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Posts Tagged Boys’ Love/Yaoi

PR: Long-Awaited Masterpiece of Intrigue & Innocence Lost Returns

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, September 14, 2012

HIT MANGA SERIES LOVELESS RETURNS AFTER FOUR YEARS WITH VIZ MEDIA’S RELEASE OF NEW VOLUMES OF THE POETIC SAGA OF SPELL BATTLES AND SECRET NAMES

Intense Psychological Masterpiece Resumes In Volume 9 Release;
VIZ Media Also To Publish Earlier LOVELESS Volumes In New
2-In-1 Manga Omnibus Editions

San Francisco, CA, September 13, 2012 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, thrills readers as it reboots the English-language publication of LOVELESS, the hit fantasy manga (graphic novel) series from creator Yun Kouga. Volume 9 is available now and is rated ‘T’ for Teens, with an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN / £6.99 UK.

VIZ Media has also announced plans to publish the earlier volumes of LOVELESS as new 2-in-1 omnibus editions beginning in October. These releases will feature updated translations, new lettering, retouched sound effects, and a fresh cover design. Volume 1 debuts on October 9th and includes 6 full-color pages, as well as 50 pages of bonus comics and insightful artist commentary from Yun Kouga previously not published in North America. MSRP for the 2-in-1 editions will be $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN / £9.99 UK.

In LOVELESS, Ritsuka Aoyagi is alone in the world – never fitting in at school and alienated from his own past by a fragmented memory. When his beloved older brother Seimei is brutally murdered, Ritsuka is heartbroken but determined to find answers. His only lead is Soubi, a mysterious, handsome college student who offers him an intimate link to his brother’s other life: a dark and vibrant world of spell battles and secret names.

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Loveless, Viz Media

PR: SuBLime Debuts A Charming Story of Love Transcending Appearances…

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, September 13, 2012

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GLOBAL YAOI PUBLISHER SuBLime DEBUTS
HIS FAVORITE IN PRINT AND DIGITAL MANGA EDITIONS

Boy Meets Boy In A Charming Story That Shows How Love Transcends A Person’s Outward Appearance And Blooms Between A Most Unlikely Couple

San Francisco, CA, September 12, 2012 – SuBLime, the global yaoi manga (graphic novel) publisher, invites fans and readers to savor the delightful story and dynamic artwork of Suzuki Tanaka’s latest hit series, HIS FAVORITE. This new title is the latest to join SuBLime’s growing yaoi library and is the first one to be rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens. Volume 1 is available now!

HAS FAVORITE Volume 1, carries a print MSRP of $12.99. The digital version is available simultaneously at an MSRP of USD $5.99 and offers fans digital access to two versions of each manga volume on SuBLimeManga.com – a DRM-free downloadable PDF that is viewable on any enabled eReader device and computer, and via the online manga viewer found on the web site.

HIS FAVORITE Vol. 1, by Suzuki Tanaka  Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens  MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN  Available Now!
Yoshida is short, scrawny and generally unattractive. To make matters worse, all the girls in his class hate him because Sato, the hottest guy in school, always uses hanging out with him as an excuse to turn them down. Is Yoshida just a convenient excuse or is there something more? Could this odd couple even make things work?!

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Digital, His Favorite, SuBLime

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – August 15, 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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New books! My commentary here on Kuriousity is limited to “buy them!” but it might have something to do with the giant stack of books I bought from the last couple weeks that begs to be read right now. The full list is available as per yay-manga-comes-out-weekly usual over at my On The Shelf article for Otaku USA.

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Categories: Features, News, On The Shelf, Release Lists
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, GEN Manga, Kodansha Comics, Netcomics, Otaku USA, Viz Media

PR: SuBLime Continues The Summer Yaoi Sizzle With New Manga Releases

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, August 14, 2012

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GLOBAL YAOI MANGA PUBLISHER SuBLime CONTINUES THE SUMMER SIZZLE WITH THE DEBUT OF BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE AND STARTING WITH A KISS

Bold English-Language Yaoi Publisher Will Delight Fans With Both Debuts Available Now In Print And STARTING WITH A KISS Also Available Digitally From SuBLimeManga.com

San Francisco, CA, August 14, 2012 – SuBLime, the global yaoi manga (graphic novel) publisher, delivers more hot summer romance with the debut of Yaya Sakuragi’s BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE, and Youka Nitta’s STARTING WITH A KISS. Both new series launch today, are rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers, and carry a print-version MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN.

STARTING WITH A KISS is also available as a digital edition worldwide from www.SuBLimeManga.com for $5.99 (USD), and is downloadable as a PDF for viewing on any enabled eReader device or computer, as well as accessible via the online manga viewer found on the SuBLime web site.

BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE Vol. 1, by Yaya Sakuragi 
Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN
High school student Ao has been dreaming about his longtime neighbor Ryomei, a priest at the local Shinto shrine. A little freaked out—and a lot excited—at the prospect of having a relationship with Ryomei, Ao gathers up his courage, confesses his feelings…and gets turned down flat. Luckily, Ao’s not the kind to give up easily. Thanks to some creative persistence (and Ryomei’s weakening resolve), he finally gets a kiss. But one single kiss won’t satisfy him for long!

