Anime:
- FUNimation just shipped out a press release announcing that Jyu-Oh-Sei is now available in its entirety– sub-only –on FUNi’s VOD website. Each episode is $1.99, or you can buy the full series (11 episodes) for $16.99– about $5 off. Not bad, eh?

Manga:
- Iris Print has finally officially closed shop, effective July 31st, ‘08. To clear out the inventory, owner Kellie Lynch is offering a 50% off coupon for all the books currently out.

- Much as I hate to continue the melancholy mood of the BL fandom, Libre has issued its official statement on the Youka Nitta plagiarism issue on the official B-Boy website. The gist: a reminder of Nitta’s self-imposed suspension. They actually used the term “jishuku,” which is a Japanese apologetic tradition where one secludes oneself after being caught doing something, as an apology.

- Shoujo mangaka Mayu Shinjou, best known in North America for Sensual Phrase, has announced a genre-hop: she’s going to draw a one-shot in the shounen mangabon Jump Sq..

Games:
- This has been on my to-do for quite some time, and I’m kind of surprised I haven’t heard of it elsewhere– Princess Maker 5 (the well-known princess-raising game by Gainax) is being ported to PSP– which means that North American PSP owners can import their own copies. The games don’t seem to have particularly caught on in the US, but I know a handful of fans will be happy to hear about it.

Toys/Swag:
- Are you at all familiar with the concept of “decotora” (decoration truck), those extravagantly-decorated trucks often used to garner attention at special events and whatnot? Well, doesn’t matter– there’s one you still may be interested in. Yes, there is now a PlaModel of a Lucky Star decotora. Terrifying? Yeah, maybe.

Movies:
- VIZ is really pushing the PR machine for the new VIZ Productions stuff– at least, as much as they can without an actual specific film project to announce. Anyway, ICv2 has a three-part interview with Jason Hoffs, formerly of Dreamworks and now of VIZ Pictures. Hoffs talks about what makes manga a strong candidate for movies these days, and he also notes that they may not stick just to live-action movies: animation and TV are both possibilities (though the focus right now is movies).

Posted by gia in Features, Roundups • Comments (3)

No, really– that is literally what 55DSL said in response to hearing about Youka Nitta’s borrowing of their popular 2006 ad for a pose in her manga. That and:

Nitta, don’t worry, we’re not that kind of brand, we consider this a tribute, only the greatest are copied, right?

No doubt Nitta agrees! I don’t think anyone was ever really worried about Nitta being sued by any of the fashion companies whose photos she used– though I suppose it’s possible –but it’s awesome to hear that the companies are taking it with good humor. In their honor, I’ve used their logo above.

55DSL, by the way, is a fashion line originally started by Dieseil in ‘94, though it became an “independent business unit” (which I take to mean still part of the company family but operating entirely on its own steam) in ‘99. Apparently a lot of people are referring to the image in question– seen here –as “the Diesel ad,” but for those of you who want to be picky, there you go: it’s not really a Diesel ad.

Hopefully now we can put this all behind us and Nitta can start working again soon?

Posted by gia in Legal, Manga, News • Comments (4)

At risk of letting this blog become a Youka Nitta watch, a friend tipped me off to a recent update on her official website. Here’s my rough translation of her message:

Lately, I’ve been been facing the recent copyright issues, and I truly regret the situation.

I recognize that I have used skillful photos in my illustrations, thoughtlessly infringing their copyrights. But this time everyone pointed it out, and it’s making me reflect on what it means to be a mangaka. To the copyright owners of the photographs and all readers of Youka Nitta’s works, I apologize whole-heartedly.

My thoughtlessness wasn’t detected while I was growing, but now I’m seriously aware of the indiscretions I’ve committed. I am sorry to the utmost. The criticisms I’m receiving are the consequences of my own actions, and I am prepared to receive them. I’m looking at all e-mails and letters from my readers, and the people who are helping me get through my shameful condition have left me in tears.

From here on, I am I am ceasing my writing activity and continuing to make sincere amends to the copyright holders, looking hard at my foolishness and trying to mend my mistakes. It was truly inexcusable.

So, don’t expect any new chapters of Nitta’s works, particularly Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love), for the foreseeable future.

Posted by gia in JP News, Manga, News • Comments (9)

An announcement over at the Yaoi Con LiveJournal community states that yaoi mangaka Youka Nitta– the same one who was recently under fire for her use of various fashion photographs in creating her own BL works –will no longer be attending this year’s Yaoi Con, as previously planned. Nitta had attended the event in 2002 (as well as New York Comic Con 2006) and was probably looking forward to returning to the States.

Fans are already resigning themselves to the lack of Nitta and suggesting replacement guests for the con, which is running September 26-28 in San Francisco.

Posted by gia in Cons, Manga, News, Western News • Comments (2)

Bonus points if you got the Chasing Amy reference in the title…

A yaoi community that will go unnamed, since it’s all locked’n’stuff, has reported on this ongoing 2ch debate: is Youka Nitta plagiarising from photographs? The above offers a pretty grim view– Nitta’s Haru wo Daiteita version even features the same shoes and cars. Here’s a second one, and you can see the rest by clicking the numbered links in the aforementioned page:

Meanwhile, the online yaoi commuities are wondering what this will mean (if anything) for Nitta’s appearance at Yaoi Con and note that the most recent chapter of Haru wo Daiteita has been pulled from Be-Boy GOLD.

Nitta, who is well-known for reusing her own faces and panels in her works, has issued an apology claiming that she didn’t know about the copyright issue, which seems a little odd for a professional mangaka. Especially one who’s been working since, what, 1997?

You may already be aware that Japan takes these kinds of things pretty seriously; shoujo mangaka Rin Yoshi, who wrote Switch in the mangabon Cookie, traced from fashion ads and had her manga suspended in 2007. Even Takehiko Inoue was accused of plagiarizing NBA photos back in 2005, which was in turn plagiarized by Garden of Eden creator Yuki Suegetsu.

For more examples of manga plagiarism I highly recommend ComiPress’ article on the topic from last year.

Posted by gia in Gossip, JP News, Manga, News • Comments (19)

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.)

Posted by gia in Cons, Gossip, Legal, News, Western News • Comments (1)