Ask John: Why Hasn’t Chu-bra Been Licensed?

Question:
Do you have any thoughts on the Chu-bra Anime? And, could it be even remotely successful in America?

Answer:
I’m sorry to say that I’m not especially familiar with the 2010 Chu-bra television series. I don’t recollect continuing to watch it beyond its first episode, not because I thought it was bad but because I just don’t have enough time to watch every anime series. Particularly after the show simulcast on Crunchyroll, I can say that I’m a bit surprised that it hasn’t been licensed for American home video release yet. Given its approach as a slightly risque school comedy, it certainly seems like a title that fits in Sentai Filmworks’ catalog of fan service comedies including He is My Master, Tayutama, Akikan, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou, MM, Popotan, and Hyakka Ryouran. It’s also a title not outside the range of both FUNimation and Media Blasters, considering that FUNimation distributes shows including Strike Witches and B-gata H-kei, and Media Blasters has licensed ecchi comedies like Kanokon and Idol Project. However, at the same time, a number of odd factors revolve around Chu-bra which may, albeit coincidentally, hinder its chances of a domestic DVD release.

The concept of a show about adolescent girls preoccupied with lingerie may seem provocative and potentially controversial for American release, but the concept is certainly no more or less provocative than the theme of the MM! television series about a teen boy who discovers his own masochistic tendencies, and MM! got licensed and released on domestic DVD with no qualm. Chu-bra, however, falls into a little-recognized sub-category of bishoujo anime that doesn’t get much representation on American home video. Shows that feature young girls working in non-service industries seem to get a bit overlooked for American DVD. Shows about girls working as maids or waitresses get quickly licensed – see Kaicho wa Maid-sama, Working, and He is My Master. Shows about girls working as soldiers or warriors get licensed; examples include Strike Witches, Mahoromatic, Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls, Simoun, Noir, Madlax, and Shangri-la. But the 2006 TV series Rec and the 2010 OVA series Koe de Oshigoto which both revolve around young girls working as voice actress, and the 1998 Android Anna Maico 2010 TV series about a bishoujo robot radio announcer have never been licensed for American release. Chu-bra is an anime about a school girl who works as a lingerie critic; she works, but not in a service roll and not as a soldier. Furthermore, Chu-bra is an anime about young girls learning about their own physical maturation. The 2008 Naisho no Tsubomi OVA series similarly revolves around a moderately realistic depiction of a young girl facing adolescence, and it, like Chu-bra, has not been licensed for American DVD release.

These observations and similarities may be entirely unrelated coincidences. The fact that Chu-bra has a narrative parallel to other unlicensed shows probably isn’t a primary cause for its absence on domestic DVD, as I doubt that American consumers consciously dislike anime about working girls who aren’t maids or fighters. The fact that Chu-bra has some narrative focus on developmental health also isn’t likely a major reason for its absence on American DVD. The show wasn’t a breakout hit. Although domestic licensors have picked up other middling success titles like Tayutama, Crystal Blaze, Tatakau Shisho, and Shangri-la, the fact that there are many other more recent and more popular ecchi comedy anime available to license may be the biggest reason why Chu-bra hasn’t been acquired for American DVD release yet. Certainly, if titles like Hayate the Combat Butler, MM!, Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka, and Fractale have been viable enough for American DVD release, the comparable Chu-bra should certainly be marketable domestically.