Yaya Sakuragi’s previous English-language releases include Tea For Two, Hey, Sensei? and Stay Close to Me. She is also a prolific novel illustrator.

STARTING WITH A KISS Vol. 1, by Youka Nitta  Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers  MSRP: $12.99 U.S. / $14.99 CAN  $5.99 Digital From SuBLimeManga.com
Tohru, the son of a yakuza boss, is sent into exile on a deserted island for his own protection during a gang feud. Fiery and impetuous, he isn’t thrilled to be sidelined when he’d rather be in the fight, and is even less thrilled that Mutsumi, son of the gang’s second in command, is going with him. The serious, studious Mutsumi is Tohru’s opposite in every way, and it doesn’t take long before the sparks between them begin to fly!

Youka Nitta made her publishing debut with GROUPIE in 1995, and since then has become one of the most prolific and popular yaoi creators worldwide. Her most well-known series, Embracing Love, has been adapted into both a drama CD as well as an anime series. More information about Youka Nitta is available on her English-language website at: http://nittayouka.com.

“Hot yaoi romances continue to sizzle this month for fans worldwide with the print release of BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE and the print and digital release of Starting with a kiss,” says Jennifer LeBlanc, Editor, SuBLime. “Yaya Sakuragi shows how a not-so-innocent kiss, mixed with plenty of determination, can lead to so much more, while Youka Nitta demonstrates her prowess as one of the genre’s greatest creators with a sultry tropical gangster love story. We also invite readers to visit SuBLimeManga.com and heat up the rest of their summer season with a variety of other sexy yaoi titles available now!”

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Categories: Press Releases
Tags: Bond of Dreams Bond of Love, Boys' Love/Yaoi, SuBLime

Review: My Cute Crossdresser

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, August 6, 2012

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Manga-ka: Mitohi Matsumoto
Publisher: Project-H
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: July 2012

Synopsis: “A bunch of nerdy guys (without girlfriends) get together to try to catch a perverted predator on a crowded train and decide to run a sting operation. But… how will they do that? Who or what would they use for a decoy to catch this predator? Oh, we know! Let’s dress up one as a girl! He looks so cute! He’s just perfect and anyone would fall for him… including his classmates!”

When I first read the synopsis for My Cute Crossdresser, I knew I had to read this book. As a story about boys loving crossdressing boys, it seemed an odd addition to Digital Manga’s hentai imprint, Project-H. My Cute Crossdresser sounded more appropriate for one of their several boys’ love imprints. Now that I’ve read it, it really is a tricky title to categorize. It’s tone doesn’t feel BL appropriate, but simultaneously this title falls short of earning the blood-spurting logo of Project-H.

Read more…

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, DMP, Hentai, Manga, Project-H

Review: Tender Master

By Jaime Samms on Monday, July 23, 2012

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Author: Yamila Abraham
Artist: Ero Pinku
Publisher: Yaoi Prose
Rating: Mature (18+)
Release Date: June 2012

Synopsis: “Caleb knew he was from a special race born to serve the Crystalline gods. Monks trained him as a priest until he reached adulthood, and then he went to Crystalline palace to serve his masters—as a sex slave. Caleb’s world is shattered. His beloved gods are lascivious pigs. He can’t accept that the righteous faith he built his whole life around is a farce. Caleb flees the gods’ harem to try to be a missionary for them. He hopes putting some distance between him and his new duties will somehow bring back the ideals he had growing up. Unfortunately for Caleb the Crystalline gods aren’t the only ones who desire his kind. General Caine, a high-ranking demon for the Crystalline gods’ worst enemy, is looking for a mate just like Caleb. When his ship is destroyed he’s marooned on an icy world with his new demon suitor.”

Well, this was a really fast read, which is something I look for in this type of book, but for once I sort of felt cheated. Tender Master went by in a blur and read more like the outline for what could be a really great story.

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Categories: Boys-Luv.com, Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Digital, Light Novels, Yaoi Press

Bara in English! Picture Box Inc. To Release Collection of Gengoroh Tagame

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, July 21, 2012

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This was some news that completely boggled my brain when I read it earlier this week – PictureBox Inc. will be releasing a collection of bara stories by Gengoroh Tagame in English next Spring (2013). The book is titled The Passions of Gengoroh Tagame: The Master of Bara Manga, and is being designed by Chipp Kidd, better known to manga readers as the designer behind several Vertical titles. May I just say, wow.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term, bara is a word used to encompass works about homosexual men. What differentiates bara from yaoi/BL is that bara is intended for actual gay men, and typically drawn by them, where as BL is targeted at women, and typically created by them also. Because of the different demographic, bara manga looks a lot different in that their characters are often more large – be it in muscle and/or weight – and have more defined features, body hair and are usually actually fully anatomically present (you have few places to flourish here, invisi-talia and sparkles). That said, yes, The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame will a mature audiences’ book.

