News Japanese, U.S. Manga Publishers Unite To Fight Scanlations

[Monkeybird]

I think the companies the license and dub anime in English speaking countries have figured out that the fans will always find someway around copyright laws. That is why I respect companies like Funimation that stream free subs on their website. That way they make a buck off of their online advertisers, and I don't have to wait a million years for DVD releases.

I think the manga industry would be wise to do the same. If they released their own up to the minute online scanlations they may be able to make a few bucks off of advertising or maybe even charge a subscription fee. I could live with that.

[Avatar Kyoshi]

I saw this posted on MangaHelpers and I agreed with it so much its pretty much a copypasta:

The manga industry is set to walk down a dark and dirty road. This was tried with fansubs and was a colossal failure. After all the cease and desist orders, after Crunchyroll went legit, there are still fansubs but the legitimate anime market completely bottomed out. What the industry does not understand is the they are fighting tradition; fansubs pre-date the world wide web. VHS fansubs were sold and circulated for a long, long time before the first sub went up on the net. Scanlations are a bit more modern but still have over a decade of history. Unlike music/game/movie bootlegging the scanlation community came into existence to fill a hole in the market. At one point scanlations weren't a matter of getting the latest chapters but of getting any manga at all. Until the 21st century almost none was licensed. Because of the long history, and the void they filled, scanlations are a tradition and part of the fan experience. Publishers may think they are simply fighting an economic ill, they are not. They are trying to reshape the fan experience and community that has arisen around manga, one that pre-dates their wiliness to provide any legitimate material.

Kaiten-Sama, from MH

Bold emphasis mine.

I distinctly remember going to visit my sister in her college dorm in 1999 and seeing her roommate sort out her fansub collection of VHS tapes. And yeah, like Digi said, IRC was the way to go if you wanted scans of anything, translated or not. The problem for me is that its always been frustrating not getting the products that I want from publishers....why is it that a couple of people can come together and say "hey, look, this manga seems really popular in Japan! Should we translate it?" but a company cannot? I know its because companies have to make money off of it, but you can't be expected to make money when you aren't even using the internet to its full potential.

Quite frankly, I'd also like to think that if companies could change their business model and somehow allow more manga to get licensed without worrying about losing money, I think they could generate a lot of jobs as well, right?

[Hazelnut]

I like the free scanlations they have online. And like many have already said I wouldn't have bought the manga I have if it wasn't for the internet. I've done that before and I'm the worst at trying to pick out a good book that I've never heard of or seen before. I used to go to the book store and randomly pick out manga and books and everyone of them I bought sucked and I couldn't read them because somebody would always get impatient and would never want to go to the bookstore with me again.

I would have never wanted manga like D.Gray-Man or Katekyo Hitman Reborn if it wasn't for the online scanlations.
I'd rather not pay or download for manga online. I can't pay with my own money yet because I'm not old enough and I'm very protective with my money anyway...for a debt card and my parents aren't going to pay for something like that. They won't even pay for cpu protection I'm not good with a cpu really and so it always gets viruses, and then when I download the cpu slows down, and I seldom download.

[Baksu]

GEH! No more free online scantalations?!?!? THIS IS A HORRIBLE IDEA! Are these people trying to murder me!? I need my weekly fix or I might DIE.

On the constructive side, many people do not have the time or means to go to bookstores. Quite a few people also do not have money to spend on buying manga and will just end up reading the manga in the store without buying anything. Many manga are also discovered online, wich makes people feel the need to go out and buy the manga. Getting rid of the free onine scantalations is inconsiderate, unhelpful, and annoying.

[Aurum]

This is why I thank I cas still read mangasama or submanga Well, it's sill a shame but in my way to see things, I think it's reasonable but they should be acting his way, more like trying to find a soluion. After all, scanlations have made fans want to ut mangas later on(well, a least me). This will definetly will not help the manga/anime economy.

[95squares]

Originally Posted by Aurum

After all, scanlations have made fans want to ut mangas later on(well, a least me). This will definetly will not help the manga/anime economy.

Assuming that you mean that removing scanlations will not help the manga/anime economy much, I'm afraid I'll have to say that scanlations aren't helping their economy much either in reality.
In the article, they explained how scanlations actually lead to a decrease in sales, because less series were being bought. Yes, it can be considered advertising, but is it really good advertising if it can't attain its goal of getting the general audience to make purchases (on a larger scale perhaps)?

