Post by Haruko on Apr 21, 2004 12:29:39 GMT -5
*Please note that Aki is standing as my official interpretator and, as such, can not edit any of what I am saying. This post reflects my and only my opinion on the matter*
Aki has been telling me that there is a lot of hype about downloading scanlations about licensed Manga, many being absolutely against it. Though the points they made are valid, they are, I must say, based on a point of view that is far from Japanese and that, mainly, is how United Statiens (like Aki, I refuse to say "American as they do not own all the Americas) think.
I must point out first that I am not saying this just so I can read licensed Manga for free. Why would I need to? I am Japanese, I was born and raised in Ôsaka, I have lived there for 30 years. It is my native language and, anyway, I do not read very good in English.
There is much to say about this little subject. First off, everyone who are so against taking something licensed and doing a scanlation of it or anything else for that matter must really not approve of Doushinji for basically, it is almost the same thing. If anyone was ever under the impression that those creating DJ ask permission from the Mangaka and/or its publishing house/magasine to do them are sadly mistaken. They do not. I can not say it often enough that such things are not regarded the same in Japan so stop using another culture's idealisms to base your arguments on!
I will admit that I have no experience with licensing done by anyother country than the USA but, frankly, after having Aki and Tei-chan told me how they are so badly done, I do not think I really want to. Almost 95% of the time, the translation is more often than not badly done (we have compared FAKE from it's licensed English version to its original Japanese one and believe me, the "dude" aspect is far from the worst thing found. Many times, they even translated the verb wrongly or completely changed an entire sentence thus translating something that was not even implied in Japanese.)
Scanlation teams, by what I see through Aki, try their hardest to translate Manga the most accurately they can, going literal if that need be. Sure, the English might suffer slightly but better a fractionated English, than a very grammatically correct one that absolutely does not even reflects what was written in Japanese. In other words, most of the time, you are not reading the Manga as it as meant to be read but quasi a new story written by incompetents who should never try to translate. They would be better off asking many of you Scanlation translators to do the job.
That is but one aspect why licensed Manga really do not sit well with me. Another one is the censorship. We have seen examples where the censorship was so heavy that it was like reading a whole new story. Many times I have heard Tei-chan go "What the Hell?! That's not what happens!" And that does not only happen with Yaoi and Sh-Ai but even Shoujo which can have SLIGHT references of maturity. The disgusting United Statiens version of Sailor Moon comes to mind. If any of you ever saw the original Japanese Anime version, you have already realized that it is a completely different show.
So licensed Manga are good, huh? One should buy them and stop doing Scanlations of them, huh? Well sure if what you want is something badly translated and so censored that it is not even the same [CENSORED] story you are reading! *Takes a deep calming breath*[/color] (Aki: It's doomed to fail, she's way too enrage right now)
The most major point in which those claiming high and low that licensed Manga should not be Scanlated is that one can buy them in English and support the Mangaka at the same time. Are they part of the contractual people who choose to license such and such Manga? I think not for they are under the belief that Mangaka receive a somewhat large poucentage for authorship rights. HA! Think again! Ever wondered why not that many Manga are ever licensed outside of Japan? Believe me, the few that are do not even encompass 10% of Manga business found in Japan. The simple reason is that the Mangaka has to sign pretty much all authorship rights giving the licensing company the rights to do what they want with the Manga and/or Anime, and the pourcentage of profit they receive is ridiculously low.
Nevertheless, some Mangaka still chooses to do that for the simple reason that they want their work to be appreciated outside of Japan. That is the most important to every artist. They do not create Manga for profit but to share their work with the public and to have others appreciate it for what it is, not to make money.
Like I have said, I can only base myself on licensed Manga in USA and I can only hope that it is done much better in other countries. Lastly, for those who think themselves the voice of "authority" in Scanlating fandom (I will not name them but it should be pretty obvious), I only have this to say: Before claiming high and low about something, why not get your facts straight and, more to the point, get the opinion of someone who IS of the Japanese Culture. Having followed a few Japanese courses in school and/or university does NOT make you an expert of MY culture!
Please note that this is my opinion and does not reflect that of the EoP staff.
