At Least This Nasty Rumor Put a Different Mystery to Rest!

Leave it to 2chan and wacky fanartists to start ridiculous rumors. Towards the end of August, the Asian tabloids had another field day after the popular message boards and other blog were abuzz with rumors of a divorce between Naoko Takeuchi and her husband, Yoshihiro Togashi. This time the banter began as a result of fans being angry with Hunter X Hunter going on hiatus again. The tabloid Shukan Gendai (the image posted on the right) had reported that the reason for the split were because Yoshihiro was experiencing a creative slump and he continually had to ask his publisher to push back his deadlines. Because he was still very popular, his editors gave in knowing that his fans would always come back when he did (and sales of his work would never decline). However, he may have been taking his editors for granted as he had become a video game addict and also traveled frequently overseas (the latter, is news to us!). This irresponsible behaviour frustrated Naoko and led to this rumored divorce. The fans were also coming up with all sorts of strange reasons for why this happened. Some thought he had joined the Unification Church to escape his creative slump, or that his assistant had left him because of some turbulence. What really got the discussion flared up was a post from someone claiming to be another mangaka, with some exclusive and confidential information. This mangaka posted (translated):

This mangaka was never identified. The photo you see on the left was also thrown around the thread. We bet it was the same person who drew those other silly drawings from before of Sailor Moon beating up on a dog. In an effort to dispel this rumor, a different article brought up this blog entry from a different mangaka, Ami Shibata. Ami is famous for her work on Blue Dragon ST, Bucky the Incredible Kid, and Papuwa. She is also a close friend of Naoko Takeuchi’s, and she even drew Sailor Moon for Naoko in Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Original Picture Collection Volume Infinity. In her entry, she spoke of having lunch with Naoko after 8 or 9 years, and that she had moved to a new place that had made Naoko a neighbor in her town.

Let’s put that nasty rumor to rest, for just a moment. If anything, the one article to cite Ami Shibata’s post helped us to solve another mystery. Last December, Yoshihiro Togashi had revealed that a new addition arrived to their family the year before. While there were no details given on whether they had another son or a daughter, he drew a bunny. Naoko Takeuchi had always drawn bunnies in her comics, and many times they even represented girls. Was this a hint? Ami wrote in her entry that Naoko was the wife of Yoshihiro Togashi, the mangaka behind Hunter X Hunter that was currently being published in Shonen Jump. And, she also remarked that she was the energetic mother of a son and a daughter! We were happy to read this, and now we are wondering if there are as many bunny rabbits in her daughter’s room as there were in Usagi’s in PGSM :p. Ami Shibata also wrote about going shopping afterwards with Naoko, and purchasing 3-D paper art. The two had such a good time together, and nothing had changed at all in these many years!

We have to commend this article from Livedoor for doing a good job of finding this entry from Ami’s blog, and using it to show definite proof that Naoko and Yoshihiro were definitely not divorced. With that, we officially debunk this rumor, and call everything that the tabloids, the fans, and this unidentified mangaka have said absolutely ludicrous. Shukan Gendai is also published by Kodansha, which is also the publisher behind Sailor Moon. You’d think, that they would have learned something from their turmoils with the Sailor Moon manga and not frustrate the creator any more and publish negacrud like this, but they still pushed ahead. But, there was a bright side to this rumor as we have finally learned a new detail we didn’t know about the recent addition to Naoko Takeuchi’s family. So we end this article offering additional congratulations to the couple on the arrival of their daughter!

Not Star Comics, that’s for sure. Fansite MetalRobot of Italy conducted an interview with representatives of Italy’s Star Comics, and a question was asked about Sailor Moon. Here it is, translated into English:

MR: Italy was the country picked for the foreign relaunch of the series, Sailor Moon, when this happened the rights to the anime were unblocked and it has come back on the air. Also in the news these days are the future release of the rights for the manga series. Is Star Comics going to publish this?

SC: The news of the release of the rights of Sailor Moon is true, but it isn’t Star Comics that will have the rights in Italy. We have no problem admitting that someone else has bought the rights, if it has not been released openly it is because nobody has asked J (NOTE: more on J later). We are certainly not happy with the situation, especially the circumstances that led to the decision to entrust the series to another publisher, even though Star Comics invested a lot in the series in the past. Star Comics was never supported by any ‘parent’, we got where we are thanks to our efforts… but sometimes that is not enough.

Now, we have some shocking news to share with you. We can’t name the companies involved (please don’t ask us, we have to respect everyone involved), but in late June we learned that the international manga rights were in limbo. We got an email on a Monday along with a request for the manga report, we reworked the report and sent it off late Thursday night, and on Friday afternoon we learned that the rights had in fact just been resolved (after months of issues) as of that morning. This more than explained why there was nothing happening with the manga release in Italy to coincide with the broadcast on Hiro, and we all expect to hear some good news from there any time now. Up until that day, no company has had any rights for the international release of the Sailor Moon manga. Nanoda of Italy has also published that the rights were just recently resolved.

