Another week, another slew of new releases! I was too late to get a hold of a copy of 20th Century Boys (Vol. 10) but there was still plenty of other good titles to pick up (now with some pictures):

BLU, the boys’ love imprint of Tokyopop, had a couple of new titles out this week. The most exciting of which was the third volume of Voice or Noise. The second volume was released in February 2008 so it’s been quite a wait for this follow-up. None the less I’m as excited to finally purchase a copy now as I was looking forward to it after finishing the last. Great boys’ love series!

The other title I picked up from them is Scarlet, a one-shot by the same creator who did Cute Devil. Honestly, I don’t have much interest in this artist or this premise but I bought the painfully overpriced book all the same because it marks a new (potentially continued?) book style and I wanted to check it out/support it. It sports a larger-than-the-norm trim size and colour inserts at the front. I flipped through it and it was actually a bit disorienting reading a BLU title suddenly notably larger, though snazzy all the same. It’s great to see, especially since it takes a step closer to almost justifying the $18.99 price tag.

Continuing on the semi-boys’ love trend, I was amazed to see a whole slew of DokiDoki titles on the shelf of Chapters (the B&N/Borders equivalent to you Americans out there). They’ve only ever carried sparse copies of Vampire Hunter D from Digital Manga so seeing them branch out to this varied imprint was exciting, plus very promising to the local boys’ love fanbase who are too timid to special order. Though not boys’ love, I purchased a physical copy of Alice the 101st which I reviewed earlier in the month for ANN.

Moving onto other genres, I picked up a copy of Bakuman (Vol. 01) – the team of Death Note makes a manga about making manga – and the fourth volume of Ooku in which it feels like the faux-Shakespearean speech that I really dislike seems more toned down (or is that just me?). In the mail I got a copy of the newest volume of Butterflies, Flowers which is hilarious – I am completely enamoured with the mature silliness of this series and I hope many others are too.

And lastly, thanks to my local library, I’ve been reading the Manga Guide to Databases. After reading the Manga Guide to Statistics last week and being impressed with how much I actually retained from it, I sought out this one as I’ve been wanting a basic introduction to databases. Yay for learning?

Some technical difficulties over the weekend put a bump in my final update regarding Anime North but while I await the retrieval of some material, I notice it’s been a while since we’ve had a news snippet post. Time for some boys’ love loving with news today.!There’s been a few tidbits the past while so here’s a quick round-up of each:

AnimeNewsNetwork is reporting the next Gakuen Heaven manga has been listed on Amazon by BLU (the boys’ love imprint of Tokyopop). The book was also listed in this month’s Preview catalog from Diamond Comics. The company has already released the first two of the Gakuen Heaven books. Based on a boys ‘ love sim game, each book follows the lead character being involved with a different character. The title of this third volume is Gakuen Heaven: Endo ~Calling You~. BLUManga has also posted on their Twitter account that the third volume of Voice or Noise has gone to the printers (yay!).

Yaoi Con has updated its website with a whole look and a bunch of new announcements. This year’s Yaoi Con, North America’s largest convention dedicated to boys’ love, is celebrating its ten year anniversary. They’ve updated their website with guest information – including Hinako Takanaga, Ayane Yamano, Jo Chen and Kano Miyamoto – as well as information regarding returning events such as their AMV contest.

Over at The Yaoi Review, blogger Jennifer LeBlanc has proclaimed June to be Global Boys’ Love Month. Over the month she’ll be covering boys’ love works from creators around the world. Should be lots of interesting stuff to come!

On the note of global boys’ love, there’s some related news to check out on that front as well:

Artist Jo Chen, whose gorgeous painted works can often be seen on the cover of Marvel comics and Buffy issues, has some new independently released books that are definitely worth a look. Firstly she’s completed her first doujin (noted by Yaoi Con) – In These Words. The work is 52 pages altogether and was sold at the recent Fanime, plus will be available at Yaoi Con. Secondly she’s also releasing an art book of her cover illustrations, restricted to only 1500 copies, that she’s selling through e-mail. The book is in Chinese, has 140 pages and costs $45.

Tina Anderson, GlobBL creator whose work include Only Words and the web comic, Whore of Turfan, has a new independently published work coming out with the pre-order date closing in. Loud Snow is  a story of “romantic ice-age hilarity” with art by Amelie Belcher. A digital edition is already available via Kindle with a version soon to be available on eManga. The print edition is coming out this July with pre-orders available for only $8.00.

Manga-ka: Hiro Madarame
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: May 2010

Synopsis: “Tohru Akiyoshi is comfortable in life with his top grades and student council responsibilities. Only problem is he’s got a complex about his effeminate looks. And to make matters worse, the prettiest boy in school, Fuuta Naruse, not only comes onto him… he downright jumps him! Behind that mask of innocent beauty, Fuuta’s got a savage streak, and he’ll stop at nothing to make Akiyoshi his!”

