Scanlations have always fallen into a gray area for me. For non-manga readers, scanlations are manga that's scanned from the original language volume, then translated, and lastly, posted on the web for readers to either read on websites like OneManga or download via the the scanlaters website.
The reason I bring this up is that a lot of the manga I have on my bookshelf, I sampled on sites that 'stream', if you will, the scanlations for free. The sites, One Manga and the rest, were a great way to sample an entire manga volume or series, as opposed to a chapter, because you can't really sample a manga with *just* a chapter. You really do need more than that to get a feel for the manga's tone, characters, etc and with most of the manga reading demographic having less money to 'chance' on a manga, it seems that the recent disappearance of these manga streaming sites isn't the best route to go.
I realize piracy is bad, but I highly doubt these websites were making a difference in manga sales. Working in a bookstore, I've seen the drop in manga sales. The hey day for manga is over (for the moment) and with that publishers will be cutting down on their titles. These streaming websites were great places to find the un-licensed stuff-- stuff that is mega popular elsewhere but won't be published in english by any publisher due to the slump in manga sales.
I'm not sure what the purpose of this post is. I understand taking down licensed manga, but shutting down multiple websites just to do that? That's going too far in my book...
The reason I bring this up is that a lot of the manga I have on my bookshelf, I sampled on sites that 'stream', if you will, the scanlations for free. The sites, One Manga and the rest, were a great way to sample an entire manga volume or series, as opposed to a chapter, because you can't really sample a manga with *just* a chapter. You really do need more than that to get a feel for the manga's tone, characters, etc and with most of the manga reading demographic having less money to 'chance' on a manga, it seems that the recent disappearance of these manga streaming sites isn't the best route to go.
I realize piracy is bad, but I highly doubt these websites were making a difference in manga sales. Working in a bookstore, I've seen the drop in manga sales. The hey day for manga is over (for the moment) and with that publishers will be cutting down on their titles. These streaming websites were great places to find the un-licensed stuff-- stuff that is mega popular elsewhere but won't be published in english by any publisher due to the slump in manga sales.
I'm not sure what the purpose of this post is. I understand taking down licensed manga, but shutting down multiple websites just to do that? That's going too far in my book...
1 comment:
Hi! I found you on the hop, and I'm currently your newest follower! I'm looking forward to reading your reviews.
Have a great weekend!
Erika
Erika Breathes Books
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