February 2008 Yaoi News

Fumi Yoshinaga's popular Antique Bakery manga series will become a 12-episode anime this July, according to Anime News Network. The series will air late at night on Japan's Fuji TV.

Antique Bakery is listed in Boys on Boys on Film's Ambiguous Manga section as it features a gay pastry chef as one of the main characters, who has a crush on his employer, the owner of the cafe. The manga, published by Digital Manga Publishing in the U.S., features a few gay scenes but is not classified as a yaoi manga, since it does not focus on male/male relationships.

A live-action television adaptation of Antique Bakery aired on Japanese Fuji TV in 2001, however, most of the gay aspects were toned down or removed. (Source: Wikipedia.)

Update: March 4! The Japanese publisher of Antique Bakery, Shinshokan, has confirmed that the gay character Ono will remain "demonically gay" for the anime, just as he was in the manga. According to the report on Anime News Network, the anime will also cover some troubling incidents in the past of the owner character, Tachibana.

Embracing Love: Cherished Spring appeared today on RightStuf's New Items list bearing a May 27, 2008 release date for the region 1 DVD. The entire 60 minute OAV released as Haru wo Daiteita in Japan will be available on one DVD with English subtitles (no dub) at a retail price of $29.99. See our review of the Haru wo Daiteita anime OAV.

Plans for Yaoi-Con 2008 got underway this weekend with the convention's first big announcement: Yaoi-Con's 2008 guest of honor will be Youka Nitta, creator of Embracing Love, The Sound of My Voice, The Prime Minister's Secret Diplomacy and Casino Lily!

Yaoi-Con 2008 will take place September 26-28 at the Marriott San Mateo-San Francisco Airport hotel for the second year in a row. Registration and hotel reservations are now open as well! Also, the convention is eager to hear from interested panel hosts as well as volunteers.

Read the full announcement with even more cool details at the Yaoi-Con LiveJournal!

Valentine's Day Title Announcements from 801 Media

In celebration of Valentine's Day, 801 Media announces four new yaoi titles to be released at the end of this year!

Black Sun by Uki Ogasawara
Coming in November 2008
1 volume
801 Media Description:
Gerun Fortress, under the command of Officer Leonard de Limbourg, is attacked by the prestigious general Jemaru Jan of the Middle Eastern Empire. With no hope of winning, Leonard offers his head in exchange for the safety of any survivors left in the fortress. But Jemaru isn’t into executions, and torturing prisoners of war is much more interesting. Forced to sleep with a man that is his enemy, Leonard's feelings of shame overtake his mind, but lust overtakes
[ More ]

Meeting You by Mio Tenohji
Coming in October 2008
1 volume
801 Media Description:
When Tooru confessed his love to classmate Himejou, he wasn’t expecting violins to start up in the background or the clouds in the sky to part. He was expecting a simple yes or no answer. But instead of a simple reply, Himejou decides to tease Tooru and sets up various trails of love he must complete to prove his affection! Will Tooru get fed up with these weird conditions and humiliating acts? Or will Himejou get serious?
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His Arrogance by Takashi Kanzaki
Coming in December 2008
1 volume
801 Media Description:
Ryo is helping out as his father’s modeling agency. But, his classmate and rising rookie model at the agency, Ito, is openly antagonistic to Ryo’s older brother, a very charismatic model. Seems like Ryo has been paying too much attention to his brother’s career and not Ito’s budding popularity. Ito finally corners Ryo and demands that looks at him and him only! After a passionate kiss, he promises that crossing him will incur punishment! Ito may be an arrogant boy who does nothing but give order, but Ryo is undone by his forceful and dominating approach! The boys from Falling into Love guest star in this tale of love and lust.
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Falling Into Love by Takashi Kanzaki
Coming in September 2008
1 volume
801 Media Description:
High school student Hisashi has admired top model Tomohito for years. His only goal in modeling is to get a contract at the same agency. By shear coincidence, the two happen to be at the same shooting location. Looking to put some fear into his rising competition, Tomohito snares Hisashi into a passionate kiss claiming "I just wanted to wipe that prim look off your face!" But even the best laid plans are bound to have complications. Instead of running off the competition, he may have just gotten himself a suitor!
[ More ]

801 Media Titles Available Early!

801 Media's February titles, Love Circumstances by Aco Oumi and Maybe I'm Your Steppin' Stone by Shiuko Kano, are now available in the 801 Media Store! Click the titles to purchase. The titles should be available to other retailers in 1-2 weeks.

801 Media's January titles, The King of Debt and The Prime Minister's Secret Diplomacy are still not available to retailers due to problems with shipping. We were able to obtain advance copies, and reviewed the very sexy Secret Diplomacy today. We'll let you know as soon as these books are widely available.

The first episode of Ryou Takagi's animated KirePapa OAV was released late last month by PrimeTime in Japan, and yesterday the Aarinfantasy fansub group released their translation! You can either download using BitTorrent via Aarinfantasy's tracker, or request it from us via MediaMax's Streamload service.