GSG Manga revived in North America?

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-04-08/seven-seas-adds-gunslinger-girl-blood-alone-manga

The North American manga publisher Seven Seas has announced
that it has licensed Yu
Aida's Gunslinger
Girl action manga and Masayuki
Takano's Blood
Alone vampire manga. The publisher will release
the first six volumes of Gunslinger Girl
in two omnibus volumes starting in February of 2011, and then release
single volumes starting with volume 7. There are currently 12 volumes in
Japan.


I don't know much on Seven Sea's release schedules but at least it's back in America now.

I wonder why they are waiting until next year? Even if they are commissioning a new translation, it can't take that long for a team of professionals working on it as a forty-hour a week job.

I wonder if Yu is planning to wrap the manga up this year and they want to wait and release it as a complete work instead of doing it piecemeal?

It's good news and I can't wait. As nice as scanlations are, having the actual physical book to read is so much better.

This is good news - I am glad they are going to publish the remaining volumes. I sort of hope they do a new translation of the first 6, just because I enjoy comparing translations. However, I suspect the differences would be trivial.

Its great news. If only I knew where I could buy them.

Gives me a reason to get back to buying manga.

What do we know about their company's print quality? It would be hard to do worse than ADV's vol 1 print, but I know nothing of Seven Seas's work.

I concur with Mav and Kisk.

All they have to do is take what ADV had and reprint it, the translation works for those have been done, so printing them should not be an issue. As for V7 - 12, 1 volume every 2 - 3 months and they could have the whole thing done by their so-called due date.

Something's fishy here, I just cant put my finger on it.

WEBER wrote:Its great news. If only I knew where I could buy them.

The Internet: It's not just for porn anymore.

New official GSG Manga!

YAY!

We have to wait a year for it!

BOO!

It's certainly distinctly odd to make an announcement so far in advance - either (hopefully) the article made a misprint, or it's possible that Seven Seas don't have the resources to print the manga now but are claim-jumping and sitting on the license to prevent another company getting hold of it in the meantime.

Robert Frazer wrote:It's certainly distinctly odd to make an announcement so far in advance - either (hopefully) the article made a misprint, or it's possible that Seven Seas don't have the resources to print the manga now but are claim-jumping and sitting on the license to prevent another company getting hold of it in the meantime.

It's possible ADV might actually still hold the license through, say, the end of the year, even though they have abandoned it. So Seven Seas might not be able to release before 2011.

It's hard to gauge how popular the show is in the US, but it was one of the first shows released on Blu-ray in the US and was done so even though it can be reverse-imported into Japan for one-tenth the cost (which is likely why the release date in the US was pushed back from "day and date" with Japan to three months later). So one would think if ADV had truly lost the license years ago, somebody else would have moved in to secure it prior to now.

Adam wrote:I sort of hope they do a new translation of the first 6, just because I enjoy comparing translations. However, I suspect the differences would be trivial.

Most of the changes probably will be trivial. ADV's translation wasn't horrible (especially compared to some of Tokyopop's work I've seen), but they left out one character's name entirely for no good reason and that has always irked me. Hopefully Seven Seas will do a better job than ADV, though their origins in OEL series worries me a bit.

So weird thing - I went to update Wikipedia about this just now, and before I had a chance to do it someone else did it.

So weird thing - I went to update Wikipedia about this just now, and before I had a chance to do it someone else did it.

The Laughing Man, perhaps?

(Sorry, tired and finished watching S.A.C. with a friend who has recently got into anime.)

I forgot to do it.

Fingers crossed someone decides to import it into Australia... if not I guess I'll just be swallowing shipping fees... again.

maverick375 wrote:What do we know about their company's print quality? It would be hard to do worse than ADV's vol 1 print, but I know nothing of Seven Seas's work.

On the premise you meant translation quality... I thought they did a pretty good job with Kashimashi, at least on readability. And they at least seemed to have considerable respect for the culture (instead of 4kids-esque Americanization), given their notes, use of honorifics, and the general feel. Beyond that I can only guess, but I suspect theirs will be superior to anything we've seen so far. If you really meant print quality, it was professional-grade printing and bindery, slightly better than TP and definitely better than Viz.

ElfenMagix wrote:I concur with Mav and Kisk.
All they have to do is take what ADV had and reprint it, the translation works for those have been done, so printing them should not be an issue. As for V7 - 12, 1 volume every 2 - 3 months and they could have the whole thing done by their so-called due date.

