Why?
Still taking from the Netflix model, they manage to purchase the rights for movies and tv programs that must support actors, directors, and a host of other people. Or Crunchyroll which does the same for anime and dramas and its equivalent animators, voice actors, et al.
Why couldn't a similar service for manga work to support the mangaka, editors, translators, etc?
Heck, with digital, there's not even a physical publishing or distributor any more.
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Member
9:09 am, Mar 11 2013
Posts: 155
Site Admin
12:08 pm, Mar 11 2013
Posts: 56
Read what I said again.
Member
10:52 pm, Mar 11 2013
Posts: 429
10:52 pm, Mar 11 2013
Posts: 429
The new poll is tough! It's not really a Yes or No answer. It largely depends on how copyright, licensing, and publishing laws will evolve. It's going to be annoying when some very good series potentially go exclusive to specific distributors. Imagine paying $10 a month to several different companies. It'll add up.
Member
6:54 am, Mar 12 2013
Posts: 166
Non-Japanese publishers earn all of the profit from their sales. Netflix is different. Netflix is generally an English licensee for other English shows or movies. They can actually share their profit. English publishers of Japanese manga do not. They offer a flat price or percentage of sales (usually the former) and sign the contract at that offer or rate. Moreover, they don't license it directly from the author and/or illustrator (since they can't); they license it from the original manga's publishing company, which already has a deal with the author and/or illustrator for a similar contract. Essentially, at the end of the day, all the author and/or illustrator earned was their initial offering of their Japanese publisher's contract, and a possible fan base outside of Japan.
The question of this poll more directly relates to you as a reader, and not so much the authors and illustrators, on the matter of would you pay for this kind of a service. If you're looking to support the people involved with the manga, then no, this model would not support them.
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The question of this poll more directly relates to you as a reader, and not so much the authors and illustrators, on the matter of would you pay for this kind of a service. If you're looking to support the people involved with the manga, then no, this model would not support them.
________________
Founder of Kirei Cake. We're always looking for new members regardless of experience, so if you're interested, seek us out @ http://KireiCake.com!
Member
10:52 am, Mar 12 2013
Posts: 33
10:52 am, Mar 12 2013
Posts: 33
It would really depend on the size of said library. It would have to be quite huge to be worth it in the long run, considering that only a fraction would be interesting enough to read and time for reading manga is limited.
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The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary - James Nicoll
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The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary - James Nicoll
The Yullenator
Member
12:45 pm, Mar 12 2013
Posts: 122
Depends on the publisher and the range of manga.
For me to subscribe, they must:
- Not tamper with the original SFX's--dealing with them like Del Rey does would be perfect.
- Keep honorifics.
- NOT TAMPER WITH THE ART like Viz does to censor their series. (I was so pissed when they blacked out the yuri and yaoi henge of Konohamaru's, and when they put a towel on a formerly naked Rangiku.)
- Have a BL, or BL subtexted (Kuroshitsuji, 07 Ghost, etc) selection. Well, of course.
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/IQhN0ps.gif[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/nMV1eJe.gif[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/aq0d86r.gif[/img]
For me to subscribe, they must:
- Not tamper with the original SFX's--dealing with them like Del Rey does would be perfect.
- Keep honorifics.
- NOT TAMPER WITH THE ART like Viz does to censor their series. (I was so pissed when they blacked out the yuri and yaoi henge of Konohamaru's, and when they put a towel on a formerly naked Rangiku.)
- Have a BL, or BL subtexted (Kuroshitsuji, 07 Ghost, etc) selection. Well, of course.
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/IQhN0ps.gif[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/nMV1eJe.gif[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/aq0d86r.gif[/img]
Member
4:58 pm, Mar 12 2013
Posts: 437
Well... I'm going to say yes, although I've modified the question a bit (I'm ignoring the single publisher part). The reason is that I'm thinking of companies that sell digital manga (currently, it's per volume prices), such as ebookjapan, rentapapy, or amazon (via kindle). They have a large library from multiple publishers, and I'd be willing to pay a reasonable monthly fee for access to their whole library.
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Manga Cover Database
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Manga Cover Database
Member
5:46 am, Mar 13 2013
Posts: 34
5:46 am, Mar 13 2013
Posts: 34
From a single publisher? Not a chance.
