5 Questions for Riyoko Ikeda

Are you ready for a miracle?  For the longest time the conventional wisdom was there were a handful of titles that were popular but would never be licensed. They are either too long, too old, too obscure, or just have legal entanglements that will very prevent them from coming out legitimately in English. But every once in a while out of nowhere there is a breakthrough that lets fandom cross an otherwise impossible dream off the list. Someone is able to cut through the red tape and take a chance on a show that has vocal support.

The Rose of Versailles has long since been one of those titles that fandom has craved but could never have legitimately. It is amazingly influential on shojo manga and Japanese entertainment in general. Its influences on Revolutionary Girl Utena are unmistakable but it also influenced countless other series. While Princess Knight originated the idea of cross dressing girls in manga it was the The Rose of Versailles that solidified so much of the pattern of a woman being brought up as a man. Fandom has long asked for a legitimate release of this classic but whenever it would be brought up around licensing companies various stories were told but the answer was always the same. Everyone would love to license it but various factors keep it from getting released. The conventional wisdom was a mixture of price and unusual demands from the manga-ka blocked both the anime and the manga.

But recently Nozomi Entertainment proved they are the Mu La Flaga of anime licensing by making the impossible possible. By hook or by crook they found a way to license the anime and it is coming out next year. In fact it will even be streaming on Viki in December. But that is not the only think to look forward to.

As the apocryphal tale goes one of the biggest barriers to licensing the anime was Riyoko Ikeda, the original author of the manga. The stories were always different on why she was an obstacle to the anime being released but as it turn out she is not impossible to work with. In fact the Right Stuf is currently taking submissions for questions to ask Ms. Ikeda. If it is anything like their previous releases the best questions and Ms. Ikeda’s answers will be extras for the release.

With that in mind, we have made a list of 5 questions for Ms. Ikeda but before we send them off we decided to share them.

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The Speakeasy #034: Monster Mash, A Warning to Those Who Fight Monsters

Drink #034: Monster Mash,
A Warning to Those Who Fight Monsters

All Hallows’ Eve is when the most dreaded monsters stalk the Earth as the veil between this world and the next is thinned by the autumnal equinox (and we’re not talking about girls in trollopy versions of traditional costumes). In honor of this, we are looking at the monsters, ghouls, ghosts, goblins, demons, and yokai of shonen fighting. It is one thing to fight a guy with a magic sword but it is a completely other thing to fight an eldritch abomination. So get your best shinigami scythe, your priest’s robe, and delve into the world of darkness. Bustin’ makes me feel good.

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And now your helpful bartenders at The Speakeasy present your drink:

Monster Mash

  • 1 oz. Rum, gold
  • 1 oz. Schnapps, lemon
  • 2 oz. Vodka
  • 1 can Energy Drink (Monster)

Mix everything in a large beer glass and enjoy!


The September Line-Up

This month Sentai Filmworks continues its trend of picking up anime titles for home release before they’ve premiered. But not as many streaming announcements as I’d imagined, perhaps the first week of October will be the explosion. To top it all off there was the unreal shock of Rose of Versailles getting licensed! Every month seems to hold something delightful to celebrate.

Hooray! It seems that Mawaru Penguindrum was finally licensed as it was always meant to be. But the Rose of Versailles announcement was even more unexpected. So it proves that no matter what all licenses are still theoretically on the table. It is just some are far more likely than others.

The Line-Up is a monthly rundown of newly licensed in the U.S., newly streaming in the U.S., and newly announced anime and manga projects.

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