Something's fishy here, I just cant put my finger on it.

Yeah, but (whether they should or not) they've decided to work on retranslating 1-6 first. Think of it this way... even if they started with 7 and worked on 1-6 concurrent to 7-12, the release schedule for 7-12 would be twice as slow.

As far as how long it takes, I suspect that Kisk's speculation about license issues being the reason for the delay is correct. ADV's been sitting on it for this long and doing nothing with it, so I find it hard to believe they're going to let it go without trying to cry up a big fuss about "But we started first!" and keep others from working on it. And I find it really hard to attribute that motive to Seven Seas, considering they're the ones who spent the effort to license-rescue it.

And (sorry, but it needs to be said) considering we've spent over half a year waiting for an LQ trans of two chapters from our anonymous benefactors at OtakuWorks, and before that a full year for MQ trans of eight chapters... spending not quite one year waiting for HQ trans, whole volumes at a time and a regular release schedule seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Oh... My... GOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!! OMGOMGOMGOMOGMOGMGOMGMOGMOGMOGMOGMOGMGOMGOGMOGMOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANT WAIT! OH MY GOOOOD!!!! I'm FREAKING OUUUT!!!
OMMMMMMGGGG!!!!!

Read this on the link:
"Seven Seas will give both series new translations and lettering."

Nice. =D It's like GSG is coming out all over again. ^_^

Nuke is Good wrote:The publisher will release the first six volumes of Gunslinger Girl in two omnibus volumes starting in February of 2011...

I wonder what kind of profit they’re expecting to make off re-translating and re-issuing the earlier volumes. How many fans are going to want two copies of basically the same thing?

Danjo3 wrote:I wonder what kind of profit they’re expecting to make off re-translating and re-issuing the earlier volumes. How many fans are going to want two copies of basically the same thing?

People who were unimpressed with the ADV translation... oh wait, that's just me. Probably for new fans who got interested in reading the manga from the recent pushes with the anime series.

People who were unimpressed with the ADV translation... oh wait, that's just me. Probably for new fans who got interested in reading the manga from the recent pushes with the anime series.

I fall into this category and certainly do intend to buy it.

theprodigalson wrote:

People who were unimpressed with the ADV translation... oh wait, that's just me. Probably for new fans who got interested in reading the manga from the recent pushes with the anime series.

I fall into this category and certainly do intend to buy it.

Ditto.

I'll buy, if only to see what they did better than ADV on the translations and print.

Whiler ADV's translations improved towards the end of their run - Vol. 6 was fine, and I liked the hesitant nudging of Elisabeta's meeting with Alessandro - the first two volumes in particular were real clunkers with stilted and unnatural dialogue. I'd certainly like to see another take on them.

Robert Frazer wrote:Whiler ADV's translations improved towards the end of their run - Vol. 6 was fine, and I liked the hesitant nudging of Elisabeta's meeting with Alessandro - the first two volumes in particular were real clunkers with stilted and unnatural dialogue.

I'd guess they didn't think the series would be all that popular or something so they didn't put a lot of effort into it. Once the series began to gain recognition they realized the need for improvement.

Danjo3 wrote:

Nuke is Good wrote:The publisher will release the first six volumes of Gunslinger Girl in two omnibus volumes starting in February of 2011...

I wonder what kind of profit they’re expecting to make off re-translating and re-issuing the earlier volumes. How many fans are going to want two copies of basically the same thing?

I have a sneaking suspicion that the agreement didn't include license to use ADV's translations for free. If they were being asked to pay even more for the rights to use a dubious trans, it makes perfect sense for them to redo it - not to mention that it gives them bragging rights, a la the signs you see sometimes that say "Under New Management."

I was looking up their stats... They hold the licenses for Afro Samurai, Boogiepop, and Speed Racer. I've never heard of most of their other titles, but there's no real pattern of genres. GSG and 'Blood Alone' are their recent additions.
I think they might be in the cult-following game, which is good for us because they are likely to milk it patiently over the long haul rather than only while it's popular. The omni's are going to be 500+ pages and expected to retail at $15.99 USD each.

"We're thrilled to get the chance to put our stamp of quality on these
two great titles," says Seven Seas Senior Editor Adam Arnold. "Since
neither of these books were continued by their previous American
publishers, we're excited to be rescuing these series for existing
fans. Plus, our low-cost omnibus editions of the early volumes in the
series make them the ideal entry point for new fans as well."

