In January Media Blasters will release Ah My Buddha Vol.1: The Aroused One (MSRP $29.99), a sexy harem comedy set in a Buddhist nunnery.  Ikkou is just like any ordinary teenage boy only more so, and it doesn’t help a bit that he is studying for the priesthood in a temple filled with gorgeous girls who just can’t help flashing a little skin now and then in an effort to spur his libido and release his super exorcism powers. 

Ah My Buddha (known as Amaenaideyo! in Japan) is based on an adult manga series by Toshinori Sogabe.  The 12-episode (plus one OVA) TV anime from Studio Deen aired on Japanese TV in 2005 (a second 12-episode plus one series ran in 2006).  Both series were directed by Keitaro Motonaga.  Ah My Buddha Vol. 1 contains four episodes (100 minutes) and includes both an English dub and a Japanese soundtrack with subtitles.

Also debuting in January is Doujin Work Vol. 1: Pencil and Paper ($19.99), which, like Ah My Buddha Vol. 1, contains four episodes (100 minutes), but Doujin Work will be subtitled only (hence the lower price).  The 12-episode Doujin Work anime was directed by Kenichi Yatani for Remic and aired on Japanese TV in 2007.  Based on a four-panel comic by Hiroyuki, Doujin Work is the story of a young girl Najimi Osana, a talented artist who attempts to make her way in the world of doujinshi with the help of a small circle of friends.  Hiroyuki, who is famous in Japan for the doujinshi that he created based on the Type-Moon visual novels Tsukihime and Fate/stay night, certainly knows the ins and outs of the doujinshi world—and anyone interested in the yeasty world of unlicensed manga that provides so much of the talent for the Japanese manga industry will definitely want to check out the Doujin Work anime series.

Both Ah My Buddha Vol. 1: The Aroused One and Doujin Work Vol. 1: Pencil and Paper will street on January 27th, 2009.