Doumo arigatou for taking the time to read this.
“ŒŽRtŽq
Higashiyama Haruko
Aki has been telling me that there is a lot of hype about downloading scanlations about licensed Manga, many being absolutely against it. Though the points they made are valid, they are, I must say, based on a point of view that is far from Japanese and that, mainly, is how United Statiens (like Aki, I refuse to say "American as they do not own all the Americas) think.
I must point out first that I am not saying this just so I can read licensed Manga for free. Why would I need to? I am Japanese, I was born and raised in Ôsaka, I have lived there for 30 years. It is my native language and, anyway, I do not read very good in English.
There is much to say about this little subject. First off, everyone who are so against taking something licensed and doing a scanlation of it or anything else for that matter must really not approve of Doushinji for basically, it is almost the same thing. If anyone was ever under the impression that those creating DJ ask permission from the Mangaka and/or its publishing house/magasine to do them are sadly mistaken. They do not. I can not say it often enough that such things are not regarded the same in Japan so stop using another culture's idealisms to base your arguments on!
I will admit that I have no experience with licensing done by anyother country than the USA but, frankly, after having Aki and Tei-chan told me how they are so badly done, I do not think I really want to. Almost 95% of the time, the translation is more often than not badly done (we have compared FAKE from it's licensed English version to its original Japanese one and believe me, the "dude" aspect is far from the worst thing found. Many times, they even translated the verb wrongly or completely changed an entire sentence thus translating something that was not even implied in Japanese.)
Scanlation teams, by what I see through Aki, try their hardest to translate Manga the most accurately they can, going literal if that need be. Sure, the English might suffer slightly but better a fractionated English, than a very grammatically correct one that absolutely does not even reflects what was written in Japanese. In other words, most of the time, you are not reading the Manga as it as meant to be read but quasi a new story written by incompetents who should never try to translate. They would be better off asking many of you Scanlation translators to do the job.
That is but one aspect why licensed Manga really do not sit well with me. Another one is the censorship. We have seen examples where the censorship was so heavy that it was like reading a whole new story. Many times I have heard Tei-chan go "What the Hell?! That's not what happens!" And that does not only happen with Yaoi and Sh-Ai but even Shoujo which can have SLIGHT references of maturity. The disgusting United Statiens version of Sailor Moon comes to mind. If any of you ever saw the original Japanese Anime version, you have already realized that it is a completely different show.
So licensed Manga are good, huh? One should buy them and stop doing Scanlations of them, huh? Well sure if what you want is something badly translated and so censored that it is not even the same [CENSORED] story you are reading! *Takes a deep calming breath*[/color] (Aki: It's doomed to fail, she's way too enrage right now)
The most major point in which those claiming high and low that licensed Manga should not be Scanlated is that one can buy them in English and support the Mangaka at the same time. Are they part of the contractual people who choose to license such and such Manga? I think not for they are under the belief that Mangaka receive a somewhat large poucentage for authorship rights. HA! Think again! Ever wondered why not that many Manga are ever licensed outside of Japan? Believe me, the few that are do not even encompass 10% of Manga business found in Japan. The simple reason is that the Mangaka has to sign pretty much all authorship rights giving the licensing company the rights to do what they want with the Manga and/or Anime, and the pourcentage of profit they receive is ridiculously low.
Nevertheless, some Mangaka still chooses to do that for the simple reason that they want their work to be appreciated outside of Japan. That is the most important to every artist. They do not create Manga for profit but to share their work with the public and to have others appreciate it for what it is, not to make money.
Like I have said, I can only base myself on licensed Manga in USA and I can only hope that it is done much better in other countries. Lastly, for those who think themselves the voice of "authority" in Scanlating fandom (I will not name them but it should be pretty obvious), I only have this to say: Before claiming high and low about something, why not get your facts straight and, more to the point, get the opinion of someone who IS of the Japanese Culture. Having followed a few Japanese courses in school and/or university does NOT make you an expert of MY culture!
Please note that this is my opinion and does not reflect that of the EoP staff.
Doumo arigatou for taking the time to read this.
“ŒŽRtŽq
Higashiyama Haruko
