Edit: This post has been altered per the wishes of the moderator of the community that was its source. She provided an alternate source that also confirmed the information.

So! The last we heard of Central Park Media was that they were considering suing Japanese BL publisher Libre. See, way back when, CPM licensed a whole bunch of popular yaoi titles from Biblos for their Be Beautiful line. Biblos later went bankrupt and was replaced by Libre, who now says that CPM’s licenses are invalid because they weren’t renegotiated, as all the other BL publishers did. CPM says they paid up-front for the licenses and that they’re still valid. Libre posted an announcement on their website denouncing CPM’s releases as being illegal, and some fans and retailers started boycotting CPM’s books (or at least the ones in question).

One of these licenses is the popular Finders series by Ayano Amane. According to the editor blog and comments from a Libre editor, who says in comment #481 that a plan to release the Finder series in English– even though CPM has released it in English, but it is (for the moment) out of print and very, very hard to find –is in the works. In #484, the editor says that a specific plan is in progress but that the details haven’t been finalized.

It’s not surprising to me that it took them this long to find a publisher willing to take on the Viewfinder manga. It seems to me that the manga companies generally aren’t especially hostile to each other, and whoever takes it on could wind up a target of a lawsuit from CPM– if CPM ever even gets around to suing Libre. And yes, it’s a VERY different situation from when, say, Bandai Entertainment snagged the Gurren Lagann rights or even manga license rescues from ADV; in those cases we can assume that the original contracts were voided, whereas in this case the validity of the contract is in question.

We’re already speculating on what publisher it could be; 801 Media (with their recent hints at a major license that could get them in trouble) seems the most obvious choice.

Now, THIS should be interesting. YaoiSuki has caught wind that Youka Nitta, the mangaka behind Haru wo Daiteita (an extremely popular BL manga about a couple of male porn stars who try to become mainstream actors who also have lots of sex with each other) is going to be a guest at this year’s Yaoi Con.

Some of you may remember that I chatted with Central Park Media’s John O’Donnell for YaoiSuki back during NYAF. CPM is the licensor that has been releasing Haru wo Daiteita (as Embracing Love), as well as two of Nitta’s other titles, Boku no Koe (Sound of My Voice) and Casino Lily.

So. Youka Nitta’s works are licensed by Libre. Libre is the company that CPM has been having this legal battle with. O’Donnell specifically mentioned that he had contacted mangaka to see what they felt about what was going on and that they were sympathetic to him. So it should be interesting to hear what Nitta thinks about it– if anyone asks her. (I’m sure YS will if they get a shot at it.)

Now THIS one I’m curious about. John O’Donnell says he’s going to do something that’s never been done at an anime convention, and he’s been to plenty of CPM panels. But not until 4:30pm. Makin’ me wait, bah!

They handed out red bags, which we’re required to have to be “full participants” of the panel, hmm!

First off, they ARE NOT dead, they are still recovering from all their various issues. They have no NEW titles but they’re working on making older titles more accessible.

He’s talking about Geneon, FUNimation, and ADV competing over certain titles, and Geneon’s demise as a result of said competing driving up the prices.

Lots of financial talk, including the housing market and gas. Hmm.

Now they’ve brought up Be Beautiful, their yaoi division, which I already talked to him about.

Hmmm, I suspect that they’ll be giving away a bunch of the stuff from their booth so they don’t have to take ‘em home– he mentioned that the booth not being open after this panel is why we’re doing a “thing” at 4:30.

Yup! Gotta go catch some swag. ;) Seeya!

So my friend Jen, who runs YaoiSuki, begged me on her hands and knees and offered sexual favors to sic me on Central Park Media, the beleaguered parent company of Be Beautiful, a rather troubled yaoi publisher. So of course I did as she asked. If yaoi’s your thing and you wanna know why CPM wasn’t at Yaoi Con this year or more about their troubles with Japanese yaoi publisher Libre, you can check it out here.

And if you don’t, well, don’t worry about it.