hentai, boys’ love or Tezuka’s darker-themed, Barbara. It’s become a notable trend so far but I’ve no complaints. It’s been fantastic seeing this time of year full of manga licenses when typically I associate them as coming in bulk in the summer.

That being said, SuBLime continues to roll along with their new  licenses, announcing today they’ll be releasing Yaya Sakuragi’s Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love:

“High school student Ao has had a wet dream about longtime neighbor and Shinto priest, Ryomei. He’s taken aback and excited by this dream, and starts to consider the joys of a relationship with another man. Ao approaches Ryomei in the hopes of making his dream a reality, but is flatly refused. Not one to give up easily, Ao persists until he finally gets his kiss. But will this horny high schooler really be satisfied with a simple kiss? Bonus story included!”

I’m looking forward to buying this one, having enjoyed some of Yaya Sakuragi’s work in the past when published by DMP and the now defunct BLU. Plus it has a priest in it which is always a soft spot of mine – robes are so pretty to look at!  Volume one is scheduled for release in August 2012 with following volumes being printed every three months. Currently SuBLime does not have rights for releasing Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love digitally.

SuBLime also announced they’ve licensed Makoto Tateno’s How’s Your Ex?. Unfortunately this one-shot title is a digital-only release. It’s scheduled for April 2012 and is one of the creator’s most recent projects, just published in Japan back in November 2011.


Project-H Announces License For First “Uncensored” Title – Love Hair

Project H Licenses Love Hair

Digital Manga announced via their Twitter & Facebook (18+ only!) accounts late last week that they’ve acquired a new license for their Project-H imprint – Maban’s Love Hair.

The company is promoting this book as their first “uncensored” title. Having now read a couple of their already released hentais, I can assure readers who may be concerned hearing this that it doesn’t mean DMP has censored their books in the past (from what I can tell). There are some small elements in the source material that qualifies as censoring – little to no drawn detail in certain areas, for example, and tiny rather useless black bars over genitalia, but those things are there from the get-go.

You can see a few preview pages of Love Hair’s interior on its Amazon.jp page, with a reminder that these images and the book are for 18+ readers only! The ‘uncensored’ detail work that stands out most in the book seems indicative of where the book’s name comes from.

Between their boys’ love and hentai titles, there seems to be a number of Digital Manga licenses as of late. I’ve really been liking how they’ve been making announcements all year ’round instead of staying confined to the late-Spring, early-Summer convention season as others do. That they’ve generally announced only 1-2 titles per time also gives them a lot more press time on sites and blogs spread out over weeks. Clever, clever.

Project HI do hope we see their actual Project H website launch sooner than later though. They’ve got quite a few titles now but only the original three on their website (which  still has no working links past the age verification page). The same can be said for 801Media for which they’ve even printed previews of the ‘finished’ website in their Project H books, yet the original website remains untouched since early 2010. I love all the new licenses but it’d be even nicer to have up and running sites to go to for information on them.


MangaNext 2012: Vertical Announces New Licenses, Artbook

MangaNext 2012 - Vertical Inc

New Jersey is home to North America’s only manga-specific convention this weekend – MangaNext. Along with it’s impressive guest list (if only it didn’t cost me $6500 to fly down last minute!), the convention is also the platform for some manga industry news.

Vertical Inc‘s Ed Chavez is attending the event and had two new manga licenses to announce at the company panel today:

Heroman – Stan Lee & Tamon Ohta
Limit – Keiko Suenobu

Heroman is a five volume series written by Marvel-character famed, Stan Lee. The story is illustrated by Tamon Ohta, who I couldn’t find any works from prior aside from ANN’s credit for art in the Heroman anime. This is Stan Lee’s second direct collaboration with a manga-artist – the first being Ultimo, published in English by Viz Media. Heroman is about a boy named Joey who discovers a discarded toy in the trash only to then find himself fighting alongside it to become a hero.

Limit is a six volume, psychological shoujo series from the creator of the Tokyopop published Life, Keiko Suenobu. It’s a pretty solid indication right there what kind of series this is going to be coupled with it’s suspenseful sounding plot. The story follows a young woman named Kanno who has lived indifferently towards her school and classmates. She’s forced to see things differently when a bus crash leaves her and four other survivors trapped on a cliff.

Along with these two titles, Vertical Inc also licensed a novel titled Grey Men and, to the foreseen surprise of many on Twitter, the Queen’s Blade Complete Visual Collection artbook (fantasy fanservice that’s a hentai without the sex). Ed Chavez has mentioned in the past that he wants consumers to see Vertical as a more diverse publisher and something so different from their most well-known series is definitely getting that point across. ANN has more information available on these two acquisitions.

I didn’t see any news reported on Twitter from the con-goers on when these books are scheduled to be published but I’ll definitely be purchasing both Heroman and Limit when they’re available. A fun, innocent looking shonen and a thought-provoking shoujo both look great to me!


Tuesday Twitter Treats – DMP and SuBLime Announce New Licenses

Twitter Treasures From Digital Manga and SuBLime

Both Digital Manga Publishing and SuBLime had fans glued to social media sources tonight when representatives from both teased they’d be announcing a number of new licenses this evening. I was following them both via their Twitter accounts (DMP/SuBLime) for the news.

Digital Manga (blog post):

The Man I Picked Up – CJ Michalski (June)
With a Dictionary and No Skirt – Tomoyuki Enoki (Project-H)
Colorful Harvest – Ponkotsu Works (Project-H)
An Ideal Day to Fall in Love – Ponkotsu Works (Project-H)

CJ Michalski’s The Man I Picked Up is about a club-owner who finds an injured young man outside his establishment. It’s a one-shot, love-at-first-sight boys’ love story by the same creator as That Was Good, which DMP published last year.

With a Dictionary and No Skirt, Colorful Harvest and An Ideal Day to Fall in Love are all one-shot volumes as well, all three published under DMP’s hentai imprint, Project-H. Colorful Harvest is the story of a young man returning home to help with his family’s vineyards where he meets an old childhood friend.

SuBLime (blog post):

Kiss Ariki – Youka Nitta
Awkward Silence – Hinako Takanaga

Both these new boys’ love titles are scheduled for digital and print releases (yay!) with their first volumes due out this summer.

Kiss Ariki is currently being published in English by Animate USA on the Kindle. Since August 2010 they’ve published seven chapters. Presumably SuBLime will be doing their own translations and typesetting. Several other Youka Nitta titles have been released by Animate USA and other publishers over the years, including DMP’s White Brand and Otodama. Her series, Kiss Ariki, is about a yakuza’s son sent to a deserted island for his protection. Along with him is the son of his father’s second-in-command. Two young men + deserted island? You guess the rest!

Hinako Takanaga’s Awkward Silence is my favourite announcement of the night. As a huge fan of the creator’s work, I’ll always be happy to have more of her books to purchase. This title in particular I’ve been buying in French and I’m super excited to get a copy in English (my French reading skills are more than a bit rusty these days!). It’s an adorable story about a young man whose shyness leads to trouble speaking and expressing his feelings. When asked out by the classmate he has a crush on, he begins to open up to both him and his friends. Very cute and often funny! I’d recommend this series to those who enjoyed Hinako Takanaga’s Little Butterfly.


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