!!!!!!

'Children' is the main factor that made me decide for the digital copy. I don't want my son to discover his mommy's secret hobbies. And, yes, BOOM forever if a child finds out Asami's penis dimensions! Ruined for life... (≧∀≦) just kidding. If you know how to edit (or better redraw) some pages, can I ask you if it's possible to fix the 'invisible' parts? (￣∇￣") I'm like a child, you know.

Thank you so much for this clarification, seriously. Cause it went past me also, the change in Aki's inner monologue. And then the addition of Asami's "inspection" scene in the digital version. It did seem offputting for the dialogue at hand, and an awkward interruption in an otherwise sweet moment where Aki's feelings were coming full circle, along with Asami's. All because of publisher pressure. Such a shame. :(

Our local chain bookstore only recently added a small number of yaoi titles to its manga section, all wrapped in plastic but shelved within the general manga. This is a fairly conservative town, so I've been watching to see if anyone was buying them--or waiting for an outraged citizen to buy one by accident, find out what it is and call down hellfire on the store. So far, that hasn't happened. But what has happened is that someone unwrapped every volume of Love Stage. Heh.

Well, overall, I do think the translation is better. The old June translations sometimes sounded like they had been done by someone's eighty-year-old spinster auntie. I am interested enough to see how much Sublime changes the translation in the reprints.

On showing genitalia in the digital edition, I'm not sure. I'm guessing that somewhere out there, sensei's original drawings exist and I'm also guessing, they are anatomically correct, that the critical equipment was blanked out in the publication process. Then those files are the ones that foreign publishers buy/license from the original publisher. Putting the genitalia back in would be expensive. Creating new files from sensei's originals would be more expensive. Publishing runs on a very slim profit margin as it is, so I'm guessing that's the primary reason.

It's a combination of the translation (or new wording?) and the new scenes that just takes the whole revelation away. But again, I'm hopeful that we'll get a new revelation in the current arc.

Because the way it was, with Aki understanding his role and asserting his place in Asami's life, it felt to me like a complete story. Maybe she changed it so there was still some emotional stuff left to drive the story?

I wish I had the original chapter in Japanese. I have the Japanese version of volume 8 and from what I can gather using Google translate, the Sublime translation is correct. But I'd like to know if the text was changed by sensei herself from the original chapter. Because that one significant page has been almost completely redrawn. Both top and bottom illustrations are new and the center illustration has the text on a blank background, so it could easily be changed. Anyone know where you can find raws after all this time?

I did a hasty search for them, to no avail :(

Yes, they corrected that in the digital version. And Jennifer LeBlanc from Sublime said they would also fix it when it goes for reprinting, but that they could do nothing about the cocpies already printed. And apparently, the word "detective" is used a second time (p. 73?), not sure the digital version has corrected that yet.

Completely agree with you about Akihito's revelation and understanding at last of his role in Asam's life as well as the scene where he crawls onto his lap and claims Asami as his own and making it very clear that he intends to watch over Asami. That is an empowered, determined, even confident Akihito and I liked that character development tremendously. I also thought it tied in nicely with the current "Hot Monk training center in the mountains, where you learn crazy Ninja skills" thingie. :)

Regarding the RAWs: Are you in any of the groups (scanlation group. summary group)? I mean, they should still have the raws from when they did the scanlaton for the original chapter, right? So you could just ask them.

Regarding new revelation the current arc: Keeping my fingers crossed. Alas, we shall see. As the saying goes: IN SENSEI WE TRUST. :)

Quote: "I'm not sure. I'm guessing that somewhere out there, sensei's original drawings exist and I'm also guessing, they are anatomically correct" --- Oh, the agony, Asami's dick, so close yet just out of reach! ^^

You are right of course about the cost aspect, I hadn't thought about that. Such a shame. I can only imagine how much that kind of censorship has to suck for all the artists.