This seems good in every way.

Between the extremely long wait and the whole bit about Petra, I've got to say that I have largely lost interest in the manga. There's this nagging part of me that wants to cling to it for the parts of it I would undoubtedly enjoy: the gold pieces amidst all parts I'm quickly beginning to hate. But the fact is that the well polished anime, which I have had much less complaints about, has been out and done with for quite a while (the first and only season obviously), sustaining me during what was an indefinite wait, and this really undermines all this for me. I'm still going to buy it, being the fanboy that I am, but I am a lot less enthused about it than I would like to be.

Godot wrote:Between the extremely long wait and the whole bit about Petra, I've got to say that I have largely lost interest in the manga. There's this nagging part of me that wants to cling to it for the parts of it I would undoubtedly enjoy: the gold pieces amidst all parts I'm quickly beginning to hate. But the fact is that the well polished anime, which I have had much less complaints about, has been out and done with for quite a while (the first and only season obviously), sustaining me during what was an indefinite wait, and this really undermines all this for me. I'm still going to buy it, being the fanboy that I am, but I am a lot less enthused about it than I would like to be.

9, 10, and 11 is epic. Some of my favorite stuff happens in those. :3 Saddly you have to suffer though 7 and 8. All about Petrushka. >____<

i hope shiping to the uk will not be to hard.

Triela wrote:

Godot wrote:Between the extremely long wait and the whole bit about Petra, I've got to say that I have largely lost interest in the manga. There's this nagging part of me that wants to cling to it for the parts of it I would undoubtedly enjoy: the gold pieces amidst all parts I'm quickly beginning to hate. But the fact is that the well polished anime, which I have had much less complaints about, has been out and done with for quite a while (the first and only season obviously), sustaining me during what was an indefinite wait, and this really undermines all this for me. I'm still going to buy it, being the fanboy that I am, but I am a lot less enthused about it than I would like to be.

9, 10, and 11 is epic. Some of my favorite stuff happens in those. :3 Saddly you have to suffer though 7 and 8. All about Petrushka. >____<

The shift in artstyle and the Petra being shoved down my throat started to put me off, however the flashbacks with Jean are interesting so far.

Nuke is Good wrote:

Triela wrote:

Godot wrote:Between the extremely long wait and the whole bit about Petra, I've got to say that I have largely lost interest in the manga. There's this nagging part of me that wants to cling to it for the parts of it I would undoubtedly enjoy: the gold pieces amidst all parts I'm quickly beginning to hate. But the fact is that the well polished anime, which I have had much less complaints about, has been out and done with for quite a while (the first and only season obviously), sustaining me during what was an indefinite wait, and this really undermines all this for me. I'm still going to buy it, being the fanboy that I am, but I am a lot less enthused about it than I would like to be.

9, 10, and 11 is epic. Some of my favorite stuff happens in those. :3 Saddly you have to suffer though 7 and 8. All about Petrushka. >____<

The shift in artstyle and the Petra being shoved down my throat started to put me off, however the flashbacks with Jean are interesting so far.

It would be nice if Yu continued to dispense Petra in small doses, but I still think she’s his favorite, so I’m not holding my breath.

Danjo3 wrote:
It would be nice if Yu continued to dispense Petra in small doses, but I still think she’s his favorite, so I’m not holding my breath.

There's only so much you can write about the "Core 4." I suspect Yu enjoys having a new tool (character) to play with.

Professor Voodoo wrote:There's only so much you can write about the "Core 4." I suspect Yu enjoys having a new tool (character) to play with.

I think there is still a fair bit more Yu can write about most of the original girls - we still have quite incomplete pictures of most of their back stories. Still, it made sense for Yu to introduce a new character, but it would have been nice if the new character did not change the style of the manga so dramatically (as I feel it does).

Also, which one of the initial five girls have you excluded in the "Core 4"?

Professor Voodoo wrote:

Danjo3 wrote:
It would be nice if Yu continued to dispense Petra in small doses, but I still think she’s his favorite, so I’m not holding my breath.

There's only so much you can write about the "Core 4." I suspect Yu enjoys having a new tool (character) to play with.

Then too bad it's at the expense of the "Core 4", the flow of the story, and the fans like myself who most certainly did not sign on for this.