For those who have read their share of boys’ love stories, there are a number of things you’ve come to assume they’ll provide: schoolboys, guys prettier than nature generally allows and forceful love justified by genre – to name a few. Cute Devil does what it can to fulfil a number of these expectations – whether or not it succeeds much past that is debatable.

Read more…

In their recent Tokyopop newsletter, the company has shared a list of manga titles that have been sent to the printers for reprints. This is great news for those who’ve been missing certain volumes in their collections from these series, including the first five volumes of Junji Romantica and the originally-released-in-2004 Saiyuki (Vol. 04). Wow those original releases feel like they were forever ago… sort of nostalgic!

I don’t know about you but seeing a book originally published six years ago getting a reprint is pretty snazzy – shows that when demand is high seeming-miracles can happen! Hopefully now I can finally get my hands on volume three of Kyo Kara Maoh! as well.

These books are set for re-release this week. You can see the full list on their website.

BLU, the boys’ love imprint of Tokyopop, has posted information for those who may have received defective copies of the recently released one-shot, Croquis.

Some customers have found random portions of the book in German, an accidental overlap from an earlier edition Tokyopop published in Germany.

“This was due to a printing error — unfortunately, due to some technical and human errors, some German text from a previously published edition was not properly deleted, and therefore some editions were printed with German text in a few word balloons.”

Those who have a book with this issue can cut out and mail the bar code to Tokyopop and they’ll replace it with a new ‘clean copy’. It isn’t clear if this offer is open only to the United States or if international customers can do the same.

Updates made this afternoon to BLU’s website have made official what online retail sites have been warning boys’ love fans since mid-November – starting in 2010, BLU (the boys’ love imprint of Tokyopop) will be releasing their books at a cover price of $14.99/US.

Scarier yet for some of us, $18.99/CAN – thank goodness for the strong Canadian dollar keeping those terrifying prices relatively obselete on bookstore shelves!

Original volumes of BLU manga, published first in 2005, were priced at $9.99/US. This includes the first volume of the popular now-completed series Love Mode and the on-going Junjo Romantica. This means boys’ love fans have seen a five dollar increase over five years – averaging out the costs, we’re looking at an increase of one dollar for each year BLU has been publishing. BLU’s last price increase was in early 2008, raising from their debut $9.99/US to $12.99/US.

The first book listed to be released at the $14.99/US price is Hinako Takanaga’s Croquis, due out February 2010.

Editors on the BLU forums have cited different reasons for the price increases and variances since their debut, including related-decisions to keep or remove colour pages from books because of shrink-wrapping issues. All Tokyopop books have seen price increases over the years, garnering some negativity from consumers when accompanied by lower quality paper and fewer-to-no colour pages. Tokyopop has since returned to a higher quality paper while their pages range around $10.99/US.

BLUManga.com’s recent updates included a new info page and banner for Croquis, as well as its addition to the release calendar. BLU’s recent press release outlined releases through to Spring 2010.

Edit: BLU Manga has since stated that their future releases will all have 2-4 colour pages to go along with the price increase. (via TheYaoiReview)

BLU Presents:
The Spring 2010 Publishing Lineup

Forget February – Romance Is in the Air All Year with BLU in 2010

Los Angeles, CA (December 3, 2009) – Romance blooms all year long with the latest releases from BLU. Fans will swoon over the latest JUNJO ROMANTICA, laugh through several unique short story collections, and fall in love with all new yaoi manga from Japan.

The year starts out with LOVE HURTS by Suzuki Tanaka (MENKUI!) in January – a truly unique collection of supernatural stories that are sometimes gruesome and unsettling, and often hilarious. From mysterious corpses to mystical crime lords, this manga will keep you on your toes and your thoughts spinning.

Read more…

Manga-ka: Hinako Takanaga
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Release Date: November 2009

Synopsis: “After fleeing Tokyo, trying to escape a personal crisis, hapless Itary winds up drunk and passed out on a neighbourhood trash heap. His misery is documented by prickly cameraman Kouki, who works for a local cable station, and soon the two end up roommates and co-workers. But with a company full of quirky characters, including a perky, winsome cross-dresser, and their own personalities to content with, will Itaru and Kouki ever truly understand one another?”

While out on assignment, Kouki stumbles across a runaway sprawled in an alleyway. A good deed not going unrewarded, he finds himself both puked on and his new camera smashed! None the less he generously takes the young man, Itaru, back to his apartment to get cleaned up – but with Itaru having no where to go and no money for payment, he soon becomes a more long-term tenant of Kouki’s home.

