SuBLime Manga made the announcement back in May that they would be rescuing the series Crimson Spell and laid out some solid release plans for it, which you can see below. Not surprisingly in the world of manga (and anime), scanlations are still going on. With Crimson Spell being a title that fans had lobbied for to get picked up and given a proper release, the folks at SuBLime Manga are talking about it a bit with a pretty impassioned plea for fans to understand more of what this situation is really like.
A few days ago, we were notified that a certain party on LiveJournal was looking for a new translator for their scanlation of Crimson Spell (yes, we do know who it is, but this isn’t about calling that person out). I can’t tell you how disheartening it is for us to see such a request being made when it is known that SuBLime is providing a legal English-language translation for yaoi fans to enjoy.
Is it possible this person is just completely unaware? Maybe. This is why we are appealing to our readers and to loyal yaoi fans everywhere who want to support this struggling industry. When you, the fans, requested that SuBLime rescue Crimson Spell and similar titles like Embracing Love, we listened and we did. We want to be able not only to continue doing so, but also to continue releasing the newest volumes of these series as they come out. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how difficult that becomes when certain members of the yaoi fandom ignore our pleas and continue to scanlate these titles for reasons unknown.
Please support us and our legal, creator-approved versions of these titles, and please, when you see such behavior, reach out to these individuals and groups so they understand the damage they are doing to the yaoi industry. It is not our desire to take legal action, but if it continues, it is something we will be forced to do.
Thank you for listening, and to those of you who have continually supported the creators, the publishers, and the many freelancers who help make these books a reality, we thank you. You have truly been wonderful.
The first two volumes were originally released by Kitty Media’s manga line back in 2007 and 2008. The imprint from Viz Media that focuses on boys-love material picked up the rights to the first four volumes of the series by Ayano Yamane and is set to start release in December and be caught up in June of next year with the volumes. Unlike a lot of SuBLime Manga releases, this will be a print only edition with no digital at this time, though with Yamane’s name being quite popular out there, it’ll do well.
Volume 1 – December of 2013
Volume 2 – February of 2014
Volume 3 – April of 2014
Volume 4 – June of 2014
Plot concept: The curse of the magical crimson sword has turned Prince Bald into a monster… To break the spell, he sets out on a journey with the sexy and gorgeous magician, Havi. Bald has no idea that when he turns into a beast at night, Havi uses his unique talents to pacify his beastly appetite… The luscious journey of Bald and Havi begins.
