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.