It may or may not be known to you that many of my favourite Manga sites are being shut down due to the new lobbying coalition by certain corporations.
“The effort brings together the 36 member Japanese Digital Comic Association—which includes such major Japanese houses as Kodansha, Shogakukan and Shueisha—as well as manga publisher Square Enix, the Tuttle-Mori Agency and U.S.-based manga publishers Vertical Inc, Viz Media, Tokyopop and Yen Press, the manga/graphic novel imprint of the Hachette Book Group.
A spokesperson for the coalition said the effort shows that Japanese publishers—who license the majority of manga sold in the U.S.—are taking an aggressive interest in combating manga piracy outside of Japan as well as inside the country”
I think it's funny to revert to supply and demand analysis; there is a HUGE demand for manga scans and anime and a very low supply, the black market has appeared because people all over the WORLD want to read manga not just in American and Japan, and we don’t just want to read it, we want to read it as fast as possible to when it comes out in Japan, if possible the same day.
American licensed copies are always watered down and “bastardized”, in some cases ruining the feel of the manga as a whole.
I won’t go into this in much detail because I have essay to write, but now I will need to find new ways to get the manga I want.
Here is one of my main issues with the attack on manga scanulation sites.
Variety is not the only issue. American publishers will tweak the content to make it "appropriate" and to "appeal" to an American reader, thus bastardizing the original content and culture of Japan to make it more "acceptable". I am totally willing to buy simultaneous releases of weekly/monthly manga and anime as long as they have their original pictures and are translated such that a footnote can be added to inform the reader of Japanese turns-of-phrase. I will NOT buy any content that has been altered by the American publisher just because it MAY contain content that could be seen as "offensive" to an American reader.
It sickens me to see the manga companies acting just as stupidly as the movie companies. Next they will bring out 3D comics and make me wear silly glasses to read.
MY solution: one site, all the manga comes out ON TIME, same day translated and free. With adverts that supply the comics author with revenue based on how many people read their manga. SIMPLE AS THAT.
So, what's your opinion?
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Hmm. I'd agree with you, although I'm not a manga person myself. And one has to question how much revenue they'd be able to garner from advertisement alone. Mangas and animes, in the same way as book and television series, often have highly dedicated audiences. This can be expoited, as high calibre fans WILL pay to watch a continuation of a story they have become interested in. Obviously some will just stop watching/reading, but companies may be able to make more money by actual sales if they have a large enough audience that's willing to pay. The question is, what is the nature of the majority of consumers?
ReplyDeleteWould it be better from the point of view of the businesses to offer, say, the first quarter or third of the series freely as you suggest, and once the viewers are hooked, make them pay for the rest?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of offering the first quater free quite alot.
ReplyDeletePlease remember that many new manga start of small and struggle for any recognition and as such revenue, advertising in any way would help alot >.> naruto for example used to advertise during episodes >.>
It is one thing to be willing to pay , but why pay for a anime / manga that is 1 year , 1 month or even a week out of date ? when you can get it on time in date for free >
Fair point. But why don't they translate in time and offer the opportunity to buy then? That way no time is lost. Although, admittedly, the advertisment may work best of the two options.
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