We certainly weren’t given any indication about the rights being in limbo in February when we sent off the manga report. From the tone of the representative’s voice over the phone, we all assumed that everything was in place. Fans, do not worry about your efforts going down in vain! All of your comments were forwarded in this updated report with a note to excuse the references and to continue read the comments sent in by fans (all of the other companies we have sent copies of the report to have enjoyed reading what you all have to say). We feel for Star Comics though since they put in a lot of effort into the manga (which by all accounts that we have read was a very successful release), and they will not be allowed to continue their legacy for a future release. In the future though, we may post a short section that we included in this updated manga report that showed a few examples where the Tokyopop translations got sluggish.

As far as “J” goes? No one knows who they are referring to, not even us. ComicsBlog.it has a few theories, but we wonder if the J actually means “Japan” and is meant to be something vague. We can tell you that it is most definitely not the case of anyone not asking to license the manga. We deal mostly with the English side of things although we try to cater to as much international news as we possibly can, and during that week in June there was every indication that there were a lot of companies interested in a license for the updated manga. We don’t know of any companies in Italy that start with the letter “J” that have anything to do with manga or comic releases, but we would not be surprised if Giochi Preziosi were to acquire the license, since they have been at each licensing meeting etc. since the beginning. This would have given them an advantage in bidding for the manga since they have already been working with Toei Animation and PNP/Naoko Takeuchi on the Sailor Moon revival.

Also: We know that the series is returning to Eastern Europe, but we have been asked by a representative of Plus Licens to wait for a different release. The ones that are being posted around the internet were meant for corporate readers only. What we can tell you is that Plus Licens has the rights to manage the series licenses for broadcast, merchandise, etc. to different companies, but they will not be releasing the series themselves. Think of it as Toei Animation and PNP/Naoko Takeuchi as being the “Grandparents”, Plus Licens as being the “Parents” and the children that are going to “play” with Sailor Moon are the ones that will be getting licenses for actual releases. Make sense? Again, we understand that these are exciting times to be a Sailor Moon fan, but with this excitement comes some waiting!

*** And a personal note from me, Sailordees: I apologize for the lack of updates in the last little while – believe me, I wish for nothing more than to have time to work on these blogs, but on June 28th, I got some great news in my personal life that has forced me to prepare for some big changes. I can’t share much more, except for the fact that these big changes are requiring a lot of my time. I will probably not be able to return full time to either Moon Chase or We Got the Solution until September, but rest assured our staff members will do their very best to keep you guys updated as much as they possibly can. Thanks to all for your continued support and patience!

Hey Moonies, we’ve been hearing a lot of talk (as we always do) about the latest round of Sailor Moon licensing rumors.

The fact of the matter is, NO COMPANY HAS THE RIGHTS TO SAILOR MOON IN NORTH AMERICA AT THIS TIME. We want the show to come back as much as anyone else does, but starting rumors is not helping anyone. We have been told over and over again by reps from several different companies that rumors like this make it more difficult for everyone involved. The future of the series in North America is in the very early planning stages and while this is a potentially exciting time, fans need to be patient and wait for an official press release.

Just because one person says that they got a DMCA notice from FUNImation because of a couple of Sailor Moon related videos does NOT mean that FUNImation has the rights to the series. Do a quick search for Sailor Moon on youtube and you will find hundreds of thousands of videos. If those videos were disappearing en masse, then that would be something to talk about. A handful of videos out of dozens made by a single person is not news, it’s not a sign, it’s not even a rumor.

When there is news to report, there will be an official press release, and we (along with other members of the press) will be there to pass the official word onto the fans!

If you’re reading this and you run a Sailor Moon fansite, please do your part for the fandom and do not post unsubstantiated rumors. Doing so only hurts Sailor Moon. 🙁

Don’t Believe
Everything You Hear!

NOTE AGAIN: Due to the potential for the extremely heated debate this article may cause, we have disabled comments for this post. We also forbid the copying and pasting of this article in whole or in part in any forum or other site. Fans are more than welcome to post a link.

One website had representatives which attended this year’s Animazement, and at least a dozen fans have questioned and asked us why we have not reported this tiny little tidbit: at a special panel at the convention featuring Keiko Han (Luna) and Chika Sakamoto (Sailor Star Healer), Keiko said that she had lunch with Naoko Takeuchi and Kotono Mitsuishi (Sailor Moon) in January, and that Ms. Takeuchi was interested in doing more Sailor Moon. Now, our source at Japanator.com has told us that there was a mistranslation and a misinterpretation at the panel. The question from the fan was not translated properly in Japanese, and Keiko said something completely out of context that was mistranslated and misheard by a fan (or fans). From what we have seen on the videos, Keiko had very long answers and the interpreter had a lot to keep up with, and even we noticed a few little things being missed here and there.

