Couple pieces of news:
1. LINDA kickstarter is now less than 14k away from its goal. Be great if there was a final push for the remaining days
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pushpublication/linda-project-official-english-localization/
2.
Mangagamer has opened a 2020 licensing survey so now's your chance to request NTR games you'd like to see in English and uncensored
https://forms.gle/afzrQKbr4UMq7iZS6
Even if you think it won't make a difference, your opinion/voice should still be heard!
Here is the google translation, for those with lazy bones;
"[Kiyo] <Notice>
At Fantia, we are planning a crossover work between Marina of the rental wife Marina series and the past Sakuma man.
"Maryna, be embraced by another man in front of me! 』
A man embraces Marina in front of her husband while being voted.
Details will be announced next week!"
Couple of interesting notes, Gentle Sasaki hasn't realeased anything gor a year (according to vndb). Previously he'd released one or two a year. Hopefully it could mean this is bigger than the usual Atelier trash. That is of course complete speculation.
"Sakuma man" is odd because best I can tell Sakuma means man/ boy.
I'd enjoy it if it were Bob especially if he linked in to their daughter (now having grown up). I doubt atelier is dark enough to do that.
I hope if they are bringing her back it's not for a cash grab (definitley is) and is instead to push the envelope.
Also not sure what being 'voted' could mean. Perhaps watched or supported?
I somehow missed this but even if it's clearly a cash grab it's still something I'll check out.
I get the feeling Atelier Sakura has been in a rut the past couple years. Not too surprising they're bringing back arguably their most popular and best selling IP.
It would require a lot of extra effort but I've always wondered why they've never bothered to ask around any studios about the possibility of some hentai OVAs or setting up a new anime division/department of their own.
While most hentai OVAs currently (and for what feels like a decade now) are cheaply made and usually inferior to the manga or game they're based on, Atelier Sakura could show some initiative and create an anime hentai (like for the Marina series) with high production values; when was the last time a hentai OVA was released on Blu-ray in Japan?
Sorry if I'm breaking any forum rules discussing politics but I remember reading a while back there was a Japanese politician named Taro Yamada. An actual otaku who campaigned on the platform of anti-censorship for anime, manga and games. Who knows if any actual progress will be made but would be pretty amazing if somehow he manages to abolish those outdated laws of censoring (pixels) private parts in hentai. No average politician (with other goals) would make this issue a high priority; probably because they wouldn't be taken seriously but the fact that Yamada won a decisive victory for his seat in the House of Councillors was probably a huge shock to many.
TL;DR hentai industry would probably be more successful if censorship was removed and budgets were increased.
The cost of producing a well done hentai OVA series is probably the same budget as a single game's budget. Therefore wouldn't a Marina hentai OVA series sell better than a bland standalone game that isn't Marina related (and probably losing money on)?
Even if a hypothetical Marina hentai OVA was just as cheaply made as the average hentai OVA it would probably still sell well on brand recognition.