Sep
Greetings, everyone. I am Alex, with a very awaited update. It’s been a while since our last one, and I want to extend my sincere apologies for the silence. I have been in Japan, engaging with our licensing partners, both old and new, to strengthen our collaborations and mainly to know each other, since it’s the first time we see our faces. I’d like to take this opportunity to shed light on recent developments regarding the company and what we’ve been doing.
During my time in Japan, I had the privilege of engaging in discussions with various publishers, including Futabasha (Ice Queen / Seatmate Killer). These conversations have given us valuable insights into our existing commitments and future prospects, which are good!
Allow me to address two significant matters that have arisen during these discussions:
1.Ice Queen and Seatmate Killer
The success of Ice Queen has been pretty surprising, and I deeply appreciate your support in making it one of our top-selling titles. We explored the possibility of continuing the series independently by commissioning the author and illustrator, but the path is plagued with legal complexities and paperwork that neither company wishes to undertake. Despite our best efforts, it doesn’t seem like a continuation for the series will be possible in any way, shape, or form.
Similarly, Seatmate Killer, faces its own challenges. As far as I’ve been able to guess, the author is missing and unreachable. Therefore, though volume 5 in Japan was scheduled for an eventual release, it has been delayed indefinitely.
Both Ice Queen and Seatmate Killer are, unfortunately, left unfinished due to the challenges mentioned above. We understand the disappointment this may bring, especially to those who have grown attached to these stories. We will, however, strive to release all of their books released so far nonetheless. Additionally, Futabasha and Tentai Books are enthusiastic about collaborating on new titles once these stories have been brought to light.
2. Addressing Delays and Communication
I greatly apologize for the delays that have impacted our release schedule this year. To address this issue, I’ve decided to adopt a new approach. We will now announce book releases a couple of weeks before they become available for pre-order on the various platforms we distribute through. This change will help us manage expectations more effectively and ensure a smoother release process.
3. Technical Updates and Translator Team
Efforts are underway to upload our books to various platforms, including BookWalker and Kobo. Please be patient as we navigate technical challenges, especially with the multiplatform system we use. I assure you that we are committed to ensuring accessibility to our titles worldwide.
I am pleased to announce the addition of two dedicated translators to our team. One is focused on “World Teacher,” while the other is finalizing “Sister Kiss.” A third translator will soon join to exclusively handle “Toxic Girlfriend.” World Teacher is uploaded for preorder, and once it appears in stores as so, we’ll notify everyone of this.
3. Physical Releases and Refunds
I regret to inform you that there have been delays in the production of physical copies for Ice Queen 2, Seatmate 2, and You Like Me 2. We are working to bring these to you, and I will communicate more information as we approach their release. If you have purchased physical copies and are awaiting a refund, please reach out to us at tentaibooks@gmail.com so we can expedite the process. I am sending mails too, but sending us a mail directly will make sure your refund happens faster.
I sincerely hope that this update sheds light on our current status. While these developments may come as a disappointment, we remain committed to releasing our current titles and make things right before delving into further licensing. I will strive to make these more frequent as time passes, even if information about them is meaningless to some.
On a side note, I’ll make small posts to summarize our meetings with our partners later down the line, once we’ve met all of them.
Thank you for reading, and see you next time,
Alex