Here's another excerpt containing statistics from that same article explaining the economic impact of this:

After several years of booming manga sales in the U.S. that drove the popularity of comics and graphic novels in the traditional book market, sales of manga in the U.S. have declined more than 30% from a high of $210 million in 2007 to $140 million in sales in 2009, according to pop culture news site ICv2.com. Many manga publishers and retailers who used to believe that scanlations actually attracted new readers, now blame the sales decline on the rise of giant for-profit scanlation sites that have allowed a new generation of fans to grow up reading manga for free online.

(From the same article, same website.)

I agree that I'm not going to enjoy this change either, but it's moreso for reasons of personal benefit. Like Avatar Kyoshi said, it is a fan tradition afterall. And, I pretty much agree with everyone else before me about why scanlation prohibition will be a bad thing.
*scanlations lover*

[mandeh]

I admit I have a lot to thank for websites and fans who have gone above and beyond to provide scanlations to the online community. I wouldn't have found out about DGM without scanlations! Along with other manga such as Rurouni Kenshin, Alice 19th and Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, some of which I have since bought volumes from stores, I actually found new series to fall in love with...all thanks to scans!

The scanlations will continue, I just think people may get more worried about them being at risk of being removed. It is a real bummer though waiting MONTHS to see the next chapter of a series (waiting for Battle Angel is the WORST), and it really sucks when a publisher stops a series mid-way through due to budget cuts or lack of popularity! Some of my most favorite series (Slayers, Real Bout High School, I.N.V.U, and others) ended up that way! Can you imagine if that happened with DGM? Ugh.

[ekusoshisuto]

oh n0ez! this is terrible news

[torinkerr]

Oh, dear. I hope the sites aren't shut down. I only found out that manga exists some months ago and the bookstores where I live have a pitiful selection. I would never have known which series I like without onemanga. I truly hope they are not taken away.

[iisnotjimmy]

OMG!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!!! THIS IS WHAT HELPS ME DEAL WITH MY DAILY STRESS!!! I'M LITERALLY GONNA GO CRAZY WITHOUT THE SCANLATIONS!!

[01blackstar]

I don't want this to happen I always read on Manga Fox and One Manga, I'll get them if they do that!

[yurei1]

[Warning: long post - sorry!! must.. express... myself...]

After I read the article about all those publishers joining forces to crush sites that post manga illegally, I reacted like a lot of others may have: Harsh and unforgiving, blaming the publishers for forcing millions of our kind to read free manga like starving hounds because they’re too slow to translate it or their translations suck, ect.

Well, I had put my snowball ranting and fuming on hold to do chores. In the middle of that, I had time to reflect on my previous thoughts.

We get manga because some guy or gal and their crew create their story, publishers distribute it and readers buy their work. It’s a circular process, and mainly stays in motion if people keep buying.

I have nothing to say about the creators except that I appreciate their hard work and hope that they keep coming up with great manga.. They create their story because they love their job. That’s what they chose to do. And they chose to do this out of love for it.
It wasn’t for money.
And that’s the issue here.

Money. The green. Dough. Bread and butter.

Everybody wants to get manga fast. But the translation process obviously takes time and, yes, money. But many aren’t satisfied with the results. Censorship and lousy translations are the main complaints many people have about reading official English manga. Many of the smarty pants who’re blessed with the power to speak Japanese and English tell the unfortunate ones, as if they’re all high and mighty “if you don’t like it, than learn Japanese.”
On yeah, that line always makes my day.
So here’s a message: Millions of us aren’t blessed like you, and don’t have the time or resources to do that so shove it. We know.
But I don’t mean to attack you. So I apologize - but I hope I don’t have to see a comment like that again.

Anyway, their are others out there. People who come together and translate our beloved manga FOR FREE. But... they do it illegally.
Many manga fans love it. Now we can get the manga right on time for free! But this also creates a problem. Many people decide to just freeload. Read it for free and don’t buy it. Some people who upload the manga charge people to read their illegal scans.

Money seems to sitting right at the heart this scenario...
Official English volumes takes forever to come out because it costs money. On top of that, publishers probably skimp where ever they can and put a high price tag on the manga whenever possible to make the most profit out of it.
Readers do this, too. If it’s on the web for free, no need to buy it in a bundle for $12.
The publishers want to make money, the readers want save money. Everybody wants to make, break or hold on to as much many as possible!
Hey, what about the creator??
They work day and night, sick and well, half full and half starving. It doesn’t look like they make most money from this gig. They don’t. But, like I said before, they love what they’re doing. Just seeing that their story is popular and is being bought by faithful readers out there is a big thank you. And that’s priceless.
The people who scan and translate the manga for all happy, faithful and greedy souls to read also don’t make money from it.
And notice, they have less resources than the big publishers, but they bring out translated manga MUCH MUCH faster. And they get thanks, too (you know, in the forums and such).

