Koro, our "Strawberry" line is not on hold. We've made no such decision to stop publishing yuri titles. We make our decisions on a title-by-title basis, and various factors come into play when we decide to delay or cancel a title. Sales is an obvious factor, but other factors involve licensing issues, which are often quite challenging and complex.

We know that fans want to know what is happening with their favorite titles, but sometimes, we can't comment on them because we either don't have solid information to give, or there are things we are not at liberty to disclose about the other parties (ie. licensors) involved.



Now to touch on your title points as best we can:



This series is on hold due to rights issues.




We can't comment on the current status of this title at this time, but will have an update soon.




The company went bankrupt during license negotiations. We can't "lose" what we didn't pay for. If you lose a license, then that means it was pulled from you and given to another company. That didn't happen.




We were in talks to license this series and had approval to announce it, but opted to not pursue the license further.




We licensed Volume 1 of the manga right as it was released in Japan. We had no way of knowing that the series would go on indefinite hiatus shortly after Volume 2 was completed. I've read that there are two strips that were printed after the point volume 2 ends, but unless MediaWorks restarts the series with a new artist, we will be unable to release any more volumes of Strawberry Panic as they don't exist in Japan.




This book is officially part of our Light Novel line. That entire line is on wait-and-see status, due to the high costs of producing these books vs. the low price point and reader's actual desire to purchase these books. We are considering our options, but have no news at this time.




Yes, the yuri is all in the subtext. It is there, though, as you will see in both volume 3 and 4. Angela and Sister Meg have a need for each other that goes beyond mere friendship.




Hayate X Blade is a Tor/Seven Seas title. And no, it hasn't been delayed multiple times. The original release date we had on the site of July '08 was always tentative and dependent on when Afro Samurai Vol. 1, the line's launch title, would hit stores. So the plan was always to have Hayate X Blade and Inukami following Afro Samurai Vol. 1. You will see Hayate X Blade Vol. 1 in stores November (along with Inukami Vol. 1), and there will be a preview for Hayate X Blade appearing in issue 61 of Wizard's Anime Insider.

Could you elaborate?


I hope it'll be a favorable one.

cu
59cobalt

We are not at liberty to disclose any further information.

*hmph*



Missed one point in my previous reply, BTW:


FTR, I wouldn't mind paying more for the Strawberry Panic light novels. They are a niche titles after all. I don't really know how the market would react to a higher price, but I don't believe it would affect sales too badly if you upped the street price to, say $9.99 or so.

cu
59cobalt

Thank you for the information.

This might sound like an odd question but if a third party, like a group of fans, wanted to buy advertising for a Seven Seas manga or light novel, would that be legally permitted? (Yes, odd question. No, it's not intended as a silly joke question I'm quite interested in the answer.)

Since we would have no control over the content of the ad, then it would likely not be in our best interest to allow such a thing.

Thanks for your information, Adam It's nice to know what's going on straight from the horse's mouth. I keep my fingers crossed with resolving licenses.

i've awaiting the third LN from you guys; i bought the first two and read them immediately! more please!

Speaking of advertising, didn't you guys have a separate sub-forum specifically for the Strawberry line titles? What happened to that? And is it possible to add some sort of section in the main website that says which titles are in the Strawberry line? For some reason I get a feeling some of the newer peeps who want to embark onto something yuri aren't familiar with that particular label.

For manga, we've found that individual forums for each title causes less confusion as to what should/shouldn't be discussed there and allows for more discussion about the series themselves.

As for which titles are in the Strawberry line, they are:
- First Love Sisters (oversized format)
- The Last Uniform (oversized format)
- Strawberry Panic (normal manga size)
- Tetragrammaton Labyrinth (oversized format)
- Voiceful (oversized format)

Kashimashi, Venus Versus Virus and Hayate X Blade are not part of the Strawberry line.

i have a question how come Strawberry Panic is the only series in the strawberry line that;s not oversized

Strawberry Panic's original Japanese size is 5" x 7.125", so it made no real sense to blow up the art.

ahh ok

Regarding the light novel price point, I personally would be comfortable paying $20-25 per volume. I've personally enjoyed the light novels a great deal, and to me a single volume supplies roughly the same amount of content as at least two anime DVDs, making $25 still a bargain by comparison.

As has been said, yuri is highly niche genre with a small but devoted fanbase, and we badly want to see both the Strawberry and light novel initiatives succeed. There is nothing I would rather spend money on than domestically released yuri, and I know I am not alone in this. We don't mind paying a little more if it keeps our obsession alive.

And, on that note...please do whatever it takes to finish releasing First Love Sisters and Last Uniform! We are counting on you! m(_ _)m

(P.S. Something a lot of us would love to see are domestically released anthologies of yuri stories and content from periodicals such as Yuri Shimai and Yuri Hime. Would that possibly be something you might pursue?)

Since you seem to have money to burn, maybe you should take some of it and buy a copy of this book.

That says it all I think.

Despite your good intentions about actually paying high prices (you are exaggerating the prices, right?), I seriously doubt other consumers are willing to pay such exuberant prices over a light novel.

You would be exactly right.

We priced our light novels at the price of other light novels on the market (i.e. around $7.99). And if you look at the size of our light novels, then that seems like the perfect price. Anything outrageously higher would just ensure that they wouldn't sell at all.

... are you serious?

Maybe if they combined several volumes into an omnibus edition, then that price would be acceptable. I'm a fan of novels (especially their lighter counterparts), but that much for a single little light novel is freakin' crazy.