The distribution medium, whatever it is, needs to be less painful than pirating, and only then will people use it (and mangaka will be better off). That means cheap, simple, and extensive (not a single publisher ... in fact, how about making publishers optional altogether? One should be able to choose if they want a filter between them and the mangaka. If one wants something "more reliable," they could look in the publishers' category, which I imagine would be pretty popular). To be frank, the medium needs to be designed from the standpoint that it's competing with piracy. Anti-piracy measures can make getting what you want a little bit harder, but since piracy can never be entirely eliminated, one needs to accept that reality and make something better.
Last edited by asdfffdsa at 6:06 am, Mar 13 2013
The distribution medium, whatever it is, needs to be less painful than pirating, and only then will people use it (and mangaka will be better off). That means cheap, simple, and extensive (not a single publisher ... in fact, how about making publishers optional altogether? One should be able to choose if they want a filter between them and the mangaka. If one wants something "more reliable," they could look in the publishers' category, which I imagine would be pretty popular). To be frank, the medium needs to be designed from the standpoint that it's competing with piracy. Anti-piracy measures can make getting what you want a little bit harder, but since piracy can never be entirely eliminated, one needs to accept that reality and make something better.
Last edited by asdfffdsa at 6:06 am, Mar 13 2013
Member
5:57 pm, Mar 13 2013
Posts: 354
5:57 pm, Mar 13 2013
Posts: 354
I'm ambivalent b/c we all know that north american publishers censor stuff and rephrase things that make certain parts of mangas lose its initial meaning. Even for things that aren't that bad, they censor.
So....if it was translated by the country of origin where the meanings and context and such weren't censored then maybe. But translate in context of the setting in the story like for honorifics, if it takes place in japan, use japanese pronunciation of honorifics. If it's an english speaking nation, use english.
So....if it was translated by the country of origin where the meanings and context and such weren't censored then maybe. But translate in context of the setting in the story like for honorifics, if it takes place in japan, use japanese pronunciation of honorifics. If it's an english speaking nation, use english.
Member
7:15 pm, Mar 13 2013
Posts: 236
I agree with the last poster. This would be a good idea, if done right. However, I doubt that it will be.
I can only read manga in English, and one reason I read it is to see the world of stories from a point of view other than that of the USA (When you can't afford to travel there's no better way to see what the world looks like through the eyes of another culture.)
If the choice of manga, and the contents of translations, on such a site routinely get narrowed, distorted, and censored to cater to the narrow puritan demands of American publishing, I won't use such a service much. I already have subs to the Jmanga and Vizmanga online reader sites, and I don't actually use them much for that reason.
When you live in the USA, it turns out that the whole world is Disneyfied, even on the Internet.
Last edited by cecropiamoth at 7:30 pm, Mar 13 2013
I can only read manga in English, and one reason I read it is to see the world of stories from a point of view other than that of the USA (When you can't afford to travel there's no better way to see what the world looks like through the eyes of another culture.)
If the choice of manga, and the contents of translations, on such a site routinely get narrowed, distorted, and censored to cater to the narrow puritan demands of American publishing, I won't use such a service much. I already have subs to the Jmanga and Vizmanga online reader sites, and I don't actually use them much for that reason.
When you live in the USA, it turns out that the whole world is Disneyfied, even on the Internet.
Last edited by cecropiamoth at 7:30 pm, Mar 13 2013
Daydreaming...
Member
11:40 pm, Mar 13 2013
Posts: 50
For me it's a No. I would pay money for the manga volumes I like, but I want to have my own collection if I'm paying for it. So I prefer to buy the Original Japanese tankos instead, no matter how much it costs me. That way I can support the mangaka, too. Not only that, some of the online publishers don't really do a good job on translating those manga series while the scanlators are doing a much better job on it. So it's hard to subscribe to those sites while you know their quality is not that good either.
One more thing I didn't like about those sites is, I had this feeling before that Some of those sites are taking advantage of scanlators.They sometimes pick up a manga that's already being scanlated and has proved to be popular. And after strating to publish it, threat the scanlator group to drop the series. This has happened so many times already. Not that scanlators have any rights over the manga, but I could bet that some of those series would never get published if it wasn't for the scanlators that introduced those series to English readers. Then again if they were keeping the quality I might have subscribed to them, but not like this. Sorry for my bad English btw.