To my knowledge this collection will be the first time bara has been licensed and made available in English as its own book collection, so I’m really curious, and hopeful, it finds its market here. My friend and I have purchased a number of bara volumes and anthologies in Japanese over the years (thank you, Beguiling!) and both of us were pretty much resigned to the notion that no publisher would actually license it. It’s sometimes nice to be proven wrong! I love to dabble in just about every genre and art style and bara manga is another one of those areas that really offers something different and unique, both in the styles of art and the tone of the stories themselves.

The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame will be printed with a large-trim size and contain ten short stories spanning the artists’ career over fifteen years. There will also be an original story created just for this book. Gengoroh Tagame’s work, as I’ve seen, can often be rather violent and include some pretty out-there bondage so it’ll be especially interesting to see which of his stories get chosen for English. We shall see in the Spring (if you’re over 18 of course).

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Bara, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Manga, Picture Box Inc.

Otaku USA: On The Shelf – July 11, 2012

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, July 10, 2012

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There is lots of diversity this week as seven publishers all step up to the shipping plate to deliver their goods tomorrow (be here now, Wednesday-goodness!). While there are more volumes I’d put on must-buy lists than books I wouldn’t, exceptionally notables for me include Fantagraphic‘s Wandering Son (Vol.03), SuBLime‘s Awkward Silence and Seven Seas‘ Jack the Ripper: Hell Blade (Vol.01).

You can read the complete list of books shipping this week over at the usual place, Otaku USA’s On The Shelf article by yours truly.

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Categories: Features, News, On The Shelf, Release Lists
Tags: Alice in the Country of..., Awkward Silence, Boys' Love/Yaoi, DMP, Fantagraphics, Hinako Takanaga, Kodansha Comics, Manga, Manhwa, Otaku USA, Seven Seas, SuBLime, Viz Media

Digital Manga Announces New Licenses to Anime Expo Audiences

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, July 8, 2012

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While I was away at Animaritime, one of North American’s biggest anime conventions was taking place the same weekend – Anime Expo. I was a little surprise to see so little news come out of the convention but there were still some new manga licenses courtesy of Digital Manga. These titles, an assortment of boys’ love, hentai and josei/shojo were announced at Anime Expo and then soon after via their Twitter account.

Absolute Monarch Syndrome (Vol.01-02)- Shigeyuki Iwashita (Project-H)
Caramel – Puku Okuyama (June)
Juicy Cider – Rize Shinba (June)
Idolhouse (Vol.01) – Takayoshi Sano (Project-H)
Lies Are A Gentleman’s Manners – Matsuo Marta (June)
Takasugi-san’s Obento (Vol.01) – Nozomi Yanahara (Digital Manga)

DMP also announced they had licensed subsequent volumes of existing properties – Itazura na Kiss (Vol.11), Velvet Kiss (Vol.03) and Lovephobia (Vol.03).

Two of these titles are by repeat-DMP creators. Caramel is Puku Okuyama whose Warning! Whispers of Love was published by DMP last year. I thought Warning! was really cute and funny so I’ve got high hopes for Caramel also. You can read a detailed review of the book over at 腐女子です！♡

Juicy Cider is by Rize Shinba whose previous books include My Bad! and Intriguing Secrets. My thoughts on My Bad! were pretty bad so we’ll see if Juicy Cider can change my opinion of the manga artist.

While some new boys’ love and mature-rated titles from Digital Manga are expected (and appreciated), one stand-out title from this batch is Takasugi-san’s Obento. It’s a manga about a man who takes in a now orphaned young girl and the relationship that forms between them through the bento boxes she makes. You can read a bit more about the series at Just Bento. Foodie manga fans, rejoice!

There’s no information yet regarding when these books will be published or if each individual title will be digital or print-only. DMP has made a good habit lately of releasing this info (and sometimes even a story synopsis) on their website blog shortly after announcing licenses so keep an eye out there for more info as they make it available. (Edit: Digital Manga’s website has since updated with release dates for these titles) In short though, yay new titles!

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Categories: Licensing, News
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Conventions, DMP, June, Manga, Project-H

Review: Your Story I’ve Known

By Shannon Fay on Friday, July 6, 2012

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Manga-ka: Tsuta Suzuki
Publisher: June
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: June 2011

Synopsis: “Hart Matsumoto will never be able to erase the painful memories of his abusive mother and her rotating cast of lovers…but he also can’t help but be drawn to Shibuzawa, one of the kindest men to ever set foot in his tumultuous home. Is this strange yakuza actually the best thing in Hart’s crazy life? And how will Shibuzawa react once he discovers Hart’s true feelings?”

Short story collections of boys’ love are kind of like buffets, in that you get your pick of several different dishes. In Your Story I’ve Known, there’s a story between a yakuza and a naive young man, another featuring two high school students, another one about a teenage boy and the ghost of a long-dead samurai, and a romance between two co-workers. But, while you can count on buffets and BL anthologies for variety, sometimes the quality isn’t as good as you’d get in a normal restaurant or single story graphic novel. Sometimes you’ll love one dish and the others will leave you wanting. And, unlike a buffet, you can’t go back for more of the dish you like.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, June, Manga, Tsuta Suzuki