While the trend of the current R1 licenses seem to be slanting towards Bishoujo game adaptions, I believe there’s still some ways to go before lolis become marketable, especially since there is an ongoing debate comparing loliconism to paedophilism. Experts argue that even though lolis are widespread in Japanese pop culture, the paedophilic crime rates are much lower compared to many other countries. Empirically, my personal take is that loliconism is in fact, very different from paedophilism, since paedophiles are inclined towards (disgusting) 3 dimensional child porn which is very different from animated lolis. But I doubt majority of the American conservatives will share the same view.

Straight 1 just came in and the purchase decision was heavily based on my intense love for the Manabi Straight! franchise as a whole (I own all published manga as well as the OP & ED CDs and the OSTs and other artbooks), and the hypothesis that even though it is a high quality UFOtable work, it is unlikely to be licensed. Any R1 DVD company has to consider whether they want to market Ritsuko Okazaki, the popular Japanese singer that was behind the opening and ending songs (re-sang by Hayashibara Megumi) that passed away at the age of 44 in 2004. Knowledge of Ritsuko Okazaki’s legacy and her contribution to the Japanese pop culture scene is essential to appreciate the deeper meaning behind the daily interactions between Manabi and her friends, as well as Manabi’s actions and attitude towards life in general. This is because, arguebly, they mirror Ritsuko Okazaki’s passion towards her work and the innocence perpetuated in majority of her songs.

Background stuff aside, Straight 1has exceeded my expectations tremendously in terms of both packaging and DVD menus. Photos to follow:

And if you remove the DVD and the extras CD from the DVD casing you’ll get the almost full body photo of a rather pretty cosplayer in the Seiou Gakko school uniform, probably a 3D extrapolation of how Manabi herself would look like should Manabi Straight! be adapted into life action:

The mini-games that come with the extras DVD are devilishly difficult, and after half an hour I STILL have not beaten the first one. Sheer madness… have no idea whether I should persevere on:

Oh and really, I’m not mad enough to get the entire LE set due to current financial and language disabilities, but I am planning to get LE Straight 7 though (”Limited edition includes bonus CD with full-sized version of the PS2 game “Kirakira Happy Festa” and Seio Gakuen School theme 1 version”), since I really like the school song that Horie Yui (Manabi’s Seiyuu) sang in the first episode. Its slightly cheaper as well as it contains 1 episode only. Imo really worth it.

And the lolicon vs paedophilia debate may already be moot with the existance of Manabi Straight!, as the series proves that lolis can be meaningfully employed to honour those who have touched the lives of many even when they have already moved on to a better place. As for the rest of humanity, I believe Ritsuko Okazaki herself has one poignant phrase in mind despite any of the impossible difficulties that we, and Manabi, will experience in our short lives: Massugu Go!