Finder Series

Finder Series (ファインダーの標的) is a yaoi manga written and illustrated by Yamane Ayano. Originally serialized in Be x Boy GOLD and "B-Boy Zips" from 2001 through 2005, the individual chapters have been collected and published in three tankōbon volumes by Biblos from 2002 until 2005 when the company went out of business. Libre picked up the series, reprinting the first three volumes before continuing its release. As of June 2009, five volumes have been released, as well as a drama CD adaptation and a character art book.

The series was licensed for English language release in North America by Central Park Media under its Be Beautiful Manga imprint. After purchasing the Biblos properties, in 2007 accused Central Park Media of copyright infringement and required that new licenses be negotiated for all of the former Biblos properties. Central Park Media refuted the claim, but ceased publication of Finder. The series is licensed for German release by Tokyopop. In March 2010 Digital Manga Publishing announced that it had acquired the license and would release the series under its Juné imprint.

Plot
Twenty-three year old Takaba Akihito is a young freelance photographer who takes pride in his work and seeks to get a major "scoop". After he takes photographs of the business dealings of crime lord Asami Ryuichi, Asami kidnaps and rapes him, beginning a sadomasochistic relationship between them as they find themselves continually drawn to one another. Fei Long, a rival Chinese boss who blames Asami for his father's death, takes an interest in Takaba, as well, seeking a way to get revenge.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Yamane Ayano, Finder Series was originally serialized in Japan's Be x Boy GOLD and "B-Boy Zips"manga anthologies. The individual chapters were collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Biblos, with three volumes released from 2002 until 2005. Biblos licensed the series for English language release to Central Park Media, which began publishing the series under its Be Beautiful Manga imprint in 2005. In 2006, Biblos filed for bankruptcy and some of its properties were acquired by Libre Publishing. Libre later accused Central Park Media of infringing on its copyright of the transferred Biblos properties, stating that all foreign license holders needed to negotiate new licenses with Libre as those Biblos had sold ended with the company's bankruptcy. In a letter posted to its website, it asked readers not to purchase any Be Beautiful releases, calling them "illegal". John O'Donnell, then manager of Central Park Media refused Libre's claims and felt that Biblo's original license agreements were still valid. Despite this, the third volume of the series, released in April 2007, was the last English volume published in North America. In 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy and its assets, including licenses, were liquidated. Finder Series was not listed among the assets, indicating Central Park Media no longer held the license. In March 2010, Digital Manga Publishing announced that it had acquired the license to the Finder Series.

The series is licensed for regional language release in Germany by Tokyopop Germany, which has published four of the five volumes of the series as of March 2009.

Other media
A two-disk drama CD of the first volume of the series was re-released by Geneon Entertainment under its "Cue Egg" label on May 25, 2007, containing 10 audio tracks. It featured the voices of Akira Sasanuma, Takehito Koyasu, and Hideo Ishikawa as the three central characters.

A character book was released December 18, 2007 that included a pull-out poster.

Reception
In May 2009, Germany's Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons labeled the first volume of Finder as "harmful to young persons", which results in the series being "restricted to people of legal age only. It is also prohibited to show incriminated content as teasers, trailers or in any other advertising context." In response, Tokyopop Germany removed the information about the first volume from its website, but continued to list the other three volumes it had already published.

In Manga: The Complete Guide, Jason Thompson gave the series a rating of 3½ out of four stars, stating that the series is "written in an appropriately dark and brooding fashion" due to its use of "graphic sex and S&M", and praised the art as "coolly attractive".