Last edited by Lilanar at 12:32 am, Mar 14 2013
One more thing I didn't like about those sites is, I had this feeling before that Some of those sites are taking advantage of scanlators.They sometimes pick up a manga that's already being scanlated and has proved to be popular. And after strating to publish it, threat the scanlator group to drop the series. This has happened so many times already. Not that scanlators have any rights over the manga, but I could bet that some of those series would never get published if it wasn't for the scanlators that introduced those series to English readers. Then again if they were keeping the quality I might have subscribed to them, but not like this. Sorry for my bad English btw.
Last edited by Lilanar at 12:32 am, Mar 14 2013
Member
12:31 am, Mar 14 2013
Posts: 1705
Just got this email today, and considering it's rather relevant to the current poll:
JManga.com Retail/Viewing Service Termination and Refund Notice
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JManga.com Retail/Viewing Service Termination and Refund Notice
Quote
Dear JManga Members and Supporters,
It is our deep regret to inform you that JManga.com will be concluding its retail and viewing services on May 30th 2013.
Below is JManga.com?s Service Termination Schedule.
JManga Point Distribution and Sales Termination:
March 13th 2013 at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time)
Digital Manga Purchasing Service Termination:
March 26th at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time)
Manga Viewing Service Termination:
May 30th at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time)
All JManga Members will be issued Amazon Gift Cards for use on Amazon.com as a substitute the amount of unused JManga Paid Points (*1) possessed at March 13th 2013 at 11:59pm.
Refunds will be processed between March 21st 2013 to March 25th 2013 (US Pacific Time).
For further details regarding JManga.com?s retail and viewing service termination, please visit http://www.jmanga.com/urgent-message
As of March 13th 2013 at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time) JManga7.com has concluded its services. JManga7 Premium Members who signed up between February 14th 2013 and March 13th 2013 at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time) will be refunded. For further details regarding JManga7.com?s service termination, please visit the Jmanga7 FAQ at http://www.jmanga7.com/
Thank you for your support and understanding,
JManga
It is our deep regret to inform you that JManga.com will be concluding its retail and viewing services on May 30th 2013.
Below is JManga.com?s Service Termination Schedule.
JManga Point Distribution and Sales Termination:
March 13th 2013 at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time)
Digital Manga Purchasing Service Termination:
March 26th at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time)
Manga Viewing Service Termination:
May 30th at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time)
All JManga Members will be issued Amazon Gift Cards for use on Amazon.com as a substitute the amount of unused JManga Paid Points (*1) possessed at March 13th 2013 at 11:59pm.
Refunds will be processed between March 21st 2013 to March 25th 2013 (US Pacific Time).
For further details regarding JManga.com?s retail and viewing service termination, please visit http://www.jmanga.com/urgent-message
As of March 13th 2013 at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time) JManga7.com has concluded its services. JManga7 Premium Members who signed up between February 14th 2013 and March 13th 2013 at 11:59pm (US Pacific Time) will be refunded. For further details regarding JManga7.com?s service termination, please visit the Jmanga7 FAQ at http://www.jmanga7.com/
Thank you for your support and understanding,
JManga
________________
Member
6:02 am, Mar 14 2013
Posts: 166
Got it as well and made a forum thread about it. It surprised me how short the service lasted and how JManga didn't further comment on why they're ceasing activities.
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Founder of Kirei Cake. We're always looking for new members regardless of experience, so if you're interested, seek us out @ http://KireiCake.com!
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Founder of Kirei Cake. We're always looking for new members regardless of experience, so if you're interested, seek us out @ http://KireiCake.com!
~*Yaoi Lover*~
Member10:18 am, Mar 14 2013
Posts: 14
I'll pay for it, the subscription, if they offer something that interest me, that is worth spending the money on it 
Last edited by sweeEli90 at 10:26 am, Mar 14 2013
Last edited by sweeEli90 at 10:26 am, Mar 14 2013
~*Yaoi Lover*~
Member10:27 am, Mar 14 2013
Posts: 14
That means that not everyone that loves yaoi vote in the poll...so sad 