Read more…

Manga-ka: Hinako Takanaga
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: December 2008

Synopsis: “Painful, heartbreaking memories suddenly surface for Haru when he agrees to fill in as teacher for the high school archery club. In his youth, Haru was a brilliant archer who competed for the national championship. But uncontrollable urges for a male rival forced him to give up on his archery dream and run away from his true feelings. Now that he’s back in the bow-and-arrow game, Haru becomes drawn to the brother of his long-lost love – and he must find out if his desire has taken on a new, seductive aim…”

In his high school days, Haru Mochizuki was a national competition class archer with a bright future in the sport. Suddenly he drops the sport he once loved so much, graduating and leaving his school without explanation. Unbeknownst to others, Haru had fallen in love with his best friend and rival, and those feelings made archery impossible to concentrate on, and in his fear of failure, he quit. A few years later he returns to the school as a substitute teacher, only to again become drawn to the beauty of the sport and swept up in the passion of one archer in particular, the younger brother of his first love.

Read more…

Black Knight (Vol. 04) – Kai Tsurugi
Published by BLU

Sometimes I wonder why I keep reading this series. Black Knight at this point is more political period-drama than a boys’ love story, and with the exception of a handful of the lead characters, I can’t tell who’s-who well enough due to similar character designs to even understand that much of the story.

Thankfully when the story steps back from the who-done-its, the characters themselves are still likeable with often the background crowds proving the most entertaining (as evident by some amusing mini-strips at the end). Christian, the youngest Prince of the Aran royal family, is currently in the neighbouring country of Dunhalk, the same country said to have tried to assassinate his Father. Far from being on vacation however, Chris is being held as a voluntary hostage to Dunhalk’s second Prince in a bid to create peace between their two countries. At his side is the ever-vigilante, Zeke, his bodyguard and secret-lover who still remains injured from a fight taking place in the previous volume.

While the boys’ love is at an all-time low in this one, fans have some overzealous royals, incestuous brothers and foreboding political plots to look forward to. The book’s last third takes a break from the main storyline and enjoyably takes us back in time to see Zeke in his youth, easily my favourite part of this book along with more of the gorgeous period clothing and detailed background settings that I’ve come to love since volume one.

While I do occasionally find Black Knight a little on the dull side thanks to some plot that falls just short of catching my interest, there’s successfully been enough focus on characters to keep me reading with eye-candy present to fill in any gaps. With the main plot steering for some choppy waters, I’m looking forward to reading how Christian and Zeke will make it through what the royal world has in store for them.

Review written April 1st, 2009 by Lissa Pattillo
Book purchased in-store from Chapters

A couple more new listings have popped up on Amazon.ca today, suggesting a few more licenses to go along with those I pointed out from Digital Manga the other day.

First off though, I wanted to remind my readers that while Amazon listings are a good indication of a company’s intent to release something, it is not a sure thing. Also, as brought to mind by Snow over at Fujoshi Librarian, it hadn’t occured to me that there’d be confusion for people over why Amazon.ca has these listings while Amazon.com does not.

Simply put, listings on different countries’ Amazon merely reflects who updated first. Each site is, as far as I know, managed differently and updated seperately. In my experience, Amazon.ca tends to have its new listings up much faster and more frequently than its American counterpart, Amazon.com. So, along with where I go to order some of my books, it’s also the first place I look for new listings. It does not mean that “only Canada is going to get it!”. It’s just a matter of what site posted the new information first.

That said, here’re a few new-to-my-knowledge titles:

Madness (BLU)
Shimotsuki Kairi

Liberty Liberty! (BLU)
Hinako Takanaga

Taimashin Demon Hunters (DMP)
Hideyuki Kikuchi/Shin Yong-Gwan

There’s also listings for two OEL books. First from DelRey is Ben 10 the Manga, based on the television show and illustrated by the artist of Tokyopop’s Gyakushu, Dan Hipp. It was originally announced back in Sepetember 2008. (Second OEL book has been removed by publisher request).

BLU’s apparent new titles definitely excite me the most, but that might have something to do with the fact I’m a huge Hinako Takanaga fan and someone who’s waited a long time to read Shimotsuki Kairi’s Madness. It’s also nice to see that DelRey is going through with an original Ben 10 manga as they originally planned instead of just sticking with the screenshot-cut-and-paste version that’s due out a few months before it.

Some boys’ love links of interest tonight:

BLU forums are pointing the way to Tokyopop’s site where you can view some preview pages for the upcoming and long-awaited fourth volume of Black Knight. Pretty artwork awaits you!

