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The Return of “Dragon Ball”?
According to this article at Bleeding Cool, Akira Toriyama is looking to bring back Dragon Ball once more to the manga world.
The question that’s bothering me: Is the manga industry so bad to the point that we need a really old series to rejuvenate the scene?
I love Dragon Ball as much as the next person, but I’m worried that Toriyama and/or Shueisha may tarnish his legacy (if there will be a lengthy run). Then again, it can’t be as bad as Dragon Ball GT. Dragon Ball was the starting point for my love of anime & manga.
The resurgence of Dragon Ball may provide a spark, but the manga industry needs to look back at the past to develop for the future. Don’t just use past elements and place them in the present for short-term impact. Sooner or later, Dragon Ball will be gone again.
To quote from Final Fantasy X-2 (I’m sorry if you hardcore Final Fantasy fans are offended by me mentioning the game), “Knowledge of the past is the key to the future”.
**UPDATE: According to this Twitter status update by Masters of Manga, the return of Dragon Ball will NOT happen.**
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Yana Toboso & The Slow Death of Society
(Sebastian is telling Ciel of Yana Toboso’s plans to get rid of all the manga pirates out there. Ciel noddingly approves.)
What a crazy time in the manga world this past week, huh?
Yana Toboso, mangaka of Kuroshitsuji (aka Black Butler), recently expressed her views on illegal scanlations/fansubs in a blog entry. In her entry, she stated that fans have been sending her crazy responses, telling her that they’ve seen her work illegally. Toboso has responded by saying that creators and voice actors are human beings as well. They need to eat and survive. Other mangakas have supported her view as well. An Anime News Network forum topic on Toboso’s entry has been filled with an overwhelming number of responses, from bashing her to supporting her.
(A translation of the blog entry can be found here.)
First off, why do people want to cause trouble by telling Toboso that they’ve seen her work illegally? Why are they asking for it? Maybe because some fans are just pessimistic at life. Who knows, their lives could be in a downward spiral and they’re just visibly jealous of other people’s successes. Can you blame them for feeling that way? You may also blame their peers or lack thereof. One problem this highlights is that the Internet allows most people to get away with saying things and not suffer any repercussions. It gives off the feeling that they are above the law. No enforcement -> higher temptation to cause trouble.
Regarding fans’ responses to her blog entry itself, I thought to myself it’s quite clear that the shock of reality is clearly confusing the hell out of most of the fanbase. I see that fans’ self-defense mechanisms are working on overdrive, trying to come up with reasons to justify watching/reading her works illegally. You can clearly see the lack of empathy in some of their responses. It’s unbelievable and disgusting for some fans to NOT think of mangaka as real human beings.
There was a response that said that Toboso should be grateful that people are reading/watching her work. FAIL.
This can apply to those who bought it, but not to those who’ve done it for free. Unless that is your intention, would you seriously be grateful to people who illegally make copies of your work for their own purposes? Put yourself in her shoes.
The big problem is that we’re living in a society that wants instant gratification. We’re all guilty of this (hell, I know I am). Our world is now a world where things are easy-to-find & accessible. People won’t let anything get in the way of their need for entertainment, even if it possibly means stealing. They tend to lack competence or self-efficacy. Also, some fans don’t seem to realize (or forgotten) the importance of working hard to achieve dreams.
Look at it this way. Mangakas were once dreamers. They wanted to do something they love and make money doing so, just like all of us. Do you realize how much crap mangakas go through just to get their work published? It’s not easy. Why is it that while we say that we like to support other people’s dreams, we try to crush other people’s dreams? I guess when those dreams become reality, people may have this view that those dreamers start becoming spoiled brats when it’s not always the case.
For those complaining on why Toboso took so long to complain, here’s the thing. In Japan, it’s considered really rude to talk back to someone publicly. Unless it’s something seriously important, then they usually don’t say anything. The culture in Japan is totally different from other countries. I’m sure you understand this if you consider yourself to be a Japanese culture aficionado.
Toboso’s speech has a deeper meaning beyond just complaining about scanlations and fansubs. It’s also a harsh reminder of the society we’re currently living in, where we take things for granted and not many people truly appreciate a hard day’s work. Unless society emphasizes a greater need for impulse control, the crazy conflicts & debates will never end & EVERYONE will lose.
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The End of OneManga
Home of manga no more, to be exact.
As all manga readers & enthusiasts know, the “king” of the aggregator sites, OneManga, have decided to pull off all manga scanlations on July 31, 2010. Cue fanboy/fangirl rage.
As manga journalist Deb Aoki pointed out, there has been an overwhelming backlash against the publishers for forcing OneManga to shut down. I even went to a OneManga fan page and there were users literally telling stories about how OneManga gave them hope. Someone even created a petition to let OneManga continue!
Honestly, I have very mixed feelings about this. I have to admit that I have gotten into a variety of series through OneManga. If it weren’t for the site, I wouldn’t have gotten to do a lot of research for my blog. I also have some favorite series that I love (through OneManga) like Bakuman, Air Gear, Hayate no Gotoku!, Katekyo Hitman REBORN!, and others. At the same time, I applaud OneManga’s decision to abide by the wishes of the publishers. I believe they are seeing the bigger picture unlike a majority of fans who don’t know.
I just wished publishers worked together with the fans more. Or possibly work with OneManga. The thing is OneManga actually takes down scanlations if publishers ask them to. One example would be Soul Eater. They actually do take into consideration the effect scanlations have on publishers, unlike other aggregator sites. Though I think it’s more important that publishers reached out to the fans. Publishers should’ve noticed that online content was going to be big when scanlations started to become popular during the early-to-mid 2000s’. In business, trend-spotting is one important tool businesses need to have to survive & evolve. Even social-media entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk emphasized it in his book, “CRUSH IT!”. Manga publishers need to practice more of “reactionary business”. “Reactionary business” is when you immediately take advantage of new opportunities, adapt to current demand, and look ahead to what’s next. What we’re seeing right now with the scanlation issue is what happens when companies don’t practice “reactionary business”.
e.g. Publishers ignore scanlations -> recession hits -> publishers lose money -> rage on scanlators -> unhappy fans that publishers don’t bother to educate on their dilemma
It could’ve been:
Publishers see scanlations -> realize that online manga is the next big thing -> hop on the online bandwagon IMMEDIATELY -> talk to scanlators to find an agreeable solution -> create a legitimate online manga business model that works -> address fans & show they care -> PROFIT! -> happy, happy online manga fans
Seriously, what’s going on with the marketing dept. from the publishers!? Maybe they did know and they didn’t care. BIG MISTAKE.
I don’t know what’s going to happen right now. As for my blog, I’ll go to bookstores to read and watch more anime for research. Thank goodness for Crunchyroll & Hulu. Even though a manga service similar to those sites is on its way, the problem now is that most fans might not want to pay for such a service that might not have all the titles they want. What do you guys think is a good solution?
Face it, scanlations aren’t going to go away. Publishers should be more concerned with possibly the wrath of many online manga fans who they’ve probably ignored for a long time & could’ve captured.
Where shall the industry go from here? I guess we’ll find out whether it will be towards prosperity or chaos.
