This week's poll on narrative comes from the creative mind of our member Kramsikler. Of the given options, which is your favorite type of narrative to read?

You can submit poll ideas here (and try to keep them manga/anime-related)
http://www.mangaupdates.com/showtopic.php?tid=3903

Previous Poll Results:
Question: Have you ever paid for manga (or manhwa/manhua) or the ability to read it (physical or digital)?
Choices:
Yes - votes: 9097 (75.1%)
No - votes: 3018 (24.9%)
There were 12115 total votes.
The poll ended: September 6th 2014

So it looks like most of you have bought something in your lifetime. Followup question is how much? Personally, I've only bought a single series, but I've gotten a lot of merchandise too

A just ruler amongst tyrants

Well, I didn't plan to voice anything upon this matter, but hearing you say you don't buy much manga and only (a lot of) merchandise made me think I have to join in. The fact that you only buy merchandise is irrelevant in this case imo, because if you don't actually buy them there's no way you can use or enjoy them. On the other hand manga is all over the internet, so it's not compulsory to buy them in order to read them.
In other words, you're telling me that if you can get something free you would even if it's illegal, and only oblige to pay when you have no access to it without paying?

[img]https://stupidevilbastard.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/People-are-so-fucking-stupid.jpg[/img]

Past me:
(\ /)
( . .)
c('&#039😉('&#039😉

Current me:
((\
( - -)
((&#039😉 (&#039😉

there's plenty of series I read but wouldn't buy. reading online series like stealing the mag Raws instead of volumes, because that's really who is losing the most from scanlation. If you honestly really enjoy a series you should support it but you aren't obligated to do so. When you buy manga outside of japan some of that goes to the English publisher, a little goes to the Japanese publisher and if the mangaka gets a few pennies he should be happy. I wouldn't be surprised to hear stories of mangaka and authors getting nothing on volumes sold outside of japan.

Thats one of the reason Ken Akamatsu started J-comi where he and other interested mangaka would give away their "our of print work" for free online and just ask for donations. It evenly promotes scanlation and helps them support the authors with its "Illegal Out-of-Print Manga File Purification Project."

In answer to the followup question about how much manga I buy every year I would say a moderate amount especially in comparison to some people I know. I try to buy stuff that I've read that I really like if its licensed. On average I would say that I'm picking up about 25-30 volumes a year. Sometimes its a bit more if there's a special sale where I can pick up several volumes of a particular series I've had my eye on. I expect that once digital publishing irons out the kinks I'll pick up an iPad or some kind of reader and go all digital as the physical volumes take up way too much space.

Isn't jumping in time the same as non-linear?

I chose linear. I like non-linear too, but I dislike when it removes suspense. Like for example, REBECCA. There was no need to dream of Manderley, girl. Or for a manga example, Kokou no Hito does this on several occasions. I love it anyway, but I would have preferred the suspense of not knowing whether person A or B would survive whatever excursion.

I can't choose a option on this poll :/ I really don't have a favorite type, I like to read different stuff. Nowadays I'm reading more oneshots due to lack of time to follow long series, but I like everything.

About last week poll: I live in a country where we have a lot less manga being published than in USA so in the rare occasion that something that I like gets published here I try to buy it. I have a big colection of American comics, though. I think I buy like 35 American comics a month, but only 23 manga a year.

Even though I joined in 2008, I restarted my lists with only only the manga I've read since 2012 July!

To each their own are a fun read but here is a large representative body in the scanlating world for linear and overall story divided into arcs. Most stories seem to be written that way too and linear is the most conventional story telling method. It's no surprise that most of my favorite mangas follow that and for that reason I guess I'll vote for linear....

I would like to see more short story series, nonlinear stories, and jump back/forth stories. They're fun to read despite the difficulty in following...

I feel the same way about narratives. They're all good, each has it's own merits. Generally as long as the story is good, and has decent enough characters, I'll read it.

[img]http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/19.jpg[/img]

For me, it's a tie between linear and non-linear/time jumps, which is a bit ironic but whatever.

I accidentally chose episodic, though, because I was too lenient with it-oops. I've always considered most (if not all) "linear" stories to be episodic in one way or another, but I probably disagree with most people on that front.

Actually, I feel like my favorite could be a story that starts out as episodic but gradually becomes a completely linear tale. Blade of the Phantom Master kind of did this, but it was mostly episodic all the way through.

I generally avoid oneshots like I would the plague (too little development-- too little time for development, no matter how contrived), and while I find that series (no idea what the plural of that is. serieses? seriesi?) of short stories set in the same world can be cute, I usually shy away from them all the same.

Good poll this week. I voted for 'overall story divided into arcs and phases', but to be honest, I don't really have a preference. I like them all equally, and it's really the type and quality of the story, art, and characters that determine my enjoyment of a manga.

I like episodic stories of a few chapters each, with longer overreaching arcs in the background that span through them which may or may not end within each of the mini episodes.

As for time, it can be linear or it can jump around in time and include flashbacks and such.

Earn Gift Cards for Wii, PSN, XBL, LoL, and more.
My lists are a mess, and most aren't public, and the public ones are still being updated.
（╯°□°）╯︵ (.□. \）
"Hindsight is fifty-fifty"

i enjoy all types of narrative styles as long as they're used effectively in the story and written well enough.

my favorite is actually one that isn't listed...i love when different chapters are told from different characters' perspectives. especially in s'life and romance. it works well even in suspenseful/thriller/mystery stories

;D

I didn't vote because I didn't quite understand the question, but now that it's been clarified, I buy manga, maybe not as much as I used to, but I've imported manga from Italy and Singapore as well as Japan and Mexico. Last time I counted, I had about 350 books on my book shelves.

Chosen arc since I got some strong addiction to shounen manga with those mainstream turns of events back then.
But I actually kinda like manga in which the chapters seems quite unrelated, but sometimes give hints of the actual story and relate to each chapters. Somehow forwarding but most of the stuffs are actually unnecessary. (Clamp works sometimes fits, but many times more to the arc, or time jump) . It doesn't mean series of short stories in the same world tough, I hate it when they go too far for all the characters, I like to stick with a couple of them.