So what's your view of downloading anime/manga?

Results:
Question: What's your view on downloading anime/manga?
Choices:
Don't do it. It's baaadddd - votes: 295 (2.7%)
It's alright as long as it's not licensed where I live - votes: 3982 (36.9%)
I can do it all I want! The internet is free! - votes: 6504 (60.3%)
There were 10781 total votes.
The poll ended: September 20th 2008

Last edited by lambchopsil at 8:19 am, Sep 20 2008

________________
A just ruler amongst tyrants

Well, I voted the second choice, "It's alright as long as it's not licensed where I live", but the thing is I don't think they get licensed in my country (Argentina), most of the stuff is imported from Spain, and piracy galore!

________________
This week's favorites:

- Golden Kamui





ççççççç[Ô .Ô] tsutopodus© will eat your manga and steal your cats!

I don't care. Industries have been screwing us over for years. A little free downloading is the last thing that they should be complaining about.

________________
"“That's the difference between me and the rest of the world!
Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria!” "

Given what this site is, I think the poll's results should be obvious.

My stance on this is a little bit contradictory. Ultimately, manga is being produced as a business, and it's only right to compensate the creator for their work, regardless of whether or not it is licensed in your country (honestly, I don't really understand what that has to do with anything, even if it isn't translated for you, you're technically stealing from the creator since they don't receive any compensation.) That isn't to say I even have the money or want to compensate every author for what they produce, just that from an ethical standpoint I believe I should.

I basically follow the "download as a trial, buy it if I like it" strategy. I can read a bit of Japanese though, so perhaps I'm a bit biased there.

________________

Reviews of my Work:
You are kind of boring - Blackorion
Congratulations! Ur an asshole! - tokyo_homi
Your awesome!!! - Cherelle_Ashley
NightSwan also said that she wanted to peg me, once, but I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat...

i really dont like downloading manga but if i did i would go for the last choice..and is it just me or does chops never tell us his view on these things

________________
i was nervous at first it was big & long & went straight up i had to try it i eased onto it & liked it! i went up & down on it.... i love escalators now!


(great onizuka ftw)

If no one's licensed it, I'll download.

I buy as much as I can because I still like holding a physical copy.... I'll buy Japanese non-licensed ones if they're exceptional... like Asano Inio's works, for example.

________________
~Point & Squirt~

There is only one reason I download all my manga. I'm poor, simple as that; I don't have the money to buy 8-10 dollar volumes. Ethics never enters the equation for me. Only time I buy manga is when I can't find it online.

________________
Hand Rooster is a rooster made with your hands.

It's bad because it's illegal and all but I'm poor and if my parents pay for the amount of manga I have now. We'd be living in a box.

I sorta like downloading manga because if I bought it and I hate it then I would have wasted my money and "supported" a manga I didn't like. Whereas if I had downloaded it then I could just delete it.

(or read online)

________________

Click the Pokemon.

I really care don't care, although once I buy the released manga, I stop downloading.. not that I download that much.

________________
"Beware How You Take Hope From Another Man."

I would buy the Japanese if I knew enough Japanese to be able to read them. I will NEVER buy a (translated) manga if it is done by "Tokyo Pop" (they do not translate properly and they put text in the binding).

I read the best quality version of manga I can find. Which, sadly, is often scanlations.

I used to be really really strict with myself about only downloading manga that wasn't otherwise available in a language I can read (and I only know English, unfortunately). After a while, though, as more & more are licensed in English...there are so many manga that I'm interested in reading, but they're not at the top of my list and I can only afford to buy so much.

Manga that I really like, I do buy the licensed version, and if I really LOVE it, I also buy the original Japanese version.

On the other hand, there are an awful lot that I enjoy reading once but don't need to read again - books I'd read if the library had them, but don't love enough to buy. Those manga I will sometimes continue to download & read even after they're licensed. And then feel guilty. And then do it again.

________________
"[English] not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary."
-James Nicoll, can.general, March 21, 1992

But I'm interested in how many people vote on the other options, not just who wins...

________________
A just ruler amongst tyrants

I voted the second choice. I don't care much for the licensed stuff, cause then, I would usually go to the bookstore and take "peek" at the manga anyways and leave an hour later.

But other than that, I download like crazy.

________________
♪MONSTARR~ will eat all your cookies and steal your bishies~♪ Φ_Φ

I think the problem is that when you're young, you don't have any money. As you get older, and get a job, you have the money to buy and expand your manga collection. In my opinion, there is just about no substitute for having an actual tangible book in your hand. The quality of the paper, the quality of the ink, everything is just so much better (translations aside). I found my ideals change a bit as I got older. When I got to the point where I could afford things, I actually started buying them. I have a lot more satisfaction from owning the actual items than I would if I had downloaded them from the internet.

Now I realize that a lot of manga isn't licensed, and there really is no way to read them otherwise, but for licensed manga, there are other things you can do. One is that you could go to a Borders or Barnes&Nobles and read the manga there. I frequently see others reading manga when I go in to get something. The other option is to use a library.

When you get to the point where you find yourself reading something twice, or where you really enjoyed a series, you should go out and buy it. When something really truly touches you on that level, then you need to go out and support the industry, regardless of whether you read their version or just place it on a shelf. It's a symbol to yourself that you really enjoyed that story, and that it was worth money.

In the end, downloading is bad. There's just no way to stop it though ... especially in a niche focused at a younger audience.