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What Happened to Sol Press?


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AnimeFlyz



Joined: 31 Aug 2015
Posts: 365
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 8:22 am Reply with quote
Pretty much sounds like this Valdez guy had absolutely 0 clue what he was doing. Buying products from Sol was always a huge pain in the ass. It took me a full year just to get my physical copies of Failed Knight. Whats a shame is I actually like the quality of the print, but at this point I can only pray that another publisher sees the value of these series and gives them a proper rescue.
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Sabruness



Joined: 23 Oct 2019
Posts: 90
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 9:05 am Reply with quote
in terms of potential, i could see:
JNC maybe going for 80k Gold (thus completing the FUNA trifecta and perhaps maybe in a joint deal with Seven Seas getting the Manga)
Seven Seas maybe getting Busy Wizard for Ghost Ship.
any of the major 3 could go for Chivalry as the fanbase is still there.
Blend-S and GochiUsa are big enough names to be worth a rescue IMO.

the rest of them.... I dont think any of the rest are worth enough to rescue unless they could get the licenses at a cut-price rate.
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4570
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 11:56 am Reply with quote
Really sucks for those involved. An outsider with "big ideas" about "shaking up an industry" can almost always be translated as "this will end in a total dumpster fire and you should stay away."
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R. Kasahara



Joined: 19 Feb 2013
Posts: 649
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 12:02 pm Reply with quote
Informative article. These kinds of stories are infuriating.

Sabruness wrote:
in terms of potential, i could see:
JNC maybe going for 80k Gold (thus completing the FUNA trifecta and perhaps maybe in a joint deal with Seven Seas getting the Manga)
Seven Seas maybe getting Busy Wizard for Ghost Ship.
any of the major 3 could go for Chivalry as the fanbase is still there.
Blend-S and GochiUsa are big enough names to be worth a rescue IMO.

I'm not sure about the other publishers, but Seven Seas puts out monthly surveys which include questions about what manga and/or light novels their readers would like to see them localize. For fans of those Sol Press series, those surveys are worth a shot.

Vertical has done surveys as well, though I don't know if they do anymore, and they seem to be much pickier about light novel licenses than other companies.
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Rosiero



Joined: 05 Jun 2013
Posts: 116
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 1:38 pm Reply with quote
I'd absolutely double dip on Chivalry, but I'm not really aware of how to best tell publishers that. Seven Seas has their periodic surveys, but I don't think there's any space to indicate it, other than maybe just writing it in the "what do you want us to license" field along with the title?
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14755
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 2:00 pm Reply with quote
Murder, She wrote:

any company that wants to reissue Sol Press's translations would need to sign an agreement with Sol Press directly


Who cares? If Sol Press wants to go after you, Sol Press first has to stick their head out from wherever Sol Press is hiding in - which obviously won't happen
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Kendall TV



Joined: 02 Feb 2022
Posts: 43
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 2:11 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Although the original Japanese publishers retain the rights for the titles, any company that wants to reissue Sol Press's translations would need to sign an agreement with Sol Press directly

Could I ask why is this the case? I would have guessed that the Japanese publishers would have clawed back the rights to their titles because Sol Press's actions violated some kind of clause in their contract (e.g. non-payment of royalties and/or licensing fees). Without seeing their contracts, I of course wouldn't know, but has the journo learned additional information about those contracts from writing this story?
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Fluwm



Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 889
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 2:38 pm Reply with quote
So did the guy really disappear or is he simply not online? These are not the same thing.
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NikamiYuhara



Joined: 18 Feb 2015
Posts: 49
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 2:42 pm Reply with quote
Fluwm wrote:
So did the guy really disappear or is he simply not online? These are not the same thing.

He has been spotted online by people who are friends with him on Steam. But seemingly has not been active on Discord or anywhere else and has been dodging emails and calls from employees, Japanese companies, etc.
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NikamiYuhara



Joined: 18 Feb 2015
Posts: 49
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 2:47 pm Reply with quote
Kendall TV wrote:
Quote:
Although the original Japanese publishers retain the rights for the titles, any company that wants to reissue Sol Press's translations would need to sign an agreement with Sol Press directly

Could I ask why is this the case? I would have guessed that the Japanese publishers would have clawed back the rights to their titles because Sol Press's actions violated some kind of clause in their contract (e.g. non-payment of royalties and/or licensing fees). Without seeing their contracts, I of course wouldn't know, but has the journo learned additional information about those contracts from writing this story?

In a recent Reddit AMA promoting Cynaotype Daydream, onowasabi the CEO of Laplacian was asked if there were any plans to make Newton and the Apple Tree available for purchase again and stated Sol Press technically still holds the rights to the translation and they can't get in contact with Xev to do anything about the license for the English version.
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Madaniel



Joined: 04 Dec 2021
Posts: 17
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 4:36 pm Reply with quote
Really hope someone is able to rescue the license for Chivalry, also I'm not sure if I'm correct on this but they were one of the first if not only to ever license a hentai LN.
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Sabruness



Joined: 23 Oct 2019
Posts: 90
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 5:19 pm Reply with quote
Madaniel wrote:
Really hope someone is able to rescue the license for Chivalry, also I'm not sure if I'm correct on this but they were one of the first if not only to ever license a hentai LN.


Seven Seas licenses some hentai, and extremely hentai-adjacent, through their Ghost Ship imprint so Busy Wizard has a chance for rescue.
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Madaniel



Joined: 04 Dec 2021
Posts: 17
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 5:34 pm Reply with quote
Sabruness wrote:
Madaniel wrote:
Really hope someone is able to rescue the license for Chivalry, also I'm not sure if I'm correct on this but they were one of the first if not only to ever license a hentai LN.


Seven Seas licenses some hentai, and extremely hentai-adjacent, through their Ghost Ship imprint so Busy Wizard has a chance for rescue.
I know Seven Seas licenses some really ecchi series but I'm not 100% sure about actual hentai, specially hentai LNs.
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Frog-kun
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 10 Jun 2017
Posts: 118
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 6:25 pm Reply with quote
Kendall TV wrote:
Quote:
Although the original Japanese publishers retain the rights for the titles, any company that wants to reissue Sol Press's translations would need to sign an agreement with Sol Press directly

Could I ask why is this the case? I would have guessed that the Japanese publishers would have clawed back the rights to their titles because Sol Press's actions violated some kind of clause in their contract (e.g. non-payment of royalties and/or licensing fees). Without seeing their contracts, I of course wouldn't know, but has the journo learned additional information about those contracts from writing this story?


I haven't seen the contracts directly, but my knowledge of the situation is drawn from informal conversations I've had with people involved in licensing. Nobody can officially comment on Sol Press in particular, though.

To go into slightly more detail, the Japanese publishers can go through a process to terminate the contract with Sol Press. The books being removed from storefronts is an indication that they are taking action in this direction. That means that those titles can theoretically be licensed to different publishers now.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2022 8:46 pm Reply with quote
This sounds very common to what happens to many hobby stores, boardgame stores/cafes, etc. The people behind it get into it because they love the hobby, they have these great "ideas", want to do things different, etc. Some combination of those, and other similar, elements.

The problem is they treat the business like a hobby and not like an actual BUSINESS. Many have no actual formal business knowledge. They've taken no business classes, don't get how taxes work, shipping, logistics, employee taxes, and everything else related to running an actual PROFITABLE business. You can have all the passion and love for the hobby you want, but if you don't know how to run a business then that cake ain't gonna rise.
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