Some exciting news over at the Yaoi Generation forums where the staff had this to say:

“We’re also wrapping up a couple new licenses! Yay! We’ll be announcing it soon… well, soonish… hehe.. It’s not one of the suggested ones though. We’ve been working on getting these upcoming licenses since middle of last year, and it’s finally nearing completion, so we’re very excited!”

So much for waiting until the end of their first series, breath, before diving into others. But who am I kidding, I’m happy. Here’s hoping they handle it well and we get some more quality work. I was impressed with their first release and hope to be with future ones.

Deb Aoki’s Best of 2008 manga polls continue, including Best New Yaoi/Shonen-Ai Manga of 2008. It’s down to a race between the global boys’ love title ANIMA by Dany&Dany, and Ayano Yamane’s A Foreign Love Affair. Personally, I voted for Future Lovers, no contest my favourite on the list. Head over there and vote for your favorite and definitely check out any titles there you haven’t read yet. There’s some good ones for sure!

A new title from Kitty Media? Sense and Sexuality, with a release date listed for April 2009 (Edit: update). And how about a potentially new title from Deux Press? Have some Spicy But Sweet, a sequel to their already licensed Naughty But Nice. And from DMP, The Lonely Mgoytist (this one seems familiar to me but I can’t find news on it before my head hits the desk from sleepiness so apologies if this is repeat news).

Y!Gallery, aka YaoiGallery, the biggest online art community revolving around men, men and men on men, has recently had a big overhaul of their Rules and Terms of Use. One of the biggest changes includes the return of ‘furries’. Characters with strong animal characteristics were originally banned due to user complaints and a blurred line of beastiality. Site users are now given the option to filter their accounts so that furry art doesn’t show up for them. Other rule changes include no copyrighted material or work taken without permission being used for literature thumbnails (saving people like me a hundred headaches for clicking on what looks like really well done fanart only to find one of a million fanfics).

And finally, Tina Anderson and MTCopyright’s full-colour webcomic Whore of Turfan continues to update weekly with lots of shiny drama to look forward to every Friday! (Whoops, how’d this plug get here? ;) ) Seriously though, a strong start for the series from two talented individuals and I can’t wait to see where its going.

Manhwa-ga: Yuki Shimizu
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: November 2008

Synopsis: “The mysterious figure of Shiki finally appears in this flashback — we find a younger and more naive Aoe escaping his familial responsibilities to the countryside of England, where he shares a simple bed and breakfast home with Takamiya and Shiki. While Aoe can’t deny his feelings for the happy-go-lucky Shiki, he can’t shrug off his duties to his family. The tension and seduction builds to an unexpected event that will rock his world forever!”

Volume eleven marks the end of Love Mode, a character-driven story of men brought together by a bomcintion of their business and pleasures. As testament to her skill, Yuki Shimizu has left pinnacle events in characters’ lives a mystery until this final point, revealing to readers past events in what is easily one of the most dramatic books of the series.

Read more…

Manga-ka: Yaya Sakuragi
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: August 2008

Synopsis: “Clumsy Takamaru and graceful Hasune have started dating, but are the challenges facing them nothing that can’t be settled over a hot cup of tea? First, Takamaru is focusing on baseball while Hasune is busy practicing the tea ceremony, giving them little time together – and their quickies in the Tea Ceremony Club room just aren’t cutting it! Then, a former upperclassman of Tokumaru’s arrives, and suddenly, the older man is all he seems to see or talk about…”

After some relatively successful lessons in tea and grace, Takamaru and Hasune have started dating. Things between them are going smoothly except for the fact that between baseball and the tea ceremony, they hardly seem to have anytime for one another. If time wasn’t obstacle enough, the future suddenly seems a daunting thing for these teenagers getting ready to graduate from high school, and an old friend from Takamaru’s past returns to put a little doubt in Takamaru’s lacking life-goals.

Read more…

Manga-ka: Yaya Sakuragi
Publisher: BLU
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: May 2008

Synopsis: “Clumsy Madoka Takumaru can’t seem to go a minute without breaking something. To teach him a little self-control, Takumaru’s sis forces him to help out the Tea Ceremony Club despite the hesitations of the club president, the graceful Kazuma Hasune. Compoased and cool, he is the exact opposite of the brash Takumaru. Will the two be able to bridge their differences, or will a potentially hot romance cool like iced tea?”

Tea For Two is the story of Madoka Takumaru, a clumsy teenage jock who has a problem with breaking things. Fed up with his lack of grace, his younger sister puts him under the tutelage of their school’s Tea Ceremony club president, Kazuma Hasune. Now it’s a matter of whether or not some tea and kimonos will be enough to calm Madoka’s bad habits or if something aside from good manners will form through their lessons.

Read more…