What we can confirm from the short clip a fan sent us, is that Keiko says the following:

“Takeuchi-Sensei said she would love to work on Sailor Moon again so maybe there may be (or may be not) a new Sailor Moon series in the future.”

A native Japanese speaker helped to translate this for us, and also told us that this is an ambiguous answer, that is part of the Japanese way of speech. Nothing is being confirmed here at all. There are always going to be rumors about a new Sailor Moon anime going around the internet – and it’s not just in the English-speaking world either. There’s a lot of discussion even on 2ch about a new anime or even a new live action series, but nothing is confirmed officially. Once again, we will remind fans that unless there is a press release from Toei Animation or something posted by Naoko Takeuchi on Sailor Moon Channel hinting at anything new, that you shouldn’t take any hint such as this as anything serious.

We will also remind fans at this time that only what exists already is available for license all over the world. At the many licensing expos in Europe and North America, there have been quite a few other series that are still very early in production showcased, and we can confirm that there were no new Sailor Moon productions at these expos. But look at what we have seen so far. There was a DVD launch event, as well as a Charaben class – we think that there might be more of these celebratory events and we’ve all seen the photos of Naoko Takeuchi at them. She looks really happy at these events! In fact, not too long ago we read a story about the garage kit subculture where the writer asked about more Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon figures. Who knows what event will happen next? We can only wait and see. If there will be any official release of new materials, there will definitely be a press release. Please do not assume that there will be new materials unless verifiable evidence such as a press release are publicly available.

NOTE AGAIN: Due to the potential for the extremely heated debate this article may cause, we have disabled comments for this post. We also forbid the copying and pasting of this article in whole or in part in any forum or other site. Fans are more than welcome to post a link.

Some pictures appeared on 2Channel a few weeks ago, and caused quite a stir not only with users of the hugely popular newsgroup, but the public as well. The pictures depict Sailor Moon and the other Senshi being seemingly angry with a dog, and they are considered to be somewhat symbolic of the creator Naoko Takeuchi, and her husband, mangaka Yoshihiro Togashi. These themes also echoed in sentiments uttered by Togashi’s famous predecessors. First though, we’ll direct your attention to the pictures. These pictures were listed under a thread titled “Sailor Moon is angry because of Togashi”, and probably came from a fan who was tired of Togashi’s Hunter X Hunter not being on a regular schedule anymore. One comment said that maybe this picture is really showing Naoko Takeuchi being angry with Togashi over not working or not being motivated and all she wants to do is hit him. Other images show Sailor Moon relaxing with the dog, Sailors Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus gathering power from the dog, Sailor Chibi-Moon and Sailor Moon petting a cat, Tuxedo Mask holding Chibi-Usa on his lab with Luna-P, and then all the senshi strangling the dog. After the jump we will show you all the relevant images with Sailor Moon, but there are other humorous ones of Hunter X Hunter and the dog picking his nose in front of Pokemon posted here. Again, no one knows who drew these, but perhaps this might explain some of the reasons why the boxsets are being re-released?

The first picture was also featured in another article. Another mangaka, Kenshi Hirokane (of Tasogare Ryuseigun fame) likes to also draw manga based on social issues, and he had a few comments to say about Togashi in a commentary with one of the editors of Weekly Morning, Akihiro Yoshihino. First, he asked why the editor was approving comics to be published when they were still in the draft stages, but he responded that he had fans to please, and that he could not take a break. But then he mentioned the opposite case where some comics were published after long periods of time, with the same amount of interest from the fans, to which he responded something to the effect of the fans will know that there is a lot of work put into it and it was worth the wait. The article launched into a look at Togashi based on that last point. The writer came up with 4 potential reasons for why Togashi has not returned to finish Hunter X Hunter:

1. He is too tired to draw.
2. He has no motivation to draw.
3. He received a large payment from Shonen Jump and is being lazy.
4. His wife Naoko Takeuchi punished him in the name of the Moon.

Nice to know that people are still making Sailor Moon jokes with respect to Naoko Takeuchi, eh? The writer of this article calls for the readers to take action against poor quality manga being published in these magazines (Shonen Jump is included) and to stop subscribing to it. Hirokane later said that he will always be in gratitude to his fans and will always submit his highest quality work for publishing not to let them down. He said it is always better to publish a finished project than one that is still in draft! The article ended with the writer’s search for anything new with Yoshihiro Togashi, and found topics like he is finished with manga or perhaps even dead.

Whatever is going on with these two, we all sure wish we had some real answers!

As promised, here are the other images!