Ah, no, sorry, I was just thinking of building myself a version where I edit the speaking parts. So I plan to take the good quality of the Sublime version, but digitally edit and replace what is said in the bubbles with the scanlation version, where I prefer it.
I'm completely hopeless when it comes to drawing. Trust me, Lady, you would NOT want me to start drawing dicks in with my skill sets, lol! That would look like your son actually HAD found mommy's secret Yaoi stash and started drawing dicks instad of cute little dogs. ^^ I mean I HAVE fixed some other stuff (Haru wo D.) in the past for my personal enjoyment (okay, that didn't come out right!), but there the genitalia weren't completely whiped out. They just had the little "bar of shame" for example, and that could very easily be fixed and you would never even notice afterwards (hurrah, dicks repaired!). I also made myself an unpixled edit of the Zaria mangas once, that turned out nice, too. But I need to have at least some part of it that I can work with to "reconstruct" the rest, if it's like those "lightsaber dicks" then I have to give up, because me? No Michelangelo! ;)

Ah, so no kiddie trauma based on Big Asami's Little Asami! ;) Good to know.

Regarding the last part: That was probably Tokidoki's "friendly, manga-fanatic bookstore clerk", tehe.

I am not sure eworth and I live in the same city, but the clerk was fantastic (and she spent her lunch break chatting with me about manga and reading some of the manga in the store ... it was a bit of a revelation since no one I know read manga except for my 12 year old nephew. LOL

That's ok. Now that I think about the facebook group which did the scanlation of Sudou and Aki part in Spanish, I have to admit that they redrew those parts pretty well (I thought it was the original stuff) except for Sudou's private part. They redrew it pretty small (on purpose, I guess) for the fun of people. Oo

Found the page! And yes, the text is completely different. It's been rewritten to eliminate Aki's private revelation. Sigh.

Seriously? For what reasons, I wonder. (⊙…⊙ )(⊙…⊙ )(⊙…⊙ )

Yes, I re-read my copy too ... but with Sudous comments, perhaps he infers it, and that is why he initiates at home?

Maybe she realized she blew her emotional wad there and decided to save it up for a more dramatic moment--like if the cover of volume eight is a preview, that would be the moment to redo the whole "I will protect him! I won't let anyone lay their hands on him!" thing, and have Aki step into his rightful role and realization while he's with Asami, instead of just thinking about him.

The one thing I do like in this new version is the line that triggers Aki to think back on Asami saving him used to read "Are you really so worthy of that?" Now it reads "Do you really have that kind of value?" which is a nice little echo of Asami's line waaaaay back in volume 3 "Maybe you don't have that kind of value."

So even though it throws Aki back to his old "What does Asami really think of me?" crap, it kind of resets the emotional stakes for the reader by reminding us of where this all started.

Then again, I could be overanalyzing this to death.

Okay, so there's another subtle little change in chapter 48, on page 7 where Sudou has the knife at the back of Aki's neck. In the old version, Sudou says "I didn't do it so he (Asami) would turn his gaze towards me. I never expected to fall in love with him this much." And a shocked Aki thinks "Love..."

New version, Sudou thinks "I'm not interested in having him look at me that way. Never have been. But there's no way in hell I'm letting him fall in love with someone else." And then Aki thinks "Love?" this time with a question mark.

So he has a little tiny moment there but the thought isn't completed because then there's the catfight with Sudou where they mostly just shout insults at each other.

But when they get home, the text is different again, particularly Aki's interior thoughts just before he kisses Asami. Old version: "I will become his eyes and watch his back for his enemies. I don't want anyone to lay their hands on him."

New version: "I'm the only one who can desire that. I'm the only one that gets to see the real Asami." Which is nice but it's not...empowering, like it was before. It's not Aki claiming a more equal status in the relationship.

So then even though Aki initiated the kiss, the new sex scene has Asami quickly taking control and putting Aki right back in the subordinate position, examining him for signs of sexual assault, reminding us of Aki's victim status. Asami, presumably, didn't see Aki fighting Sudou like we did, so he doesn't have that image of kickass, go-down-fighting Aki and his reaction here kind of undercuts that moment.

It really looks like this was all deliberately changed and I hope it was because there's a bigger, better revelation moment coming.

That's disappointing, really hope you are right about change being deliberate or I'm planning to drop this manga for good this time.