I know I haven’t reached my point yet, but before I get there, there’s one very important type of manga fan out there that doesn’t get any appreciation:
The good guy/gal that takes their hard earn bread and butter and actually buy the manga volumes - whether they read it online or not.
We’re a minority. I religiously buy my manga in the summer vacation when I can actually travel and enter a store that sells manga.
I have a SJ subscription up to september 2011, I have more than 200 pieces of manga next to that, collected with MY MONEY in the space of 3-4 years. And many of you
are 100 times more faithful than I am. And yes, I still read manga online.

We actually want to buy the manga - hold it, smell it, kiss it.
But what happens when we can’t find it in stores? Go to the internet. Try to buy it online or read it online and wait patiantly for the official release. But some manga just can’t be found any where any more.
Here’s an example: I have the first 4 volumes of Yumekui Kenbun (Nightmare Inspector). The manga finished at volume 9, but Amazon ran out. Can’t find the manga any where. I plan to look again to buy it one day... But it’s nowhere one the web to at least get a glance at the next chapters.
Who should I blame? Curse the guys who published it because they didn’t make enough copies. Curse the people out there who haven’t posted it?

Hell no. I have no one to blame but myself for not picking it up fast enough.
And thats my point. I read a number of comments about the whole mess. Everyone has a point. Everyone’s right. But if there’s one thing that’s true, it’s that when everyone is right, EVERY ONE IS ALSO WRONG.
We can’t just point fingers at everyone. We’re not playing our respectable roles right. We read free manga and never buy the legal copy. We skimp on the localization. We over price the merchandise. We blame everyone but ourselves.

And if we just man-up and faced the fact we’re wrong, we’d see that the solution has always been there. So many of the people who scan and translate manga at lightning speed are resources that publishers are well in need of. Why not give these people a job, publishers? You’d get your work out there in record time - on the internet. Work with all those scanlators and huge manga sites to distribute it. Thanks to the internet, these people would be able to work from home, and official manga could be legally posted online. And to make things fair, just charge a tiny, reasonable bit to let people read it. Then we wouldn’t need to hunt down manga free of charge like rabid hounds.

I also read just recently that Alex de Campi is doing this already. He serialized Valentine in 14 (and counting) languages and on any digital platform. It’s genius.
The Digital Book in Practice: Valentine’s 14 Languages, Multiple Formats, Wireless Delivery

Sorry this was such a long essay, but really:
Don’t blame others, work with them.
It’s easier said than done, but at the end of the day it’s better for everyone.

[Pink_Nymphetamine]

Not fair. I had buyed the manga I like when they publish it in my country. But since the publishing company hasn't published ANY new manga volumes for MONTHS. Like Bleach, D. Gray-Man, Gantz, etc, I have no choice but to look for it online. It's not fair.

I want to buy the manga, really. But people has to understand that in certain countries is hard to find the manga we like, or they don't even publish them!
I know I can always go to the U.S. and find what I am looking for, but that would piss me off, since I got the first 13 volumes of DGM in spanish and then I'll have them in english.
Just no.
(those mofos from Mundo Vid have to get their arses moving and publish the new manga or I am going to be REALLY mad).

[Aurum]

Originally Posted by Pink_Nymphetamine

Not fair. I had buyed the manga I like when they publish it in my country. But since the publishing company hasn't published ANY new manga volumes for MONTHS. Like Bleach, D. Gray-Man, Gantz, etc, I have no choice but to look for it online. It's not fair.

I want to buy the manga, really. But people has to understand that in certain countries is hard to find the manga we like, or they don't even publish them!
I know I can always go to the U.S. and find what I am looking for, but that would piss me off, since I got the first 13 volumes of DGM in spanish and then I'll have them in english.
Just no.
(those mofos from Mundo Vid have to get their arses moving and publish the new manga or I am going to be REALLY mad).

I feel just like you.

No mames, han sido ya un año desde que compre el vol 14 de DGM!! D:< osea, que lentos!

[Nolwen]

I agree, it's not fair.
But maybe they will accept the fact that we are ready to pay for scans and make a site for it ... That'll be cool ...

[*~SnowCat~*]

I can understand why they want to do it and everything, but it still pisses me off.

I have yet to come across any manga sites who require you to pay for membership (but for now I'm speculating that it's just for special priviledges that aren't very important). Yes, the advertisements are annoying while your reading the manga and there's flashy signs of "You're our asgelahgwlagh visitor! Click here to get your reward!", much of them aren't exactly related to big companies and are more of spam and virus and are just there to blind you.

