If reading bakuman has taught us anything its that mangakas are too busy to do this open manga thing

Imo manga helpers should try to do what they want but don't bring down the whole community with you in the process.

but think of this. how many of us actually buy manga first-hand without going through scanlation?

the publishers have known scnalation action from the begining. the reason why they put up with it was because they were "free advertisements."

Honestly, if you translate a book and put it in american market, nobody will buy it. there isn't enough demand for local stores to carry that much manga, and the target audience (teen and children) doesn't have enough money to buy manga.

1. unlike korea and japan, mangas are expensive ($8-12)
2. the transportation is difficult, since book need to be bought in bookstore (which requires car) unlike japan/korea where you can walk a few block to nearest manga-lending store.

so a lot of people tend to order online (or buy at convention) but how many people (expecially children) bother to buy online?? Simply put, manga market was dying.

But scanlations provided free manga online, and people started to look for titles that the publishers haven't even heard of before.
HOW MANY OF US BUY MANGA AFTER READING ITS SCANLATIONS?
WOULD YOU BUY MANGA THAT YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF BEFORE?

Or at least, i think that was the idea. i suppose all the big titles (like naruto and bleach) will still sell well in local stores. but the not-so-well-to-do artists and manhwa/manhua are dead without scanlations. Of course they have copyright, but how long do you think they will publish series that's unknown to the manga groups in america? It's not worth the risk. publisher has no idea what the popular demand will be.

The OpenManga idea will be very hard to execute. If it opens, I only expect first chapter or two of a series to be on it. And publishers regard the scanlations as amatures and nothing anyway.

If the publisher becomes smart, they will expend their "online, pay ** cent per chapter" program, or their online book sales.

What i predict is that there will be more spread-out manga-hosting sites. Scanlations are easy target to publishers because there are only few very popular hosting sites (you know what I'm talking about).

But they have declared war on Fabsubbing before, but i can still find some anime if i want to. it's because the sites have spread out.

and here opens the chapter of underground scnalation hsitory 😎

Okay, Mangatoshokan is out of business. (Visit here for the survey--though I think it's an useless one)
The future of Scanlations and online manga seems dark.
I hope (hopelessly) that this Open Manga will somehow create a way out.

Oh and there is this defected.guy from MTForum actually wrote a letter and sent it to Viz

So I just sent Viz, a long ass email. hopefully they read it and it strikes a bell. I doubt it tho. Anyway, since you all have the same general feeling as me, I figured I'd share it with you all. And i warn you, this bitch is long...considering what it is. And yes I had to word it the way I did, you cant just email a company talking shit and expect a change or less yet a response.

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First I wanna say, I've been a longtime fan of your series. Well, I've been a long time fan of your licensed properties since they're not actually your series. Out of all the English publishers you actually do a decent job of keeping up with your publications. Hell, you have the most popular series in Japan so you better right. Haha. But I hope you read this in its entirety and get back to me, no matter how long it takes. Because I truly wish to now your response to my question, or just your overall perspective of the situation. Also you don't have to worry about me flaming or bashing you, I'm pretty sure you get enough of that as is.

I've been watching your recent endeavors to stop online piracy of your series. While I agree with such actions, I can't help but ask. Do you really think you are going about this the right way. My own experience with the online manga community is this. I read a lot of manga online, and I do mean a lot. But at the same time if I like the manga I also generally buy it when it becomes available. I own a good..mmm 25-30 volumes of your incensed manga, ranging from Bleach, Naruto,Soul Eater, and I might even have a Kenshin volume or two lying around. And you're lucky I buy Naruto, why in the hell did you translate bunshin to doppleganger? It's clone. Clone sounds better, and fits the role better. I'll buy a volume, put it on the book shelf and never open it. I hate the word that much. I digress. My point is, a lot of people who read scanlations online,also support you in stores.

