June 2008 Yaoi News

Clarification of the announcements made by Digital Manga Publishing over the weekend at Yaoi Jamboree are clarified today in an article on Anime News Network: DMP and Japanese publisher Shinshokan will be "co-publishing" BL manga and novels under a new label called Doki Doki. The new label will begin with five titles to be released in September 2009:

• Color
  by Eiki Eiki and Mikiyo Tsuda
  1 volume, released in 1999
  (More @ MangaUpdates)

• Living for Tomorrow
  by Taishi Zaou
  1 volume, released in 2005
  (More @ MangaUpdates)

• Fevered Kiss (novel)
  by Arika Kuga (story) and Taishi Zaou (art)

• Midnight Bloom
  by Rico Fukiyama
  1 volume, released in 2007
  (More @ MangaUpdates)

• Brilliant Blue
  by Saemi Yorita
  2 volumes, released in 2004
  (More @ MangaUpdates)

Shinshokan is the Japanese publisher of the anthology manga magazines Wings and Dear+. Titles appearing in Wings include many light BL or nearly-BL shoujo manga such as Tokyo Babylon, Earthian, Antique Bakery, Eerie Queerie (Ghost! in Japanese), Princess Princess and many others. Dear+ is a BL magazine from which DMP draws many of their current titles.

DMP has long had a relationship with Shinshokan and has been co-branding their manga with the Shinshokan label, as well as with a couple of other publishers, since last year. Mangacast Blog explains just what co-branding means in the manga world.

"Doki doki" is the Japanese sound effect for a heart beating hard.

We will try to get some more information about why DMP and Shinshokan had to create a new label to publish these books, and what exactly "co-publishing" means.

On Saturday, Media Blasters head John Sirabella made a cryptic post at Anime on DVD's forums about a new yaoi license "where a teacher and student have a relationship and you think they are father and son." Today, Boys on Boys on Film's faithful Media Blasters contact John Patterson confirmed for us that this title is indeed the controversial Papa to Kiss in the Dark! Color us shocked and surprised!

Papa to Kiss in the Dark, based on the novel and drama CDs by Namabara Ken and Studio TNK, caused some surprise in the yaoi fan community as it deals with Mira, a 15-year-old boy who has a romantic and sexual relationship with a man who he believes to be his father (see our reviews of this anime for more). Whether Kitty will make any edits to the content of this OAV is unknown at this time, however, in order to be sold in the United States Mira's stated age will have to be either removed or increased.

No release date has been confirmed yet, and we have no other information at this time. Kitty hopes to produce the DVD by the end of the year, but does not expect to have it ready in time for Yaoi-Con in September.

In the wake of Tokyopop's restructuring and layoff of 39 employees earlier in June, Diamond Previews has canceled a list of the publisher's July solicitations, listed at Anime News Network. Solicitations are more like announcements that a book will be on sale approximately two months from the date of publication of Previews, so the cancelation of the solicitation does not mean that the book itself has been canceled. These books can be re-solicited at a later time.

On the list are two books from BLU, Tokyopop's yaoi imprint: Love Mode volume 11 and Gakuen Heaven: Nakajima. According to Tokyopop editor "Shonen-ai Samurai" on the BLU forum, these books are not canceled, only postponed. Shonen-ai Samurai urges fans of Love Mode to pre-order and buy copies of volume 10, which will be released in August. Sales of volume 10 will determine whether or not volume 11, the final volume, is published.

Both MangaBlog and Anime News Network noted the appearance of an apparently new yaoi manga publisher: Yaoi Generation. The web site contains some very basic information about the company, including their goal of publishing two manga volumes per month, as well as an original yaoi magazine to be published six times a year. In addition, Yaoi Generation is listed as a dealer at this year's Yaoi-Con.

Boys on Boys on Film has contacted Yaoi Generation by e-mail, so stay tuned! We will be sure to share anything we hear from this new arrival on the yaoi manga scene.