Adam wrote:

Professor Voodoo wrote:There's only so much you can write about the "Core 4." I suspect Yu enjoys having a new tool (character) to play with.

I think there is still a fair bit more Yu can write about most of the original girls - we still have quite incomplete pictures of most of their back stories. Still, it made sense for Yu to introduce a new character, but it would have been nice if the new character did not change the style of the manga so dramatically (as I feel it does).

Also, which one of the initial five girls have you excluded in the "Core 4"?

Spoiler tag just in case for the answer to that last question.

Spoiler:

I've said it before, but I have no problem with Petra on her own, I suppose. It's how she, indeed, drastically changed the style and tone, of the manga overall, most definitely stealing the show. And Yu did most certainly have a lot more to write about the original girls .

Triela wrote: 9, 10, and 11 is epic. Some of my favorite stuff happens in those. :3
Saddly you have to suffer though 7 and 8. All about Petrushka.
>____<

The completionist in me is telling me to buy those volumes anyway. The rational, or at least less masochistic, part of me is telling me to stay the hell away.

Not trying to reignite the flame war, by the way.

Godot wrote:Not trying to reignite the flame war, by the way.

Yu Aida should ret con Petra out of the story!

Hehe, there have been flame wars about this then, eh? I'm glad that there are fans of the Petrushka-Alessandro fratello, since that means that Yu Aida did not postpone the (subjectively) interesting part of Gunslinger Girl in vain.

Adam wrote:

Godot wrote:Not trying to reignite the flame war, by the way.

Yu Aida should ret con Petra out of the story!

Hehe, there have been flame wars about this then, eh? I'm glad that there are fans of the Petrushka-Alessandro fratello, since that means that Yu Aida did not postpone the (subjectively) interesting part of Gunslinger Girl in vain.

If interesting, then in a completely different way then the rest of the story was. I'm also fairly certain Petra is still around so she's not just postponing the main story, she's also melding into it. She's diluting it at best and tainting it at worst.

In vain entirely? Perhaps not. In vain for the rest of us? Most certainly so.

I already feel myself climbing up the hill to prepare for the flame war I might be reigniting (largely unintentionally mind you).

Also, which one of the initial five girls have you excluded in the "Core 4"?

Spoiler tag just in case for the answer to that last question.

Spoiler:

I never really counted Angelica. She's been "dying" since her first appearence, and had very little influence over the development of the other characters. Before all the Angelica fans start leaving flaming bags of dog-shit on my doorstep, I'm not knocking her (Yu did give her a great send-off), it's just that she seemed out of the loop from the very beginning.

Having Petra & Alessandro around allows Yu to explore new ground that he couldn't cover with any of the younger cyborg/older handler fratelli. I appreciate that he didn't just replace Angie with a clone of herself, but chose to go a totally different direction.

Yeah, I agree. After the end of the Pinnochio arc there was a risk that GSG could have declined to a plotless ramble, or been criticised for only offering up "more of the same" if they introduced another specific Padanian antagonist. Watching Petrushka's development was a genuinely new angle; it really refreshed the comic and prevented it from going stale.

Also, I find it curious that people condemned A&P's relationship "THIS IS AN ABOMINATION YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS", but when it comes to Triela staring at Hilshire like a lovesick spaniel it's "THE GREATEST ROMANCE IN FICTION". It seems a little inconsistent.

Robert Frazer wrote:Also, I find it curious that people condemned A&P's relationship "THIS IS AN ABOMINATION YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS", but when it comes to Triela staring at Hilshire like a lovesick spaniel it's "THE GREATEST ROMANCE IN FICTION". It seems a little inconsistent.

I think the big difference is that Alessandro is a full participant (the horndog he is) while Hillshire is not. That’s why people see H&T as innocent, while A&P definitely make you feel that uncomfortable squirm factor.

Danjo3 wrote:

Robert Frazer wrote:Also, I find it curious that people condemned A&P's relationship "THIS IS AN ABOMINATION YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS", but when it comes to Triela staring at Hilshire like a lovesick spaniel it's "THE GREATEST ROMANCE IN FICTION". It seems a little inconsistent.

I think the big difference is that Alessandro is a full participant (the horndog he is) while Hillshire is not. That’s why people see H&T as innocent, while A&P definitely make you feel that uncomfortable squirm factor.

