YAOI NEWS: Media Blasters Layoffs

ANN reported yesterday that Media Blasters is going through some layoffs due to decreasing vendor orders. Kitty Media is a part of Media Blasters and a publisher of yaoi. This explains why they have been slow or delayed on some releases. Unfortunately, Kitty Media holds the license for Crimson Spell so I'm thinking it will be a long time before we see Crimson Spell V3 IF we see it at all. I'm not saying they are on their way out, just that I don't think yaoi is top on their list of priorities right now but I could be wrong. I've sent off an email to them so if they respond with any further information, I'll let you know. This also makes me question if they are still in the running for the Viewfinder license. That's going to be one pricey license and I can't imagine them shelling out money for it at a time like this. I guess we'll see.

Your thoughts?

(As I was typing this I received an email from Rightstuf telling me Wintertime Love's release date is now 12/12/12 (this is a Kitty Media title). I've seen Rightstuf do this before and that usually means they don't have a release date for it anymore. Their site says "Coming Soon, Date to be Determined". ANN stated Media Blasters didn't think the layoffs would affect their current release schedule. I find it hard to believe this is a coincidence though.)

~Jennifer LeBlanc

16 Comments

Jb March 9, 2010 at 6:58 AM

This is depressing news. Granted, MB/KM’s releases weren’t top quality (except for Crimson Spell, which was), and their website(s) were worthless for obtaining any kind of information (I always have to rely on their rareflix ebay store or Rightstuf to find out what they have and what is being released), but I hate seeing yet another yaoi publisher possibly slowing down or closing shop. And MB/KM was one of the first to bring yaoi over, so I have a loyalty to them for that. In fact, I have almost all the BL books they’ve released.

To make it worse, they are one of the few remaining publishers that actually sell their BL titles for reasonable prices under $10.

I worry that eventually, there will only be June/801/Doki and maybe Netcomics releasing any BL titles to the US market. I love their stuff, too, but it would be limiting if there is only one publisher or two to bring titles over.

[Reply to this comment]
Michelle P. Reply:
November 17th, 2010 at 9:20 PM
Thanks for the information. It has been like searching for a needle in a haystack for me to find out information on the status of Kitty Media. For months, when you go to their site, it never loads.

Have you received an update on their status? I would still like to know if they are going to be releasing the previously active series.

Thanks for any information you can provide.

[Reply to this comment]
sunflower March 9, 2010 at 8:54 AM

I don’t think that they’ll be giving up on their yaoi any time soon. They’ve said that it’s a consistent money maker for them. But it may take longer for them to get it to us. They may have put their titles on hold while they regroup and figure out their new release schedule.

[Reply to this comment]
Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl Reply:
March 9th, 2010 at 12:47 PM
I don’t think they’re giving it up either, just not a priority for them right now. I’m sure getting their sales up and bringing back those employees is more important.

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Cait March 9, 2010 at 3:21 PM

Oh yes, I think this news is a very big indicator that Kitty has all but forfeited in the fight over the ViewFinder license. I’d put money on DMP/801 Media winning that prize now, even if Yamane herself would have preferred the same publisher as Crimson Spell to get it (though 801 Media had her Foreign Love Affair, so who knows what she thinks of them).

[Reply to this comment]
sunflower Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Yamane just wants her overseas fans to be happy, and asked them who they wanted to publish the book. She doesn’t really know one American publisher from the next. Except of course for BeBeautiful, who screwed her over.

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yblees March 9, 2010 at 11:17 PM

The only manga publisher unscathed so far may be Viz *knock on wood*.
Yen Press is only a tiny part of a big parent publisher, so not counting that.

I know MB releases yaoi anime as well. What else are they into, apart from yaoi?

[Reply to this comment]
Cait Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 8:34 PM
Media Blasters primarily licenses Hentai and Special Interest stuff (niche genre titles). Not all their titles are anime, either. They only got into BL 5 or 6 years ago when CPM started doing it, and it was never the bulk of their business.

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yaoipress March 12, 2010 at 7:35 PM

Media Blasters is trying to have Crimson 3 out in time for Yaoi Con 2010. Sad to see their marketing guru apparently laid off. Dealt with her for many years.

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Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl Reply:
March 14th, 2010 at 1:17 AM
Is that the person you mentioned in your email? I emailed her and never heard back. Was wondering if she was one of the casualties.

[Reply to this comment]
Kuriousity | manga reviews and news » Blog Archive » Media Blasters Lays Off Staff After Decrease in Sales March 14, 2010 at 8:20 AM

[...] this move will not cause any delays in their book releases but some readers have already noticed a change to release dates. There are two books due out from Media Blasters at the end of this month: You Higashino’s [...]
yaoipress March 14, 2010 at 12:54 PM

Yes, that’s her. Though she said she was on ‘hiatus’ in her email so hopefully they’ll bring her back.

[Reply to this comment]
The Yaoi Review :: YAOI NEWS: Publisher Updates :: http://theyaoireview.com May 11, 2010 at 8:36 PM

[...] better news, @YaoiPress tweeted today that Media Blasters rehired one of the 13 employees they put on hiatus as of March [...]
Backlash67 November 17, 2010 at 9:17 PM

Thanks for the information. It has been like searching for a needle in a haystack for me to find out information on the status of Kitty Media. For months, when you go to their site, it never loads.

Have you received an update on their status? I would still like to know if they are going to be releasing the previously active series.

Thanks for any information you can provide.

[Reply to this comment]
Jennifer LeBlanc AKA Asami's Girl Reply:
November 17th, 2010 at 9:36 PM
I’ll be posting something soon in a new post.

[Reply to this comment]
Jb Reply:
November 18th, 2010 at 9:56 AM
MediaBlasters now has a twitter account where they appear to be trying to come back hopefully. *crosses fingers*

[Reply to this comment]