This is why I ask, do you really think you're going about this the right way. Indiscriminately going after every major site is a bad business decision for you on the long run. If it were not for scanlations, I would not know about manga. Which means i wouldn't know about your products, which means you gets no money from me. And that goes for pretty much your entire customer base. Scanlations and online manga communities are the reason we know about the manga you offer. We can't buy what we don't know about, if we can't agree on one thing we can at least agree on that. Also if you pick up a new series who do you expect to buy it? Do you think a person is going to walk into a book store, pick up a manga they have never heard of or read and buy it? I sincerely hope not, I wouldn't. Any manga I have ever bought and continued to buy I read as a scanlation first.

I know this makes it sound as if I do not wish for you to close or remove your manga from these online communities. That is not the case, I wan't you to remove them from SPECIFIC sites. For example, lets compare two different websites.

You have MangaToshokan, which is a very large and very FREE online manga community. Then you have sites like narutofan, which are equally as large but they charge you to look at manga/anime.

Mangatoshokan, at the request of you and your peers has removed any and all series related yo it's respective publisher. Very admirable, this is a site for manga and up continual growth and support of the manga community. That includes telling people to go out and buy licensed manga when it's available. They do not sell manga, and the adds generate enough money to maintain the site. It is not a money making site, it is a manga promoting site. And they did a good job of it, I discovered Soul Eater there. I've never once seen a promotional add in your volumes...then again I don't read them. I kinda just buy them and bookshelf them, as Iv'e said...I like scanlations better. Although now that I think about it I have seen an add for Hunter X Hunter, which I had no clue was your property. But the manga sucks, although I do love the anime. Anyway Mangatoshokan won't be doing much manga advertising anymore as you hit them pretty hard. And the community is rather pissed about that...rather pissed.

Now on the other end of the spectrum you have narutofan, which is also a very large and for whatever reason absurdly popular site. The difference here is, they sell their content. Aside from add generated revenue, this website takes scanlations off other FREE websites. Remove the credits, which also credit you as the publisher and the mangaka as the creator, then host these scanlations on the site as their own property and sell it. The same goes for anime as well. Any and everything that is freely distributed by the manga community they take and sell for a profit. And that site makes a good bit of money, and have been doing so for years.

The difference between these two sites is obvious. Ones goal is to promote manga, while the others goal is to exploit it. It should be apparently obvious I don't think sites like Mangatoshokan should have been forced to remove the series, they do you far more good than you realize. And they do it out of the love they have for manga. While on the other hand sites like narutofan should be razed to the virtual ground. I don't know about you, but they piss me the hell off. I mean how are you going to sell freely available thing, regardless of the fact you may not want them available to begin with, to the public and act like it's their work. That's your money they're stealing. Ignore the fact they're re-hosting your intellectual property, but their selling it too. How do you go after the site that's trying to help promote you and leave the site that's robbing you blind alone?

In closing I just wanna say, I appreciate you for striving to make the manga community a better place. I appreciate the effort you put into your releases...excluding Naruto. But because of the stance you have taken, and the backwards views you have of the situation I regret to say that I am unable to do business with you or any other American manga publisher anymore. I love the manga you put out...excluding Naruto, but I can not support you while you drag the manga industry under. I would rather not read manga than watch you kill it. But before I condemn your company, and the manga industry. I wan't to see your reply. I wan't to know if you truly believe what you're doing is in the best interest for the manga community. Because i can tell you 100% without a doubt, that the manga community, meaning us the readers, the people that pay your bills, the people that are the reason why your company exists in the first place. Do not share your ideals, and many of your customers, potential customers, and flat out leechers are ready to forsake you and just say fuck manga.

P.S.
Sure leechers don't pay, but they have big mouthes. And you never know how deep the pockets are of those they open that mouth upon.

P.S.S
I sent this you and not other publishers because, to my knowledge you are the largest one. I own more of your products than any other publisher, and therefore I value your opinion more. So please if you read this far, take the time to get back to me. I really don't care how long it takes.

Hope they read through the first paragragh of his letter.

its cold down here fam ~