Well, let me first start off by saying that I've been rather impressed recently with the large number of new titles in Japan that are being quickly licensed and brought to the U.S.  Though I'm sure everyone has their gripes about this - English dubs generally aren't as good, downloading fansubs stops after licensing, blah blah blah - I am very happy with the responsiveness of US companies.  Though US releases are generally more expensive, and I'm sure we've all been guilty of downloaing a fan sub (or two), or buying a bootleg (or two), I am the type of person who is more likely to buy a legal copy and be broke than buy an illegal copy and have money to spare.  Guess that's just how I am.  Not that I'm rolling in money, but I guess I believe more in supporting the artist.  Don't worry, I'm not here to lecture.  Much like in my other web journal posts, I'm here to bitch.

But I believe that you should say something nice before you tear into somebody or something.  My complaint is that, even with the responsiveness of US companies, there are many titles that have been for some reason overlooked.  For example, great series like Naruto (incredibly popular AND still airing in Japan), or Flame of Recca, to name a couple, have not yet been licensed in the US (though the mangas for these two have been), and it seems as though US companies should be jumping at these animes.  Unless of course, Naruto and Flame of Recca have been licensed and no one seems to know about it.  This is much like another series I've been trying to get a hold of, D.N.Angel, which I just learned today has been licensed by ADV Films.  Okay, I don't go to conventions, I don't read every single press release on every anime company website, and I don't read every single word printed in NewType USA.  I figure I'm like the average anime fan.  So how are we supposed to find out about this stuff?

I guess that leads me to my resolution.  I plan on being more vigilant about the anime titles that are to be released in the US and will try to pass this information on to you.  I guess you could call me the informant for the average anime fan.  I will bring the anime information to the masses!  Quite a lofty goal, I know, but I guess it's the only way to get me to stop complaining about a lack of information.

Man, this has to be my least organized column yet.  Anyway, I wanted to end with this.  I guess you could call it a survey.  The one title I would love to see licensed in the US is Naruto (if anyone knows if it's been licensed, let me know).  What title would you like to see licensed in the US?  Post it on my tagboard. I will compile a list and put it up on my website.