March 23rd, 2011 
AstroNerdBoy “Love Hina” Being Re-released by Kodansha Comics?
With Akamatsu-sensei releasing his Love Hina comic in Japan for free on his J-Comi website combined with the TokyoPop U.S. edition of the manga out of print, I wasn’t sure that it would be coming back to U.S. shores. However, it seems that RightStuf has something that Kodansha USA neglected to announce when they let it be known that they were bringing the Sailor Moon manga back to the U.S. — the first omnibus volume for Love Hina, currently scheduled for release on September 6, 2011. No word on whether this is getting a fresh translation, though I REALLY hope it does. I know Adam Arnold did what he could back when this was first released and believe you me, I appreciate him for that. However, this is a chance to get it done right without the TokyoPop management interference. ^_^
Thanks to William Flanagan for the notification!
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So, this is a sure thing? Why didn’t Kodansha say anything?
I trust RightStuf’s postings. The only times they’ve been wrong has been because a publisher retracted a title (Dark Horse seems to be the chief culprit for this) or otherwise changed things up.
D’oh! Forgot to answer your second question. ^_^;;;
As to why Kodansha USA didn’t say anything, who knows. Oddly enough, there have been several anime/manga titles that have appeared on RightStuf or Amazon which weren’t officially announced. Sometimes, publishers don’t say squat. Makes no sense to me.
omfg im so happy i have a chance to buy love hina! i really hope they do same thing with Great Teacher Onizuka and some other titles
This is great! Here in my country it was re-released last year and that’s how I came to know Akamatsu’s works. I’ve also lent it to countless friends since then. I spread the love. XD
How was the English translation the first time around?
Good to see that LH was license rescued and will see another print run. I started buying it back in 2002 when Tokyopop was first releasing it. It was the second manga series I ever bought (No Need for Tenchi was the first).
@D-Omen: The early volumes of LH, particularly the early ones from when Tokyopop was still releasing it on a monthly basis*, had some noticeable problems with typos. I don’t know about the accuracy of the translation, though.
*Yeah. One volume a month. Imagine that. Pretty much unheard of nowadays, with quarterly releases being the norm. It was right before the manga boom, though. Plus the speed was probably the reason for the typos found in some of those old Tokyopop releases.
So now I get to pick up good translations of both Negima! and Love Hina.
THANK YOU, KODANSHA!
@ ShadowOfTheVoid: Well, most manga here in Italy are either monthly or two-monthly; Love Hina itself, being a rerelease, was monthly. 😛 Sadly, we’re way behind schedule with Negima (volume 10 next month) because its previous publisher went bankrupt and it’s now being released again from the beginning. What’s stunning is that they kept the translated names of the Shinmei school techniques consistent between Love Hina and Negima, despite them being from two different publishers.
How was the English translation the first time around?
So-so. Adam Arnold, the adapter of most of Love Hina did address the issues I had with the TokyoPop version. Check out the comment section of this blog posting.
Yeah. One volume a month. Imagine that. Pretty much unheard of nowadays, with quarterly releases being the norm.
Well, for weekly manga series, that would be the norm as that’s the release schedule for tankoubon in Japan. Monthly titles have tankoubon released on a biyearly schedule.
What’s frustrating me is that some titles like Hayate the Combat Butler are being slowed so that in 2011, only two volumes are scheduled for release, putting us further and further behind Japan. *_*
But I digress…
So now I get to pick up good translations of both Negima! and Love Hina.
Well, I don’t know yet if Love Hina is getting a retranslation. Technically, Negima! got a retranslation because the Twins decided that was the best approach to do the cleanup job they were hired to do. My hope is that Love Hina will get a similar treatment but that’s not guaranteed.
What’s stunning is that they kept the translated names of the Shinmei school techniques consistent between Love Hina and Negima, despite them being from two different publishers.
Were the translators the same?
”Were the translators the same?”
No, they aren’t. The name of the dojo itself was translated in Love Hina (to Divine Sound School) and left in Japanese in Negima (Shinmei School), but the names of the attacks are translated the same way in both, that’s why I said it’s surprising. However, lately in Negima they’re being left untranslated in the panels they appear in, with translations in translator’s notes on the margin. Sorry if I digress even more, but what’s your stance on SFX editing? Ironically, those in Love Hina remained untouched, but they’re edited in Negima (they’re actually the respective policies of the two publishers). The edits themselves are top-notch anyway, both in placement and choice of words.
I highly doubt that the English series will be picked up by Kodansha USA when the English version may have an appearance at the j-comi website. If this is the case, translators will have the opportunity to help translate these out-of-date series and improve on what Tokyopop did almost a decade ago. This [interesting situation] explains why Kodansha did not say anything. But this may be between the debate on Akamatsu-Sensei and Kodansha. On the other hand, if Kodansha does license this series, they may (but i doubt this) hand a translated version of the manga online, to j-comi’s website. Love Hina at this point is the trickiest debate in the industry so far, as the license was handed to two possible contenders. And if that is the way that Kodansha USA handles things, Love Hina may sell for a higher premium because of the legacy… although the economy seems like crap to the average worker on this planet, so it may be a lower price, especially since demand isn’t particularly high =/
Sorry, missed this question.
Sorry if I digress even more, but what’s your stance on SFX editing?
I just say, “leave the SFX alone and throw a translation near the Japanese characters.” That’s just me though.
@yakitatefreak — If Kodansha Comics does have the license, then they’d either make sure an English version doesn’t appear on J-Comi or would work some revenue arrangement out.
Either way, the fact that this is listed as an omnibus edition sounds legit to me. Those are cheaper to make and thus have a lower sticker price over individual volumes.
We’ll have to wait and see though. To be honest, I find Kodansha Comics to still be rather unprepared for the U.S. market. I mean, they haven’t even sent out cover art for the manga volumes releasing in May. ^_^;