Seeing up Mangafox's name on that list of 'next to be destroyed' is saddening, because the site really hosts good manga (apart from those that are licensed. It's just as good as Onemanga and if it gets shut down I'm going to have withdrawal symptoms and go into depression).

With newer mangas popping up that look interesting yet will eventually become history, going into a store that sells manga wouldn't be much now since those selling at a cheap price are in other languages(and the title as well sometimes) I wouldn't understand most or none of it and probably scrap it as crap. The English translations are also much, much better by the fans, because when I was reading a published English translation of DGM, I saw one important clue, Lavi's left eye part during his dream, where it got screwed up and the meaning was just blanked out. In some parts the translation got pretty bad I could not understand at all. And it cost almost $20 for that. I'd rather read it online then spend well-earned money on that.

Translations online are also better than flying hours to Japan and grabbing copies off a shelf in a language which you (might) have no knowledge off and maybe doesn't showcase your favourite mangas. Flying back every week/month just makes it worse for you to catch up and burns a hole in your pocket. (and most of us are not exactly that free nor rich nor interested in doing that every weekend when we want to rest instead.)

@yurei: I agree with you. I think to put it in a way, is self-interest mostly.

The publishing company needs money, to pay the mangaka to produce more, to pay the employers and translators who deliver the manga from its source and to translate it in the end, produce the book which manga fans would buy, and maybe even the rent and extra things like the bills. They hold a grudge against internet scanlations because it threatens their company's reputation and also reduce the earnings, in the end the company could get shut down because they cannot pay the rent nor bills.

The fans want to read their mangas, and some want to buy it because we simply want to have it (I buy my mangas too, but only specific ones and are much fewer than those who are hardcore buyers). We have to read online because our specific country does not sell it or update it properly, and we are not rich enough to spend hard-earned dough on every book that comes out. Thus, online. To satisfy our desire, online groups help us do it and provide us with good service. We thank them, because we get it free, and even if they do not earn anything nor profit from it, they are happy to do it.

Yet, since it is done illegally, the publishers have a right to sue them and erase them from the internet. And us fans would be out there dying on the streets screaming war or protest due to no fix for months since we wait for the books to come out in like, 8-12 months? In the end, the black market would profit from this and major illicit sites would pop up everywhere, with that lurking enemy we always hated : Viruses. We have to download it and read it, and in turn our computer will and can suffer. Our privacy will be invaded and soon we probably would have no interest in reading mangas at all. In the end, the publishing company suffers the backlash and HAS to allow the mangas back up again.

I would love to see how this turns out. If in a year or so, maybe more, Onemanga might be up again. There is still 1000manga.com (sadly its small and soon it will be targeted too. I think the people might be moving the scanlations from Onemanga to 1000manga to store them so they don't go missing, but its a guess)

What goes around comes around. (Sorry for the long rant through and if I have annoyed anyone )

[fujihakama]

I see their problem with scanlations but it's still a frustrating.

I only started getting into manga after reading a few of the scanlations online, later buying them if it was remotely possible. If they take down scanlations, I'm probably going to run out of series to follow and stop buying manga all together.

There are near to no shops that I know of that sell manga since it's just started to be shipped into the country a year or two ago. Even if I did find a shop that sold some manga it'd really only consist of Naruto and maybe Death Note or Fullmetal Alchemist. As we all know, it costs an arm and a leg for one book, not to mention a whole series, thus I only buy manga that I have read from scanlations, and by saying that it's still difficult to track down a specific series unless you look really really hard for second hand copies.

I may be being picky, but I think some of the official translations can sound a little... awkward (and the sound effect of 'KABOOM!' in block letters in the background is just...), so I buy the original Japanese ones, and THOSE cost a heck of a lot just because of shipping - even if the books themselves are three or four times cheaper than what is being sold here. The upside of buying manga overseas or online is the wide range that is avaliable, but the shipping expenses are going to drag people down to bankcruptcy.

(A Kinokuniya branch would be nice...) That's the end of my terribly self-centred rant.

[Ashura Hime]

in my country not all manga were release by the censor team. so losing manga scan site really make me sad....

hope there is a way out of this. though i against piracy

[naisajet13]

if they take manga off the internet, how are we basically supposed to spread the word? and then we wouldnt buy any manga if it werent for scanlations. and i do understand alittle bit of where theyre coming from, but its still sad to know that they could rip all manga from here.