Why I'm not buying Junjou.

Last year RightStuf announced they acquired the rights to Junjou Romantica. Being the dreamer I am, I hoped magically somehow it would be dubbed. Last month all the specs for the dvd were released and I made my decision to forgo this purchase.

This is not a first for me. If you look at my dvd shelf BL is very sparse, almost nonexistent. Sad, I know, but for me, dubbing is a huge reason why I purchase anime. Oh, yes, sometimes a dub can be atrocious such as the redub of Macross (whose bright idea was that). But for the most part, there are days when I just don't want to listen to Japanese, because when you're still learning a language listening to the language you're learning is work, thus it's tiring. Yeah, there's subs, but I prefer to have the tv on and do other things while I listen. So, dubs, no matter how bad, are necessary. This hasn't just hindered my purchasing of BL but other series also, such as Tears to Tiara and Simoun. Especially since, for the most part, a lot of these are streaming online or I can catch them on the anime network. There are those collectors who just have to have the series they're into, but for me that was a phase I have long since out grown.

I understand BL is a niche market but I really do think they had a chance to snatch up more fans with Junjou. Not including a dub you're cutting out a part of your market. And believe me, there are many people out there who are turned off by subs. And if they weren't going to include a dub track they have to offer something to entice people like me. Blu-Ray would be nice, but if this series can't get dubbed there's no way it will get a Blu-Ray release. You can get me with extras. And a nice little bonus would have been the interviews with the voice actors you can find on youtube such as this one here featuring Kamijou and Nowaki's VA's:

Pencil boards, postcards, trading cards, keychains would have all been nice little add-ons. Come on, Right Stuf, woo me! I've already seen Junjou, now give me a reason to own it.

Right Stuf <3

I had a conversation with my sister today and told her how I was hoping some company would announce the acquisition of the Junjou Romantica anime today. "It's been over a year since it was released and it has a modest fan base, someone has to snatch it up", I told her.

Somebody did.

Thank you so much Right Stuf!

And then the dread sets in. God. I want this dubbed and I want it dubbed well. The last BL Right Stuf dubbed was Gravitation and that dub is just...well, it makes me laugh. That's good, right? Sometimes bad dubs are awesome. But I don't want dubbed Junjou to be awesome for that reason. So, please, Right Stuf, don't disappoint. And oh my, how great would it be if this got a limited edition that came with a Suzuki-san?

Also, that's not all. Right Stuf acquired Antique Bakery :). Ah, today was a good day for BL fans. What can make it better? An announcement of a simultaneous release of Ai no Kusabi. What's that? That's impossible? Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

Now go and celebrate my fellow fujoshi!

Edit: Oh-ho-ho, they already have websites up for both Junjou and Antique. Not much info up as of yet.

Edit #2: Someone reminded me on the Junjou community on LJ that the possibility of RS dubbing this is very slim because all their recent releases have been sub only. Which made me go "Doh" because I knew that. But, man, am I hoping so hard for this to be dubbed. I really super want to hear these boys in English.

Source: ANN

Catchin' up

So, it's been a few weeks since I've been able to update (yay, for midterms). A couple of things have happened in the world of BL since then.

First, DMP has launched a new line called Doki Doki which seems to be a mishmash of BL and shoujo. I like to call it transition manga. Those manga you read when you're between the ages of 13-17. Before you move onto josei and more mature BL. I'm hoping soft titles such as Sea View will be the type of manga published under this label.

Second, in Deux's most recent newsletter they announced a new contest for the month of March: For this month, we would like fans to submit a wallpaper, static banner, flash banner or original art of any of our feature titles. Submissions would be judged on creativity and design. The prize would be advance copies of our March release titles. Not having to purchase Future Lovers vol. 2 sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. I think I might submit something.

Right Stuf is currently having a sale on all TokyoPop titles, including their BLU line. This will be a great time to snatch up great titles such as Tea for Two and Love Pistols (I'll never get use to calling it anything other than Sex Pistols).

For something yaoi-ish, someone in the KakaIru community on livejournal linked to a page that Halco stored some of her more naughty KakaIru pics. Go here to check 'em out. Please respect the artist wishes and don't post them anywhere without her permission.

Lastly, I'm just gonna pimp a little comic I've been following over at Y! Gallery. It's called Do Aliens Dream of Green Sheep and it's a real cute story about a man receiving a little help in love from a very interesting source. Be sure to rummage through the rest of Ealynn's gallery because her art is fantastic.

Matt and Adan from the "Do Aliens Dream..." series.

See ya guys tomorrow (hopefully)!