I think possibly the speed at which A&P entered a relationship might be a factor as well. Triela and Hillshire sort of had the whole "rocky road" thing going for awhile there... whereas Sandro and Petra sort of jumped in pretty fast.

Alfisti wrote:

Danjo3 wrote:

Robert Frazer wrote:Also, I find it curious that people condemned A&P's relationship "THIS IS AN ABOMINATION YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS", but when it comes to Triela staring at Hilshire like a lovesick spaniel it's "THE GREATEST ROMANCE IN FICTION". It seems a little inconsistent.

I think the big difference is that Alessandro is a full participant (the horndog he is) while Hillshire is not. That’s why people see H&T as innocent, while A&P definitely make you feel that uncomfortable squirm factor.

I think possibly the speed at which A&P entered a relationship might be a factor as well. Triela and Hillshire sort of had the whole "rocky road" thing going for awhile there... whereas Sandro and Petra sort of jumped in pretty fast.

well Petra is older looking than Triela and the age difference between Petra and her handler isn't as great as the one between Triela and Hillshire, so Alessandro is far more likely to go for it than Daddy Hillshire ( i think thats how Hillshire see's himself) after all !

Godot wrote:

Adam wrote:

Godot wrote:Not trying to reignite the flame war, by the way.

Yu Aida should ret con Petra out of the story!

Hehe, there have been flame wars about this then, eh? I'm glad that there are fans of the Petrushka-Alessandro fratello, since that means that Yu Aida did not postpone the (subjectively) interesting part of Gunslinger Girl in vain.

If interesting, then in a completely different way then the rest of the story was. I'm also fairly certain Petra is still around so she's not just postponing the main story, she's also melding into it. She's diluting it at best and tainting it at worst.

In vain entirely? Perhaps not. In vain for the rest of us? Most certainly so.

I already feel myself climbing up the hill to prepare for the flame war I might be reigniting (largely unintentionally mind you).

Um... I think you gave up any reasonable claim to innocence wrt the coming flame war when you started talking about Petra's taint.

*dons asbestos suit*

Robert Frazer wrote:Also, I find it curious that people condemned A&P's relationship "THIS IS AN ABOMINATION YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS", but when it comes to Triela staring at Hilshire like a lovesick spaniel it's "THE GREATEST ROMANCE IN FICTION". It seems a little inconsistent.

I also find it curious that people automatically assume Triela's feelings for Hilshire are romantic.

Nachtsider wrote:I also find it curious that people automatically assume Triela's feelings for Hilshire are romantic.

You’re right Nacht. In canon, Triela has never come out and confessed her romantic love for him, but one can’t help but get that impression. I guess only time will tell for sure.

Nachtsider wrote:I also find it curious that people automatically assume Triela's feelings for Hilshire are romantic.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with this person" sounds pretty romantic to me...

For me, it's not necessarily Petra I don't like nor the concept of her fratello. Rather, it's Allesandro I can't stand. Granted, the story dynamic between them is a bit unique when compared to the other fratello; but it's the fact that 'Sandro almost refers to Petrushka as a walking, talking, blow-up doll is what grinds my gears.

I go 'aww' for Hillshire and Triela because their relationship seems to have gradually developed into what it is now. Even though Hillshire most likely see's himself as 'Daddy Hillshire' for the time being, his armor does appear to be weakening.

'Sandro on the other hand seems to have just 'gone for it' in forming a bond with Petra taking a veritable shortcut. Much like C. Marksman wrote for his Carol/Gino OC fratello. 'Sandro could have taken the high road, but didn't.

I still don't get Sandro's reputation as a womanizing-man-whore. It seemed to me when he was first told he would have to sleep with people to be successful at his job he was uncomfortable with that. Everyone seems to think he is porking Petra now too but I felt he was trying to keep distance between them if anything. I may have to read it again with some less naive eyes but that was my impression. Can someone point me to where this happens in the story?

I may be getting into the line of fire here but I came to the forum too late to join the battle in the appropriate places so I don't have the sense to keep my head down yet. WAAGGHHH!

theprodigalson wrote:Can someone point me to where this happens in the story?

It hasn't.

When they exit the Venetian canal in Chapter 64, Sandro makes a comment to Petra that I believe would clear it up once and for all, but it was not present in the edition published in Dengeki Daioh, only the Volume 11 tankoban, so it was never translated/scanlated and I can't quite make it out.

I imagine this helps explain Triela's popularity.